Monday, January 6, 2025

Nudges

November 26, 2024

Happy harvest time, church family and friends!

Growing up in suburbia, “harvest” was not part of my world. But I met a gentleman today who gave us a generous donation, because he sold a bunch of good hay this year and wanted to share the blessing with us. He and his wife got married in our church in 1975, he said. We sat and talked awhile, and I showed him around the Wolf Center and told him about last night’s Thanksgiving feast and some of the other stuff we’re up to…but I feel like we didn’t get to talk for nearly long enough, and as I sit down to write I have a thousand questions. I’ll have to send them a note and invite them both for coffee.

But what a neat thing. I just love when people do that, perfect strangers who listen to a nudge from God and wind up on our doorstep wanting to bless someone.

On Monday (yesterday), as some folks were prepping dinner, and Margaret’s team were doing their best to manage without her in the food pantry (just kidding, she has taught them VERY well and they do excellent work), and others of us were helping folks with showers and laundry and conversation, in came Tammie and Cullen from the Churchill Coalition with a whole bunch of packets of hygiene supplies that some sweet neighbors brought to give to folks in need. They had packed socks, crackers, water, tissues, nail clippers, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and pocket-sized copies of the New Testament. Tammie thought Epworth was the perfect place to bring them. And she was right, they went like hot cakes.

More nudges from God, moving people to want to bless someone. And how blessed are we to be able to facilitate, and witness!

Our church is so much bigger than the friends we see in church on Sundays. Margaret Knox and her team gather in prayer together every Monday morning before they open the food pantry, and I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen them sitting with our guests in deep conversation and prayer. When folks come to us needing to do court-ordered community service – which, as you can imagine, is never for reasons they are proud of – we work hard to make the experience affirming, positive, lifegiving. Transformative, we hope. My own office time on Mondays and Tuesdays is full of folks seeking prayer, comfort, and pastoral care. Our time making lunches on Wednesdays has become like worship.

ALL of it is worship. And it is touching people far beyond the walls of our little church. Which is why, when they feel these nudges from God, they know where to go to respond to his call.

What an incredible privilege it is, to serve the Lord together with you. All these hundreds of us praying, singing, seeking, learning, serving God side by side, in the name of Jesus Christ. I am so, so grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Pastor Dawn

Worship This Week

Advent Begins! The Hanging of the Greens

We love this tradition of remembering the meaning of this wonderful season, and setting our traditions in the context of the birth of Jesus Christ. Worship on Sunday will be filled with scripture and Advent carols, and sharing Holy Communion.

Worship begins at 9:00am every Sunday, in person. If you can’t be there, remember to find us on YouTube so that you can watch live from wherever you are, or join us on KVLV radio on AM980 every Sunday beginning at 9:30am. If you have ideas or questions, or if we can be in prayer for you in any way, please call the church at 775-423-4714, or call Pastor Dawn directly at 775-671-5553. We’d love to hear from you.

Wednesday Evening Prayer with Lectio Divina

Wednesday Evening Prayer is held on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00pm on YouTube Live. Lectio Divina is an ancient, special way of reading and praying with Scripture. Most people who try it find it deeply meaningful. We’ll meet next on December 4. Hope you’ll join us.

News and Fun Stuff

Online Giving

Everything we do to serve God and our neighbors is made possible because of your generosity. THANK YOU! You can set up online giving at our website, epworthfallon.org/give.

Christmas Wreath Decorating Contest and Sale

Use one of our fresh holiday wreaths (they should be here the first week in December), decorate it however you’d like, and let us sell it at the Christmas Craft Fair at Churchill County High School on December 13 and 14. Tell your artistic friends and neighbors and help us raise money for all we do.

And Help Us Staff Our Table!

We’ll be selling fresh undecorated wreaths, too, and be there to greet folks and answer their questions about Epworth and the Wolf Center. The more of our smiling faces, the better.

