WEEKLY CALENDAR

SUNDAY JUNE 21
Third Sunday after Pentecost 
9:30 a.m. Godly Play (Contact Lynda Hepler with questions.)
10:00 a.m. R.L. Pope Class Pre-Recording on WGOS AM 1070
11:00 a.m. Live Worship Online via Facebook and on WGOS AM 1070
Hymns:
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (UMH 139)
Christ for the World We Sing (UMH 568)

MONDAY – FRIDAY
10:00 a.m. “10@10” Weekday Devotions via Facebook

TUESDAY
5:30 p.m.  Outdoor Yoga in the Church Back Yard (Weather permitting)

WEDNESDAY
The Weekly Update via Facebook

SUNDAY JUNE 28
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
9:30 a.m. Godly Play (Contact Lynda Hepler with questions.)
10:00 a.m. R.L. Pope Class Pre-Recording on WGOS AM 1070
11:00 a.m. Live Worship Online via Facebook and on WGOS AM 1070

PRAYER CONCERNS

If you or a loved one would like to be added to the prayer list, please contact Lorna McCullough at 336-259-5814. If you put a name on the list, please keep in touch to let us know how that person is doing, as names are removed after three weeks.

During the coming week, please pray for…

Peace and justice in our nation, state, and city
Delores Davis
Shelley York
Dwayne Faircloth
Grant Brinkley and Family
Kaylee Turner
Rob James
Finley Price Family
Our First Responders, Medical Community, and Essential Workers
All those affected by Coronavirus
Robert Miller
Andrea Cain and Family
Dave Ogren
Dallas Hutchens
Tyler Oldaker
Tim Priska
Chris Eddinger
Tracy Brinkley
Our UM Missionaries
All Military Personnel
The United Methodist Church

We extend our prayers and sympathy to Cindy Murphy and family on the death of Cindy’s father, John R. Hughes, Jr., Tuesday June 9, 2020.
Obituary for John R. Hughes, Jr.

MESSAGE FROM DANNY LEONARD

PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED

Thank you for your continued giving to CCM. Current needs are listed below. You may drop off donations at the church, placing them on the Mission Racks in the breezeway.

UNITED AGAINST RACISM 

We, the people of The United Methodist Church, recognize racism as a sin. With that recognition, we commit to challenging unjust systems of power and access. One action, a service of lament, is set for June 19 (watch for details at UMC.org). For more suggestions on what you can do, go to umc.org/endracism.

FINANCIAL GIVING OPTIONS WHILE THE OFFICE IS CLOSED

Thank you for your ongoing generosity to Memorial. While the office is closed, there are three options for making gifts to Memorial:

The address for mailing checks is:
Memorial UMC
P.O. Box 428
Thomasville, NC 27361-0428

Online gifts can be made securely at https://onrealm.org/mumctville/give/now which can also be accessed from our website homepage.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) giving can be set up for your recurring tithe. For information on how to arrange this, please email or leave a message for Peggy May, Financial Secretary, at pmay@mumctville.org or 336-472-7718.

CLERGY AND STAFF ARE AVAILABLE

You may contact members of the staff directly or by calling the church office at 336-472-7718 and following the instructions on the recording. Here is a list of staff phone extensions and email addresses, for reference:

Danny Leonard, Senior Minister – Ext. 16; dleonard@mumctville.org
Peggy Finch, Associate Minister – Ext. 15; pfinch@mumctville.org
Rodney Denton, Minister of Youth and Young Adults – Ext. 18; rdenton@mumctville.org
Lynda Hepler, Minister of Children and Families – Ext. 11; lhepler@mumctville.org
Brian Russell, Director of Contemporary Worship – Ext. 20; brussell@mumctville.org
Danny Frye, Director of Music – Ext. 12; dfrye@mumctville.org
Susan Frye, Secretary – Ext. 14; sfrye@mumctville.org
Peggy May, Financial Secretary/Treasurer – Ext. 13; pmay@mumctville.org
Jarry Oldaker, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds – Ext. 17; joldaker@mumctville.org

FEATURED DEVOTION

We close this week’s eNews with a 10@10 devotion shared by Danny Leonard on June 11, 2020.

Something happened on Christmas Eve in 1914.  It was during WWI.  Some accounts say that WWI was the bloodiest war of them all.  They contend that there was more death, destruction, suffering, and mud than experienced by soldiers in any war to date.

An amazing thing happened during the Battle of Ypres. The British were dug in on one side and the Germans were dug in on the other side of the battle. As night began to fall on that Christmas Eve, the Brits could hear the unusual sounds of laughter and even the tunes of familiar Christmas carols coming from the German side.

Then, the Brits heard an invitation from the Germans to come over. The Germans said, “Tommy, come on over.”  “Tommy” was the nickname by which the British soldiers were known. After numerous invitations, one British soldier put down his rifle and took a few tentative steps into No Man’s Land. Then another followed, and soon a large group of British soldiers made their way into this forsaken area and were met there by German soldiers who had come out as well.

The accounts of some soldiers who were part of this unusual happening remembered the events of that gathering. Upon meeting, the soldiers talked with one another. They told jokes and they laughed. They exchanged gifts of buttons, badges from their uniforms, hats, food, and even some schnapps were shared. Each side retrieved their dead and burials were held with the Brits and Germans sharing in this dreaded detail.

A British officer wrote in a letter he sent home that one of his machine gunners, an amateur hairdresser back home, was seen cutting the long hair of a German soldier.  He noted that the German kneeled patiently as the Brit ran the razor across his neck.

Another soldier, in a letter to his mother, told her of smoking a pipe that had been gifted to him by Princess Mary but was filled with German tobacco.

As Christmas Eve gave way to Christmas day, each group returned to their respective sides.  The shooting had stopped.  The conversations continued as the ‘enemies’ shared jokes by yelling across the battlefield.

An amazing thing happened at the Battle of Ypres that night. The soldiers saw each other as humans.  They realized that they came from different cultures, spoke different languages and had different life experiences. These differences were put aside. The power of honoring and recognizing each other as human beings trumped all societal identifiers.

Today, it seems that we are ‘dug in’ on opposing sides with those in our country, state, and communities.  We are influenced by the media and others to believe that there is a tremendous chasm that separates people of differing viewpoints, traditions, and life experiences. Those who have been identified as our enemies are not far away from us. They are just far enough that they appear as enemies.

Some of those soldiers really understood what was happening in that unusual meeting. They realized that simple conversations revealed their similarities. They realized that no matter which uniform was worn, they all shared similar emotions. They were afraid, they longed to see their families, and they had no basis for disliking one another. They must have wondered why they were there. They questioned what had gotten them to that place.

What would happen if we began to look deeply at those around us and saw them as humans? What if we could cast aside our obvious differences, stop listening to those who would influence us to base our thinking on skewed, biased opinions, and seek to befriend those identified as our enemies?

Peace is a possibility.  We have the capability to live in harmony with others. That’s part of the created order that God so delicately put into place. The old hymn says, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

How about that?

YOU CAN WATCH AND READ ALL 10 @ 10 DEVOTIONS HERE.