Our Youth Sunday & Graduate Recognition Day is finally HERE! I love finding graduates to celebrate!

The people called Methodist place an emphasis on formal education. Methodists have been involved in starting schools at all levels--preschool, elementary, secondary, and beyond--trade schools, too! We see and celebrate the difference it makes!

Because we share one youth group with Dayton UMC, there is a bit of a different schedule for this day of celebration! AND we invite you to a picnic at Dayton UMC pavilion at Noon! Here we go!

8:30 AM YOUTH Sunday Service at Bridgewater UMC. The youth will lead the service and our grads will be our guest speakers.

10:15 AM YOUTH Sunday Service at Dayton UMC. The youth will lead the service and our graduates will be our guest speakers.

11:00 AM Worship at Bridgewater with Pastor Mary preaching

Noon(ish) Celebration PICNIC at Dayton UMC Pavilion

Picnic details: Combined Churches Celebration Cookout

Noon - Pavilion at Dayton UMC (215 Ashby St, Dayton)

Come celebrate and fellowship with our graduates and their families! We will present gifts at the picnic! Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, & Drinks provided. **Please bring dishes --sides, salads, desserts--to share!**

Questions? Contact Whitney Reusser at dumbumyouth@gmail.com or 540-810-6691.

Please note that there will NOT be nursery or Children's Church this Sunday.

Next Sunday, June 11th, we will celebrate Holy Communion together.

June 1, 2023

Preparing for a trip

Preparing to go on vacation brings excitement and anxiety to me. Usually, anxieties calm down once the adventure starts but getting there is exhausting. I know people who can leave dirty dishes in the sink, wet laundry in the washer, and drop everything if an opportunity to travel presented itself. (Hello to my sister Margie). I am not one of those people. I want to come home to order and cleanliness. Do you feel like that? Perhaps I am a little obsessive compulsive but these are things I have to do before taking a trip:

• Make sure the house is clean from top to bottom, including the porches
• Laundry and ironing must be caught up
• Directions for dog sitter must be written in great detail usually with an addendum or two
• Cooking for dog sitter to be done with a couple of entrees, sides, and desserts
• The yard must be mowed and trimmed
• Plants must be watered and fertilized, checked for insects and disease
• List of which plants to be watered by the sitter
• If I am driving, the car needs to be serviced and ready to go
• All mail and correspondence must be caught up and bills paid
• Thursday Thoughts are written for the next week or two
• Bird feeders and bird baths cleaned and filled
• Emergency numbers and contacts were left for the sitter and friends
• Next-door neighbors must be notified
• Do I have papers I might need to take with me?
• Let me go over my packing list, again
• Have I forgotten anything? Let me go through the list again

Do you think I have a problem? Maybe I have a major case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Could be I need to relax and let some things go…..no way.

Writing my thoughts down on paper and sharing them makes me seem a bit nuts! You learn way too much about me through TT!

Let me ask you something- are we not on another kind of journey? Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we start on an eternal spiritual journey with him.

This journey evolves. It’s not something we can pack for but it is something to prepare for. How do we prepare? There are some steps.

• First, we must believe in Jesus, trust, and adhere to his teaching. We know he is Emmanuel, God in the flesh, that came to live with us.

• We must include faith in our journey. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” We do not earn this gift, we are given it out of love.

• Once we have accepted Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was on earth, he was available to those who were physically near him and only those who were blessed. After Jesus offered himself for our sins and was resurrected, the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost to all around the world who believed. Through Him, we are given the power to live a Christian life.

• Prayer is necessary for our journey. How can we have a personal relationship with Jesus if we do not communicate with him? This is a quote I read somewhere that fits, “Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when he sees the weakest saint on their knees. What is one reason we pray? Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will no fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.”

• Read and absorb the words of the Bible. The Bible is a story, not just scattered verses to be cherry-picked as we all do. It is a difficult yet loving story to read and for us to follow.

• Obedience is needed for the journey. No matter what others think or say when you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you will know by the power of the Holy Spirit in you what you should do. Is this an easy step to follow? No, it is a process and we have grace when we fail to be obedient.

• We are to live and love and serve as Christ showed us. Hebrews 6:10, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

No matter how you prepare for a journey, with a checklist and anxiousness, or ‘drop and go’ the most important journey we can take lasts our lifetime and the destination is more wonderful than we can imagine. Happy travels.

Blessings,

Becky

**UPDATES**

Becky Wright: Becky had major back surgery on Thursday at Duke Hospital. The surgery went as expected, which is well, and she came out able to move her legs. Hallelujah! Today's update: Better day for headaches (thanks for the prayer!). Becky's experiencing pain at the surgery site. She hopes to be able to sit up soon. She's doing OK per Tracy. Keep holding them in prayer.

