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Posts Tagged ‘Epiphany’

Fourth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 2

30 Jan

Volunteer for Social Service Agencies. With increased cuts in funding to government poverty programs, many of those in need are turning to non-profit agencies like the Salvation Army for help. Such agencies are being overwhelmed with those in need and lack the funds to meet the needs. Many are in need of donations to meet the increased need. Many also lack funds to hire adequate staff. Volunteers are needed to answer the phones, interview clients, do filing and assist with data entry. Many jobs are fairly simple and the agencies provide training. Hours are usually flexible within their office hours and agencies are glad for whatever time you can provide. Many companies hiring require experience in addition to training and volunteering helps a worker gain experience and often provides access to companies and agencies they deal with who may be hiring. In addition, the company or agency they volunteer for may have an opening and will often hire someone they already know over a stranger.

 

 

Third Sunday of Epiphany-January 26

26 Jan

After School Program-Volunteer at after-school program. With the increasing number of single parent families and families where both parents work, many children do not have access to someplace to stay after school until their parents get home from work and with the increased crowding as families double up to save on housing costs, many children don’t have anywhere quiet to study. They may not have an environment conducive to learning if there are pre-school children in the home or other barriers to studying. As a result, after school programs are springing up to meet the need but do not have the funds for the staff needed. Many depend on volunteers to help them keep the doors open to tutor the children and help them with their homework. In addition, since the Covid epidemic, many schools are increasingly issuing homework online. Many kids do not have the access to computers and study areas needed. In addition, they may not have parental support.  As a result, many kids are falling farther and farther behind. Many churches have the facilities and members who can volunteer to help work with the kids and can give the children individual attention they cannot get at school or at home and show them God cares  about them. Many kids need a place to study, adequate technology, and supportive supervision, which churches can supply. Schools can sometimes help by printing off lessons, as well as helping with equipment for students to work on online classes. In addition, some children may not be able to attend school because of illness or disability and need tutoring in their home. Often subjects are elementary level and can be done by middle and high school students. Some schools have paid tutoring positions open. Though some may require college level education in the subject, many may require only a high school education.

 

 

Second Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 17, 2025

17 Jan

Minister to the Homeless -You can show that God cares for someone who doesn’t know Him by volunteering at a homeless shelter-In the past, many people became homeless due to addictions to drugs and alcohol but today, many are losing their jobs through no fault of their own due to layoffs and plant closings and finding new jobs is difficult. Many new jobs do not pay them even close to their old jobs. Many are losing their homes with no way to pay the mortgage or rent. While the homeless were formerly individuals, an increasing number are families with children. Many homeless shelters are struggling to meet the need but lack funds to pay the staff needed and need volunteers to help sort donations, fix meals, clean, entertain children, teach budgeting and homemaking classes, to help residents to rebuild their lives.

 

 

First Sunday of Epiphany-January 12

11 Jan

Tell the Story-Epiphany celebrates the coming of the Wise Men when we remember that God revealed Himself to the Gentiles. It is a time we should reveal Him to those who do not know Him. Many people will see the manger scene and not understand what it means because they have no church background. A large percentage of people today have not attended church and do not know anyone that they know of who attends church. Many Christians assume those they meet at work and at school attend church somewhere but few of them do. Few churches today have Christmas eve services but those that do usually include only members and rarely have visitors. It is a great time to invite those who do not attend church to come and hear the Christmas story, especially those who have children. Christmas carols used to be sung in the schools and played in stores, but many have dropped or even banned those with a Christian message. Church members can get together and carol at nursing homes and in their neighborhood to tell the Christmas story. Songs should not be random but organized to tell the story.

