VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 APRIL 2019

PAGE 2 GADDIS GAZETTE

GADDIS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

PASTOR: REV. CAROLYN MCGUIRE

email: gaddischurch@gmail.com

www.gaddischurch.org

C A R O L Y N ’ S D E S K , I N K .

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

MESSIAH FROM

CAROLYN’S DESK, INK. 2

PRAYERS; BIRTHDAYS; FI-

NANCE; UPCOMING EVENTS 3

EASTER HAPPEININGS

CARPENTER’S TABLE ;

LUNCH BUNCH.

4

MESSIAH CONTINUED 5

MESSIAH CONTINUED 6

MESSIAH CONTINUED

JOURNEYS WITH THE MESSIAH 7

APPLES AND ORANGES

BY REBEKAH SIMON-PETER 8

WOMEN’S RETREAT INVITATION

CLOTHING DRIVE 9

OUTREACH—KAREN COOPER 10

THE LIGHTER SIDE 11

RAIL OFFERING FOR APRIL

NOTES AND STAFF LISTING 12

Attendance Average

Worship 71

Sunday School 38

MESSIAH

The Wednesday discussion group has dealt with some interesting topics brought to us by one of my favorite Christian authors, Frederick Buechner. One of our recent topics was “Messiah.” I offer this reprint of the article and then some comments on it. It was published in two of his books, Wishful Thinking and Beyond Words. I would encourage you to let go of your rational, linear thinking as you read Buechner. He reaches beyond the normal thought processes. You also might find some sarcasm in there, but there is a purpose for it. Read carefully and thoughtfully.

"Wieman's macht, ist's falsch" is a crude German saying that means, freely

translated, "Whatever people do, it turns out lousy." The Russians throw

out the czars and end up with Stalin. The Americans free their slaves so

they can move out into the world as paupers.

Or take the Jews. The nation that God chooses to be the hope of the world

becomes the stooge of the world. The nation of priests becomes a nation

of international politicians so inept at playing one major power off against

another that by the time they're through, Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia,

Rome, all have a chance at wiping their feet on them-the cream of the pop-

ulation deported, theTemple destroyed, Jerusalem razed. The law of Mo-

ses becomes the legalism of the Pharisees, and "Can mortals be righteous

before God?" becomes "Is it kosher to wear my dentures on the Sabbath?"

The high priests sell out to the army of occupation. The Holy City turns into

Miami Beach. Even God is fed up. Nobody knows all this better than the

Jews know it. Who else has a Wailing Wall? Read the prophets.

Wie man's macht, ist's falsch. But the Jews went on hoping anyway, and

beginning several centuries before the birth of Jesus, much of their hope

took the form of an implausible dream that someday God would send them

Somebody to make everything right. He was referred to as the Messiah,

which means in Hebrew "the Anointed One," that is, the One anointed by

God, as a king at his coronation is anointed, only for a bigger job. The

Greek word for Messiah is "Christ."

How and when the Messiah would come was debatable. Theories as to

what he would be like multiplied and overlapped: a great warrior king like

David, a great priest like Melchizedek, a great prophet like Elijah. Who

could possibly say? But whatever he was, his name would be called

"Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,"

and "of the increase of his government and of peace there would be no

end" (Isaiah 9:6-7) . Handel set him to music.

On Passover eve to this day an extra cup is placed on the table for Elijah

in case he stops in to say the Messiah is here at last. The door is left open.

continued on page 5

PAGE 3 GADDIS GAZETTE

FOR OUR MEMBERS IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES OR HOMEBOUND

Charles Collins 04/01 Dusty Bruns 04/02 Vernon Medlock 04/04

Carol Borcherding 04/11

Emily Borcherding 04/13

River Martinez 04/15 Jim Glover 04/17 Samantha Heczko 04/18

Belinda Pace 04/22

Sally Clogston 04/27

Bill Vernor 04/30

General Fund Month Ending Dec 31, 2018

Budget Permanent Endowment Fund Trustees Capital

Income $ 16,505 $ 45,254 $ 29,022

Expense $ 20,633 General Savings Parsonage Funds

Actual $ 56,640 $ 50

Income $ 20,059 General Funds Bell Tower

Expense $ 19,449 $ 130,990 $ 8,805

$ 609

F I N A N C E N E W S

Prayer Team

Tuesdays at 9:00am

Women’s Bible Study TBA

Hand Bells 5 pm Wednes-

days

Choir Wednesdays 6 pm

Admin Council - Mar 18

6:00 pm

Admin Staff - TBA

Outreach Committee—Apr

14 @ 11:15 am

Christian Education Committee, Finance, Technology, SPRC, and Trustees—see Ad Council

