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EDEN PRAIRIE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH |
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Pastor’s Corner Most likely you have heard the oft-quoted mantra: “Minnesota has two
seasons! Winter and Highway Construction”! This summer we are
experiencing the season of highway construction with overheated emotions
and car engines: I-494, Crosstown, Valley View Road, Prairie Center Drive.
It seems everywhere I drive I run into lane changes and workers waving
their flags or stopping traffic. “My daily commute to the office takes 15 to 35 minutes depending on
the traffic. Some time ago I gave up cussing the traffic, and started
using it and my trip across Birmingham as a cue for prayer. I pass three hospitals on my way to work. I say a little prayer for
the vertical ones who help the healing and the horizontal ones who seek
healing. Two elementary schools are on my route. One is in a poor
neighborhood, and one is in a wealthy area. I pray the children will be
safe. I pray their souls will not be warped by having too much or by
having too little. Stopping at the light next to the fire station and the police
station, I thank God for those who risk their lives to keep us safe.
Driving past the jail, I ask Jesus to remember the likes of those who
died on his right and his left. There are lots of folks to pray for at the courthouse; those who
stand in long lines clutching pieces of paper and those who receive and
file those papers. I ask God to give courage to those who come to seek
justice, and wisdom to juries and judges. When passing the high-rise office buildings, I pray people will find
jobs that give them a way to use the gifts God gave them. At the art
museum, I thank God for color and for humans created in God’s image
with the capacity to create beauty and to appreciate it. Sirens and ambulances weaving through traffic provoke prayers for
those in danger. Airplanes ascending from the airport are a cue to pray
for those leaving home and those returning home. I am never quite sure what to pray about when I see a junky clunker
driven by a poor man. I turn them over to God. I ask for help in my
stewardship of what has been given to me. I confess my lack of love and
connection with the poor. Sometimes I am given the grace to pray about the obnoxious guy on the
cell phone; the one in the mammoth, gas-guzzling suburban-assault
vehicle with the Jesus fish ornament and the huge “God Bless America”
decal; that Christian citizen who just cut me off in traffic. Of course, I pray God will help me be more consistent in my own
witness. May God give us all traveling mercies.” By Michael Stewart, Director of Connectional
Ministries; reprinted with permission from The Voice,
(January 2003), a publication of the North Alabama Conference, May we all allow God’s grace to guide us and encourage us as we get
behind the wheel of our car and head out on the highway! Thanks . . . “Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time, they just have the
heart.” —anonymous Thank you June “Summer Stretch” youth and adult helpers: Travis
and Kyle Hutchins, Lynne & Scott Webster, Erin & Nick Jarvis,
Heather Borgen and friend, Laura, Pete Talbert, Lexi and Kelsey Walstad,
Sarah Schmidt and Kayman Swart and adult helpers: Shirley Hutchins,
Kathy Jarvis, Cathy Schmidt and Terry Talbert for doing a wonderful job
of cleaning the outdoor worship area. It looks great!! Thank you to Jerry Prodoehl for installing signs, installing new
carpet in several rooms, and several other tasks done, and thank you
Steve Wall for staying on top of all the maintenance needs. Thank you PC2, especially Bob Wagner and Eric Hyde for all the computer assistance, moving and reinstalling the “Mouse Room” computers so that area could be carpeted and moving office computers around. Thank you to all who are diligently working on the gardens around the church. We appreciate your hard work. Remember….every member is a volunteer in some way and important to Prairie Church. Thanks for your gifts of volunteering.
ABOUT PRAIRIE CHURCH . . . . . . New Members: June 15, 2003
8020 Erie Avenue, Chanhassen 55317 952.974.2092
51 Carol Lane, Chaska 55318 952.368.2912 June 22, 2003
Geoffrey and Adam 7610 Atherton Way, EP 55346 952.934.2248
Weddings: June 28, 2003 Sarah Chapman and Aaron Casper
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