March 12, 2020

                                                                     John 4:5-42

Scripture readings

for Sunday, March 15

Exodus 17:1-7

Psalm 95

John 4:5-26

REFLECTION

Pr. Ivy

When I lived with my family in Bethlehem, we would frequently vacation in the northern part of the country, in the Galilee. The best way, although not the shortest way, to come home from vacation was through the Muslim city of Nablus. It is here that we find Jacob’s well, the setting for this gospel lesson. At that time, it was the home of Samaritans, a people despised by the Jews.

Into all this conflict comes Jesus, turning this world upside down, as is his habit. He dramatically changed the life of the woman and the people to whom she testified, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” (v. 29).

Today, I think many of us can identify with the woman. She was thirsty and needy. Jesus offered himself as the water she longed for. We are needy and thirsty and hungry and God is just waiting for us to open ourselves to his offer of abundant life, living water and bread for our journey. We are that woman.

Jesus defies convention to engage a Samaritan woman in conversation. Her testimony, in turn, leads many others to faith.

5[Jesus] came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

  7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

  16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

  27Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30They left the city and were on their way to him.

  31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

  39Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

PRAYER REQUESTS

Names will remain of the Prayer List for a month - at which

time it will be taken off unless, or course, there is still a continued need

for our prayers and we’re asked to keep the name on.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dear brothers and sisters,

Thank you so much for your continued support, concern and prayer. I now have a date of Tues., March 17 for the first part of my back surgery, which will be at the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. I’ll be there for 3-4 days and then will be at the Lutheran. Then, on Thurs., 4/2 it will be back to Niagara Falls for the second phase of back surgery. That will be another 3-4 days in the hospital and then back to Jamestown at the Lutheran for rehab.

I am very pleased to tell you about Pastor Michelle Boomgaard, an Episcopal priest who will be covering for me. She and her husband, Lou, currently live in Chautauqua. She will be supplying on Sundays as well as providing pastoral care. Pastor Michelle will also be at Council meetings. We are happy to welcome her to the St. Timothy family and I know she will be a blessing to you all.

God’s peace,

Pastor Ivy Gauvin

St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Bemus Point, NY

***We will be visioning and discerning God’s future for us over the five Wednesdays of Lent.  To actualize, sustain and grow a vision, it is critical to discern what help you need at various stages in a church’s lifestyle.  The Five Steps to church vitality and turn around are below.  Please join us and bring a friend.

Wed., 3/4: 6 pm-Dinner Church, - See It!

Wed., 3/11: 6 pm-Dinner Church - Own It!

Wed., 3/18: 6 pm-Dinner Church - Work It!

Wed., 3/25: 6 pm-Dinner Church - Pray It!

Wed., 4/1: 6 pm-Dinner Church - Help It!

Visioning During Lent

We have now had two sessions of our Midweek Gatherings in which we are visioning, working to see and understand what God’s desired future is for St. Timothy. Then, of course, there is the matter of getting ourselves to line up with that vision, so that all that we do as a congregation is in line with the vision.

There are five steps involved in this process: 1. See It 2. Own It 3. Work It 4. Pray It and 5. Help It

In our first session, See It, we talked about all the positive things we are doing and who we are as a congregation. The emphasis was on welcoming and how that is played out through service to the community, in social media, reaching out to people, the music program, community use of our building and congregational committees. One of the other things that came up was having sponsors for new members.

Last night was Own It. We spelled out our vision as, “We are a welcoming congregation to support and outreach the community and our members.” Of course, that’s a rough draft. On that basis, we thought about what we could do that issued from our identity and vision. First of all, we all must share the vision so that it becomes a part of who we are. Means of doing so are asset mapping, ministry by walking around the community and assessing the needs of our community. Some things that could also help us with community involvement are bulk mailing of postcards, using the Penny Saver, different sayings on our sign, a “get to know us” cookout, and family movie nights. One person shared about a church that offered free art lessons and how that’s morphed into so much more.

Join us for good food, worship and conversation!

*** We continuously collect food items for the 5 & 2 Ministry.  Bring your donations and place in the black bin in church narthex.  Lists detailing items needed are also available in the narthex.  Monetary donations welcome! Contact Gale-Svenson-Campbell for details gales1949@gmail.com.

