Dear Friends of Green Trails,
I have just returned from vacation. While in Key West, I did not watch TV so I was oblivious to the chaos enveloping the rest of the world. No one in Key West appeared to be concerned about the Corona Virus. As I walked around, I observed that all the bars were crowded. Eventually, I caught wind of the situation when I overheard some conversations about a “pandemic” and discovered that there was not a bottle of hand sanitizer on the whole island. I would like to thank the entire staff of Green Trails Church for handling all the tricky logistics involved in cancelling a worship service.
I have experienced many things in my 41 years of ministry, but I have never cancelled worship services for health concerns before. To be honest, I was an early skeptic concerning this severity of the threat posed by the Corona Virus. Then, I received an email from a trusted friend who is a pediatrician. She was concerned about the situation and the content of the email made a convincing case the threat was real. I am no longer a skeptic.
Green Trails Church will be following the health directives of St. Louis County. We will not be having any church activities until the meeting ban is lifted.
Although we will not be meeting,our ministry goes on. Green Trails Elementary is still in need of food. In fact, the need has expanded. Usually we provide food for the weekend, now supplies are necessary for the whole week. You can drop off fresh fruit, canned and boxed food stuffs to the church. The food will be taken to the school and will be delivered to those students in need.
Also, if you are in need of groceries or other supplies, the church has volunteers who will help shop for you. Call the church at 314-469-6740. The ministry of the United Methodist Church across the world continues. You can still support this ministry by mailing or bringing your usual offering to the church. Your offerings will continue to help pay vital local ministry expenses.
If all goes well, I will be recording a sermon towards the end of the week that will be available on the website and social media for listening at your convenience.
To get ready for the sermon read Luke 15: 11-24: The Message (MSG)
The Story of the Lost Son
11-12 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’
12-16 “So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.
17-20 “That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.
20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’
22-24 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.
Your True Friend,
Kurt