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September 13, 2024

E-Newsletter

This week's note from Rev. Ben Richards

City on a Hill


Sermons don’t often become famous. There are a few in my professional company that are at least somewhat familiar, but even then, we must account for: a) most of my colleagues are preachers and b) I am a worship nerd.


And while the title of the sermon I have in mind today – “A Modell of Christian Charitie” – may not be familiar, the phrase it coined likely is. In the sermon, which is of disputed authorship, the preacher speaks of the colony they are preparing to found. Bound for Massachusetts, excited for unique opportunities to be community focused, it’s with optimism and confidence they declare that it can be a “city on a hill”.


The sermon, and this phrase in particular, have been utilized and wielded in various ways, faithfully and otherwise. And to avoid any ambiguity, any notion of exceptionalism – as “city on a hill” is perhaps indelibly linked with “American Exceptionalism” – is the latter. Which, interestingly, is the very point of the sermon.


Rather than a message of exceptionalism, it’s a plea to live uniquely in covenant with God. To take advantage of the opportunity to be a community that seeks to live faithfully. Remember the title; their goal is to be a model of Christian Charity, which is the call to practice the truest of loves for God and one another. To live otherwise would be to break the covenant, to not live up to what they understood as a unique opportunity. And to that, the preacher, cautions (and your preacher cautions: 1630, non-inclusive, patriarchal language incoming):


“Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together, in this work, as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection. We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others’ necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality. We must delight in each other; make others’ conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with.”


Sounds awesome, right? “We shall see much more of [God’s] wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than we formerly have been acquainted with.” But that’s the end of the paragraph, not the beginning. It’s an invitation, a hope, one that takes work to obtain. To be a particular gender or ethnicity or nationality, none of these move us to a city on a hill. Not even declaring the Christian faith. And to be a city on a hill is not a self-serving exceptionalism, but itself an invitation to the abundance of living with God’s wisdom, power, goodness, and truth.


Living out that kind of faith takes work. It takes sacrifice. It takes seeing those around us not as burdens or enemies, but siblings, making their needs our own, with whom we “mourn together, labor and suffer together”, so that we might also rejoice together.


-Ben


Service for September 15, 2024

Link for September 15, 2024 Live Service

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 3 pm

You are invited to join us every Wednesday at 3 pm in the church office for Bible study. All are welcome to be a part of this small group, facilitated by Rev. Ben Richards, as we explore our faith together.

United Women in Faith


  The group meets on the third Monday of each month (September-May) at 3 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. It is during those meetings that members plan mission projects, hear programs about important issues, learn how they can be involved in church activities and outreach, and more.  All women are invited to be a part of the group.  And, of course, enjoy fellowship with others in our church family.



So, ladies, mark your calendars for September 16 when the monthly meetings resume.  If you have any questions, see any officer:  Susan Atkinson, Jaci Colombo, Jann Mier, or Kathy Schmitt.  


October Book Club Selection


First UMC Book Club will return to America for the October 2 selection Demon Copperhead: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver. The group meets the first Wednesday of each month at 1:15 to enjoy lunch and/or ice cream at the Royal Scoop and to discuss a novel.  All are welcome to join us.  These books are part of a kit available from the Bonita Springs Public Library

The October selection is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.  It is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother, with “no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival.”  Reviewers say the character Demon is “a voice for the ages – akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield – only even more resilient.”  A Washington Post reviewer said the book is “equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.” Relayed in his own voice, Demon braves the perils of foster care, child labor, bad schools, addiction, and more.

The character Demon Copperhead speaks for a generation of “lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.”  Books will be available before and after church.  See Susan Atkinson for a copy, or text her (239-405-9078) if you have questions.

The Upper Room


The Upper Room magazine's mission is to provide a practical way to listen to scripture, connect with believers around the world, and spend time with God each day.

Click here for Daily Devotional

PRAYER & CARE


All information and last names will be kept confidential. Our list is updated weekly. If you need us to keep someone on the list, please send their name to prayer@fumcbonita.org.


Come Pray

Fridays at 9:30 am

Zoom and in the sanctuary

CLICK THE LINK BELOW


Click here to join via ZOOM


Betty

Laurie

Snode

Laurie

Scott

Makenna





Annie

Cara

Justin

Kevin

Kenn

George



Prayer Request cards are on the rack at the back of the Sanctuary.

Altar Flowers



If you would like to honor family, friends, or loved ones for an anniversary, birthday, or memorial, contact the church office for details.

SERVE
YESUKAN Website
New Horizons Website

 Wednesdays from 1:00-4:00 our church participates with the Meals of Hope to feed over 150 families each week. Right now we have a DESPERATE need for people to come and help out with the initial packing of fresh fruits and vegetables into bags, and then taking them to the cars as the clients come through.      

Meals of Hope Website
Click for Bonita Assistance Website

FUMC Bonita

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9 AM - 12 PM


27690 Shriver Avenue, Bonita Springs, FL 34135

Office: 239.992.1312

www.fumcbonita.org

office@fumcbonita.org


Rev. Ben Richards, Pastor

Pastor@FUMCBonita.org