400th anniversary of the Mayflower's sailing

The voyage of the Mayflower began with a group of religious Separatists seeking an escape from persecution and this week marks the 400th anniversary of the beginning of their journey to a new life of freedom in America.  

This group of Christians had become independent from the established church and were seeking a safe place to practice their faith.  They began by escaping to the Netherlands where there was more tolerance of differing viewpoints, but found it hard to settle to their new surroundings and a new language. The group, who later became known as the Pilgrim Fathers, commissioned two ships to carry them to their new life across the Atlantic – the Speedwell and the Mayflower. They met in Southampton, planning to sail directly to America but problems with the Speedwell caused them to have to stop for repairs in Dartmouth and then again in Plymouth in Devon. The Speedwell was unable to continue the voyage so the Mayflower sailed alone to the New World, carrying around 30 crew and just over 100 passengers - 50 men, 19 women (three of whom were pregnant), 14 young adults and 19 children. Around half of the passengers were Separatists fleeing persecution and the other half were what we would now call economic migrants seeking work in America.

Read more at this link.

Wednesday with the Wesley's

 

Methodism 101: Georgia & the Moravians

St. Simon's Island, Georgia

The Wesleys' in America

Savannah was a planned city, founded in 1733 by philanthropist and reformer General James Oglethorpe and laid out according to his design. In 1735, Oglethorpe invited John Wesley to come to Georgia as the colony's chaplain. Wesley sailed for Georgia on October 14, 1735, along with his brother Charles, who was to serve as Oglethorpe's private secretary.

Others in the party included Benjamin Ingham and Charles Delamotte, members with the Wesleys of "The Holy Club" at Oxford. The faith of a group of Moravian Christians on board the Simmonds with the Wesleys made a deep impression on John.

On February 6, 1736, the ship's passengers set foot on Peeper (now Cockspur) Island, and John Wesley led them in a prayer of thanksgiving. (A monument now marks the spot.) Exactly a month later, on March 7, he preached his first sermon in a hut in Savannah that served as both a courthouse and a place of worship.

The next two years were very difficult ones for the Wesley brothers. Charles was not temperamentally suited to be Oglethorpe's secretary. He also was not suited to be the parish priest to the new settlement at Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, about seventy-five miles south of Savannah. He ran into trouble with the colonists, had bouts of illness, and became so disheartened that he returned to England in August, just six months after their arrival.

John faced his own problems. He, too, was at times unpopular with the colonists, and a disastrous love affair with Sophy Hopkey only made his situation worse. Continued contact with the Moravians led him to question the state of his soul, and he failed to realize his hopes of a mission to the American Indians in Georgia. He wrote in his journal, "I came to convert the Indians, but, oh, who will convert me?"

John Wesley sailed for England on December 2, 1737, discouraged and uncertain about his future. He later said that he was only "beating the air" during his time in Georgia.

However, the time was not wasted. The questions that drove him from Georgia brought him "very unwillingly" to a meeting in Aldersgate Street in May, 1738, where he had his famous "heart-warming" experience. One could say that his months in Georgia were an important apprenticeship for the work that would be his for the next fifty years.

http://www.gcah.org/research/travelers-guide/john-wesleys-american-parish

This week @ St. Paul's UMC

Tuesday:

Newsletter articles due

7:00 pm, Virtual Trustees meeting

Wednesday:

10:00 am, Virtual Coffee/Tea

Thursday:

4:45 pm, Community Table

Sunday:
8:30 am-9:30 am, Breakfast-to-go with Brookdale Meridian

10:00 am, Virtual Worship

11:00 am, Virtual Youth Group

6:00 pm, Pilgrimage to the Land of Love Zoominar

Scripture lessons for September 20

Holy Fool (2016) by Michael Leunig

The scripture lessons for the last Sunday of summer come from Matthew 20:1-16  and Philippians 1:21-30. 

A prayer for Grandparent's Day

Big Mama and Paw-Paw,

Memaw and Pop-Pop,

Grams and Poppie,

Nanna and Grandpa.

If it were not for our grandparents

Where would some of us be?

If it were not for their sacrifices

Where would some of us have landed?

We bless you

For gifts of love and time and patience

We bless you

For the sacrifices you made in middle age and retirement

So that we would not feel the sting of want.

God bless you

For helping your children raise us

For teaching us your faith

For keeping a strong light shining

In a world full of darkness 

We bless you

For grandparents

For godparents

For keeping a strong light shining

For surrogate parents everywhere!

UMC Discipleship

September 13 @ St. Paul's UMC: Announcements

+In keeping with current City/County of Boulder, State of Colorado, and Mountain Sky Conference guidance, all in-person worship at St. Paul's UMC are cancelled until further notice. 

+You are invited to join us each Wednesday morning @ 10:00 am, for a virtual coffee/tea informal gathering via Zoom. Join our gathering at this link.

+You already know breakfast is the most important part of the day, and that is why we want to fuel you for the day ahead! St. Paul's UMC and Brookdale Meridian invite you to get a taste of the signature dining experiences residents enjoy each day at Brookdale Meridian with a delicious "Breakfast-to-Go," Sunday, September 20th, 8:30-9:30 am. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Natalie Junk, Brookdale Meridian - Boulder, 303-494-3900 or at njunk@brookdale.com.

+Peaks Pikes Peak UMW District Annual Meeting, Saturday, September 26, starting at 8:30 am. Register in advance for this meeting: here

+Be sure to view our calendar to see the latest activities being offered through various virtual platforms. More information is available on our blog.

+Please remember to send your gifts and offerings to support the ongoing ministries of St. Paul's UMC (Boulder) to Martha B.