Lunch Bunch - Apr 9 at

11:00 am

Newsletter Deadline -

Apr 19

SPECIAL EVENTS

Women’s Prayer B’fast

Apr 6, 8:00 am

Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday Apr 13, 10 am

Comfort Park

Emmaus Reunion

Apr 4 10 am

Apr 18 10 am

High’s Cafe

Holy Week Apr 15-21

Thurs 6 pm Seder

Fri 7 pm Service

Sun 6:45 am Sunrise

10:00 am Easter Service

Betty Johnson

Nina Louise Nye

Jackie Dreiss

Esther Stulting

Vonnie Clubb

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 PAGE 4

Every Tuesday at 7:00am, men of Gaddis meet in fellowship

in the Narthex of the church. Our conversations start a little

after 7 and continue throughout breakfast. We begin with a

devotional and reading, and end with prayer.

All are Welcome and Encouraged to come, and see and talk.

Gaddis Lunch Bunch: We are back in business!!!

We will meet for lunch on Tuesday, April 9th at 11:00 am at

Manny’s Cafe in Comfort. Please RSVP to Sally Clogston

830-995-2587

Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 13...Volunteers early, hunt will begin at 10:00 am

Palm Sunday, April 14...Regular Sunday Schedule with Service at 10:00 am

…...The April Gaddis Birthday Cake celebration will happen right after service.

Maundy Thursday, April 18...Seder Meal will begin at 6:00 pm

Good Friday, April 19...Service will begin at 7:00 pm

Easter Sunday, April 21

…...Sunrise Service will begin at 6:45 am and will be at Gaddis Church

…...Easter Service will begin at 10:00 am

Note: There will not be Sunday School sessions on Easter Day

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 PAGE 5

continued from page 2

When Jesus of Nazareth came riding into Jerusalem on his mule, a small group of radicals, illiterates,

and ne'er-do-wells hailed him as the Messiah, the Christ. Everybody else suggested that you had to draw

the line somewhere and advised as public and unpleasant an execution as possible, so nobody would

fail to get the point. No one can deny that reason and prudence were on the side of the latter.

Reasons for Drawing the Line Somewhere

1. He wasn't a king, a priest, or a prophet. He was nobody from nowhere. He spoke with an accent.

2. On the one hand, his attitude toward the law was cavalier, to say the least. He said that it wasn't what

went into your mouth that mattered, but what came out of it, thus setting back both the kosher industry

and the WCTU [Women’s Christian Temperance Union} about a thousand years apiece (Matthew 15:11).

Also, some of his best friends were whores and crooks.

3. On the other hand, he not only went further than Moses, but claimed his own to be the higher authori-

ty. Moses was against murder. Jesus was against vindictive anger. Moses was against adultery. Jesus

was against recreational sex. Moses said love your neighbor. Jesus said love your enemy too. Moses

said be good. Jesus said be perfect (Matthew 5:21-48).

4. Who did he think he was anyway?

5. Who can be perfect?

6. Who wants to be?

7. He was not only a threat to the established church but to the establishment itself. Jewish orthodoxy

and the Pax Romana were both in danger. He could easily have become a Fidel Castro.

8. His fans attributed a great many miracles to him up to and including bringing a corpse back to life, but

there was one miracle he couldn't pull off, and that was saving his own skin. He died just as dead on the

cross as all the others who had died on it, and some of them held out a lot longer.

9. His fans continue to ascribe a great many miracles to him, including his own resurrection, but the

world is in just about as bad shape since his time as before, maybe worse.

As far as I know, there is only one good reason for believing that he was who he said he was. One of the

crooks he was strung up with put it this way: "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us" (Luke 23:39).

Save us from whatever we need most to be saved from. Save us from each other. Save us from our-

selves. Save us from death both beyond the grave and before.

If he is, he can. If he isn't, he can't. It may be that the only way in the world to find out is to give him the

chance, whatever that involves. It may be just as simple and just as complicated as that.

Now, here are my questions for you to ponder. A. Understanding that the Messiah was always in God’s plan, my question is “When did the Jews need to

know about a Messiah?” That’s a different question than, “When did they need a Messiah?” The writings about a Messiah are found in the prophets, especially Isaiah. What was Isaiah’s purpose in writing?