***ONLINE GIVING now available at St. Timothy for Debit/Credit cards.   3 ways to give:

   - Go directly to our website at www.sttimothybemus.com

   - Use our QR code with the QR reader on your smartphone

   - Download the app ‘GivePlus Church’. Create an account.   

For further information, contact Kathy Carlson at 485-1316.

Love INC Prayer Requests 03/9/2020

Older lady living with her adult daughter has depleted funds as a result of a job loss and furnace repair.  Our gap ministry, the Cleaned and Polished Pantry through Bethel Baptist Church will be able to assist them with toiletries and cleaning supplies and food at a local pantry.  Pray for them through this difficult time and God’s provision.

An older gentleman, moving from the mission into his own apartment, needs furnishings. Pray for his health and family relationships.

A young man whose past lead to homelessness is moving into his own apartment. He is currently employed and needs furnishings.  Pray for peace with his past and his faith continues to grow

Updates and Praises

A woman, adult son & 3 grandchildren had to relocate due to bed bugs and lost their furniture. Drifting away from her faith, they would love to get involved with a church with a strong children’s ministry.  Praise -furniture has been provided and a church in her neighborhood has been called

Single woman fleeing family abuse needs assistance with furniture and other household items.  Pray for healing, direction, her return to church and a believer to come along-side of her. 

A couple moving at the end of the month by a team from Panama United Methodist Church. Pray for them as they pack and look forward to their new home and the team of volunteers that are schedule to help.  Praise – Move is complete.  All went well despite the snow.  Couple is happy in their new home

Our household ministry needs some items that are regularly requested by the families assisted

Toasters, Pots & Pans, Towels, wash cloths, bowls and coffee makers   Praise – 2 coffee makers and 2 sets of pots and pans have been donated

A divorced gentleman in need of a mattress and a toaster oven.  Prayers are needed for an upcoming surgery on his neck and issues with a detached retina and possible loss of sight.  Praise – toaster oven has been donated

Love INC needs a Bilingual (Spanish) volunteer to help translate for neighbors in need.  Praise-we have a possible volunteer who can help us with this need

A single mom; with 2 children; is unable to work, needs beds and is currently sleeping on the floor

Love INC needs a volunteer accountant/bookkeeper. Our current bookkeeper will be retiring in May and we are looking for a replacement.

A single older woman who is need of a ramp for her home.  She has MS and has a lot of difficulties getting in and out of the house.  Praise The children of Busti Church of God are hosting a Ramp-It Up Fun Fair on April 1st from 5:30- 8:30 at the Busti Church of God gym to help raise funds for this ramp

Single lady with some medical issues residing in the Allen Park area needs help with some yard work and snow removal.  Please pray for her health and a volunteer to meet her need.**

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                              Upcoming Commemorations

Patrick, bishop, missionary to Ireland, died 461

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

A native of Britain, Patrick was kidnapped by pirates at age sixteen and sold into slavery in Ireland. After a few years, he escaped, returned home, and entered the ministry. Returning to Ireland, he successfully served as a bishop and missionary there.

Joseph, Guardian of Jesus

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Though the Bible tells us little about the husband of Jesus' mother Mary, we know that he was a carpenter or builder by trade. He is also shown as being devoted both to God and to Mary and Jesus. It is assumed that he died before Jesus became an adult.

Thomas Cranmer, Bishop of Canterbury, martyr, died 1556

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Cranmer's lasting achievement is contributing to and overseeing the creation of the Book of Common Prayer, which remains (in revised form) the worship book of the Anglican Communion. He was burned at the stake under Queen Mary for his support of the Protestant Reformation.

Sharing Our Blessings

Saturday, April 25, 2020

       at

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

20 North Phetteplace Street, Falconer, New York 14733

Guest Speaker

Susan Justham

Executive Director, Love INC of Southern Chautauqua County

Registration: 9:00 ppleTypeServicesppleTypeServicesF2424833 amppleTypeServices

Continental Breakfast: 10:00 ppleTypeServicesppleTypeServicesF2424833 amppleTypeServices

Cost: $5.00

RSVP: Stephanie Buccola: 665-4221

~ Deadline: Wednesday, April 23, 2020 ~

ëSpecial Ingathering for Love INCë

bar soap, body wash, shampoo,

toothbrushes & toothpaste