Advent Bible Study “Who Needs Christmas”

Our Advent study this year is called “Who Needs Christmas” by Andy Stanley. We’ll have one class on Sundays after worship in the Good News Room, one on Mondays at 10:30am also in the Good News Room, and one on Wednesdays at 6pm via Zoom. There is no book to purchase this time, just video in class and discussion. Join any class, any time. All are welcome.

Meanwhile, Jeanette Strong’s class will continue their study on the Book of Acts, at 10:30 in the Wolf Center dining room. All are welcome there, too!

THANK YOU to Everyone Who Baked and Bought Desserts

There were some gorgeous and mouth-watering pies, cakes, and sweets for our auction this year! Your church is so grateful for your talents, and our Thanksgiving meals will be extra blessed by your delicious gifts.

And THANK YOU to Everyone Who Made Our FDB Thanksgiving Feast a Delicious Success!

Thanks to Steve Russell’s leadership and the hard work of MANY volunteers from church and our friends and neighbors, we cooked 20 turkeys, boiled and mashed many many pounds of potatoes, cut SO MANY onions and celery for the stuffing, moved tables and chairs, decorated, cleaned, and served almost 200 people. THANK YOU to New Millenium, Robertson and Koenig, Carol Ledesma, and Mike and Michele Berney for providing the turkeys, Jim Flemming for making the stuffing, Carole Leanza for making delicious pumpkin crunch for dessert, and Scout Troop 1776 for serving and cleaning up. Our backs and feet were killing us, but the food was excellent and our guests felt loved and full to the brim. Praise God!

Wolf Center Community Services

2025 will have us working hard on getting our newly minted 501c3 nonprofit properly organized and running efficiently. We always need your thoughts, ideas, and questions. Here are the current WCCS Board members, any and all of whom would love to hear from you.

Grant Mills grantmfi@cccomm.net, Steve Russell stever49@gmail.com,

Margaret Knox coke@cccomm.net, Edith Isidoro-Mills eaim@phonewave.net

Kathy Fraker kathyfraker59@gmail.com, Lori Crook, loricrook1999@gmail.com

Tammie Sheminski Tammie@churchillcoalition.com

Steve Endacott endacottsteve@charter.net, Sean Rowe seanrowe@fallonlegal.com

Glenn Wassmuth gwassmuth54@outlook.com

Lasagna

November 19, 2024

Hello, church family and friends!

I read a short article some years ago by a certain attention-seeking pundit who shall remain nameless, who said that the invention of the washing machine was the beginning of the downfall of society. Because it allowed women leisure time, see. Don’t even get me started. I’m already getting a headache from my eyes rolling so hard.

Because I am a big fan of leisure time, thank you very much. And even though I’m not a gadget person, and I am absolutely a homesteader at heart, don’t you TAKE my washer and dryer from me. They are a joy and a wonder and a precious gift from the Lord.

What makes me think of this is two things. First, the folks who come and do their laundry at church, of course, and what a gift that is to them. We’ve talked about that a lot here in this space, and I talked with a new family on the phone yesterday who just learned we offer this and are so excited. The other thing that makes me think of it is my oven, which has been broken for a month and just got fixed yesterday!! Yay!!!!

I mean, we have been making due thanks to our air fryer and slow cooker and stovetop. But no casseroles. No lasagne. No bread, or cookies. I have been planning to BUY a couple of pies from Courtyard Café for our dessert auction. (Let’s be honest, I still might do that.) We even had plans to cook everything at church the day before for Thanksgiving, and just warm individual plates in the microwave!

But yesterday, a sweet and friendly repair man came and replaced a couple of parts and IT WORKS. We didn’t even have to wait for them to order parts, he had them on hand! And even though I definitely fantasize about having a big old heavy gorgeous wood-fueled turn of the century oven in my house, I don’t currently have one and so here I am, thanking God for modern conveniences and the time to enjoy them.

So now, all I can think about is all the things I want to bake.

Simple peasant bread is first on the list.

Then peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, which are WAY overdue.

Then lasagne, because it is my obligation to my ancestors.

And then, pumpkin twinkies. Dennis’s idea. Wish me luck!

