by Stacey Hilliard | Nov 16, 2022 | News, Uncategorized
In the early months of 2022, Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church joined with other members of the Winchester community to form the Winchester Interfaith Resettlement Partnership. Our goal was to provide support to a family of Afghan refugees – two parents and five children – resettling in the area. One of the Partnership’s co-leaders provided this heart-warming update in mid-November.
“Many wonderful things have happened with this lovely family including improving their medical and dental care, providing childhood healthcare immunizations and assessments (including in one case physical therapy and adaptive equipment), moving forward with advanced immigration status which will enable them to more easily integrate into American society, educational and language opportunities for the children and parents, recreational and social programs in the community, two jobs for Ihsanullah to contribute to the household and friendship from our over 70 volunteers.
“Your financial support of the family has allowed us to continue in reasonable housing, managing educational, food and household purchases and working toward self-sufficiency as the family begins to stand on their own over the next several months.
“One of the greatest miracles of this whole journey from Afghanistan to America has been the arrival on Monday, November 14 of a baby girl to the proud parents. Aisha Rawan has just now returned home to the embrace of her five siblings with lots of kisses and hugs. She is the first US citizen of the family with hopefully more of them to follow.
“We invite your faith community to offer prayers of thanksgiving and safe delivery for Aisha and Zahida. We look forward to continuing our Interfaith partnership with each of your communities in the next critical months of transition and self-reliance for the Rawan family.
“Betty Stone and I as the co-leads of our Winchester Interfaith Resettlement Partnership give thanks for God’s many blessings during this season of Thanksgiving,”
– Bob Davidson
by Stacey Hilliard | Nov 13, 2022 | Sermons
One of the reasons our debates about the Bible get so heated is a difference of opinion over how much authority the Bible should have in daily life. People then end up on different sides of that question because of the related question of what role God played in the creation and preservation of the biblical texts. This sermon focuses on the intersection of those questions, the different ways Christians answer them, and how we can be more aware of our own assumptions about those things.
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by Stacey Hilliard | Nov 6, 2022 | Sermons
Last week, we saw that an attempt to remove the Jewish elements from the list of accepted writings in the early church was one of the catalysts for forming the canon, the various groups of writings that became authoritative for Christians and were finally bound together into the Bibles we have today. This week we’re going to zoom in more on that process. Who decided those things? When? Why? What about all the ones they left out?
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by Stacey Hilliard | Oct 31, 2022 | News
Our annual Holiday Faire is coming up soon! The members of Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church are hard at work preparing for this year’s Holiday Faire, to be held Saturday, November 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We’ve made one hundred delicious apple pies which now fill our freezer. Our crafters have been knitting, crocheting, and sewing handmade treasures to sell all year. And to the relief of many repeat fair goers, the WHITE ELEPHANT SALE is back! Our bakers and soup makers are getting ready to fill our baked goods table and snack bar, so you’ll have plenty of tasty options if you get hungry while shopping. See you on the 12th!
by Stacey Hilliard | Oct 31, 2022 | Conversations
My loathing of leaf blowers is no secret. I have complained loudly and bitterly about the noise, the fumes, and their near-constant use in the neighborhood around the parsonage. They are terrible for the environment on multiple levels and harmful to those who use them. This article puts it all together nicely.
There are some in Winchester working to enact changes to the town’s bylaws to make some changes. It’s not enough, in my view, but I’m in the camp of “something is better than nothing” and have signed the proposed bylaw to come before the Town Meeting this fall. I invite interested Winchester residents to sign on to help protect the house God built for us by enacting these measures. It will help the mental state of your pastor at the same time!
– Pastor Anne Robertson