This question is like “When did the Hebrews need a creation story of their own?” When they were Semitic people like all others, and when they were in slavery in Egypt, they used the creation myths of the people around them. When they were rescued from Egypt, they were called to be a separate people set aside for God. Then they needed their own story. To establish a cultural and religious identity they needed their own understanding of who they were. They could no longer use the myths of the people around them, nor could they use the Egyptian gods as their own. Their Passover experience changed them. Now they understood there was one God.

continued on page 6

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 PAGE 6

continued from page 5

How did they come about through the one God? How did creation happen? They used some elements of the myths of the people around them, but they knew one God and not a pantheon of gods created. Their story was different. It reflected the caring of the one God and his plan for his creation. I realize that this is a new way to look at the things, but don’t dismiss the question because of that. It’s an important one for our under-standing of God’s plan for humanity and for our own lives. They needed their own story when they were called out of Egypt.

So, back to the first question, when did they Jews need to know about a Messiah?

Read Jeremiah 1:15-16. There are many such passages. God’s grief and anger are expressed in many ways. Skim through Jeremiah 2 to get another view of God’s love and sense of abandonment. Jer. 4:1-2 tells us what God promises to Israel. In chapter 25 and 26 there is controversy around Jeremiah’s words of prophecy and the Leaders of Judah listen to the words of a false prophet. Despite the assurance of the false prophecy, the exile begins. By chapter 29, Jeremiah is “writing from Jerusalem to the few surviving elders among the exiles… taken to Babylon from Jerusalem.” In this situation, what kind of Messiah did the people need?

Now look at Isaiah. In chapter 11 we hear of a shoot from the stump of Jesse. Understand that after Christ came, Christians read back into the prophecies and found Jesus. In the time the prophecies were spoken, they referred to Israel. Isaiah 40 begin a section of joy. “Comfort, comfort my people,” says God. The penalty has been paid, the nation has spent its time in exile and God is bringing them back. Here the messiah is Cyrus of Persia. He allowed the people to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild.

Looking at all of this, when do you think the people of Israel needed to know about a Messiah?

Chapter 42 is the first of the “servant songs” that speak of one to come. Read at least through verse 4 and then go to verse 10 and read some of that song. What kind of messiah is God promising?

B. Now we move to the New Testament times. What was it about Jesus that was blasphemy to the Phari-sees?

We know that he challenged them, he did things they didn’t think were Kosher, he fed the people and healed them. You know many of the New Testament stories. Think about the basic emotions that drove the leaders to kill him. Why were the leaders against him

C. Now we turn to you and me. Have you considered that you need a Messiah? If so, when did you real-ize that? If not, why not? Is the Messiah only political? What does the word “saved” mean to you?

Look at John 3:16-18. Don’t get stuck on 16. When does the judgment take place? What is the requirement for salvation? Why do we get hung up on doing good works for salvation? Is that necessary? Do good works lead to salvation? Why did Messiah come?

D. Look in the article at points 8 and 9. How do we account for miracles? Can we embrace the fact that they are mystery and not a puzzle to be worked out? If we can’t accept his miracles what does the mean for us? Is our belief true if we can’t? What are we called to believe in?

E. The words from Luke 23:39 are the words on the unrepentant thief (criminal). How do his words apply to our world? Buechner has his understanding, what is yours?

F. On what does your faith rest? How do you handle the hard times of life? Do you find strength in the idea of a Messiah? We often find strength in the person of Jesus, but how about in the idea of a Messi-ah? Does that thought change your perspective of faith?

continued on page 7

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 PAGE 7

WITHOUT A DOUBT

Evidence of the Resurrection

The account of Jesus dying on the cross

and rising from the dead three days later, as

promised, is not a cleverly devised fable.

There is, in fact, more documented evi-

dence attesting to this truth than to any an-

cient history.. What happened later to His

disciples is, for me, the most compelling

testament to Jesus’ resurrection from the

dead.

After Jesus was nailed to a cross, His disci-

ples, who believed that He was the Messi-

ah, must have looked at each other and

said, “Hey, we called this one wrong, let’s

get out of here.” They knew the authorities

would be after them next, and they ran in

fear for their lives.

Yet, history shows that, of all the disciples,

only one died a natural death. The others

were martyred by crucifixion, boiling in oil,

being thrown from a cliff, beaten to death

and flayed. No one returns to face certain

death to participate in a hoax. No. There is

only one plausible reason the disciples re-

turned to almost certain execution. They

had seen Jesus alive after seeing Him die

on the cross.

When Peter and John were told by the au-thorities not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, they responded by saying, “We can’t keep quiet about what we have seen and heard.” We, too have reason to believe.

