The prophet Jeremiah reminded us today in Pastor John's sermon that there is always a reason to hope in God's plans for the future - including the rising of the first new United Methodist Church in many, many years, in a field in Middletown. When we invite God's future into our present, we invest in plans with a future! Worship podcast with sermon, prayers, and sending is below, sermon text is here and below the podcast. Have a blessed week!

Thanks to our church's United Methodist Women, our church was able to provide important supplies to the students and teachers beginning a new school year in our South Meriden neighborhood at Hanover Elementary School. Paper and pencils still matter, but so do tissues and hand sanitizer to keep colds from spreading, as well as healthy snacks that teachers can give to truly hungry students. Pastor John blessed these supplies at our altar before bringing them to the school, and blessed students and families walking to school. Let's pray that they all have a successful and exciting new year of learning!

Enjoy a block party for our friends in South Meriden, in thanks for just being you! Come to our front lawn on September 21st (feillowship hall if rain) and have dinner on us, as a sign of our care for you and our community. Food will be served picnic style 5-7PM, and there will be lively music.

Then, at 7PM, we invite people of all ages to enjoy a film in our church, with our great sound system and comfy seating. Kids can sprawl out wherever they're comfortable. Vote for a movie to see, here online, or at the picnic. As good suggestions come in, we'll change the poll! We're excited to be launching this new event, and we hope that you'll spread the word to your neighbors. See you then!

We are a church in search of authentic Christian faith - faith that brought people into the salvation of God 1,800 years ago in a small town in Syria, whose church had Christian artwork that is the oldest ever found in the world. Members of our church visited these amazing artifacts at the Yale Art Museum on Saturday, and prayed in this early church along with members from UMC of East Berlin. Pastor john talked about the powerful picture of Jesus, the good shepherd, offering salvation to new Christians, in his sermon this Sunday. 

Our worship podcast from this Sunday is below, with sermon, prayers and sending, and sermon text is here and below. Rejoice! Rejoice in the God who blesses us with the freedom to find God's joy in the enduring salvation of Jesus Christ! God is not done with us, or God's world, and we can choose this wonderful, life-giving story to be our story! 

Our church thanks the family and friends of Jeanne Beth Willett-King who came to our church to honor her life today. We shared together our joy for her life, sang her favorite songs, and considered how her life lived in the joy of God lives on, when we choose to make ripples for God as she did. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been touched so deeply by her loss. May her comfort and peace in God's loving hands give us assurance and hope. We had technical difficulties during the service that prevented a complete recording, but below is a podcast of Pastor John Blossom's message "Ripples," with text here, and a video of photos with the song that our choir sung. Please keep Jeanne's family in your prayers, and in your intentions for assistance.

We can endure in God's strength to find God's joy, not through our own power, but by accepting the power of salvation in Jesus Christ. What a joy to have God's promises of deliverance, especially in the middle of life's changing plans! Above is a photo of the ship Endurance, whose entire crew of 28 survived the destruction of their ship in 1914 and endured a completely new mission to find God's salvation. Have faith - God helps us to endure! Podcast with message, prayers and sending below, Pastor John's sermon text here and below the podcast. Have a faith-filled week, in Gods' family!