From the Spiritual Director

Bishop Webb, Bishop of the Upper New York Annual Conference for the United Methodist Church, had a powerful question at the beginning of his Thanksgiving Letter to the people known as Methodists. “What would be there if you woke up tomorrow and all that was left were things that you thanked God for?”

Thanksgiving is more than just being thankful for a large meal. I know that many in the Native American culture see Thanksgiving as a day of mourning; I hope you can put that feeling aside and look at the origins of the feast. If you study both sides of the story, after all every story has at least two perspectives, you can get closer to a true understanding of the story. I admit that I am going to pick out positive details here and not give the whole story. The purpose is to get you to think about being thankful regardless of what you believe about the things that happened in the Plymouth area in regards to Thanksgiving.

What I know is that the Native Americans and the Pilgrims co-existed, even to the point of agreeing to protect each other. I dare say that the Pilgrims would not have survived if it were not for the love of Christ that the Native American community extended to the Pilgrims during the first year here in this land. Originally the Native American community was not invited; they heard gun shots, intended to be celebratory, and came to help defend the Pilgrim community from what ever they were fighting, they were honoring the covenant they had made. When they came, they were invited to stay. A three-day feast began. Deer were harvested for the meal and the two communities began the work of forging a deeper relationship.

Scripture informs us that we should go to God with everything and that anything worth doing should begin with prayer. Too often prayer is our last resort not our first line of response. Too often we regress into human nature and only go to God when we need something. Too often we forget to say Thank You. When was the last time you said Thank You to Christ for the gift of life? What about the roof over your head, the clothes on your back, the ‘piece of crap” car that you have that still gets you from point A to point B or the privilege to go and be in the crowd at the supermarket? Did you thank God today for the grumpy neighbor that helps you grow in patience and compassion? Or the man that knocks frequently on the parsonage door because he needs money to rescue his son, daughter, father or friend who has this or such calamity in their life and your “gift” of a tank full of gas or the monetary equivalent would be welcome to help them out? That person helps you discern where God is calling you, your church and your pastor to be at work in your community. How about the non-believer who will celebrate Christmas? Did you thank God for pointing this person out to you so you can introduce them to the God they do not want to recognize?

We need to be more thankful. My hope, my prayer is that we will be reminded by Thanksgiving to be thankful people; that is people full of thanks. People who go to God and consistently thank God for the blessings in our lives, even when blessings come in disguise.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Prayers and praises

Please pray for my mother. Taken by ambulance to Hospital today & admitted tonight. Quite ill. Thanks.

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my dr just called me and said that i have a blood clot disorder and i supossed to see a specialist and they will be calling me and keep me in prayer

okay well i went to the docs and got a procedure done they think it was a boil? It was pretty infected! But i find out what it was on friday!

Praise report!!!! For those that don’t know, our son, is a sophomore at College. He has no vehicle and is too far away from church to walk, so he has not been to church since starting there. He has been struggling and has been praying for something to work out to get him to a church and back into Christian fellowship. One of our new cursillistas is working to make sure he is going to have a ride to church, at least every couple of weeks, if not every week. They are working to get him a ride to church and for that I am so VERY thankful!!!! This is something that we have been praying for for almost a year! God does like it when we are persistent!!! God is GOOD!

Praying for you our friend and your daughter and grandchildren now as they prepare for the days ahead. Hugs my dear and God’s Blessings as He has paved the way for you all. Mercy is falling ………………………….We all love you and will be praying.

Asking for prayer requests- situation has been a long time coming and I feel as though I’m not able to bend anymore without completely breaking. Prayers that God will hear my cries and lead me to a better situation, soon.

Prayers for Donna House’s brother age 66, who has just been diagnosed with acute leukemia, he will be starting treatments, but it does not sound good.
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Rev. of the UMC, passed away suddenly today, Thursday, Nov. 15. She is survived by her only child, a daughter. She was much loved by her congregation and her colleagues. Arrangements are incomplete.
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My sona and his wife went to Syracuse yesterday for the second sonogram of the babies heart. Baby has Hypoplastic right heart with pulmonary atresia. He can die in the womb before he’s born and if he is born he will have to endure multiple surgeries to fix his heart. I’m just hanging on to my God and crying. There is nothing I can do or my son and wife can do to change it right now. Just prayer and take care of themselves.

