From the Pastor's Desk

Pastor Jeff Paulson

May 2008

Welcome to the exciting month of May 2008 where Perry Hall Church is filled with special events and services all month long. What can a church do when Pentecost, Mother’s Day, and Confirmation all fall on the same day? This very rarely happens, but with Easter being so early this year, the church calendar has gotten very compacted and multiple events are occurring at the same time. And so, we decided to just make this a month that is filled with lots of celebrations.

Pentecost is the celebration of the birthday of the Church, “when the Holy Spirit came down upon all those gathered and sounded like a mighty wind and empowered them to go forth in the name of Jesus and to share the good news around the world” (Acts 2).

On May 4th, we will celebrate all those who were born (and their families) during the last couple of years and are currently on our Cradle Roll, just as we will celebrate the birthday of the Church.

On May 11th, at all of our worship services we will celebrate and honor all those who have given birth to us, our Mothers! Just as the Holy Spirit gave life to the Church, our Mothers have given us life.

On May 11th, at the 9:30 service we will also celebrate our Confirmation Class as they join Perry Hall United Methodist Church. As the Holy Spirit came upon those on the day of Pentecost, we will invite the Holy Spirit to come upon our Confirmands and empower them to go forth into the world in the name of Jesus as they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

On May 18th, we will be doing a Blessing of the Animals! In invite you to bring your animal or a picture of your animal to church this day and at the end of the 9:30 service we will bless these creations of God. (Genesis 1: 21-22 “So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them” verse 25 “God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind, and God saw that it was good.”) These blessings will take place on the side yard under the trees, weather permitting.

On May 25th, we will be celebrating Memorial Day and remembering those who have passed into God’s hands and those who have served our nation. All services will be held at the Church Cemetery on Cliffvale Road, just up from the church (north on Belair Road about 3/4 mile turning left onto Cliffvale.) weather permitting.

And on June 1st, we will conclude our month long celebrations with the Blessing of the Bikes. I could not find a scripture reference to this specific blessing, however, we do want to offer words of assurance and safety to all those who will be enjoying a summer season of recreation. And so we invite you to bring your recreation vehicles (two wheel, four wheel, and even water craft?to be inclusive) and we will bless them and their users at the end of each service. And our Lord said, go and worship and celebrate in the name of Jesus! Let us go forth, in the name of Jesus.

Blessings,