Summer is time to Relax???
The atmosphere around Schweitzer is one of excitement and expectancy as we enter into the busy summer months. Of course, I don’t know of any time when SUMC is not buzzing with activity and responding to the many opportunities God is giving us.
This past weekend the Springfield News Leader featured an article about Hope Village, Les Cayes, Haiti. This weekend I will be preaching about the evidence of the kingdom of God in the world and in Haiti in particular. If you are interested in learning more about this amazing place please join me July 7 from 6:30-8 pm in room 206 at SUMC>
The children’s ministry department is getting us ready to experience VBS in Egypt! July 25-29 for evening and July 26-29 for daytime VBS is just around the corner. It promises to be a great time and you do not want to miss it.
This week our youth and youth leaders are at Camp Galilee connecting to God and one another. Please keep them in your prayers as we know God is faithful to be very real and present to them in this beautiful setting.
Relax? Not exactly. But finding time to rest in the Lord is a summer time priority. May your days be full of His presence in your life.
Add a comment June 21, 2010
Haiti
Ben and I were blessed with an amazing trip to Haiti last week. In a place devastated by an earthquake and an inept government we saw God still on the throne and working through His people.
We stayed on the grounds of Hope Village for the week. Ben spent most of his time in the Clinic seeing for the first time malaria, typhoid and various other disease we no longer see in the US.
I was able to spend a great deal of time with Fr. Mark, the founder and leader of Project Hope and learn from this godly man what it truly means to intercede on behalf of another.
In a community of 750 children and over 200 workers people are being educated, health care provided, meals given and hope restored.
Please visit www.freethekids.org to learn more about this amazing place.
Add a comment May 19, 2010
Wedding Bells
This past weekend was an incredibly exciting and blessed time for my family. Our youngest son, Zak, married his girlfriend of over 5 years, Julianne Robinett in a beautiful ceremony here at Schweitzer. Bob Casady officiated, Brian Fitzgerald sang and we all rejoiced that Zak and Julianne were making this lifelong commitment to one another in the same sanctuary where Zak was baptized 23 years ago.
It is a story of the love and support of our church family making a difference in the lives of these two awesome young people. They have been surrounded and loved by so many people through the years as they grew up in Sunday School, Puppets, Choir,mission trips, Youth and now find themselves serving in those same areas.
Julianne and her sister Angela work with our Youth. Zak is our modern worship leader and media coordinator. They are vested in this church and the people here are invested in them as well.
I am so grateful that they have chosen one another, they have chosen Jesus Christ to be the head of their home, and they have chosen to be a part of this faith community.
Some days are just about perfect.
Thanks be to God.
Add a comment April 20, 2010
Easter Weekend
I am so excited. Yes, it is wonderful to have temperatures in the 70′s and the sun is shining but my excitement comes from know that Easter weekend is upon us and it is going to be great.
Friday evening we have the opportunity to experience the powerful words of Jesus as he was being crucified. We will gather to listen and feel the power of the Son of God giving up his life for our sake, speaking to the thief next to him and to his mother before him. We will remember the unbelievably ugly and incredibly holy moment of his death.
Saturday morning we will celebrate with children and families the gift of new birth, the empty tomb, the wonder of spring with our Easter Celebration. The puppets will perform, parents will make pancakes and we will all see with our own eyes the wonder of the season through the eyes of a child.
Saturday evening at 5 and Sunday morning at 8:20, 9:45 and 11 Christ will be lifted up in worship as the Risen Lord, the Holy One, the Messiah. We will rejoice together that the grave has been opened wide, Jesus is alive and reigns forevermore.
Can you catch the excitement? It is in the air. Come, celebrate with us.
Add a comment April 1, 2010
Green Room Experience
Last night I had a unique opportunity to worship with the college ministry at the Green Room. Unique for me because I am notoriously in bed by 9 pm. The Green Room is a complete worship experience held at Plaster Student Union on the campus of Missouri State. It doesn’t even start until 9!
I was invited to preach and I had a great time doing so with these wonderfully engaged students. They were awake, attentive and seemed to be eager to hear what God was going to reveal to them through the Word.
After the preaching we went into a time of extended worship and we were invited to visit stations around the room to connect with God in a variety of ways. Through communion, art, prayers, offering and the wonderful music I was engaged in worship in an amazing way. I found myself wanting to kneel one moment before the majesty of God and then stand and raise my arms in celebration of the His love and forgiveness for a sinner like me.
I know I am quite a bit older (well actually a whole lot older ) than those who were around me last night, but I felt connected to them through the Holy Spirit and it felt so good.
Please remember the Green Room in your prayers as Schweitzer, under the leadership of Pastor Matt Kerner, continues to reach out to college students in our community.
