Pastor’s Pause: “Never Lose Hope, Never Give Up”

Won’t God provide justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he be
slow to help them? I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Human One comes,
will he find faithfulness on earth?” – Luke 18:7-8 (CEB)

The Parable of the Unjust Judge teaches us not so much to badger God until he gives in, but that
God is just, God will bring justice, and we are to go to God in pleading for justice even now
as we wait.

Like the widow, one of the hardest things we face is injustice. This is especially true when that
injustice is directed toward us. Did you know that tens of thousands of people face injustice,
hardship, brutality, and persecution each year? Even some of us are victims, and it is sometimes
hard to believe that we will ever receive justice. It is especially disturbing when those in power are
corrupt and are the ones treating others unfairly. But Jesus reminds us that the issue isn’t
injustice against us, but faithfulness.

We probably think of faith as an unconditional acceptance of God, the willingness to accept things
that don’t make any sense to us. We often speak of faith when there appears to be no hope at all.
But the widow was not without hope. She had tried everything else to get justice; she had no other
option. All she had was her sense of outrage and her determination to come back, day after day,
demanding justice. She knew the judge could help her, and she wasn’t going to be quiet or leave
him alone until he did. She knew there was justice, knew the difference between right and wrong,
and she fought for it. She had faith that she knew was rightfully hers would be restored.

We are also called to identify injustice and scream loud and long about it. We are called to pray
for a change of heart or actions against those who suffer injustice. We are called to not stand idly
by, ignoring hurts and harms to our fellow community. We are called to have enough faith to do
things that we would not normally do or are beyond our comfort level.

And we are called to pray, not only for ourselves and our community but for all victims and
victimizers that they will see their injustice and change. And we are called to give thanks to God
for even the tiniest change that may happen. Let us remember: Speak out against injustice!
Pray! And have faith in God!

Blessings,
Pastor Bonnie
 Birthdays:
10/2 Wayne Racz October 2nd– 2PM
10/4 Linda Cronshaw Dudley’s Chapel
10/6 Ginny Faust Homecoming Service
10/12 Daniel Kreis
10/13 Lollie Dixon
10/13 Nancy Spencer
10/30 Faye Williams

November 6th– All Saints Sunday October 13th – 5:00PM @ Carletto's.

What’s on your mind? Come sit and
November-Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes chat with Pastor Bonnie!
November 18th– Calvary-Asbury Annual Fall Supper
A big thank you to
The People’s Bank for
supporting the Sudlersville
UMC Charge Food Pantry!
They provided us with a
butchered hog for our freezer
to distribute to the families in need.

Connecting
Our
Community
With Christ!
 October is Clergy Appreciation Month
(www.robegift.org)

Show appreciation to your pastor-

• With your love, support, and prayers
• Simply write them a note or tell them how much you respect them and appreciate their work.
This will go a long way and remind hem that what they’re doing is making an impact on
your life which caries over into the community.

• Second, you can volunteer. Your leader has a lot on his/her plate so volunteering time and
work will likely be appreciated. You can always clean up the church, sanctuary, offices or
celebration halls. If you have a certain skill set then you can always lend your talents to the
benefit of the congregation. For example, if you’re a photographer, capture some new photos
for the church that can be used on the website, social media channels, etc.
Are you and excellent baker? Organize a bake sale.

• Third, you can gift them something. Some leaders like chocolates, others prefer front row tickets
to their favorite sorting event. You know your pastor best!

From the Twelve Disciples Bible Study

Peter went from being an enthusiastic, impetus disciple to a very committed disciple of
Christ. At his execution he asked to be crucified head down and feet up since he did not
consider himself worthy to die as his Lord had. In the end Peter gave his life as a testimony
of his faith in and loyalty to Jesus.