I turned to you for strength .

Your sister in Christ

Please lift a friend in your prayers. He fell out of his tree stand this morning and is currently in hospital with multiple fractures in his pelvis. Please keep him and his family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time.
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Please lift Heather up in prayer, a young woman with a husband and small children that adore her. She is going through cancer treatment, but things are not looking good. Please pray the Divine Healer will touch her with his loving hands.
Thank you prayer warriors.

PennyFrancis
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I will be getting Baptized tomorrow morning and giving my Testimony, please pray the Holy Spirits presence will be with me and within me

One of my friend’s twin sons needs prayers, he was in the locker room at the Arena and something on the bench he was sitting on kept poking him, when he looked there was empty syringe. They do not know if it was used or what would have been in it. Prayers for God’s mercy on him and peace for his parents. Thank you

Prayers for a little guy and his two siblings. He is 5 months old and was just placed in foster care after a stay in the hospital. He was 7 lbs 11 oz at birth but now is only 6 lbs 8 oz and two of those pounds were gained in his hospital stay. He has fractures on both sides of his head caused by his 3 year old sibling trying to take care of him. My understanding is the two siblings are not in any better shape. God bless these little ones. He still smiles!

I need prayers please, just bought a car in October and every week something goes wrong with it. My brakes went today while I was out. With my limited income I cant afford to fix it until Dec. I bought from a private person not a dealer so I cant give it back.
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Update on my brother. He has been moved to one of the top ten per cent of Cancer treatment hospitals in the country. Started chemo treatment within days of diagnosis and has the more treatable forms of leukemia. Thanks for all your prayers.
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please pray for me! I have just been really depressed. And i kinda dont want to be around anybody, or even talk to them please just pray that i get out of this depression i am in thank you.

Prayers desperatly needed. My father is currently in the ICU. He has at least 2 blockages and a leakage of his heart valve. He will be transported to Ohio at 10 in the morning for surgery. I will be going with him, I do not know much more than that. But our god is an awesome God!!!
update on my father. Prayers are still desperatly needed. My father is in CICU at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He has had testing done and he had a neck cath inserted to monitor his heart more closely. I am staying with him until he gets discharged. He will have surgery on Friday at the earliest and then he will stay in the Hospital for at minimun 7 days. Please continue to keep him and our Family in your prayers.

Please pray for my 2-month-old grandniece, who is hospitalized with a high fever and elevated white blood cell count. The doctors can’t figure out what’s causing this. Let’s agree in our spirits for her complete and total healing right now, in Jesus’ name!

is now conpletely confused and lost.. i am throwing my hands up to u and praying for u to care for my son….please help him find his way back to us…….

Prayer is being requested for my cousin. She was in an accident on Friday evening where she was broad sided. She has many internal injuries. She is currently in the ICU. May God bless this young woman and her family with his mercy and grace.

I heard a great one liner yesterday on the radio…… If you pray, you will not be prey!!
Love it

Prayer is amazing…please lift a young single mom (3 children) was dx with leukemia last week. She has had several bad to poor days. Healing for her, guidance for the doctors, peace for the.entire family. Thank you prayer warriors!!!

True story…. I asked for prayers for my daughters friends cousin. Just got word she is doing much better!!! Thank you God for giving this young woman some relief from her pain and suffering.

Prayers for all the needs of all the children.
Two needs I am aware of : I received a call to pray for a hurting family that lost their 4 yr old today, she was hit by a car. Another need yesterday was a young man (6th grader)
Taken by hand cuffs from school. Thank you Lord that you can handle all our prayers with the greatest love.
The services were today for this 4 year old little girl. Prayers continue for this little family to heal. And many prayers for that baby sitter also.

A friend is going in at 8:30 pm for a c-section pray for comfort for them all!
Thank you prayer warriors.

