Read Ship to Shore
Ship to Shore is Mayflower’s monthly e-newsletter. Read the latest edition.
Entries by Kathy Graves
Growing Together
Check out this blog, updated frequently by Eli’jah for the children and youth at Mayflower.
May 15 – Jesus is Baptized
Did you know that baptism, or when you come forward in front of the church and the pastor splashes water on your head, is a symbol, or something that we (the church) can see, that is actually a symbol for something we can’t see? When we are baptized with water, we are letting our community know that we want to be part of that community. But we get baptized because of a feeling we had or our parents had first. And, that feeling is that we know that we want to be loving, sharing, kind people that believe in God and follow Jesus, who taught us to love one another. And, we want our community of faith, Mayflower to be the one that carries us along the Jesus path. I wonder how you show that you are a loving and sharing person.
May 13 – The Three Wise Men (Ones)
Today, we’ll hear a story that we often hear and learn about after Christmas Day. Usually, we hear this story and learn about this story on the first Sunday of January, known as Epiphany Sunday. An easy way to describe Epiphany is Ah-Ha! During our stay at home time, I’ve had quite a few Ah-Ha moments because I’m learning how to do things that I normally do out in the world differently since I’m spending a lot of time at home. One Ah-Ha moment I had was when I figured out how to change my background in zoom meetings. I used a picture from my favorite cartoon, Bob’s Burgers! I wonder what Ah-Ha moments you’ve had during our Stay at Home time.
May 12 – Jesus Is Born
Today’s story from Tutu’s Children of God Storybook Bible is one we hear during Advent. And, we hear it most often on Christmas Eve. It’s a great story for all seasons though! The birth of Jesus reminds us of hope, joy, love, peace, and newness. We need to remember hope, joy, love, peace, and newness all the time, especially right now! I wonder what you look forward to when you wake up in the morning. What is bringing you joy? What do you love?
I know that being able to write to you in this blog brings me joy. And, I love when I hear from you. In fact, I got a card from one of you the other day in the mail, and it put a GIANT smile on my face. I look forward to writing back to you! Continue to be love for each other!
May 9 – Oh, the Places You’ll Go
Can you imagine going places again?!? Today’s reading is a book that I really love by Dr. Seuss called, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” I thought about this book a lot as I wrote last Sunday’s meditation (a meditation is a short sermon. A sermon is when the person talks about one theme from the podium as the front of the church on Sundays.)
It is hard to think that we will again be able to leave our homes to go and play, to hug our friends again, to go to school, to go our for ice cream, and so many other things. I hope this story can help you remember that some day, we’ll be able to do these things again, and so much more!
May 8 – An Angel Appears to Mary
Our prayer today: “Dear God, please help me share in your plan for the world.” If you remember the sermon from last Sunday, YOU are super important is sharing with the world God’s plan!! The things we do that are Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, are probably part of God’s plan. What can you do right now to help in sharing these things? Can you create cool sidewalk chalk art that shares a positive message? Can you make sure to where a face covering when you are out in public for walks and necessary grocery shopping? Can you write letters to people in your life? Can you help around the house to keep our spaces clean during times when we are all inside a lot? There are so many things we can do to be Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love!
May 7 – Jonah and the Big Fish
Thank you for being patient! I haven’t made a new post in a little bit. I hope you and your family are well! Today’s story is about how Jonah gets swallowed by a whale! Really, the story is about how we should love our enemies because God loves everyone no matter what. When we love our enemies, it doesn’t mean that if they do something bad makes it right. Loving our enemies does mean that no matter what we do, we see that each person, no matter, is a child of God. It’s OK to not agree with how someone acts, and still love them no matter what.
A Report on the Annual Meeting
Read the annual report and the amazing year at Mayflower!
We Never Imagined
We never imagined everything it would mean when we declared that we would be doing church differently.
