Pastor’s Perspective

Genesis 1:9-10: And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.

By the time you receive this newsletter, Earth Day will have passed, but the need to pause and reflect on this wondrous gift called Earth that God has given us, and the continuing danger to us and future generations if we persist in misusing Earth’s resources, should be a daily pondering. Whatever one’s stand on the subject of global warming, it is irrefutable that we have abused our planet’s resources and we will have to reap what we have sown. What a travesty that Olympic athletes are training under conditions that will help them cope better when forced to breathe the filthy air in Beijing—and that scenario could take place in far too many places on our planet. We see entire species of animals threatened by extinction due to changing and scarce food supplies. We are warned about changing weather patterns which could bring dire consequences to port cities. The list of consequences is endless.

Our United Methodist Social Principles address our responsibility as children of God who have been given stewardship of Earth’s resources. The paragraph entitled “The Natural World” states: "All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings…Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation."

Our General Conference will address some ecological issues during the next few weeks, but it is a matter that needs the attention of every human being on this planet—we must live more responsibly. I urge each of us to examine our lifestyle and find ways we can help make a greener planet. Let’s use God’s gift wisely!

Blessings,
Jane Tews

Serving Meals at the UMOM Homeless Shelter

The United Methodist Outreach Ministries (UMOM) helps low income families in a variety of ways. Dayspring helps UMOM by providing meals at the New Day Center Homeless Shelter on Sunday nights. Thanks to all who have helped this year with UMOM Sunday meals! Your help is so greatly appreciated.

We need volunteers for Fall sign-up. Dayspring serves on the second and third Sundays of each month. Currently we need volunteers for these Sundays in September, October, November and December.

We need 3 - 6 people for cooking and serving. To help with cooking, you need to be at the UMOM center by 3:30 p.m. They have a fully equipped kitchen, provide all the supplies, and their experienced kitchen staff is there to direct you.

Serving starts at 5:00pm and ends at approximately 6:30pm.

The address at UMOM is: 3320 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix.

Currently, we need volunteers for the following Sundays:

• May 11
• May 18
• June 8
• June 15
• June 22
• July 13
• July 20
• August 10
• August 17
• August 24

Please contact Carolyn or Matt Reid at csreid1@cox.net to sign up or ask questions.

Thank you again for your help!