The

Messenger

“So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:34

“One Day at a Time”

            One of the more difficult lessons in life to learn is to live in the present time instead of thinking of all that lies ahead to be done. Someone has written “We have to live but one day at a time, but we are living for eternity in that one day.” Perhaps we have to be older to really learn this lesson as the time ahead becomes shorter and shorter for us to live. When we are young we are always wishing for something, wishing we were older. We have plans and more plans, dreams and more dreams of what will happen.

            Things get complicated in life as we frequently have more to accomplish in each day than can be done. Kids have long days at school, long nights of homework or after school events and for some, part time jobs as they get older. So they are going morning-noon-night. They are in training to become an adult who tries to pack as much into everyday as they possibly can.

            THE RESULT: We are overwhelmed with all that we must do, we rush to get more and more done and the “beat goes on and on.”

            When I was a young pastor, I would look at my schedule that consisted of studies, sermon preparation, meetings with the preparation that went into them and then the resultant things that needed attention after the meetings, hospital and home visitations, meeting with couples to plan their weddings or to meet with them on their troubled marriages, plan funerals, conduct funerals & on and on leaving little or no time for family life. Believe me when I say, I carry some guilt about those days.

            Living one day at a time becomes more possible as we get older, not because our schedules are less packed with things to do, but because we have different values on what makes life worthwhile in the end.

            An old Irish proverb says “time is so precious that it is dealt out to us only in the smallest possible fractions - a tiny moment at a time.” Based on this proverb, we need to recognize that the important thing to do is to live in the present.

Sermon Snapshots

April 13 - “Getting Confused by the Facts”

                 John 9: 1-41

Today we look at the story of the blind man’s healing with our minds already made up. We believe that Jesus healed a man by the power of God. The Pharissees already had their minds made up that Jesus was evil. People today still blindly form opinions and don’t want to be confused with facts about God. Since we can’t convince them with facts, we have to love them with acts.

The Pharisees believed that Jesus was getting his power from the Enemy, not from God. So they did what any upstanding organization, church or even government might do: they formed a fact-finding committee to study the situation. Only it becomes quite evident that they are not all that interested in the truth– if the truth does not discover incriminating evidence against Jesus. I remember when I was just a young boy watching the Committee on Un-American Activities on t.v. (as you could imagine there was a whole lot on t.v. back then) This committee targeted people and had them testify as though guilty until proven innocent. Similar things happen today too. We have all too often seen investigations become inquisitions in which the outcome was already decided before the questions are asked.

After the Pharisees had their investigation into Jesus they could not see what Jesus had really done and in whose Name he had done it because they had their minds made up and they were “blind” to the facts. However, before we jump on the bandwagon to condemn them we need to look at ourselves and see that all too often we have done the same thing with other people.

April 20 - “It’s For All of Us” Matthew 5: 13-15

Who could argue with the statement “We affirm that the God, whose world this is, has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. He who is head of the Church is Lord of all. He has died and risen again for all.” What Christian would argue with that? In fact most Christians must not believe it or else they would be telling the story of Jesus to others. Somehow, we are not quite convinced that witnessing is a job for us in the mainline churches...we will leave it to those “radical” independent congregations that are of that bent. There are understandable reasons for some of these feelings. Some of us have had our fill of that clumsy witnessing that comes barging in, shouting, “Are you saved?” Because of this we have vowed not to cause others to feel uncomfortable or to make ourselves seem foolish. We then said that we would respect others and let them believe what they want to believe as long as they do not bother us with their beliefs or lack of beliefs. Thus, so refusing to witness became for us an act of kindness, a virtue.

The danger today is not that you and I are going to ride rough-shod over someone in witnessing to him or her; the danger is not that we shall be explicit about Christ to the point of boring people; the danger is not that we will overdo the job. The danger is that we will not do it at all, and that the world will never know our Lord and Master.

