THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  ​Today I heard a remarkable sermon on not pinning our hopes on the future from author and pastor, Nadia Bolz Weber. She writes, “​An Admiral in the US Navy, James Stockdale survived 8 years as a POW in a North Vietnamese prison camp. When asked who of his fellow prisoners struggled to make it out alive he replied ​“The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart….” ​ So the “Stockdale Paradox” is the ability to hold two opposing but equally true things at once: You must have faith that you will prevail in the end And at the same time you must confront the brutal facts of your current reality. When I stop and check in with myself I must say - I believe we will prevail. As terrible as this all is, I have faith in the power of human love and creativity and resilience and kindness and humor. And I believe God to be the source of our love and creativity and resilience and kindness and humor, which means there is an eternal supply on which to draw when we just don't have what it takes.” 

MAIL​: GOOD NEWS! The church mail situation is ​finally ​ getting straightened away! It’s being held at the post office and I’ll pick it up from time to time. I got a huge backlog of mail that was previously lost and so if you sent in checks that seem to have vanished, what was lost has now been found! 
 

SERVICE HELP: ​We’re still looking for Scripture Readers and special “Passing of the Peace” videos. If you’re interested in doing either, please contact Pastor Traci or Susan 

TRIVIA NIGHT: ​Join us for a ​TRIVIA NIGHT​ on May 30th. Proceeds benefit the Deacon Fund! It’s all in good fun and to benefit a great cause. 

THIRTY MINUTE CHECK IN: ​Don’t forget to sign up for a check in if you need to talk. We can do a video or voice chat. My calendar is available ​HERE​. 
 

THESE DAYS:​ We got them fairly late, but the ​These Days ​ devotionals are ready for you to pick up at the circle drive at church. 

CHALK THE WALK: ​When the weather is nice, help us leave messages of hope for our community on our circle driveway. While you’re there, pick up any trash you see lying around, or pluck up some dandelions before they go to seed. :) 
 
WEDNESDAY ZOOM MEETINGS: All meetings start at 7:00 p.m. 
 
TONIGHT!!! May 13th - Tori, the therapy dog tricks from 7:15-7:35 - This week will be perfect for all ages. We’ll start our time with checkins and end with prayer. In the middle, we’ll get to see Tori’s fantastic tricks! 
 
May 20th - Bible and Beverage -- Bring your favorite beverage, and we’ll talk about a passage from the Bible! (update: We’ll be previewing our text for May 24th, Peter Sinks in the Water -- Matthew 14:22-33) 
 

May 27th - ​The Art of Living​ book discussion. 
 Zoom Meeting Link is: ​https://zoom​ ​.us/j/515981426 
 

PRAYER WALL​: Add to our growing prayer wall, ​HERE​. 
 
 
Love to all, in Christ,    

Pastor Traci