Friday May 1 2020 Upper Room

MORE THAN WE ASKED

FRI MAY 1

Read Romans 8:12-17* 2020
You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as [God’s] children.
— Romans 8:15 (CEB)

Prostate cancer had metastasized to the bones throughout my husband’s body. The next morning, my first thought was, Earle is dying, and nothing is ever going to be all right again. Decades of dealing with my own diagnosis of bipolar disorder had left me helpless in the world of computers, banking, invest- ments, home and car maintenance, and lawn care. Earle had dealt with all of these as well as doing most of the driving. Since I had concentrated all my efforts on fighting my way out of the pit of mental illness, I had no self-confidence. I fell to my knees and asked for the help that only God can give.
God gave me strength as I started to learn all the responsibil- ities that I might soon have to deal with on my own — banking, making appointments, driving Earle and myself, downsizing as we moved into a smaller home. Then, after God  Earle began to respond well to the cancer treatments. Though not in remission, Earl’s cancer is controlled.

Now able to do many things that had seemed beyond my capabilities before, I am sharing with Earle the abundant life Jesus promised to us if we would trust in him.

Prayer: Faithful God, we rejoice in your goodness. Thank you for physical healing and for the spiritual healing only you can provide. Amen.

Thought for the Day
Jesus offers me abundant life.

Darlene Forgues (Alberta, Canada)

Prayer Focus: SOMEONE LEARNING TO LIVE ON THEIR OWN
* The Bible readings are selected with great care, and we urge you to include the suggested reading in your devotional time.

THE UPPER ROOM

COVER ART INTERPRETATION

Ruth and Naomi
Artist: Nalini Marcia Jayasuriya (Indonesia) Interpreter: Kathryn A. Kimball, Curator, The Upper Room Chapel/ Christian Art Museum
Nalini Jayasuriya was a Christian artist born in Sri Lanka. Believing that people “need protection from fear and a hope for blessing,”* she painted
biblical life stories in ways that focus on the wonderful moments within each story that create hope.
In the book of Ruth, we read the story of the death of Naomi’s husband and sons. With no male heirs, the future looked bleak for Naomi and her daughters-in-law, so Naomi encouraged the young women to return to their homeland where they could remarry. Jayasuriya’s painting focuses on Ruth 4:13-17, where Ruth gives her son to Naomi — a gift of hope for their future and for ours.
In the center, Naomi and Ruth gently cradle a white dove. Swirls of red and blue surround the dove in a protective womb- like shield. Golden reddish-browns spread out from the dove, breaking through the edges of the painting. Feet extending from her dress, Naomi looks up and beyond Ruth’s face, perhaps envisioning the promise of her new future. Ruth kneels before Naomi, gazing at the beautiful white dove cradled in their hands. In art a bird often symbolizes hope. In this story, it rep- resents the gift of Obed — an ancestor of Jesus.
Ruth and Naomi each offer a gift to the other with their open hands. Naomi offers Ruth freedom. Ruth cradles the dove and presents it to Naomi as a gift of hope. The dove sits freely within their embrace. This act of love and promise between Ruth and Naomi secures their future and the gift of hope for all Christians through the birth of Jesus.
*A Time for My Singing: Witness of a Life, OMSC Publications, 2004
Cover image courtesy of OMSC. © Nalini Marcia Jayasuriya and OMSC,

Dear Upper Room Family,

Greetings in the name of our risen Savior! The resurrection is the centerpiece of our hope, and if we ever needed hope, now is the time. We pray for health – physical, emotional, and spiritual health – for our Upper Room family and the world. We hope you will pray for us, too, as we all work remotely to keep the ministry of The Upper Room present and vital.

It is our understanding that there are postal disruptions to various countries around the world. To circumvent that, we are sending you  PDFs of the May-June issue in English and Spanish. If you are a church and have access to emails of your readers, please share these PDFs with them. PDFs are also free to download from https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19 The downloads are available in both English and Spanish.

Suggestions for how to get the most out of your copies of The Upper Room daily devotional guide

during this unique time.

