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In This Issue

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FUMC Fellowship Flyer Farmersville United Methodist Church

A Prayer for the Pandemic

Dear God,

Today, I pray…

For those whose health is compromised by the coronavirus or other health issues.

For those who suffer from the economic impact of the virus, in travel, manufacturing, hospitality, energy or so many other industries.

For health care workers and first responders, and other public servants who put themselves in harm’s way for us.

For our leaders of the world, our countries, states, and cities, as they seek to help manage this challenge

God, it can be overwhelming. But you tell us over and over again not to be afraid.

Show me how to trust in you.

Amen

What Will We Look Like on July 12th? I am the church. You are the church, We are the church together.

It’s a song refrain popular with many ages in our church, from the little ones to seniors. Also, the church is always learning. From the May congregational survey, we learned that some people are not yet ready to return in person, so the Facebook Live service becomes our permanent second service.

Starting July 12 people have a choice for in-person worship at 9am or the online 11am Facebook Live service from home.

Watch our Facebook Live and Faith Connection emails for details on reserving a spot for the 9 AM worship service. This reservation system makes sure we comply with safety precautions requiring less than 50 people at gatherings. Masks will be required and we will seat people for social distancing. Blessings to you! Rebecca Lee

Featured FUMC Family Page 2

FUMC Outdoors Page 4

Some of our parishoners let us know what they have been up to. And we have yoga!

The Helsingers are front and center as they cope with covid and the fortunes of farming.

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JUNE 2020 FUMC FELLOWSHIP FLYER

Featured Family: The Helsingers

Chris, Sarah, Grant, Lindie

In their own words (Well, Sarah’s words)

I helped at my parents garage sale, and have attended 2 cattle shows. So much for staying safe in

quarantine, blew it out the window there. Those events were outside, so I felt safer. I have run into a few stores but always wearing a mask and I only use a cart if I watch the worker disinfect it. Grant worked on two Hereford heifers all spring. He raised both of them from birth. He showed Sheela last year as a calf. She is the calf of his show heifer from 2018. The other calf he calls "Baby" was born on our farm in April. He will show these at three Ohio shows, and at the Jr National show in Kansas City July 10-15.

Lindie has 4 sheep, Dopey, Ephrium, Fiona, and Godzilla. Lindie and her sheep attended lamb camp on June 20th. She will show them at one show, before the Montgomery County livestock Expo in July 13. Lindie also has a heifer "Clara" she has shown this summer and will show in Kansas City on July 14th.

I finished the last 9 weeks of school from home, and was very proud of her students. They did a great job of staying on top of their online assignments, and checking in with her weekly. I hate to shop, so loved mail order and grocery pick up.

Chris also began working from home, and has adjusted great. He doesn't plan on returning to the office. He got his corn and soybeans planted and now needs rain for them to grow.

We supported most of our local eating establishments with carry out, and experimented with new recipes! Living on a farm was great for quarantine. The trees, birds, cows and animals didn't know there was a pandemic!

The Helsingers! And, uh, the Helsingers! From left to right – Grant, Chris, and Lindie Then Emma, Jessica, and Collin, Chris’ brother’s family. PHOTO BY SARAH

Chris’ John Deere tractor comes in at about175 hp, but some JD’s are over 600, a rating that has doubled in just the past ten years.. The first John Deere in 1937? Ten horsepower. Including the horse.

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JUNE 2020 FUMC FELLOWSHIP FLYER

Climate Change and the Methodist Church’s Response: Book of Resolutions #1035

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economiesofthisworldcarrythevastresponsibility.Thoseeconomiesthathavebenefitedfromfossil-fueldevelopmentrightlybeartheresponsibilitytorapidlyreduceemissionsandsupportlesswealthyeconomiesintheirjourneytowardsustainableandclimateresilientdevelopment.

Unlesswechangeourways,theaverageglobaltemperaturebytheendofthetwenty-firstcenturyisoncoursetoincreaseby4degreesCelsiusresultinginsealevelrise,shrinkingglaciers,extremeweather,droughts,andflooding.TheUnitedNations’WorldFoodProgramestimatesthatclimatechangewillplace20percentmorepeopleatriskofhungerby2050.

Leadersinsomedevelopednationscontinuetodebate,fromplacesofcomfortandprivilege,the“reality”ofachangingclimateinordertoperpetuatetheirpollutingways.AsthechurchwewitnessfirsthandtheconsequencesofclimatedisruptioninourcommunitiesandinthelivesofthoseChristcallsustobewithinministry.Recognizingourcomplicityandresponsibility,weseektochartanewpathrootedineconomicandecologicaljustice.ourchildrenandfuturegenerations.

(continuedonpage5)

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ThenaturalworldisalovinggiftfromGod,thecreatorandsustainer,whohasentrusteditinallitsfullnesstothecareofallpeopleforGod’sgloryandtothegoodofalllifeonearthnowandingenerationstocome.TheimageofGodinus(Genesis1:27)isreflectedinourabilities,responsibilities,andintegrity,andwiththepoweroftheHolySpiritwearecalledasGod’scoworkersindialogueandcovenanttoliveandserveforthegoodofcreation.

Weconfessthatwehaveturnedourbacksonourresponsibilitiesinneglect,selfishness,andpride.AndyetChrist’sredeemingandrestoringworkthroughhisdeathandresurrectionembracesallofcreation.Eveninthefaceofdestructionanddisaster,webelievethatGod’svisionfortheworldisofpeaceandwholenessandthatGodofferstousafuturefilledwithhope(Jeremiah29:11).Thisvisionhasapresentandafutureinthepromiseofanewheavenandanewearth(Revelation21:1-8).

