A Word from our Pastor…
In the Rynders household we have had more time for dance parties and listening to music as we stay safe at home. In the midst of all of the music I have had one particular song going through my head, “The Bones” by Maren Morris. You can google it if you haven’t heard but here are some of the lyrics I keep singing:We’re in the homestretch of the hard times
We took a hard left, but we’re alright
Yeah, life sure can try to put love through it,but
We built this right, so nothing’s ever gonna move itWhen the bones are good, the rest don’t matter
Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter
Let it rain ‘cause you and I remain the same
When there ain’t a crack in the foundation
I know any storm we’re facing
Will blow right over while we stay put
The house don’t fall when the bones are good “The house don’t fall when the bones are good.” This keeps making me think of the parable of the wise man and the foolish man found in Matthew 7.24-25, “Everybody who hear these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder who built a house on bedrock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It didn’t fall because it was firmly set on bedrock.” When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter. Let it rain ‘cause you and I remain the same.” When we are grounded and firm in our faith, the bones are good, the house stands, our foundation stays firm and we know we can weather whatever storm comes our way. I find myself singing this over and over as I reflect on what it means to be the church in times where we don’t know what comes next. The house don’t fall when the bones are good. May you remain firm in your faith, in your foundation and know that we, as a people of Christ, can weather any storm. Read Below for new and continuing information around how we are being church in the world as it is right now! New information is in bold. SERVE.CONNECT.JOURNEY.INSPIRE SERVE.
We continue to serve one another in a variety of ways. We give thanks for our Church Council checking in on everyone during the week and sharing needs and concerns with Pastor Melissa Thank you to everyone who has continued to give! Because of you we can keep serving our community. We continue to need your regular giving, you can mail your giving to 7620 N. Hartman Lane Ste 100 Tucson AZ 85743. Or you can give online: https://maranachurch.com/give/. OPERATION GRAD!
Help us celebrate our graduates and make their crazy Graduation year even more memorable. We invite you to make a gift, a survival package, send a gift card, or a grad card or note to the church: Sanctuary UMC 7620 N. Hartman Lane Ste 100 Tucson AZ 85743 by Monday May 11 for each of our seniors: Colette Hills, Justin Green and Leia Reynolds. We will put a package together for them and get it to them before graduation in May!!!!! Mother’s Day Celebration
Please submit pictures of you and your mom, or your kids thanking their mom or grandma to Pastor Melissa by Wednesday May 6, 2020 to be used in worship on Sunday May 10! CONNECT.
Online worship will happen every Sunday at 9:30am at this link: https://maranachurch.com/online/. We also post our service on facebook and our website after the service if you can’t join us at 9:30am! We will continue online worship through at least May 31, as directed by our bishop. Nightly bedtime story with Pastor Melissa(and guest) takes place every night at 7:30pm on our Facebook page. Feel free to join us any night. This is also posted after the fact if you can’t tune in at 7:30pm! This is Church! We are Sanctuary! Thank you to Rick & Kris Pierce for being our Sanctuary Storytellers last week. Let Pastor Melissa know if you are available to share your story! JOURNEY.
A Story For All Ages continues to happen on our Facebook page every Thursday at 10am. We invite everyone to join in for a midweek spiritual activity and conversation. Youth Group meets Sunday’s at noon over ZOOM. Let Pastor Melissa know if you need more info. Information about Online Vacation Bible School for our children will be coming soon! INSPIRE.
Help out where you can! Reach out to neighbors who may be hit harder by the virus than you. Let the church know if you need someone to pick up groceries, go through the drive thru, or FaceTime you with a funny story! Secret Prayer Partners: Don’t forget, if you opted into this program during Lent that it is still going! Pray for your prayer partner, send them a note, let them know someone is out there thinking of them during this time! Pray for the world. For our community. For each other. We get through this together! | 
