Roy’s Ramblings 01/09

{ December 31st, 2008 }

Christmas is past and Ash Wednesday beckons, which will begin the season of Lent. It all goes so fast. We all can remember that when we were kids, time seemed to just creep by, especially when school seemed to just on forever. Even the last five minutes before recess seemed to take an hour. But now, days fly, seasons change with alarming rapidity, and years melt into one another.

It is difficult therefore for we “mere mortals” to understand a concept like the timelessness of God. For us time is something that moves, fast or slow. For God h o w e v e r , t i m e i s nonexistent. For God, the beginning of time and the ending of time are all one picture; without a start or a stop.

Imagine then, being in God’s unending time; in a time where there isn’t any time. This is what it must be like when we die and go into God’s presence. We too get to see all of time from beginning to end. For us, those we leave behind when we die, are already with us without a moment of separation. For us, the whole spectrum of eternity lies out before us without ending. Imagine that.

But for now, we are caught in time. We experience days and months, years and decades. But one day, time will cease to be anything to us as we live in the presence of God.

See you in church

~Roy

Reaching Out

{ December 30th, 2008 }

If you haven’t read, or seen a newspaper recently, you may have missed several articles about groups that “Adopt-A-Family”, and also stories of churches that provide gifts for the “Angel Tree” program at Christmas. We at Moreno Valley United Methodist Church are a giving and concerned congregation that also participates in those type programs. One of the most dominating story lines recently is about
the lack of food donations to help local food banks. This time of year, donations usually fill local agencies food pantries and distribution sites, but not this year.

Well, I was wondering if it would be possible for us, at M.V.U.M.C. to be more proactive in helping alleviate this situation. We tend to provide food for C.A.P. the Community Assistance Program, on a random basis. On the first Sunday of each month, we hope that families will bring an offering of a few canned goods to place in our red bin, as a token of our concern. With the recent difficult financial situation, manypeople, the unemployed, homeless, elderly, young children, face uncertainty as to where their next meal will come from, and are in need.

So, what can we do? Where can we make sacrifices to assist those in need? Is it possible to eliminate that $5.00 cup of Starbucks coffee? How about just a small hamburger, instead of the larger, super sized meal at your local drive-thru? We can use those dollars to buy a few cans of soup, a jar of peanut butter, or some vegetables that will be enough to help sustain those that are in need.

I urge us all to help in making it necessary to deliver the contents of a FULL red bin to C.A.P. on a weekly basis, and not a once a month activity. Let’s help C.A.P. meet their needs throughout the year, and not just primarily during the holidays.

Mike P.