And just thinking about all these things makes my heart feel more and more full. It makes me feel so grateful to God for…all of it. Everything. For physical health, and a warm home with a working oven, and the ability to make stuff and people to give the stuff to. All of it.

I usually order my spices from Penzeys, and they often include cute little buttons or stickers with the shipment. My favorite one says “Cooking is what happens when we love each other.” I love that, so much.

Gardening is also what happens, when we love each other. Talking. Sending cards and letters. Watching movies. Having coffee dates. Helping each other with things. Remembering important days. Giving things our people will love. Lots of good happens, when we love each other.

Which is what leisure time is for. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,

Pastor Dawn

Worship This Week

Shout to the Lord! Music as Prayer, Part 4

This week we finish up our worship series about music as prayer. We’ve talked about musical prayers of joy, of sorrow, of comfort, of hope. We’ll finish up this week with worship, which is filled with all of those things and more. Worship is where we bring ALL of who we are, exactly as we are, before the Lord. It is where we praise God, the One who made and saved and sustains us. It is where we cry out to God for justice, come to God for healing, fall on our knees and beg forgiveness, find peace beside still waters as our souls are restored. Worship is where the fount of every blessing is recharged inside us, so that the well of our salvation springs up and overflows with joy. This is the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and Advent begins with the Hanging of the Greens next week. Let’s lift our hands and lift our hearts in worship! As you prepare your heart, you might like to read and pray with Psalm 100 and Micah 6:6-8.

News and Fun Stuff

Online Giving

Everything we do to serve God and our neighbors is made possible because of your generosity. THANK YOU! If you'd like to set up online giving, head to the church website at epworthfallon.org/give.

Church Family Potluck AND DESSERT AUCTION Sunday November 24

Bring something delicious to share if you’re able, bid on desserts for your Thanksgiving table, and spend some time with your church family before folks head off to Bible study or bell choir rehearsal or Messy Church. We’ll start with grace right after church, in the fireside room.

And Then, Stay for Messy Church!

Join us for a wonderful time of food, fellowship, and learning together. It’s church, but not as you know it! We start at around 10:45am and finish up around 11:30.

Advent Bible Study Begins Sunday December 1

Our Advent study this year is called “Who Needs Christmas” by Andy Stanley. We’ll have at least one class on Sundays after worship, one on Mondays at 10:30am, and one on Wednesdays at 6pm via Zoom. There is no book to purchase this time, just video in class and discussion. Join any class, any time! All are welcome.

Thanksgiving at Fallon Daily Bread

Wolf Center Community Services Update

Thanks to the hard work of Steve Russell and the nascent Wolf Center Community Services (WCCS) board of directors, we are now officially a 501c3 nonprofit! We are all settled with the IRS and the State of Nevada, and we are off and running. Now, the real work begins. Soon the Board will begin meeting regularly to refine its mission statement and bylaws, and continue to organize. And you, dear church family, have a big part to play! It turns out that there are state and federal grants available to us for capital improvements and energy efficiency to support the work we are already doing. So, the WCCS board would love to hear about your priorities and ideas. What improvements would you like to see, to help us use the Wolf Center more efficiently? Like, do you think we need some updated equipment in the kitchen, more storage, better shelving, better room dividers, better lighting, safety improvements, better air conditioning? Give us your ideas, as big and wild as you want! Don’t hold back! Share them with one or all of the board members, and we’ll talk together and come up with a design plan to present to the church (since the church remains the owner of the property, and retains the right to approve how it is used.) Here are the WCCS Board members:

Grant Mills grantmfi@cccomm.net, Steve Russell stever49@gmail.com,

Margaret Knox coke@cccomm.net, Edith Isidoro-Mills eaim@phonewave.net

Kathy Fraker kathyfraker59@gmail.com, Lori Crook, loricrook1999@gmail.com

Tammie Sheminski Tammie@churchillcoalition.com

Steve Endacott endacottsteve@charter.net, Sean Rowe seanrowe@fallonlegal.com

Glenn Wassmuth gwassmuth54@outlook.com

Answered Prayers

November 13, 2024

Hello, church family and friends!