Onemanifestationofourneglect,selfishness,andprideisoursinfuldisregardforcreationthathasgivenrisetotheinjusticeofclimatechange.Human-inducedclimatechangeiscausedbytheemissionofCO2andothergreenhousegases,forwhichthestrong

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JUNE 2020 FUMC FELLOWSHIP FLYER

FUMC Outdoors!

We bet you remember doing this. Everyone in the back of the pick up and going to the Drive In Movies? The Jacoby Family did just that recently. That’s the screen to the Melody 49 and they saw ET! We remember going back in the day. Ford flatbed with a board between the wooden slats for a bench seat. Or you could take along some folding chairs, if you had them in 1954. From right to left, Kurt, Dani, Emma, and beau Bruno.

Barnes Family

Carol and Dustin Barnes not only got outside, they got out of town. At left and below, they, with daughter Brooklyn, were In Ocean Isle Beach, NC and on South Bass Island up on Lake Erie.

Dan Lee Dan would like to work on his deck more but the large spider with what Dan calls a wide “wingspan” was out there and Dan demurred. The photo is even taken through the patio door glass. We told Dan that spiders don’t have wings and therefore no “wingspan”. He is still not going out there.

Jacoby Family

Yoga Continues – Outdoors! Socially distanced yoga! We knew it could

happen. Joy Lauver has reconvened the workout. If it’s chair yoga, it will take place on Joy’s concrete driveway. The mat yoga will be on her composite deck with any overflow going into the yard. Of course, all this is dependent on the weather, but if you would like to participate, the address is 8085 Jamaica Rd in Germantown. The chair yoga goes from 6:15 to 7:7:15 and the mat class at 7:45. Text Joy if you are coming at 937-238-9313 so she knows how much space is needed.

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JUNE 2020 FUMC FELLOWSHIP FLYER

Climate Change (continued from page 3)

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ChallengeallUnitedMethodistinstitutions,organizations,andlocalchurchestoincorporateclimatestewardship,reducingtheuseoffossilfuel,intothedesignoffacilitiesandreducethecarbonfootprintofmeetings;

UtilizeresourcesavailablethroughtheGeneralBoardofChurchandSociety,theGeneralBoardofGlobalMinistries,theGeneralBoardofDiscipleship,andUnitedMethodistWomentosupportlocally-appropriateclimateactions;

Advocatefornationalpoliciesthatshiftresources,includingsubsidies,awayfromhigh-carbondevelopmentandtowardalternative,cleanerenergysources;and

Advocateforafair,ambitious,andbindinginternationalagreementtoaddressclimatechangebuiltonnationallyappropriatecommitmentstobothmitigationandadaptation.

ADOPTED2016

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Aswecontinuetocallforboldleadershipandadvocateforpoliciesrootedinjusticeandsustainability,weunderstandthatGodiscallingeachofustorespondandthatasadenominationwecannothopetotransformtheworlduntilwechangeourwayofbeinginit.

Therefore,wecallonUnitedMethodiststo:StudythepastoralletterfromtheCouncilofBishopsentitled“God’sRenewedCreation:CalltoHopeandAction.”Clergyandlaityshouldusetheletterandaccompanyingresourcestopreachandteachonthecareforcreationaspartofourdiscipleship;Prayerfullyexplorelifestylechangesasindividualsandfaithcommunitiesthatwouldreducegreenhousegasemissionsandsupportacleaner,healthierfuture;

Supportcommunitiesimpactedbyclimatechangeaswellasthosecurrentlydependentonfossilfuelextractionandproductionastheytransitiontoanewenergyeconomy;

The Importance of Wearing a Mask

FUMC FELLOWSHIP FLYER JUNE 2020

One big change as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is the increased use of masks in public. As the outbreak continues and parts of the country reopen, many localities and businesses are suggesting, even requiring, the wearing of masks or other types of face coverings to help prevent the spread of the virus.

While medical-grade masks such as the N-95 mask provide the best protection against the spread, they’re hard to find and are mostly reserved for use by front-line healthcare workers. So many of us are wearing homemade masks — whether made ourselves or via friends or Etsy — made from cloth or even improvised masks made from scarves or bandannas. But how effective are they in protecting you from the virus while wearing one? And how can they protect those around you?

We asked Steven Gordon, MD, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Infectious Disease, and pulmonologist Raed Dweik, MD, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Respiratory Institute, about the science around these masks and why wearing them is important.

Dr. Dweik confirms that those homemade masks, often made of material like cotton, won’t do much to protect you from inhaling particles that carry the virus. But they do protect wearers from possibly spreading the virus to others.

“There is evidence that such masks reduce the exhaled aerosols from infectious, but asymptomatic, individuals.” he says. By blocking the exhale of virus particles in to the air around you, your mask is keeping the virus from spreading.

Additionally, the masks serve as a really helpful physical barrier when you cough or sneeze. “Those actions can propel this cloud of droplets from you up to 25 or 26 feet,” he says. Your mask can “disrupt” that cloud and keep those virus particles from traveling.

As for how we know this, Dr. Dweik explains, ”Our normal exhaled breath consists of tiny water droplets and fluid from the lining of the lungs that carries dissolved bacteria, viruses, proteins, metabolites and other compounds. As they enter the air, the aerosols begin to dry and, ultimately, only the dissolved materials remain.” As businesses reopen and employees return to work, masks can play a pivotal role in helping block the spread of the virus, especially from asymptomatic carriers. The more people in a given space wearing masks, the less viral particles are making it into the space around them, decreasing exposure and risk.

Not that they’re a total fix. As Dr. Gordon notes, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says masks potentially help prevent transmission when used as a complement to social distancing.”

From the Cleveland Clinic

Covid Risk Table