It's Fall, Ya'll!
Happy Tuesday, Gadsden Street UMC Friends!
Today marks the official first day of fall. Can you feel it? I've even noticed a slight shift in the color of the leaves on the trees outside my apartment but maybe that's just wishful imaginings after the rather warm weeks we've had recently. Regardless, I love a time when the seasons change. Nature is a wonderful place to see the beauty of God's creation and even God's wisdom. As the leaves change color, I am amazed at God's canvas of colors as the rich yellows, oranges, and reds appear. While we don't often get such a dramatic shift into fall further south than where I grew up, that beauty is still in the air. As we shift from summer to fall, I am reminded of the times ahead where families and communities will gather together. This is the time of year that when the traditional harvesting season peaks and then comes to a close. As we move through this coming season, I am reminded as well that God calls us to slow down and rest, preparing for winter, thankful for the blessings of what has come to fruition this year. I hope and pray that all of us in this community have blessings to celebrate this year.
While it may be the first day of fall, there are still events coming up this month as we close out this final taste of summer and finally allow the pumpkin spice to take over our lives.
Sundays at Gadsden Street UMC
Sunday School
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | The Conference Room - Admin Building
All are invited to join us every Sunday in the Conference Room as we come together to take a deep dive into the morning's scripture. This coming Sunday we will be diving down all the rabbit holes that come up as we read and open our hearts, minds, and souls to God's wisdom in Philippians 2:1-13.
Sunday Service
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM | The Fellowship Hall
We will be concluding our series on UMC beliefs in tandem with the lectionary reading from Philippians. This Sunday, we will lift our voices in worship, we will hear God's word, and we will contemplate what it means to say We Believe in Holiness. This will also be our final Sunday in our Pledge Month. Thank you to all who have submitted their pledge cards and thank you to all who give in so many ways to this incredible church.
UMC Class
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM | The Conference Room - Admin Building
As we gather for our final class of learning about the United Methodist denomination and what it means to live out our lives as United Methodist Christians, we will be looking at our Constitution and the General Book of Discipline. Have you ever wondered how our denomination is structured? Why does it work the way it does? You can learn about this and more on Sunday following the service!
Happening This Week
Ladies and Gents Dinner
Tonight, September 22 | 5:30 PM | Nick's Boathouse - 455 W Main Street.
Join us tonight as we gather together in fellowship out on the town! We will be meeting at Nick's Boathouse to enjoy one another's company over some great food. See you all there!
Wednesday Morning Devotional
September 23 | 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Online via Zoom
This week at our morning devotional we will be reading, contemplating, and praying through Week 39, Day 3 of The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer. We invite you to bring your prayer requests as we grow in faith together. Please use the Zoom link below to join us at 10:00 AM.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81185241158
Wednesday Coffee with Pastor Heather
September 23 | 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Bodacious Shops - 407 S Palafox St.
Come on downtown tomorrow afternoon for a cup of coffee! You'll more than likely find me upstairs, as I have heard the upstairs is such a wonderful space. The office may be closed but your pastor is still working away out in the community. I hope to see you there!
Family Movie Night
Friday, September 25 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | The Gathering Space - GSUMC
Join us for a family movie night this coming Friday! Invite the whole family and all the friends to join us in a viewing of The Prince of Egypt. There will be popcorn, fellowship, and fun, all free! You are invited and welcome to bring your comfiest sleeping bag, bean bag, chair, or whatever you find you are able to bring with you to be comfortable as we watch this movie together.
A Weekly Reflection
Last week, I was remembering The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, wherein Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa and His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV came together for an interview with Douglas Abrams. Douglas Abrams is an author who has worked with many important figures in modern day such as Jane Goodall, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela, and Christian Figueras. According to his own website, he meets with these figures to ask them the hard questions in life, especially in this modern world. Desmond Tutu spoke out against the Apartheid government in South Africa and the Dalai Lama, a very important holy figure in Tibetan Buddhism, came together to answer how one finds lasting joy in this world with Douglas Adams.
There is a film that is also available of the book and the time that Douglas spent with these two men. They seem like they come from very different backgrounds and one might wonder how they manage to get along if they don't believe the same. However, if you ever get a chance to watch any videos of the two together, they might as well be brothers. They're laughing, joking, poking fun at one another, even as they sit down and offer their own insights on what it means to find joy. Both share valuable wisdom. Personally, I hear the voice of God present in the joy of these men in one form or another. I particularly found a portion of the conversation with the Archbishop that I have contemplated (and continue to contemplate), and I invite you to read and contemplate as well. Generosity, backed up by psychological evidence, truly does lead to joy on a brain-chemical level (have fun with that rabbit hole as I have). This quote comes from Chapter 8. Generosity: We Are Filled with Joy.
"'So', the Archbishop said with a laugh, 'our book says that it is in giving that we receive. So I would hope that people would recognize in themselves that it is when we are closed in on ourselves that we tend to be miserable. It is when we grow in self-forgetfulness — in a remarkable way I mean we discover that we are filled with joy'.
'I've sometimes joked and said God doesn't know very much math, because when you give to others, it should be that you are subtracting from yourself. But in this incredible kind of way — I've certainly found that to be the case so many times — you gave and it seems like in fact you are making space for more to be given.'
'And there is a very physical example. The Dead Sea in the Middle East receives fresh water, but it has no outlet, so it doesn't pass the water out. It receives beautiful water from the rivers, and the water goes dank. I mean, it just goes bad. And that's why it is the Dead Sea. It receives and it does not give. And we are made much that way, too. I mean, we receive and we must give. In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful.'"
Peace, hope, and joy,
Heather Nysewander