 

 
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video-Meaning of Epiphany

11 Jan

 

Second Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 14

13 Jan

Many elderly worry about what would happen if they fell and there was no one to help them. Many get no visits except for those that come to deliver groceries or pick up and deliver laundry. They might lie for days before someone came. Others able to get out might become sick suddenly. A couple years ago, an elderly man in lower Michigan became sick and could not get out to the post office. The checks to pay his utility bill lay on his table but he could not get out to mail them. The utility company sent a shutoff notice when they didn’t get any payments and eventually shut off the utilities. The man froze to death without heat. There was a great uproar about how the utility company should have tried to contact him. Yet, it all could have been prevented if someone had called or visited him and mailed his letters for him. Calling and visiting the elderly regularly can prevent such tragedies and ease their minds.  I once visited an elderly lady who told me how thankful she was that God was watching over her. She lived alone and her only outside contact was a young woman who visited her every Thursday and washed her clothes. There was a bad winter storm on that Monday and the young woman felt God urging her to check on the elderly lady. She resisted at first because the roads were bad and it was ten miles away, but she finally decided to go. She knocked on the front door but got no answer so she went around back to knock on the back door in case the elderly lady was in the back part of the house. She found the elderly lady laying on the walk outside the house. The lady had gone out just before the young woman arrived (she didn’t remember why) and had fallen on the ice. Had the young woman not arrived when she did, the elderly lady would have quickly frozen to death. God had told the young woman to go even before the elderly lady went outside. Had the young woman ignored the call, the elderly lady would have died, because no one knew she was there.

 

 

video-Epiphany

07 Jan

BD-Meaning of Epiphany     4.19 min

http://youtu.be/2G6Rq8GhVmI

 

 
 

Seventh Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 19

15 Feb

 Building Community– When My wife and I first moved into a trailer park, trailers were still small and very mobile. Few people got to know their neighbors because they were basically bedroom communities where people slept, but they worked and shopped elsewhere. Similar conditions existed in many of the cheaper apartment complexes. In addition, people were very mobile. It was easy to hook up a trailer and move it somewhere else, or move out of an apartment, so your neighbors didn’t stay very long. Many of the families had problems with alcoholism and drug abuse, spouse and child abuse, and crime. Very few had any church connection. I began visiting the families there and in nearby apartments to minister to any needs and start Bible studies for those who were interested. Most of those who lived in houses in stable neighborhoods owned their homes and knew many of their neighbors. Stable neighborhoods were much safer. People did not move frequently and home ownership was preferred over renting. Trailers and apartments were for the people who were mobile or those not able to afford to purchase. Since then, people have become very mobile and that includes many who own their own homes. It is not unusual for someone to sell a house and purchase a new one in their new location when they move to another area. In addition, there has been a big shift from owning to renting. In many places, more people live in trailers, apartments, and rental homes than in homes that they own. People are far less likely to live long-term in the same place. As a result, the people are far less likely to get to know each other so the same problems that prevailed in trailer parks and apartment buildings, have moved into more settled communities. In addition, businesses have moved away from residential areas so even stable neighborhoods have become bedroom communities. Christian families can become a catalyst for restoring a sense of community in their neighborhoods as they get to know their neighbors and help them get to know each other.

 

 

Sixth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb. 12

08 Feb

Sixth Sunday of Epiphany– Building Bridges– Today, many neighbors are isolated and do not know each other. In the past, neighborhoods were close knit communities where people worked and shopped nearby and helped each other in times of need.  Increasing mobility has separated housing from office and shopping areas and has made even stable neighborhoods into bedroom communities. People work and shop elsewhere and only come home to have supper and sleep. Family used to provide support but many live a long way from any family members. They have no one to reach out to in an emergency or in time of need. By getting to know your neighbors you can build bridges that help you be there when they need help and opens opportunities to share the Gospel with them.

 

 

Fifth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 5

01 Feb

Reaching the Children-Neighborhood children often congregate at the homes of Christians who have children because they feel the love that the parents have for their children and they enjoy the peace that reigns in a Christian home. Often their own parents ignore them or may even verbally or physically abuse them. It provides an excellent opportunity to show them through personal example that someone cares about them. It provides an opportunity to show them that God loves them and cares about them through Bible stories and video lessons. Children may be interested in a Children’s Bible Club. The church family may teach it or provide space for someone from the church to teach it. There is no problem with needing transportation like in traditional Vacation Bible Schools since the children live in the neighborhood. As the neighborhood children hear the Gospel and see it demonstrated, they may eventually want to attend church and urge their parents to take them.