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Please note that Pastor Brad will be away at Duke Divinity School April 8-13 for Continuing Education/Study Leave.

In the event of a Pastoral emergency, please contact the Church Office or Ruth Portzline, Pastoral Associate.

Miracles Happen Everyday

This past Monday the North American Continent was in the path of a Total Solar Eclipse. Although Southeastern Pennsylvania was outside the “Zone of Totality,” we were still witness to a rare and stunning event. 

When I stop and think about three separate celestial bodies moving in harmony on such a grand scale, I am awed by the greatness of God. 

For us, moments like this are both brief and rare, but on the scale of universal time it's actually an occurrence that happens with frequency and precision. Things that are almost bigger than we can imagine do not seem that way to God.

The eclipse was spectacular.

When we think about miracles, I suspect we often imagine spectacular events. We think of the extraordinary, the supernatural, the metaphysical. But if we break those words down - just a little - maybe we can come to understand miracles differently. 

Miracles are moments when God touches our reality. Extra-ordinary, super-natural, meta-physical are all just ways of describing God, who is greater than us, choosing to make God’s presence felt in our ordinary, natural, physical world.

When we think about Easter, it is easy for our minds to run to the Resurrection. We think of the spectacular. But the Resurrection is not the only miracle. There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. The miracles began when Jesus died on the cross, because that's the moment when God's love is made manifest and tangible for each of us.

It is wondrous - and true - that God's miracles are often spectacular, but the miracle is not the spectacle. The miracle is God supernaturally, extraordinarily, metaphysically touching and transforming our world and our lives.

On RISE Sunday we read the scripture and heard a sermon from Acts chapter 3:1-10. In Jesus' name, Peter and John healed a man of his illness and gave him his life back. This miracle was spectacular, but let's not get distracted by the spectacle. By calling on the name of Jesus, two disciples allowed God's love to work through them, and God’s love transformed the life of someone in need of help, much like me and you.

After Worship, over a hundred of us worked together to help provide 12,000 meals for children and families in need. Our partners at Rise Against Hunger shared that when we feed children we can change communities. When kids are fed at school, they are able to stay in school, and there they learn and gain the ability to provide better lives for everyone in their communities, including themselves!

To a hungry family, the meals that we prepared may just seem miraculous.

Simple, nourishing meals packaged in plastic bags, packed on pallets and shipped around the world do not encompass the spectacle of the Sun, Earth and Moon moving in harmony. And they certainly do not compare to witnessing a Risen Savior; but the meals we shared do reflect God's powerful love working through us to bless our brothers and sisters in Jesus’ name.

Working together as the Body of Christ we were able to make love tangible and real for people (like us) who are in need of God’s transforming love, a miracle not a spectacle.

When we pray for miracles, let us not get distracted by our desire to see a spectacle, instead let our hearts be open to all the ways that God's love touches and transforms our lives and the lives of those around us.

The extraordinary, the supernatural, the metaphysical, transformational power of God is real. Miracles happen everyday.

This Easter season, let us remember experiencing and sharing the miracle of God’s transforming love is what living the Gospel truly means.

In Christ,

~jt

John-Thomas Crockett

Minister for Youth, Young Adults & Families

St. John’s Ivyland United Methodist Church 

SUNDAY WORSHIP

APRIL 14, 2024

Services at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM

Preacher: Pastor Ruth Portzline, CLM 

This service can be viewed LIVE through

St. John's YouTube Channel

or on our homepage:

www.stjohnsivyland.com

Past worship service videos can also be found:

https://www.stjohnsivyland.com/videoarchive

Auto-generated closed captions are usually provided by YouTube about a week after the service has posted for the hearing impaired.

Reorganization of Choirs for Children.

Beginning Sunday, April 14, our choirs for children will be reorganized to better serve all involved.

The JOYFUL VOICES will include children Grade 2 and above. Mr. Nelson will direct J. V.

The CHERUB CHOIR will include children Preschool, Kindergarten and 1st grade. Mrs. Nelson will direct C. C.

Both choirs will meet at the regular time in separate rooms.

This reorganization will allow the youngest children to learn easier songs/music at a more comfortable pace. It will also allow the older children to learn more difficult music more quickly.

We encourage NEW members to come and join our TWO choirs for Children this week.

Rehearsals

VOLUNTEER HERE

Should you have any questions please call Kathy Keppol at 215-357-7404

rekeppol@comcast.net

When I became Chair of Missions in June, we were a committee in transition. Red Bird Ministries which had been a significant part of our Missions work for more than two decades was changing. We would continue to support Red Bird with specific requests for supplies, etc., but the Truck Ministry had ended.

The Committee wanted to continue with a large project that would involve a large number of members. We explored various possibilities and decided to sponsor another Rise Up Against Hunger. St. John’s had done this in the past prior to the pandemic, so we decided to plan another event. After much discussion we centered on the week after Easter with the hope it would give us maximum exposure to the congregation at large.

To accomplish this we needed at least 60 volunteers and $5,000.00 dollars to purchase the supplies. With a generous start by the Men’s Group, we were able to raise in excess of $8,000.00.

We also wanted this to be a fellowship event so from the beginning we planned on having lunch at the completion of the event to bring the volunteers together. Please note that none of the dollars raised to support RISE were used for the lunch at the conclusion of the event.

To accomplish this task we needed a lead person to take charge of the coordination of the event. Immediately, Joe and Linda Ayoub stepped forward to volunteer. Under their leadership we exceeded the number of volunteers needed and the funds we needed to raise. In addition, Giuseppe’s and Richboro Giant prepared the food for us at their cost. Please say thank you by supporting these businesses.

Most of all, thank Joe and Linda for their excellent leadership.

And thanks to all of you who helped us feed 12,000 children for a week

All women are invited to the Spring Banquet on Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30. Trish Chambers will be presenting "Elizabeth Skylar Hamilton, " the wife of Alexander Hamilton. Trish will enlighten us with information that behind every great man is a strong woman.

Please sign up on the sheet located on the bulletin board in the narthex. For added information, call Louise Henry 215-357-9398.

Thank you to all that donated blood, helped out with the canteen, set up Fellowship Hall and made home made cookies! 

Our next blood drive will be on Monday, July 22nd from 2:00-7:00 PM.

If you are able, please consider a blood donation.  

This book is about why God lets bad things happen to us. However, it's also more than this. It teaches us about comfort, and what others need from us when they're faced with tragedy. It's short, simple and suitable for everyone.

WHAT'S HAPPENING!



The latest Devotionals, News and Worship Videos can be be accessed below, as well as, under the

"What's Happening"tab on our website.

www.stjohnsivyland.com