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Continued prayers for my Mom. Today is Day#11 of her stay at Hospital. Last Thursday night she was transferred to the ICU where she still is. Thanks!
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Knowing the power of prayer that has all ready been present in my life, I would like to request prayers as I prepare for a total hip replacement on Monday morning, November 26. Thank you, Prayer Warriors.
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Prayers and Praises

This is a prayer request. A young man was diagnosed with cancer this morning. He is a second grader where I work. I know him pretty well and am heartbroke about this. He has rhabdomyocarcoma. They started radiation this morning and told his mom that he would need treatments 40-50 weeks. His teacher is also struggling with this and broke down in front of her class today. She is an awesome teacher and we were throwing around ideas for the class to constantly be reaching out to Tristan! Thank you all in advance for the prayers for his recovery, his family, his teacher and his classmates!! They appreciate them!!
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Ask for prayers for my Dad who was taken to the hospital with his heart. This morning they had to use the paddles to get his heart moving. Pray for comfort and strength for him. Pray for the medical team.
Ask for prayers for our Great Son who is scheduled for surgery Monday Nov 5th. He is 18 Mo. old. Has a build up of fluid on one testicle. They need to drain and correct the problem.
Ask for prayers for a close friend. She lives in Fl. Received call and she is scheduled for surgery on Nov 5th for cervical cancer.
Ask for prayers for one of our grand children and the family. God knows the need.
We also give praise report regarding our grand daughter. She has been in an abusive relationship for past three years. She had finally saw the light and after the last physical incident in August had him arrested. Went to court and he will be sentence to one year in county jail. She was also granted soul custody of the two children. Since that God has made a way for her to move to a new apartment. She is blessed with a wonderful landlord. She is also seeking professional counseling. To handle several issues. She is very open and honest with us. We thank God for the provisions He has made in her life. Please keep her in prayer for the road ahead is still a long one.
Keep us in prayer too. For guidance, strength and wisdom for as you can see our plate is overflowing.. We keep believing that God does not give us more than what we can handle.
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My sister in law is a pediatric nurse. Today she and the dr she work for will be attending a funeral for a pt of theirs.He was a happy, healthy 5 month old Baby boy. It was sudden. It brings chills to my skin, sadness to my heart and tears to my eyes just typing this. The family, which includes two young siblings and all who know them need to be covered in prayers right now!!! These are the times that test the faith of the faithful. We need to be praying for strength,fellowship,and strengthened faith in such difficult times!!

More Miracles!
A young lady was moved out of Hospital into an acute rehab setting-she is on a strenuous regimen of physical, occupational, and speech therapy…. it’s been 4 weeks since we lifted this young lady up in prayer for the first time…
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I am asking for prayers for family who is going through a difficult time now. Also asking for prayers for the local school district as they do not have enough in there budget to pay for aides for the buses and they have 1 driver and 60 kids.
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So today i started off with a bad day, and then i prayed to the lord, and as the day went by it got good. Praise the lord! But please pray for me i have a doctor appt. Tomorrow, and lets just hope it goes well. Praise the lord.
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I’m in need of prayer..I’ve not been myself lately and I feel like I’m lost.  Please Lord wrap me in your beautiful Grace!

In 1995 I was working at the Tavern.  In comes a man.  He tells me that a hunter was shot in the woods.  So I asked him who it was. He told me my brother.  I had to ask him again who!  He says your brother.  Well, my heart went into my throat and I ran upstairs to tell the boss that I was leaving and why.   Well, I’m standing in WalMart today when someone pipes up and says that someone was shot.  My heart went into my throat again, but I had a peace about me that I just kind of know that it wasn’t him.  You see, another brother of mine lives on that road with his family.  Talk about a freaky situation.  I called my Mom and asked her if she had seen him or my nephew today.  She proceeded to tell me that she had seen my my nephew but not brother.  My brother came to the house to prove to my parents that he was alive and fine.  AND to tell my Mom that they don’t hunt in that set of woods.  Talk about relief!   God sure was with my family today
Please Pray for the family of the hunter that did get shot and with this hunter.  That kind of news really stinks.

Heading to Rockland County with a generator for my son’s girlfriend’s family.  Asking prayers for safe travels, finding gas close enough, and safe passage there and back.  They will be without power for at least another week.  Winds ripped off the main power line to their home.  Thank you my friends.

Mission accomplished!  Generator working – check.  Belly full from lunch – check.  Time spent with family – check.  Visit to Rockland bakery – double check. Headed back north with pastries for Ultreya tomorrow night!!!