Witnessing is your job...witnessing is my job. Witnessing is merely telling the good news of what God is doing, that something is happening at Saugerties United Methodist Church and that God is behind it, and it’s wonderful. You have been asked by me in this year of 2008 to reach out and bring someone to the church service with you, invite them into a group in our church, share the concerns of their lives and people are responding. This is witnessing to our faith. Jesus said “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses.”

April 27 - “Heart of the Matter” Mark 11: 1-6

Everything that you hear isn’t news. So what is this good news that Jesus brought? What is it in the life and death of Christ that tells us that we could not otherwise know? That’s what real news is, of course: what we would not otherwise know. Some of us church people will be satisfied to say that the good news is that there is a God. There is nothing new about that. As long as there has been human beings upon the face of this earth they have had their “gods.” Nobody ever had to come to tell us that there is a god. We all know that.

Well, what word does Jesus bring to us about God then? Just this: the fresh, brand-new news that Jesus brought about God was not that there is a god, but that the God who is, is recognized in Jesus. That was new. This God is the God who wants us to live forever. This God is so concerned about us that He loves us in spite of who we are and because of who we are. This God forgives us, offers us another chance and another and another, urges you and me to try again.

Sympathy goes to...

✞The family of Geraldine Szarmach, a member of our church from October 6, 1946 who entered into eternal glory on March 22, 2008

                                                                               

✞The family of Lois Goff, a member of our church since March 30, 1930 who died in Virginia. Her service was conducted from our church on Saturday, March 29, 2008.

Rummage Sale Results

The Rummage Sale was very successful. We recycled a tremendous amount of stuff and made $709 doing it. Thanks to everyone for their help with the sale.

Appreciation goes to our congregation that donated $216.75 to the Gideon ministry following the March 9^th service.

Roast Beef Dinner

 

Saturday, April 26, 2008  

Servings at 5 & 6:30

  

For Reservations call Art or Blanche Cramer at 246-2998

  

The dinner includes roast beef, mashed potatoes & gravy, buttered carrots, cole slaw, Italian bread, relish tray, dessert, and beverage.

  

Price per meal:

Adults – $10

Children 5 - 12 – $5

Children under 5 are free.

Take out dinners are available.

 

Your help would be appreciated at any of the following times: 

-Thursday evening, April 24, 6:00 - 7:30 pm to

  peel carrots

- Friday, April 25, from 9 - noon to make cole slaw

- Saturday, April 26, from 9 - noon for food

  preparation; from 4:30 - 8 (to serve food, wait on

  tables, wash dishes, and clean up)

 

You can sign up to help.  The sign up sheets will be available in the lobby when we get closer to the dinner.

Honoring Women

We will have a special insert in the bulletin on May 11^th, Honoring All Women. Fill out the enclosed pink form and return it to the church office by Monday, May 5^th.

               

                4/ 1987 - Karen & Doug Byrne

              21/ 1979 - Cindy & Rankin Travis

              28/ 2001 - Audrey & David Dyke

Around the Congregation

Born at home in Throop (pronounced troop), Pennsylvania, on January 3, 1942 to Thomas and Ida Buddle. Duane Delbert Buddle is the youngest of four sons. His older brothers are; Donald, William (deceased) and Wilson. Donald is a retired Presbyterian Pastor and Wilson is a retired school principal. His father was a milkman. He drove a milk truck delivering milk door to door. When Duane was a small boy he would help his father deliver milk, butter and eggs. His mother Ida was a stay at home mom. Duane’s grandfather, William Seymour was a minister as well as his Uncle Floyd Seymour.

Duane attended Hartwick College in Oneonta for three years where he majored in sociology. He then transferred to the University of Scranton, where he graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theology. In 1980 he received a Master of Divinity from Drew University in New Jersey. In 1986 he received a Doctor of Ministry, also from Drew University. Attending St. John’s on Long Island he became certified as a Ministerial Accredited Supervisor. His official title is The Reverend Doctor Duane Buddle. How do we address someone with so many titles? Pastor suggests you use the title that you feel most comfortable with and the one that comes from your heart; as long as he is “called something nice.”

Pastor served as a student pastor from 1961 to 1975. He has served at the following churches along with the years of service with each congregation.