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Grace UM Church Staff Members
Pastor: Rev. Nelson T. Thayer
Director of Lay Ministries: Barb Dittman
Secretary: Brittany Adams
Finance Secretary: Eva Palmer
Custodian: Bill Lamberton
Organist: Joseph Emanuele |
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Sunday School for Adults: New Space
You are invited to the 9:00 Adult Sunday School Class which will now meet in a more convenient space: the former Kindergarten room in the hallway off the sanctuary and just beyond the “Pastor’s Office.”
Looking Ahead
July 21 Luncheon after Worship Service
ATTENTION: Adult Sunday School on summer break. |
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PREPARING FOR SUNDAY’S MESSAGE
Worship in person or online!
“Change” – July 21
Ninth Sundy After Pentecost
This week’s Sunday worship will be held at the church beginning at 10:00 am (summer hours)
Preaching Texts: Psalm 46 and Ephesians 2: 11-22
Oner of the earliest crises to face the Church (in the first generation after the Ascension of Jesus) was the spread of belief in Jesus Christ beyond traditional Judaism.
The first believers were all orthodox Jews – including the twelve disciples and the women who accompanied the disciple band and Jesus in Galilee and Judea. The large crowds who came to hear Jesus preach were presumably Jewish, but in the cosmopolitan region of Galilee it is possible (if not likely) that non-Jews were also in those crowds.
While Jesus considers that His ministry is primarily to Jewish people (“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” – Matthew 15: 24, NIV), He also reached out to Gentiles on several occasions.
It is no accident, then, that the earliest believers worshipped at the Temple in Jerusalem, kept Kosher, circumcised their male children, and studied the TaNaKh (Torah, Prophets, and Writings) as their scripture.
But, then Peter went on his famous trip to Joppa and Caesarea, where he heard a voice from heaven tell him that all food created by God was clean, and he witnessed the Roman centurion Cornelius receive the Holy Spirit after he was baptized (Acts 9-10). Peter returned to Jerusalem in awe, telling the other disciples that God sent the Holy Spirt on non-Jews, and that Gentile believers must be welcomed into the Faith.
Paul was then sent as a missionary to the Gentiles, and soon the conflict between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians necessitated the first General Council of the Church at Jerusalem (48-49 AD). There it was decided that non-Jewish could become Christians following all the Jewish laws about diet, circumcision, and other traditional practices.
In Sunday’s Epistle Lesson (Ephesians 2: 11-22) Paul addresses the continuing conflict between Jewish and Gentile Christians at Ephesus – arguing that God’s goal is that all persons should have access to God through the Holy Spirt. It’s a change in custom and tradition that a lot of people in the early Church find “hard to swallow.”
We are still challenged by the leading of the Holy Spirit, which continues to expand “access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Eph 2: 18) But – as Psalm 46 reminds us – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change….”
Rev. Nelson Thayer |
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Happy Birthday & Anniversary to our Grace Family this week! Although some of these members may have been absent from our lives for a while, let us take a moment to stop and remember them in prayer on their special day.
July 21
Ned Goucher
Karen Greene
Brenna Hauck
Cameron White
July 22
Mary Berlin
Rebecca Erion
July 23
Thomas Clayton
July 24
Brent Glover
Jerry Montgomery
Matthew Woolcock
July 25
Donna Aaron
Bryan Carner
Heather Carroll
Betty Fry
Eva Palmer
July 26
Tom Eberle
July 27
Kirsten Hassan
Steve Mix
July 28
Gale Boocks
Scott Flinchbaugh
Mark Hale
Kyel Harry
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Pastor’s Message
Tradition suggests that a new Pastor should introduce themself to the congregation at the beginning of their ministry. So, here goes….
Although I have never lived in Oil City (and still don’t – our home is next to Sleep Hollow Golf Course near Wyattville on Route 322), my family has deep roots in this area. My parents were raised in Kane. Their parents came from Pleasantville and Kinzua. My father’s ancestors settled in the Tionesta area when the Dawsons received land there after serving in the War of 1812. The Thayers emigrated from Chautauqua NY to Woodcock Township/ Hydetown (Crawford County) by 1848. A tombstone labeled “Nelson Thayer” exists at the Vrooman-Excelsior Cemetery near Pleasantville (and, yet, here I am!). So – this feels like home.
I grew up on a tract of 46 acres (we did not farm it but leased the fields to farmers) on Route 27 between Mt. Hope and Frenchtown in Crawford County – about 45 minutes from Oil City. My home church was Mt. Hope UMC (then Methodist), where my mother was Sunday School superintendent and very active in the women’s organizations. Both my parents were college-educated teachers, although my father spent most of his life as a manual laborer at the American Viscose plant in Meadville (long story). I have 4 siblings: two brothers (aged 89 and 84), a deceased brother (Down Syndrome – died in 1950 at age 14), and a sister (79 – lives in California). Brother Dave - the only one who lives locally - was a contractor in the Meadville area and owned/ operated the Dairy Queen on 422 there. His grandson still owns and operates it.