Questions for us today– What would you want your family and friends to say about you
after you die? What are you doing right now to build that testimony?
Parsonage in Guapiles. Over the summer, we also welcomed a few mission teams in
Guapiles where the church is building a parsonage. No, we haven’t finished the new church
sanctuary quite yet. We have temporarily hit the pause button on the sanctuary long enough to
finish the parsonage and then we will return to the sanctuary. Many of you who have been here
have seen where pastor Daniel and his family have been living. With rainy season heavier than
normal, adequate housing for him and his family became crucial. We are so grateful for all of
the teams who have been working on the parsonage and for the churches who sent financial
gifts to help buy the materials and pay the construction workers. Thank you!

New Sanctuary in Limon. Limon is Costa Rica’s principal port city on the Caribbean coast.
Although the church has had a presence in town for several years, a definite location was not
established until recently. Since then the church has been meeting in a temporary structure
which we hope to remodel and make much more suitable for long term use. The church’s
newly appointed pastor, Jeremy, just arrived in town and is excited to expand the outreach
and ministry of the congregation as soon as possible. Please remember Jeremy and his
family as they make the transition to Limon and for future plans of expansion on the church.
 9AM-1PM 9AM-1PM 9AM-1PM 9-11AM–Prayer
World Breakfast @
Communion Pastor’s In Pastor’s In Pastor’s In
Centreville UMC
Sunday 10AM– Bible
7PM-Lions 7PM– 4H
Study @ CA 11AM– SP
2PM- Dudley’s Club Meeting @ CA Chicken BBQ @
7PM– Bible Ingleside Comm.
Chapel
Study @ SP Ctr.
Homecoming

9AM-1PM
9AM-1PM 7PM– Ad 9AM-12PM
Pastor’s In
Pastor’s In Council @ SP Pastor’s In
10AM Bible
Study @ CA 5PM- Table
Talk @
7PM– Bible Carletto's
Study @ SP

Laity Sunday 9AM-1PM 9AM-1PM 3:30PM–

Pastor’s In Pastor’s In Pragg-Davis
Wedding @
7PM-Lions CA
Club
5PM-Wedding
Rehearsal @
CA

9AM-1PM 6:30PM– 9AM-1PM 9AM– 1PM

Pastor’s In Food Pantry Pastor’s In Pastor’s In
10AM– Food
@ CA 10AM– Bible
Pantry @ CA Study @ CA
7PM– Ruritans
7PM– Bible
@ CA Study @ SP

Reformation 6-8PM-Trunk-
Sunday or-Treat @ CA
 Sudlersville United
Methodist Charge
Pastor: Bonnie Shively
Parsonage Phone: 410-438-6127
Cell Phone: 410-739-0301
Church Office:
P.O. Box 202
103 North Church Street
Sudlersville, MD 21668
Phone: 410-438-3816
Hours: Monday– Thursday:
9:00 AM-1:00PM
Email: office@sudlersvilleumc.org
Facebook.com/sudlersvilleumc
Website: http://www.sudlersvilleumc.org/
Any information you
would like in the bulletin
or announcements,
needs to be sent to
the office no later then
Wednesday’s @ Noon.
Pastor’s Visitation
If you or someone you know would
like a visit from the pastor, please
contact Kari in the church office.
Prayer List
Robyn Allen, Barbara Bostic, Anne Boyles,
John Carroll, Mike Carroll, Trudy Clark,
Buck & Judy Dashiell, Charlotte Dukes,
Charlie Eicher, EJ Elliott, Kari Faust,
Ed & Nancy Henry, Jimmy Hooper,
Doug Lanter, Bettye Larrimore, Alex Lorenz,
Rev. Linda Mariner, Tim McCarter, Eddie Mosely,
Ken Newton, Bob & Lorraine Ortman,
Gavin Rainwater, Pam Richards, Wyatt Russum,
Lisa Palmatary Schrader, Aaron Seeney,
Bill & Ann Shively, Lynn Shively,
Ralph Starkey, Charles Thorpe,
Caroline —Little girl with cancer
Situation in the Ukraine
Our Churches
Puerto Rico
Those effected by Hurricane Ian
Those Serving in the Military
Jeffery Coleman, Garrett Faber,
Alex Lorenz, Erik O’Brien, Alex Walls