JULY AND AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 JULY AND AUGUST NEWSLETTER First United Methodist Church 200 N. Market St. Berwick, PA Church phone # stumcberwick@gmail.com Website: 1stumcberwick.org

2 An Act of Love. In a cemetery in Greene, New York, near where I lived as a child, there is an area marked by several little wooden crosses. I have been told that there are no actual graves there, but that they represent soldiers from that town who died in our nation s wars. Specifically, I was told, the original crosses were put there to represent some men from the village who died at the Battle of Gettysburg. Troops from that place were among those Union troops who reached Gettysburg first. They were just moments ahead of the Confederate army who outnumbered them greatly. Fortunately, the Union troops took the high ground. Their rate of fire, as the Confederates approached, was so great that a legend has grown up which says that the Union troops were armed with the Spenser repeating rifle. A guide at Gettysburg told me that this legend is not true. The troops were armed with the standard single shot rifle. Their rate of fire was so great, because they were dedicated soldiers. We owe them a great debt of gratitude for their dedication. In the Civil War, the world s greatest experiment in democracy was threatened with dissolution. The United States, as we know it, would not be here if not for those men defending that hill. The guide at Gettysburg put it this way. We might need a visa and passport to get to Harrisburg, if the Confederates had taken that hill that morning. And the guide said something else which has always stuck with me since, The greatest act of love those men could perform, was to stand their ground, put their rifle to their shoulder, and pull the trigger. Those troops fought on the first day of the battle. Many acts of bravery were to come. But the guide s words were powerful, The greatest act of love those men could perform, was to stand their ground, put their rifle to their shoulder, and pull the trigger. It can seem to be a strange concept of love: shooting another human being. But I knew what the guide meant. Behind those men, over a few hills and rivers, were their homes and families. Ahead of those men was the future of our nation. It was because of love, for their families and their nation, that those men stood and fought. It was a unique and profound moment, which required a unique and profound response. The love which God calls us to is sometimes complicated. It is more that an emotional response. It also calls you to stand up for what is right and good. And that is what happened from July 1, 1863 July 3, They were standing up for what was right and good.

3 And if you take a walk through cemeteries of Columbia County, you will find out that those men from Chenango County, New York did not fight alone. Beside them were men from Pennsylvania. Their memorials dot the landscape here. And it was not only at Gettysburg that they stood and fought together. They were there in Europe and the Pacific. They were there in Korea. They were there in Vietnam. They were there in the Persian Gulf. And men and women from throughout the United States are serving now in Afghanistan and elsewhere. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their love. On Veteran s Day we thank veterans for their service. On Memorial Day we remember those who died protecting us. And on the Fourth of July we celebrate the freedom we continue to have because of their sacrifice. To repeat myself, we owe them a debt of gratitude for their love.

4 July Birthdays 7/05 Carl Ernest 7/05 Mary Anna Ernest 7/06 Jared Kishbaugh 7/10 Bev Fisher 7/11 Danielle Yohn 7/14 Anna Cashman 7/15 Trisha Naiko 7/18 Mike Kane August Birthdays 8/01 Joanne Beyer 8/10 Jean Neidig 8/20 June Boston

5 July Anniversaries 7/16 Ed & Margaret Livsey 7/18 Mark & Danielle Yohn 7/18 Todd & Trisha Naiko August Anniversaries 8/06 Paul & Heather Ervin 8/13 Ricky & Anna Cashman 8/31 Brian & Jackie Whitenight 8/31 Wes & Kay Yanchunas

6 Happy 2 nd Birthday Arianna Ernest July 8 th

7 Flowers for July and August 7/01 7/08 7/15 7/22 7/29 Bill Osborne 8/05 8/12 8/19 8/26 Wes and Kay Yanchunas Following dates are also open Sept. 2 & 30 Oct. 21 & 28 Nov. 4,

8 11 & 25 Dec. 9 & 30 Bulletins for July Pat Smith Bulletins for August Wes & Kay Yanchunas

9 Market St. Greeters for July Second St. 7/01 Denny & Marcy Zdanavage Jared & Luke Kishbaugh 7/08 Mike Kane Diane Dent 7/15 Sue Ager Dorothy Crouse 7/22 Joanne Beyer Bev Fisher 7/22 Bill Osborne Delores Holman Greeters for August Market St. Second St. 8/05 Diane Dent Jared & Luke Kishbaugh 8/12 Dorothy Crouse Jean Jenkins 8/16 Joanne

10 Beyer Sue Ager 8/26 Bev Fisher Pat Smith

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