It is a wonderful week here at your church. After a couple weeks of being pulled hither and yon to help out with family stuff (and thank you for your understanding about those occasional schedule changes, I know many of you have it happen too in order to be there for your beloveds) and also community meetings and whatnot, it is glorious to have things back to normal.

This past week, in the midst of preparing for a presentation about the Wolf Center, I had the pleasure of meeting a young man who is a senior at CCHS, who came by to see if he could do some community service hours for a scholarship and an English project. It was a Tuesday there wasn’t a lot for him to do, but I was able to connect him with Jim Flemming who has been volunteering with us and helping find grants that might help us, and introduce him to a couple of folks who were there to do laundry and take showers. Then he came back on Thursday and got to talk with the ladies of United Women in Faith, and he stayed to serve at Fallon Daily Bread. I only got to spend a little time with him myself, but I am SO GLAD that kids are getting this encouragement to volunteer! I think, when it’s taught and done well, volunteerism can build tremendous character. And I can’t say enough about how important it is for humans of all ages to learn firsthand about poverty and folks who live very different lives from their own. It can connect people to the Lord and the truths of the Gospel in a visceral way that words alone can’t quite tell. All of that was definitely a highlight to the week.

And then yesterday, I was driving Leroy home after he did his laundry and stuff, and he told me that today – TODAY!! Wednesday the 13^th – he is going in for surgery to replace the lens in one of his eyes, and should regain sight in it almost immediately! After years of eye pain and the slow progress toward blindness, and having been completely clinically blind now for several years, TODAY he is finally getting the medical help he has needed. He was cautiously optimistic, and nervous, and also very sweetly hopeful. Praise God, and I just want to hug everyone.

There are a bunch of things that conspired together, I think, to make this finally happen. Because God knows, the folks at Social Services and us at Epworth have been trying forever. But the biggest thing is housing. Being housed has done wonders for Leroy’s sense of safety and confidence, given him extra motivation to be sober and stay away from people who aren’t (because he risks losing his housing otherwise), freed him from having to rely on people who constantly took advantage of him, and allowed him to focus on things like improving his physical health now that he doesn’t have to focus on just survival. Please continue to keep him in prayer, and thank God for answered prayers!

My prayer for all of us this week, as the seasons change in earnest and the harvest is complete, is that we see the hand of God all around us. As the wind blows, and leaves fall, and everything gets wet and cold and dark, let it all remind us that God has provided everything we need for this moment, right now. Let’s gather it in, all that God has grown for us this year. Breathe deep, give thanks, wrap yourself in warm blankets and warm memories, and thank God for today’s simple pleasures and the goodness of this life.

Resting in God’s everlasting arms,

Pastor Dawn

Worship This Week

Shout to the Lord! Music as Prayer, Part 3

We continue this week, singing and praying together, this time songs of hope. The Bible is FULL of these, and so is 2000 years of Christian history! We don’t even know how to choose what we should hear or sing together, there are so many. As we move into the season of harvest festivals and thankfulness and abundance, it is so soothing to look, and taste, and see that the Lord is GOOD. And therein lies our hope. As you prepare your heart for worship, you might like to read and pray with Isaiah 43:1-7 and 18-19, and Romans 5:1-5.

News and Fun Stuff

Songs and Sweets Dessert Auction and Talent Show on Saturday, Nov 23!

We have singers, dancers, and performers from all over our community signed up to perform, and all KINDS of delicious desserts coming for our auction! Now, we need help spreading the word so folks will come and make this event a big success. With the extremely capable help of party planner extraordinaire Elizabeth Medina, we will also have a fun and unique dinner, and a few raffle items, along with music, poetry, storytelling, dancing, and other fabulous entertainment. Look for the sign up sheet in worship, the more help we can get the better!

