Continue To Share

Hello everyone. Hope you all enjoyed a nice weekend.  Just want to remind you to please continue to send us some sharing moments.  I think everyone enjoys seeing and hearing from our church family and friends. So let's continue to keep in touch!   

Marcia Little has been busy working on her cake decorating skills celebrating a graduation. Her question she asks of us is, "Can you tell this is the first time ever decorating a cake?"  

I think it looks great Marcia!  Thank you for sharing with us!

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We've been experiencing a few cold days and evenings therefore Rusty and I have been enjoying the warmth of our fire pit.

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With Memorial Day approaching we would like to invite you to send us pictures of loved ones who have passed away, similar to what we have done at church the last couple of years. Send us a picture and tell us a little bit about them. Email them to:  mraymonds@msn.com

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Jasper, our furry family member agreed to create a sign for you all, hoping to inspire each of you to drop us a line or send us a picture!

Blessings,
Mindy
Percival Church Blogger

Happy Mother's Day!

Words are never enough to thank you for all that you do~

 Wishing you the gift of joy, love, peace and happiness today and every day!

                                
Here are a couple of music selections chosen for us by Mary Zach. Just click on the following links

A Mother's Love

A Coat of Many Colors  

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy May Day

May 1st       May Basket Day

May 7th      National Day of Prayer

May 10th    Mother's Day

May 21st    Ascension Day

May 25th    Memorial Day

May 31st    Pentecost

In our usual celebrations of the Merry Month of May, but now with missing community and isolation alone, we start to think of all those missing events of this month.  

Phyllis Layman making May baskets that are taken to those not able to be part of our church gatherings or just a reminder that they are thought of on this day.  Mother's Day breakfast prepared by all the appreciative men in our congregation.  Sundays spent in fellowship and special prayer days that bring hope and healing for all.

Memorial Day spent decorating the graves of our loved ones and tributes to all the veterans who have sacrificed to allow us to live in a country that is free.  A day of gathering with friends and neighbors to lunch together, reminisce and to be thankful for the blessings we take for granted.

This new year of 2020 has brought new fears and United States deaths of 63,746 and counting.  All ages, all ethnicity, and along with that, worry and concern for young and old as we try to live a life we have for the most part never known.  Following the safety directives of the health care professionals, we have become even more aware of the fragility of life, along with that the concern for all those we do not count as friends or acquaintances.  So with the death count rising, as more and more are being diagnosed with this deadly virus let us be reminded....

The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:7 "These trials will show that your faith is genuine.  It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold, so when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (NLT).
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A Note from the Pastor


At the beginning of every year, I state “Expect the unexpected.” Who would have thought that 2020 would bring the arrival of the Coronavirus 19 pandemic? Most of us would have believed the floods of 2019 would have been one of our last large disasters for awhile. However, God has many and varied ways to get our attention and how the Lord has if we have eyes to see and ears to hear what the spiritual ramifications are of what is occurring in our world, country and state. In the 23rd Psalm there is a phrase that should be music to the ears of every Christian as it states” “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” While  I’ve spent more hours inside my home staying put than in recent memories I have experienced a greater presence of the Lord that ever before. He has shown me and given me some understanding and discernment that I could have never known except for the current situation. 
As people of faith we are independent of outward circumstances. However dark the outside world seems the Light of Jesus Christ shines even brighter. It radiates a love, joy and peace that the world can’t give and the world can’t take away.
The world can shake and the foundations of earth can be removed but the Lord reigns on high and the Almighty is in control, not the virus. So let each of us rest under and in the shadows of His hands, and remember the words of our Savior , “My peace I give  to you, my peace I leave with you not as the world give; give I unto you, let not your heart be  troubled  neither let it be afraid.”  


                                                                                   Pastor Blaine Pritchett
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Thought I would leave you with some May basket making memories....

May your days be beautiful like the buds of May~

Rain and Rainbows

Spectacular rainbow captured by Mary Zach.

