Ellsworth United Methodist Church

January 2010!
Does that number make you pause as it does me?
It reminds me a bit of a sea-saw
I am a child swinging my legs above the ground on the “20” part,
while at the opposite end, someone sits heavy, feet snug in the grass,
holding me up,
grounded,
yet allowing me to enjoy the beauty of feeling high in the air.
Arms stretched up
I reach for the stars,
sun rays,
dawn and the dusk bright smears crossing the sky.
2010, there is a beauty in the balance of this number.
Oh, how I pray there will be a balance in this new year.

January, deep winter is upon us.
In Maine it is a time to hunker down by a fire,
read a good book, listen to music, practice silence
as flames dance on the logs in our wood stoves.
But it is also January, time of bitter cold,
and long lines of those in need of fuel and food coming to us.
Few are making rally calls for turkeys and big dinners
as we did for Thanksgiving and Christmas,
yet every week 200 plus stand in line seeking food,
while churches still hear despairing cries for help:
“Please, I am out of fuel where can I go.”

This January,
let us renew our resolution:
We will work to better the lives of other
beloved children of God, working to help those who surround us?.
Let THIS be the fuel “we run on” helping one another
and I, pray, feel the joy
and the thrill, when our small gifts are received with warm,
heart felt smiles and the simple word “:Thanks”

January, I think of Piglet and Pooh, walking in circles, seeing more and more
tracks in the snow and fearing they are no longer alone,
when in fact it is their own tracks.
Instead of walking in circles, I believe Ellsworth United Methodist Church, is
marching forward, rethinking church, finding new ways to reach out and help,
enjoying joyous Sunday morning music, the cozy Monday night GPYes! times
of prayer, singing, nibbling, sharing, planning.

This January, watch as days already grow longer,
and though winds may howl, snow will swirl,
black ice may make us make us take “tiny steps”,
know also this is a time to let
out mighty mustard seeds germinate,
so when the time is right, new blooms will be
spreading the hope, joy, love, and peace of God’s love.
Stay tuned — even as I write these words I have heard rumors of new exciting ideas
waiting to spring forward.

Happy 2010 — be you child swinging sky bound
or that faithful anchor, securing those whimsical imps,
who have their arms filled with bags filled with new ways to
bring smiles to the community and to our global world.

May God Bless,
Pastor Susan Yaruta-Young