Add a comment March 22, 2010
Growing God’s Church
Forgive me if I wax nostalgically with you for a moment, but I am overwhelmed as I remember the gift Schweitzer United Methodist Church has been in the life of my family. When Ben and I moved to Springfield 25 years ago it was with two small children and no relationships beyond our little family. We joined Schweitzer and have never looked back.
It is the church where my three children were raised to know Jesus Christ. It is the church God used to strengthen our marriage. It is the church that taught us about the importance of Bible Study and listening to God. It is the church that allowed me to learn how to lead. It is out of this congregation that God called me to ordained ministry. It is where my daughter was married almost six years ago , and my son will be married in April. It is where our first grandson was baptized and where he is being raised to know Jesus.
I love this church and my desire is that God will use the people of Schweitzer to transform lives- in this community and beyond as we become more and more dedicated to obediently following Jesus. The Growing God’s Church campaign is our opportunity to take what we have learned through the ministries of Schweitzer and put it into action. Through our expanded outreach ministries, secure and enlarged facilities for youth and children, we can be used to bring people to know Christ. Is there anything more important? Is there anything that will more directly effect the world? If there is, I don’t know it.
Please join me and my family as we pray for a blessed harvest through “Growing God’s Church.
Add a comment February 17, 2010
Answered Prayers
One of the important ways we connect to God and to God’s people is through the gift of prayer. Every weekend we include in the bulletin a Prayer List of congregational concerns. This list is more than names on a page, it is real people with real issues of life that are in need of our prayers.
Over the years it has been my privilege to manage that list, keeping in contact as best I can with those whose names appear on it. I tell you it is my privilege because, I get to hear the stories of answered prayers.
There is the person who was healed of an illness, there is the person who came through surgery well, there is the determined person who is coping with a “new normal” in their life with strength and dignity, there is the person who has faced the end of life and is now healed in the presence of God. It is amazing and a blessing to see firsthand how God is faithful and God’s promises are true.
As you look over the prayer list today, and I ask you to please bring it home and pray over it daily, offer your petitions to God with assurance that God is listening and truly working in the world today.
Dianne Joy, a leader in Stephen Ministry, will be helping me keep the list updated and contacting you regarding your concerns. Please do your part and update us on how God is working in your life and the life of the ones we are lifting in prayer.
Blessings, Lori
Add a comment February 9, 2010
Update on Haiti
As many of you know I was blessed to visit Project Hope, an orphanage of over 600 in Haiti last fall. Since the devastating earthquake two weeks ago, the world’s attention has been drawn to this nation and heart’s are breaking as we see the struggle and pain of so many hurting people.
With so much media attention on Haiti it is hard to get our heads wrapped around what is needed there and how to respond. I am so grateful for the offering Schweitzer has taken the past two weeks to send much needed funds to Project Hope to address the immediate needs of food and shelter.
As I read Father Mark’s blog ( found at www.freethekids.org) it is obvious that the earthquake in Port au Prince is changing Project Hope. This weekend 100 more orphans were expected to arrive, swelling the number of children to almost 800. The city of Les Cayes is full of refugees seeking help and healthcare. The prison has been almost completely destroyed and the prisoners abandoned.
What is our response? It is complex and simple. Complex in that the ramifications of this disaster are still unfolding and the many ways we can supply relief are needed. Simple in that God is calling us to pray and he will do the complex.
2Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Add a comment January 25, 2010
Legacy
I am working this afternoon preparing for a funeral. It is a sacred opportunity to work with a family as they bring honor to the memory of a loved one. It is holy ground and so I tread on it carefully.
Today I am writing about a gentleman named Woody Little. Woody, his wife Carma and daughter Candy have been members at Schweitzer since the 70′s. They remember when the church met in the Schweitzer home and Sunday School was in the basement. They contributed and served this church for over thirty years. It was the vision of the Little family as well as many others that set the groundwork for the vibrant church we continue to enjoy.
As I reflect on Woody’s life I understand that my family are benefactor’s of his faith. Because they believed in the mission and ministry of this church it was available to us when we moved here 25 years ago.
My prayer is that our family will make an impact for the generations to come. As we move forward with our stewardship campaign, faithfully praying and moving into the future God has for us, I wait expectantly for a glimpse of the lives that will come to know and serve God.
I thank God for Woody and I thank God for all who have stepped out in faith so that others may grow in the love of Christ.
Add a comment January 10, 2010
New Year’s Resolution
Every new year I find myself making the same resolutions- exercise more, eat less, spend more time with God. Sound familiar?
This year I am not making a resolution, instead I am making a covenant. A covenant is a promise between God and I. It is more than just determining by my own strength I can do something. It is acknowledging that it is only through the strength the Lord gives me that I can do anything.
So yes, I will exercise more, eat less and spend more time with God. But I will be doing it because it will honor God in my life, make me more available for His use and allow me the privilege of hearing His Voice.
Blessings to you and yours in 2010.
Add a comment December 29, 2009