Journeys with the Messiah by Michael Belk

continued from page 6

You are who you are now. Who were you earlier in your life? Has your faith remained the same or has it changed? Sometimes we think faith must grow, but maybe faith had to change and maybe faith had to be destroyed and rebuilt in your lifetime. If the faith you held had to be destroyed first, what caused its destruction? How has it grown, changed, or been rebuilt?

Messiah comes to us all. One of Buechner’s statements from another writing we discussed is this, “The power of God is powerless against the man who chooses to oppose it.” Do we deny the power of Messiah or do we embrace it?

I pray God’s blessing on you as we continue our journey from Lent to Easter.

Much love, Carolyn

PAGE 8 GADDIS GAZETTE

Satan offered Jesus power over all the kingdoms of the world. Tempting indeed for a person who was here to proclaim the Kingdom. Yet what Jesus meant by “kingdom” and what Satan meant were two entirely different things. Jesus had to have understood the difference. Otherwise, he would have suc-cumbed to a soul-killing temptation. Just as Jesus had to be clear about meaning, and to not project his understanding of Kingdom onto Satan’s, so we have to be clear about the meaning we ascribe to words. And to not project our personal definitions onto someone else’s words. Otherwise it’s like comparing apples and oranges and finding or-anges wanting because they are lousy apples. The Traditional Plan and the One Church Plan had different meanings for different General Confer-ence constituents. From what I gather, many delegates who voted for the Traditional Plan were not vot-ing against gays. Rather, they were voting for something else. Likewise, many delegates who vot-ed for the One Church Plan weren’t voting against biblical authority. Rather, they were vot-ing for something else. Some people are saying, “The United Methodist Church now rejects gays.” But is that what hap-pened at General Conference? That depends on who you ask. I have to admit that as a One Church Plan proponent, I didn’t get why people would vote for the Tra-ditional Plan since the OCP seemed to allow space and grace for theological differences. So, I asked around amongst my friends and colleagues who supported the Traditional Plan. This is what I found: One friend and colleague believes that the church moves forward only when it is countercultural. John Wesley challenged the culture of his time. Martin Luther challenged the culture of his time. Thus, my friend believes that we must challenge the culture of our time. Another friend supports the Traditional Plan because she feels it supports a deep reverence for God and the Scriptures. A third colleague believes that God alone wills human sexuality and that the will of God is delineated through the creation, and union, of Adam and Eve, which was male and female, and thus heterosexual. When I polled One Church Plan proponents, here is what I found: One friend supported the One Church Plan because her interpretation of the Bible prioritizes Jesus’ first and second commandments (to love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves) above any passages related to sexuality. Another colleague supported it because of his understanding that our United Methodist baptismal covenant welcomes all people — regardless of sexual orientation — into the fullness of the life of Christ, and the fullness of the life of the church. A third friend and colleague supported the One Church Plan because it would allow United Method-ists the freedom to follow their conscience as they minister with the love of Christ in their various set-tings. It is tempting to use either Traditional Plan or One Church Plan rationales as justifications to bol-ster your arguments for why supporters of the plan you didn’t support are wrong. I get it. I’m quite capa-ble of falling prey to the same temptation. Here’s the thing, though. Making them wrong victimizes both you and them. Because it’s an “against” position. In the law of emotional triangles, what goes around comes around. Victimizing others because you feel victimized simply reinforces victimization. Jesus put it this way: Judge not lest you be judged. This is a spiritual temptation that will not get us where we want to go, assuming that where we want to go is Christlike love. A few caveats: First, to be sure, some folks did vote against gays and some folks did vote against biblical authority. Second, regardless of why people voted the way they did, votes have unintended con-sequences which can do great harm. Third, I am not urging anyone to leave the denomination or to stay. That choice is between you and God. What I am doing is encouraging us to expand our powers of emo-tional intelligence as we traverse this Lenten journey. Want to act instead of react? Step out of the emotional triangle and self-differentiate. Have the cour-age and clarity to say what you are for instead of simply reacting against what you oppose. In other words, lead with vision and not from reaction. Self-differentiation is a key ingredient of emotional intelligence. Jesus shows us how it’s done. No-tice that Jesus didn’t fight Satan in the desert, or even quarrel with him. Instead, Jesus simply articulated his own vision again and again. It’s what allowed him to emerge unscathed from his 40-day journey through the desert. How will your 40-day journey go? (From Ministry Matters, March 26, 2019)

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 PAGE 9

MISSIONS MINISTRY

I am reminding everyone of the annual clothing drive already started. Collection will be in the new maintenance shed at the back parking lot. Shoes and purses are now being accepted plus the usual, gently used clothing.