Advent Bible Study Begins Sunday December 1

Church Family Potluck Sunday November 24

Bring something delicious to share if you’re able, and spend some time with your church family before folks head off to Bible study or bell choir rehearsal or Messy Church. We’ll start with grace right after church, in the fireside room.

And Then, Stay for Messy Church!

Join us for a wonderful time of food, fellowship, and learning together. It’s church, but not as you know it! We start at around 10:45am and finish up around 11:30.

Thanksgiving at Fallon Daily Bread

Epworth and Scout Troop 1776 are co-hosting a BIG pre-Thanksgiving supper on Monday, November 25. It’s always a bigger than usual feast, and a fun one with the Scouts there to help. We need help most with cooking and set up, but everything else too! AND we’d also love some of the usual help on our usual Methodist Night, Monday November 18, where we’re serving breakfast for dinner. Thank you!

Wolf Center Community Services Update

Grant Mills grantmfi@cccomm.net, Steve Russell stever49@gmail.com,

Margaret Knox coke@cccomm.net, Edith Isidoro-Mills eaim@phonewave.net

Kathy Fraker kathyfraker59@gmail.com, Lori Crook, loricrook1999@gmail.com

Tammie Sheminski Tammie@churchillcoalition.com

Steve Endacott endacottsteve@charter.net, Sean Rowe seanrowe@fallonlegal.com

Glenn Wassmuth (don’t have contact info for him yet)

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Happy Almost-Easter!

March 26, 2024

Happy almost-Easter, church friends and family!

A few times per month, I open a note from a member of our community, donating to Fallon Daily

Bread. The ones I opened today say “thank you for all you do for our community!” and “Just a little contribution to help you in all your wonderful service.” Sometimes it’s a substantial amount, but usually it’s a check for just a few dollars. It means so, so much.

I know that money is always a stressful topic in churches, this one included. Every pastor and church leader I have known has talked about it, in every denomination. I know Epworth has been through times of plenty and times where there has just not been nearly enough money to stretch as far as it needed to. (I mean, does it ever stretch far enough?) For pete’s sake, the older part of the building we worship in was built smack in the middle of the Great Depression! One of these days I need to go dig out some of the newspaper articles in the museum, about the fundraising the church did at the time (I know there was a big vaudeville-type show they put on), and the groundbreaking. I bet there are some pictures and documents around here in our history archives, too. Sounds like a project!

I’m rambling. But I’ve been thinking about that, about how there is always a gap, like the gap between the money we have and the money we need. A gap between where we’ve come from and where we’re going. A gap between our understanding, and God’s. A gap between heaven and earth. A gap between death and resurrection. And I’ve been thinking that the gaps are where we find our faith.

The ending of Mark’s gospel is crazy, kind of dropping off like a cliff and leaving us hanging with Mary and Mary and Salome when they see the “young man in white” in the empty tomb but are too afraid and bewildered to tell anyone. The ending does make a beautiful sort of sense, though, when you consider the title Mark has given the entire story: “The beginning of the Good News of Jesus the Messiah.” We the reader know the story doesn’t end with the women being afraid and saying nothing, after all. That’s just the beginning. The rest of the story is everything that happens next. But Mark doesn’t tell us about that. He leaves us in the gap. In the open space, where anything could happen.

Like the gap between the few loaves and fish Jesus’ apostles had, and the 10,452 who needed food.

Like the distance between the prodigal son, and his father’s home.

Like the space between the disciples’ devotion, and their courage.

Like the emptiness of the tomb.

Gaps can feel frightening and impossible. But gaps are where miracles happen. Empty tombs like these are what lead us to cry out to God in confusion and helplessness, until we realize that they aren’t empty at all but rather filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. In the gap, at the empty tomb, is where we are healed, transformed, forgiven, inspired, made entirely new. Where anything could happen, and God does the impossible.

The people of Epworth are standing in the gap, doing our human best to live into and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our community is dependent on it, finding new hope because of it, and joining us in it. And I think our forebears, who rallied around each other and built this church in the middle of the Great Depression, are loving it, too.

Happy almost-Easter, church! Anything can happen.