Got home about 45 minutes ago.  Hot shower and a slice of fruit tart from Rockland Bakery!  It’s been a great day filled with many blessings!  All honor and glory to my Lord and Savior as I do it for him for what He has done for me!

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We Praise God and thank you for your prayers for our great granson. His surgery went well this morning and he is back home.
We trust that in a couple days he will be doing just fine.
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Finally got an answer from doctors today. Herniated disk lower back. At least it is not the heart again! Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes.

I have been asked to share this on my prayer chains…
I met a woman this weekend who is in dire straights. Recently divorced, she has been out of a job for a long while (when her government contract ran out) and her unemployment benefits just ran out, as well. She came this weekend to help at our food cupboard (she lives 50 miles away) and ended up staying for church. She was so blessed by everyone and a number of us have been praying for her all weekend. I just received a call from her and she got a message today that someone received her resume and would like to talk to her about a position!!! She knows the power of prayer and has asked that we continue to pray for her and her children and that she find work soon!!!! Prayers are working and she just needs that confidence boost and to know that people love her and care about her…….thank you for your prayers!

Please pray for our son and his wife. They are going through a rough patch and are separating. They love each other but feel their differences are just too much to overcome.

My daughter is standing in line at a gas station in Brooklyn with her 5 gallon jug…fuel shipment to come this afternoon…pray for her safety and also for those waiting in lines all over the city…
Fuel shipment cancelled…continued prayers needed…

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I am asking this community to be praying for a friend from work. On Thursday, he is going to court seeking shared custody of his three children ages 4-10.  In my many conversations with him, his desire is only for time as a father with his children.  It is not about money or getting even.  He is a seeker, going to Church and asking a lot of questions.  If you could lift him and his children and ex-wife in prayer at 10:00 on the 8th he would be grateful

Please keep my parents neighbor and his family in prayer. He had a massive heart attack and is not doing well. I don’t know much more than that.

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I am so bummed about not being able to make it to the Reunion! I failed to block out my column in the appointment book at the salon, and I’ve been praying so hard and so long for an increase in clientele that I didn’t even think about the reunion when I was posting appointments for today! I was just so excited to have people that wanted me to do their hair! Then I realized what I had done… Soooo sad! I really wanted to see my CW98 buddies again and find out what God had been doing in their lives since the Walk! Please know that I am with you all in Spirit today, praying for all of you and rejoicing still in the wonderful gift we were given on our Walk! It all happens for a reason, folks. I have to trust in that. Love you all….
Enjoy your day!

I want to say first and foremost that God is Good! Thank you Father for everything we have, whether it be a precious child or the necessities of life.

Please friends pray for our daughter. We put her on the prayer chain during the summer. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and she was living in Hawaii because her husband was stationed there. Well he was discharged from the army and sent back to his home of record which was Idaho. My daughter is very sick with Bronchitis and double ear infection. They have no income because my son-in-law has not looked for a job. He has also not gone to the VA for there health insurance. This means she can’t afford the medicine and she won’t let me send her the money.

She also has NOT had her radiation treatments. I am very worried about her. We found out right before she left Hawaii that her cancer is very aggressive and that she should have had radiation started right after she had her last surgery. When I asked her husband why he had not taken care of anything, “he said that he was trying but was too busy with his family!” Please help me with my anger for I am very upset with him. I gave him til the end of the month to get things started or I was going to pay for her to come home which is where she wants to be anyway. I don’t know what else to do about this but pray and believe that she will be ok.

Asking for prayers for my co-workers family. His uncle is in surgery now. He has a blood clot behind his knee.

Hey guys, it’s me again. Had a follow up dr visit today to review X-rays and it appears that I might not have a herniated disk because they found a “mass” on my spine. The “C” word was not said but the doctor says I need to “prepare” for the worse. Going in for procedure on Tuesday and maybe an MRI. Please pray!!

I would ask for prayers for my husband as he is entering day 8 of working on Long Island for storm restoration . Conditions are very harsh for the utility workers and heartbreaking for those that live there . He is anticipating being there at Least another week .

Alright prayer warriors, it’s time to be like the widow with the unjust judge and Sheldon (from Big Bang Theory) knocking on a door …
We are trying to sell our house in KY (going on our 3rd year). Prayers for it to sell before winter (Dec. 21st)!!!!
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