My first inkling of being a Pastor came from my maternal grandmother – Ida Almira (Mila) Patton Wimer Flatt (if you think that name is bad, consider that she was married to Horatius Emory Flatt). Grandma’s first husband – Wimer - was a Baptist minister who died of tuberculosis in 1893, four months after they were married. She never got over it. When I was young, I shared a bedroom at the Guys Mills farm house with grandma (she was 84 years older than me and died at 96 when I was 12). Often, when I entered that bedroom, she would greet me from her rocking chair by saying, “There’s my fine, young Baptist preacher boy!” How do you escape a prophecy like that?
But the Methodists in the family tree were too strong even for grandma Flatt (who was something of a “force of nature”). The Dawsons (dad’s side) had founded the Asbury Chapel Methodist Episcopal (ME) Church on the headwaters of Pithole Creek in the early 1800s. There’s some evidence that the Dawsons knew Francis Asbury personally. The Flatts of Kinzua had been active in the ME church of that town. And Rev. Ziba C. Dilley (my great-great grandfather) had been a United Brethren Pastor at nearby places like Sugar Lake, Diamond, and the Orangeville Circuit (Venango County) in the 1880s and 1890s. So, it isn’t surprising that I became a “preacher boy” like grandma prophesied – just not a Baptist. Sorry grandma – you were 2/3 right!
Obviously, that’s not all of my faith journey saga – but that’s how it began. And it’s not surprising that I would end up at a place like Oil City. And I’m glad to be here.
Nelson |
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Barbara Dittman, Director of Lay Ministries
Contact BarB at Grace UM
814-677-3013 Ext. 104
Office hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs. - 9:00 - 1:00 |
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BarB's Blurbs!
On Tuesday, July 16th, a group of Grace friends went to Towne Towers to see our wonderful friends! We had a super time together! Pastor Thayer and his wife Linda joined in the festivities! We shared some trivia questions about USA, played charades, and sang some songs! We ate some delicious cupcakes after we celebrated our nation's birthday by singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out some candles! In August, we will return to the Towers and celebrate with "Being at the Beach" theme! Please plan to come and share special moments with some fabulous friends!
Some packets of notecards with the church's picture on them were purchased! They are available for people to use to send messages to friends and family! If you would like to make a contribution to defray the cost these notecards, $5.00 per packet, please do so! Thank you!
People are needed to provide special music for the church services! If you enjoy singing and/or playing an instrument and would be willing to share your talent, please contact BarB Dittman at the church! The music could include soloists, duets, trios, quartets, small group, and/or playing an instrument! Thank you!
There are some cards to send to our homebound friends on the table at the back of the sanctuary! We could remind them how much we love them and miss them! Please sign the cards and if you would like to add a little message, please do so!
Here it is the middle of July! Where is the summer going? It is so important to enjoy each moment of our lives by sharing joyful times with our family and friends! Be kind to yourself and to others! Have a wonderful week! Love, hugs, and prayers BarB
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HOPE 21: “A clothing boutique ministry”
Operating Day: Mondays 6:00pm-8:00pm
Thursdays 11:00am-1:00pm
*Please save your old plastic grocery bags and bring them in to the church to be used for bagging clothing.
Still excepting donations of clothing and accessories such as shoes, boots, scarves, hats, belts, gloves, coats, professional clothing, dance wear, uniforms, socks, jewelry,
and school/work bags. |
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Quilting and Fellowship
The Merry Quilters are stitching on Mondays from 10:00am until 3:00pm in the lounge/library next to Grace Hall. Both experienced quilters and and any who would like to become a quilter are invited to join us. Visitors welcome, too! Access to the lounge is currently through the room outside the ladies restroom on the ground floor. Bring a bag lunch if you’d like to join us for lunch at noon. Questions?
Call Cindy Fultz, 814-673-5058. |
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A Quarter for your Meter
Your thoughts may be worth only a penny, but your presence at the church during weekdays is worth much more. Oil City has metered the parking lot behind the church. Plus, they issue tickets for parking violations.
Here is the church offer. On the secretary’s desk is a small bowl with change for the meter. If short of change, step in, grab a coin, and help the Oil City Parking Authority a dime or quarter at a time, rather than $5.00 as a first-time violator (who was caught). You are loved and worth every penny, dime or quarter. |
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Prayers of Joy and Concern
Health concerns:
Rev. Joe Martin
Amy, Judy Hards’ sister
Matt Henderson
Jan Angrove
Josh Keebler
Blaine Beers
Bette Magness
Tom Boocks, Gale Boocks' cousin
David Miller
Jason Cox
Deb Rae Miller
Anita Eberle
Josie McMullen
Don and Sherry Emick
Cork and Carol Nelms
Carson Fennick
Chip & Peggy Nunemaker
Rev. Mark and Vickie Fisher
Bonnie Rihel, Marcia Campbell’s sister
Kathy Flockerzi
Kate Shaffer
Sandra Gagolloti and her sister, Laurie
Gracie Singleton
Sandra Gagolloti’s pregnant niece
Ginny Taylor
Marcia Hannan, sister of Rita Hale
Jim Whaley
Lily Williams
Grieving:
Other:
Adrianna – HS student at crossroads.
Praise/Announcements of JOY:
Andy, Judy Hards’ nephew is cancer free.
Ministries:
The ministry of Grace Church in our community and around the world.
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi and incoming Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball
District Superintendent Rev. Deborah Ackley-Killian |
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