Pastor Dawn

Worship This Week

And then it’s Easter Sunday!! CHRIST IS RISEN!

Early risers can join us here at church at 7am to pray and shout our HALLELUIAs, and sing for joy as the sun rises and we celebrate the risen Lord. Then at 8am, we’ll share a pot luck breakfast together. At 9am we’ll worship and celebrate together with our awesome choir, and join the kiddos for an Easter Egg hunt all over the church. Thank you once again to Scott and Cindy Tudehope for filling all the eggs! 

Remember to find us on YouTube so that you can watch live from home, or join us on KVLV radio on AM980 every Sunday beginning at 9:30am. If you have ideas or questions, or if we can be in prayer for you in any way, please call the church at 775-423-4714, or call Pastor Dawn directly at 775-671-5553. We’d love to hear from you.

Wednesday Evening Prayer with Lectio Divina

Friday Evening Prayer has become Wednesday Evening Prayer, and will be held on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00pm on YouTube Live. Lectio Divina is an ancient, special way of reading and praying with Scripture. Most people who try it find it deeply meaningful. We’ll meet next on April 3. Hope you’ll join us.

News and Fun Stuff

Neighborhood Game Day on Sunday April 7 at noon in the Fireside Room

We’ll have a bunch of games to choose from, and hot dogs and fixins for lunch. We’ll provide the hot dogs, buns, and basic condiments…you are welcome and encouraged to bring side dishes or alternative foods to share if you’re able. Invite friends and neighbors!

Cowboy Poetry at the Fallon Theatre on Saturday April 13

On Saturday April 13, the Fallon Theater will host its first Cowboy Poetry event. They are looking for historians and storytellers as well as poets. Dr Stu Richardson and others will be reading poetry by our own Newell Mills! If you or anyone you know might like to participate, call Jessica at Huck Salt, 423-2055 or 217-4142. And mark your calendar to attend! 

Messy Church on April 21! “Church, but Not as You Know It.”

This wonderful program does not involve making messes. It is an all-ages Sunday School lesson, designed for families and friends to learn and play together. We sing, talk, pray, hear stories, do art and science projects, have a meal together, and love and serve the Lord. This time, our meal will be a taco bar! Everyone, everyone welcome.

“Love Fallon” Community Service Day! April 27

A wonderful group of folks in town are part of a national nonprofit organization called “Love Our Cities”, which gathers volunteers from churches, businesses, and neighborhoods to work together to beautify their community. They are hard at work developing projects for folks to do, and they need our ideas! Please talk to your Trustees or Pastor Dawn about projects here at Epworth that a team of community volunteers could do. And let’s put a team together to do a project outside the church, too!

Friday, March 15, 2024

Cowboy Discipleship

March 12, 2024

Hello, church friends and family!

I have lived in northern Nevada almost all my life. Though the majority of that was in Reno, in my
heart I have always been a farm and wide-open-spaces dweller. And yet, somehow, I had never heard of cowboy poetry until I served my first church in Portola, California. A previous pastor there, Clarence Wager, was himself a cowboy poet, and I have his book “Letters from a Country Preacher” on my bookshelf.

Anyhoo, this whole line of thinking was inspired by Dr. Stu Richardson, who tells me that the Fallon Theater is putting on an amateur cowboy poetry event on April 13, and he will be reading some poetry by Newell Mills! How cool is that? So I thought you’d enjoy this sweet poem about cowboy discipleship to inspire you this week.

Stuck in the Round Pen
by Jeff Hildebrandt
For those who’ve never trained a horse, there’s something you should know.
It’s about what’s called the Round Pen. It’s where most horses go
to learn to follow signals thru a tender teaching touch.
But, horses in the round pen can only learn so much.
Pretty soon, a cowboy needs to let the pony out
so it can use what it’s been taught. Cause training’s all about
just getting ready for the ride and knowing what to do
when challenges and obstacles pop up in front of you.