Irene Ruddle: Scott Ridder's grandmother, Irene Ruddle, (99 years old) is doing well following her unexpected surgery on Thursday. Praise God! She is expected to return to BRC tomorrow. She is currently at RMH.

Doug Gestwick: I am planning to attend the service for Doug Gestwick tomorrow, Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 11 AM at Chester United Methodist Church, 12132 Percival Street, Chester, VA 23831. We give thanks Doug for his life and ministry among us. Please lift Clara and the family in prayer.

Don Craun: Don Craun had surgery today at RMH. It went well. He's staying the night for care and expects to be home soon. Pray for healing and recovery.

Ed Mulraney: Joan's brother, Ed Mulraney's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday at Chippenham Hospital near Richmond.

*NEW* Prayer Requests

Nancy Whittington: Lisa Kiracofe requests prayer for her mother, Nancy Whittington. Mrs. Whittington fell and broke her femur.

Nancy Hodges: One of the women I went to Cuba with, member of Asbury, UWF leader and friend of the family, Nancy Hodges, had open heart surgery yesterday. She is in the ICU at RMH, but sitting up and doing very well. Pray for her continued healing. She is also receiving prayer from women in Cuba!

Praise God that surgery for a friend went well (also today). She is home and doing great!

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those who gave their lives in military service for our nation and our freedom. We remember those families and friends who love and miss them.

Grace & Peace, y'all! Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Pastor Mary

Dear Friends,

I have more information to send out to you. Thank you for holding each other so close in prayer.

Scott Ridder's grandmother, Irene Ruddle, broke her hip yesterday evening (5/24) with a fall. She is having surgery this morning at RMH.

Also, I have received the information about Doug Gestwick's service. It will be held this Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 11 AM at Chester United Methodist Church, 12132 Percival Street, Chester, VA 23831. We give thanks for the life and ministry of Doug Gestwick.

Please let me know if we need to plan to take a group to the service.

Pastor Mary

May 24, 2023

Does a scripture verse ever seem to come back to you over and over? Since we studied this verse in a Sunday School lesson several weeks ago, it keeps popping up in my brain. We studied the I AM names of Jesus. "I AM the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture." John 10:9. There is another about gates, Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." There are other references to gates and doors throughout scripture.

Last evening as I was erecting the animal-repellent fence (that works most of the time) around my vegetable garden, I worked around the posts where the garden gate will go. I install it last so I can go easily thru the opening hauling in materials and tools that I need to get plants in the ground. Do you know how our minds wander while doing mundane tasks? I was thinking about how my little garden plot is like an oasis of fresh veggies and flowers in a grassy field. It's my job to care for what is in the garden and keep out the characters that would destroy it.

At the time scripture was written, shepherds would take their flocks into a holding pen for the night to keep them safe from animals and thieves. As the sheep entered the pen in the evening, the shepherd would give them a once-over, looking for individuals who might need extra care for a sore foot or cuts. They would be treated before the condition became worse. The shepherd would sleep in the narrow opening of the sheep pen to keep sheep from escaping and keeping marauders out. This certainly was not an easy or comfortable life for the shepherd. He sacrificed the comforts of home and family for the nomadic, no-frills life of a shepherd. As a result of their lifestyle, shepherds were social outcasts.

Jesus taught us that he was the shepherd to those who believed in him. We continue with the reading from John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." What is Jesus telling us in these verses and the whole tenth chapter? He is the way to everlasting life. He is the gate, no one can get there except thru him.

What does the world tell us? Scripture is too restrictive and was written long ago. We hear that the door is much wider and if you are a good person, that is all that really matters. So do what you want, say what you will live as if there is no tomorrow, do your own thing because God forgives all and you can ask for forgiveness later because of the grace Jesus offers. However, in Hebrews 4:12 it says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow."

The gate to the fold is narrow. We have a Savior that guards the door and protects us. He welcomes us and loves us and invites everyone into its safety. What comfort to know that we belong to a Shepherd who loves and protects us. He is the only gate that leads to eternal life. Beware of wide gates and absent gatekeepers. Danger waits within those walls.

Blessings,

Becky

Dear Friends,

It's been a busy day for prayer, and I love how you lift up each other in this community.

Please pray for Don Craun who will be having a pacemaker installed on Friday. Also his wife Karen and family.

Lift up Rebecca Wright as she has surgery at Duke Hospital tomorrow and pray for her recovery in the days to come. Please pray for her family as they pray and wait for news of healing.

In both cases, pray for all to go well with the surgery, the doctors, nurses and technicians. Pray that Jesus Christ, the great physican, will be especially close to all in hospital care and their families and friends. God, we cast our eyes to you, because you are where our help comes from. You are our rock and our redeemer. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.