"There was a perfect rainbow at my house the other night that stretched from horizon to horizon! It was so bright and beautiful! If you look closely, there is a faint rainbow above the bright one."
~ Mary

I agree Mary, it is very beautiful!
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As April is coming to an end, Marcia Little sent in the following poem mentioning is was one of Pastor Pritchett's favorites.


A Rainy Day In April by Francis Ledwidge
 
When the clouds shake their hyssops, and the rain
Like holy water falls upon the plain,
'Tis sweet to gaze upon the springing grain
And see your harvest born.

And sweet the little breeze of melody
The blackbord puffs upon teh budding tree,
While the wild poppy lights upon the lea
And blazes 'mid the corn.

The skylark soars the freshening shower to hail,
And the meek daisy holds aloft her pail.
And Spring all radiant by the wayside pale
Sets up her rock and reel.

See how she weaves her mantle fold on fold,
Hemming the woods and carpeting the wold.
Her warp is of the green, her woof the gold,
The spinning world her wheel. 
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Thank you Mary and Marcia for sharing!

Plants, Flowers and Gnomes

 Got a couple of shares! The first one sent in by Nancy Newlon...

The church flower beds got some much needed attention the last couple weeks.  A few plants, daffodils, Stella De Oro daylilies and some ornamental grasses, survived the 2019 flood.  I decided to plant some low maintenance plants, hostas and Stella De  Oro daylilies to replace all the plants that did not live. It's apparent nothing will kill or slow the growth of the Stella and the hosta is a rugged plant. 

Janice Cheney lives 3 houses north of the church.  She had a great suggestion and most importantly a money saver.  She offered to divide her hostas and Stella plants and give them to the church.    She had gotten her hosta divisions after the 2011 flood from Jo Ann Birkby.  And yes, Jo Ann had hostas to divided again after the 2019 flood. 

George Valquier, who lives just north of the Percival park offered to dig and plant the flowers.  What a blessing he was.

Of course every project needs a supervisor, so that was my job.

Hope to see you soon at church.  Until then, stay well and enjoy all of the wonders of God's Spring Blessings.  The trees in bloom, the birds singing and of course the return of the Monarch butterflies.

Nancy

 

Thank you Janice, George, Nancy and Jo Ann!  You guys are great!

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The following is from Jo Ann Birkby....

 

Jo Ann's fairy (gnome) garden.  Created by covid squatter Lora Lee.  At least the gnomes are optimistic! 

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Thank you Jo Ann and Lora Lee! Cute little gnome garden!

Note from Pastor Pritchett

 In order to assist and communicate with one another as a church family, Pastor Blaine requests that you follow this blog site.  If you need to talk or would just like to visit with Pastor Blaine his phone number is 402-679-5261.  He would very much like to visit with you anytime. I would also like to remind everyone, if you click on "follow" found in the right sidebar, you will be notified by email when there is a new blog post.

"I believe and am convinced that we will be worshiping together sooner if we follow the guidelines set up by the Medical health experts and patiently wait for just awhile longer. So continue to use good hygiene. Social distancing, small group gatherings and only go out as needed.  Please wear your masks and when possible...stay in."

Pastor Pritchett

            Be Safe        Be Kind        Be Content        Be at Peace

                                              

              

Bunnies and Baskets

Creative Betty Booker, has been busy making projects to benefit a Sunday school teacher.  She put together the little rabbits out of wash rags for their Easter surprises using plastic eggs filled with candy treats and for afterwards to hold hand lotion or other ideas.  Moving on from that project, she started on May Day baskets.  So even though our day to day normal May activities does not leave lots of room for usual celebrations, the tradition of leaving May baskets at doors of recipients can still be observed.  I'm sure we all remember filling and picking violets or other flowers, a piece of candy and knocking on doors, ringing door bells, running to hide as to leave a surprise for our friends and family.  Thanks Betty for sharing some normalcy for us to enjoy.