This will run throughout Lent; we will be collecting until April 4 as we expect pickup during that week, so let’s not wait until the last minute. They will be calling us to see how much we have so as to know what kind of truck to send for pickup. We always do real well so let’s fill up a truck and send the goods on their way where they will do the most good.

Susan Kobarg, Missions Chair

TODAY UNTIL WE SAY STOP!

BEFORE PALM SUNDAY

DON’T WAIT.

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 PAGE 10

March Newsletter- Outreach Committee April Newsletter- Outreach Committee

Music in the Park is getting closer. We had a meeting on

March 3 to confirm some of our volunteers. I have filled in

the gaps with new volunteers for the positions left empty.

All six shows have been booked. We have John Arthur

Martinez opening for the first time with his full band, The

Stancil Band in June, Almost Patsy Cline in July, the Jeff

Jacobs duo in Aug., the Camille Sanders trio in Septem-

ber and the Sarah Pierce Band closing us out in October.

Women’s Prayer

Breakfast continues to bless all who come. We had two new

attendees in March. We have women from other towns and oth-

er denominations who come and get to share in our stories as

we support each other in friendship. Our next breakfast will be

Saturday, April 6th, at 8 am in the Narthex. You can RSVP to

Karen Cooper at kcoopersart@gmail.com. All are welcome to

come and see what it is all about and bring a friend if you would

like. The more, the merrier.

The ice cream social at the Golden Age Center goes on. We serve after a pot

luck lunch that our volunteers are welcome at, starting about 11:30 am on the

second Thursday of the month. Each month requires two volunteers. It takes

less than an hour but is lots of fun. The folks at the center are very thankful.

The can’t even imagine a celebration without ice cream. You don’t have to be

a regular committee member to serve if you want to share in the experience.

Our church birthday celebration is

always a fun morning. We serve a mixed chocolate and

white cake after service on the third Sunday of each month.

April’s celebration will be on the 14th due to Easter being the

3rd Sunday. We have take-out containers if you want to take

your piece home instead or take one to a loved one that

could not make it to church. If you have not told the church

when your birthday is, please do so and we will get you on

the list.

We have been busy giving out visitor bags to first timers com-

ing to church. Our homebound and rehab bound members

have gotten visits. We send out birthday cards to everyone that we know about. You can expect yours

in the mail when it is time for your birthday.

Our next Outreach Committee meeting is going to be on April 14th, after service in the church, in con-

junction with the Gaddis Birthday Celebration. New members are welcome.

Sally Clogston and Karen Stovall have agreed to maintain our phone tree to reach out to those in our

congregation who don’t get emailed messages about church happenings. If you want to be on the list

and aren’t yet, contact Dwight in the office

Submitted by Karen Cooper, Outreach Chair

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 04 APRIL 2019

Return Service Requested

G A D D I S M E M O R I A L U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H 1 4 1 H W Y 8 7 • P . O . B O X 5 6 6

C O M F O R T , T X 7 8 0 1 3 P H : 8 3 0 - 9 9 5 - 3 8 1 3 F X : 8 3 0 - 9 9 5 - 3 8 8 5

E - M A I L : G A D D I S C H U R C H @ G M A I L . C O M W E B : W W W . G A D D I S C H U R C H . O R G

S t a f f

P S - s o m e m o r e n o t e s .

Pastor Rev. Carolyn McGuire Music Director Claire Rabson Treasurer David Barnett

Admin. Assist. Dwight Barnett Pianist Linda Derrick Christian Ed. TBD

Custodian Andrew Collins

Nursery Supervisor Tara Daggett Nursery Kara Cruz Nursery Help Wanted P/T

April Rail Offering. Good Samaritan Center...these folks provide health care to those who cannot afford it. More than anything they give attention and care to those forgotten by the system who are in need of com-passion and love in a health-care-way. Jesus in the Park finished its course in March. With a touch of sadness, we have to say we did not do as well as we wanted or needed in order to keep it going. Oth-er programs will be sought and given consideration. Easter is April 21st so let us not forget where we are with Christ. The Resurrection is a special celebration; without it, would there be the Christian Faith? Most people think not. But guess what! It Happened! So we do not have to answer the question or even entertain the thought. We get to go forward forgiven. Remember Sunrise Services...be among the first to say, “He is Ris-en!” What’s in your Way to following Christ?