1. Through June 30, 2020, you have permission to post the daily meditation on your website. You can also simply put a link on your site.https://www.upperroom.org/devotionals for English or https://es.upperroom.org/devotionals for Spanish.
2. Through June 30, 2020, you have permission to record the reading of the daily meditation to be presented as a story on Facebook, or on a private YouTube channel. Please note – do not record the meditation and make it available as a post or using Facebook Live. Make it available only as a story. Stories are up for a limited time and then disappear. This is an important copyright consideration. We appreciate your cooperation.
3. Consider doing a study group via Zoom, WebEx or other video-conferencing tool using the study questions included in every issue of The Upper Room.

 Resources The Upper Room is making available temporarily to individuals and churches while COVID-19 is front and center in our world.

The following list can be viewed at upperroom.org/covid-19

1. Go to https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19 for a list of all of our resources specific to the pandemic along with the following articles:

• Seven Suggestions for Healing and Renewal in the Midst of Stress and Anxiety by Flora S. Wuellner
• A Blessing for Those Who Wait by Beth A. Richardson
• The Work of Hope by Luther E. Smith, Jr.
• Getting Started with Your Private Online Classroom

2. Morning Prayer on Facebook Live – Each day at 11AM CT.  Please join here - https://www.facebook.com/UpperRoomCenter/ Each session of this brief daily communal prayer time is led by an Upper Room staff member or friend.
3. “New Every Morning” with daily video. This e-newsletter offers a daily reflection featuring an excerpt from an Upper Room Books title, a reflection question, space to comment and/or to add a prayer request. A video clip featuring a staff member or author responding to the question: “What does creating a life with God look like for you today?”  View the videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/UpperRoomMin/featured Sign up here: https://upperroombooks.com/neweverymorning-subscribe/
4. Our Freedom From Worry eCourse, will be offered free to all for a limited time. This eCourse featuring Upper Room Books author Patricia Wilson is designed to help participants reduce their anxiety level and develop practices of prayer and trust. To register, go to UReLearning.upperroom.org/courses  and use the promo code FREEDOM when registering.
5. Other individual eCourses are being offered for half price. To view available eCourses, go here UReLearning.upperroom.org/courses and use promo code URHALF when registering.
6. The Upper Room Prayer Wall is available for posting prayers and praying in response to the prayers of others. http://prayer-center.upperroom.org/prayer-wall
7. Beth Richardson has created a helpful video for all those who want submit requests or pray for others. A link can be found here: https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19
8. The Upper Room Editions team has created a new space on the daily devotional blog for the purpose of sharing personal and theological reflections on the current global pandemic. A link to this section can be found at https://www.upperroom.org/covid-19
9. Our “Prayers for…” series is available for free download at  https://www.upperroom.org/special-editions “Prayers For Hope, Prayers for Courage, Prayers for Illness and Prayers for Comfort”.

We may be a community in crisis, but we are also a community in Christ, and that makes all the difference. Please know that we are in this together.

Yours in faith,

The Upper Room Editorial Team

Upper Room Editions

A letter from the Trustees and Finance Committee

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you are all well and staying safe.

This is just a friendly reminder to those of us who are not on PAR that 
we do have ongoing expenses at the church and manse, such as heating oil, 
electricity, water, taxes on the manse and insurance on both Church and 
manse, to mention the main ones.

Some members have been mailing in their offering envelopes, which is 
much appreciated.  The Trustees and Finance Committee encourages anyone 
who is able to do so to please drop your offering envelope in the mail 
to St. Marks Church, 504 Bernard St., Port Hawkesbury, B9A 2V1. It is 
suggested that offerings be made by cheque rather than cash.

Church deposits are being made weekly and the record of envelope givings 
is immediately forwarded to Ruth MacRae.


Thank You and Take Good Care,

Clark Brander, 
Chairman, Trustees and Finance Committee

Easter service from Rev. Heather Manuel

Hi Folks! 

Happy Easter!! 

 

Please find my Easter service link here:

https://youtu.be/PuRz-fbvsnc

 

He is Risen!

Rev. Heather Manuel

Chimes for Easter Sunday at St. Mark's

The chimes at St. Mark's United Church will be rung at 10 a.m. on Easter Morning. Many thanks to Clark Brander and Wayne Simpson for making this possible.

We may not be there on Easter Sunday, but we can announce to the world that we are still The Church!

Happy Easter everyone!!

Good Friday Service from Guysborough United Church

Please click on the following link to follow a Good Friday service with Rev. Heather Manuel at Guysborough United Church.

https://youtu.be/KgNjD0jnP2s