Like ponies, we can study until the cows come home
in the safety of our round pen. But really, we should roam
outside our Bible study group, outside our churches walls
and use our training where it counts, in grocery stores or malls
or at the doctor’s office, or any other place
where we can show God’s saving love and talk about His Grace.

But, I’m just like a fresh-broke colt that shivers at the thought
of leaving comfort zones behind. I’d really rather not
put my faith out on display where others criticize
so I seek incognito ways I can evangelize.
I can talk about the weather, TV shows and foreign aid.
I can argue over politics or the latest sports team trade.
But when it comes to life and death, I seek my comfort zone
cause there’s no confrontation in my round pen all alone.

But God’s Word says to go and do. So, I must get a grip.
Security’s not the round pen, it’s in relationship.
The closer that I get to God, the more my faith increases
and when I leave my round pen, I won’t go to pieces.
I’ll walk and talk with confidence about my transformation
since I accepted Jesus Christ, the gateway to salvation.
I know that God is faithful and with Him I’ll succeed
so let’s all leave the round pen with Jesus in the lead. 

Trying to get a grip,
Pastor Dawn

Worship This Week

Who Do You Say I Am? Afflicting the Comfortable

We are moving fast in Mark’s Gospel, toward the climax of Jesus’ ministry. After this week, it will be Palm Sunday, and then Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Peter and others are firmly convinced that Jesus is the Messiah they have been waiting for…and others are just as firmly convinced that he is a dangerous, blasphemous pretender. We’ll meet Jesus this week shortly after he has entered Jerusalem, and what he does there in the first few days of that week. Then next week, we will hear what happens the rest of that week between Palm Sunday and Jesus’ arrest. The story is getting confrontational and stressful, as it all builds toward the crisis point; as we read and pray and breathe through it, we will consider what it all tells us about who Jesus is, what that means for us, and what knowing him does in us. You might like to read the first half of Mark 11 as you prepare your heart for worship.

Wednesday Night Prayer with Lectio Divina

News and Fun Stuff

Church Family Potluck! Sunday March 17

It’s a baked potato bar! We will provide the potatoes and butter, you bring whatever you like best on yours. Chili, cheese, bacon, broccoli, sour cream, whatever you want. Or, you might like to bring a salad or dessert or something else to add to the feast. It all starts after worship at 10:30am. Invite your neighbors!

And then, stay for Messy Church!
Also on Sunday March 17, after we get fat and happy on our friends’ excellent cooking, we’ll sing and talk and create together. This month’s theme is “Easter Around the World.”

“Love Fallon” Community Service Day! April 27

Maundy Thursday “Passover in the Light of Christ” on Thursday March 28 at 5:30pm.

We will talk about the meaning of the Passover as Jesus may have celebrated it, and consider what new meaning it might have for Christians today. We’ll eat traditional Passover foods, and regular American food too. Great for all ages, and for people at any point on their journey of faith. Look for the sign up sheet on Sundays, to help organize and prepare. Invite a friend!

Good Friday Walk to the Cross, Friday March 29

Meet us at noon in the cemetery parking lot for a brief devotion, and then we’ll walk together to the cross on the top of Rattlesnake Hill. When we get to the top, we’ll read the story of Jesus’ passion and death, and pray together, and look with hope toward Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday Worship 7am & 9am

With a potluck breakfast in between! See you there to celebrate the risen Lord. Also, an Easter Egg Hunt all over the church for the littles. Hopefully we will find the last egg before July this time.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Manna??

February 7, 2024

Well, we made jokes about it being weirdly spring-like in the middle of winter, and now it’s raining and snowing like crazy. Which is so nice! Nobody appreciates rain and snow like us desert-dwellers and farmers. Especially if we don’t have to drive in it.

So anyway, happy February church family and friends!

Last Sunday, we were talking about “our daily bread” and manna from heaven, and I mentioned a little bit about how the word “manna” doesn’t mean bread or food at all, but rather “What on earth is this?” It's a thing I have always found very funny, and an excellent reminder of how good it is to do word study while studying scripture.

It’s in Exodus 16:15, when the people of Israel have cried out to God for food (well, they have yelled at Moses really, and HE has taken their request to God) and God has told them to expect “food rained down from heaven.” In the morning, they see a flaky substance on the ground, and ask each other, “What is this?” It’s a sentence of two words; “man” meaning “what (is)”, and “hu” meaning “it.” Whenever manna is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, it is these two words that have become one word "manna.” So, in Psalm 78:24 for example, it says “God gave them…uh… something? from heaven to eat.”

I find this very eye-opening, for several reasons. Inspiring, too.

Eye-opening because this whole concept of manna is mentioned over and over in the Bible as an example of how God always provides, and yet when the people of Israel first encountered it they had no idea what they were looking at. It wasn’t bread. It wasn’t any food they recognized. It wasn’t anything they had ever seen before. The Bible describes it as a thin, flaky substance on the ground (Exodus 16:15), or as small white round grains that resembled coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31). Some say it sounds like the sap of the tamarisk tree found around the Sinai, which gathers on twigs and falls to the ground, tastes like honey, is white at first and then turns yellow, and disappears when the day warms up in the late morning. Arab traders sell it to pilgrims as “bread from heaven.” Cool, right?

And not just fascinating, but inspiring too. Because even though the people complained, and resented their own rescue, God provided. And even though what God provided was strange and unexpected, it was good. Miraculously good.

I can’t begin to count how many times God has answered my own prayers in ways that made no sense to me at all at first. Plenty of times I didn’t think God had answered my prayer at all, until well after the fact. And even more times when I was struggling, or ungrateful, or hurting and confused and angry, when God came alongside me, wrapped me in arms full of love and understanding, and provided exactly what I needed. I hope you’ve had experiences like that, too.

Jesus himself, the Bread of Life, is like manna from heaven. He came in a very unexpected way, lived and died and was resurrected in a VERY unexpected way (can I get an amen?), and still shows up all the time where, and through whom, we least expect.

So this is my prayer for us this week: that God shows up with exactly what we need, confirming our hope with gifts in unexpected forms.

Together in Christ,

Pastor Dawn

News and Fun Stuff

Ash Wednesday on February 14 @7:00pm

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day this year. If you’ve never been to a service like this before, let this year be the first time. It is a sweet, prayerful, reflective, hopeful time of being wrapped in the amazing grace of God. And a day that celebrates love of one another is a great way to begin our 40 day period of introspection, and sacrifice, andhumility before the joy of Easter.

No Pizza with the Pastor This Month 

Because of the Superbowl and Pastor Dawn’s meeting in Yerington after worship on Feb 11, and Princess Bride the following week, we’ll have to skip our monthly Pizza lunch and conversation this month. See you in March!

Sunday Brunch and Messy Church on Sun Feb 18!

We hope you enjoyed the very first Messy Church last month. This month, we’ve sent invitations to our neighbors and our lesson is “Putting On Love” based on Colossians 3:12-17. It’s a new kind Sunday School-slash-worship, especially designed for people of all ages to actively participate together. We’d love your participation, your ideas for improvements, and your leadership! Reach out to Ashlee McGarity or Pastor Dawn at the church office, office@eumcfallon.org, 775-423-4714.

And it all starts with a pot luck brunch! Bring something to share if you’re able, stay and enjoy food and friendship with your church, and stay for songs, games, crafts, and our Messy Church lesson. See you there.

Princess Bride on Sunday February 18 @1:00pm

It's that time of year again! Friends, there is a terrible lack of silliness in the world today, and ONLY YOU CAN HELP. Join us for a Very Silly Interactive Screening of "The Princess Bride" at the historic downtown Fallon Theatre on Sunday February 18 at 1pm! Feel free to dress in costume (or not), bring props (or not), invite everyone you know, and let's spend an afternoon being ridiculous together for no reason whatsoever. Admission is FREE!! Props including glow sticks, kazoos, marshmallows, and other assorted nonsense will be provided. As a bonus, any delicious snacks or lunch you buy at the snack bar supports the Theater!