In this issue:

• Note from Pastor John
• Worship News and Sermon Video
• Church News
• Summer Movie Series - July 29th at 6 p.m.
• Ice Cream Social - Sunday, August 2nd
• 75 th Anniversary Celebration - Information and RSVP
• We Need Pictures - 75th Anniversary - Deadline today
• School Supply Collection for McCurdy - Deadline Sunday
• Blessing of Backpacks - Sunday, August 9
• UWF Mission u - August 14-16 at McCurdy
• All Booked Up - New Book Selection for September
• Creation Care Tip
• Missions News
• Thank from Paper for Water
• Ways to Support Our Missionairies
• Prayers
• What's Happening This Week
• Birthdays & Anniversaries

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

A number of years ago I was reading a Nevada Barr novel, and I was quite a way into the book when she described one of the main characters, who had been there from the start, as being black. I don’t know if I said it out-loud, but I definitely said “what?” in my head. What made me stop was that I had just assumed that the character was white.

It was one of those moments that show us our natural prejudices. In a culture that preferences whiteness, we rarely have to describe a character as being white. We only need to do so if they are not white. And so, if there is no description we just automatically assume that they therefore must be white, even if they are not, or that was not the original context.

I say that because some people are currently freaking out over the fact that Helen of Troy in the new Odyssey move is played by Lupita Nyong’o, who is of Kenyan and Mexican descent. Or to put it bluntly she is not white. Now my first thought was to quote Mark Twain, “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you’re a fool, then to open it and remove all doubt.” And second was to say that they obviously know nothing about Greek mythology or even what the ancient world was like.

I also doubt that most of them have ever read either the Odyssey or the Iliad. I have read both and was taught both by someone who read ancient Greek, which I definitely do not. And if you want to see a good party trick, find someone who can pick up a book of ancient Greek and just start reading. It’s pretty cool. But the first thing you have to understand about the books is that these are myths. They are not recorded history, and so anyone who’s talking about the historical inaccuracies is also missing the point. It’s like those who argue against Star Wars because of the explosions and sound thereof, which don’t happen that way in space. They’re missing the entire point.

First, just because Helen of Troy is described as being the most beautiful woman in the world, does not mean that she is white, and to assume that is to expose your prejudices. Second, she is a mythical character. It’s not a real story! There was no real person. And third we can be certain of that because Helen was said to be the daughter of Zeus, who was in the form of a swan when he sexually assaulted Helen’s mother, and therefore Helen was born out of an egg. Sounds totally real doesn’t it? Helen could have been made blue and it wouldn’t have been any less accurate than having her played by a person of color.

Now some are arguing that because Helen was Greek that she must therefore be white. Also, not true. There was considerable mixing of races in the ancient world. If you were walking the streets of Athens or Rome, while the majority may be from that area you would also see people from Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Spain and Gaul, to name but a few. Sea and land trade were hugely important and people traveled throughout the Mediterranean world, and it would just have been seen as normal. When the guards grab someone to carry Jesus’ cross, it is given to Simon who is said to be from Cyrene. Cyrene is on the coast of Africa, so was probably of a much darker complexion.

And, none of them would have considered themselves to be “white” or even Caucasian; that is a much later construct. They would have understood themselves as being Greek, or Roman, or Arab, or whatever it might be. And while some groups considered themselves to be superior to others, the Greeks and Romans to name two, it was not because of racial characteristics. They didn’t understand things that way, just like slavery was not racially based.

And just to throw one more stick of dynamite, even though we may assume that Cleopatra looked like Elizabeth Taylor, it could be just as likely that she too looked like Lupita Nyong’o. We know nothing of Cleopatra’s mother and there is much speculation that she could have been Egyptian. That just would have been normal in the ancient world.

But what is also striking is that I don’t hear these same people freaking out when it goes the opposite way, like the just mentioned example. Or the fact that Jesus is usually portrayed in the west as being blue eyed, white skinned, and sometimes even with blonde hair. The likelihood that Jesus, a middle-eastern Jew, had any of those characteristics is exactly zero. And the fact that he is never described does not mean that he was therefore white, again, that’s our own prejudice coming out.

The only way to help overcome our own prejudices and biases is to name them when we see them, and work to overcome them. And naming them or recognizing we have them does not make us bad people. These are things that have been ingrained in us from the time we were born and they surround us each and every day in thousands of ways. They simply are.

But what makes them destructive is when we act on them and treat others differently, see them differently or just assume things about the world simply because we have these thoughts. As we heard Paul say on Sunday, that is the way of the world, rather than the way of the Spirit.

Blessings,

John

Prayer for the week:

Prayer for the Week: Mighty God, to you belong the mysteries of the universe. You transform shepherds into kings, the smallest seeds into magnificent trees, and hardened hearts into loving ones. Bless us with your life-giving Spirit, re-create us in your image, and shape us to your purposes, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sunday: The scripture readings for Sunday, August 2, are Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 96; 2 Corinthians 5:12-17 and Mark 4:26-34. Sunday's message, "Are You Really an A & R Man? You Look More Like a Homeless Man", will be on the passage from 2 Corinthians and the move Begin Again. We will show the movie at 6 pm on Wednesday, and it is also available on our website. Next week is a traditional service and we will also receive communion.

Questions to help you prepare: What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ? Is that a one-time event, or does it occur over and over again? Why did you answer that way? How is that newness found in your life? How do you see it in others? How does it impact how we see others?

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Did you miss Sunday's sermon or want to hear it again? 
You can share with a friend or listen again by clicking above.

You can find other sermons in this series on our website.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend the ice cream social.

You can use the QR code above or email the church office at office@lafumc.org

505-662-6277.

School Supply Collection for McCurdy Ministries

We are collecting school supplies to support McCurdy Ministries. You can bring school supplies by Sunday, August 2, and we will take them down to McCurdy Sunday afternoon for the their Dia De Los Ninos event Sunday afternoon.

Supplies can be ordered online and shipped to McCurdy Family Resource Center 
at 362A S McCurdy Rd, Española, NM 87532.



United Women in Faith Host Mission u 
at McCurdy Ministries August 14- 16

Available in apple store and google play!

There are several ways you can make your

tithe and offering payments.

1. Go to our website then click on "Give Securely Online" at the top right-hand column. Set up a one time or a reoccurring gift.
2. In-person drop off your check
3. You can mail your checks to the church office:

715 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos, NM 87544

We thank you for your faithfulness!

Thank you all for your prayers for Casey Hodgson's brother, Justin Christensen. Justin passed away Sunday morning. Casey will be heading back to Indiana to be with her family this weekend. Please keep Casey and her family in your prayers during this time. If you wish to send a card of condolense you can send it to Casey at:

Casey Hodgson and family

114 La Senda Rd

White Rock, NM 87547

Praise and Thanksgiving:

• We are thankful for our Pastor and our church leadership team.

New and Ongoing Prayers:

• Prayers for Peggy Robey who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has surgery scheduled for August 20.
• Prayers for Lee Weinland who is in the hospital with cellulitous.
• Prayers for Ezariah Martinez (3 yrs. old), recovery from open heart surgery.
• Prayers for the Hodgson and Christensen familys during this time of loss.
• Prayers for the Adams family as they travel to be with us Sunday morning.
• Prayers for Mark Broussard, a missionary we support in New Orleans, as he is having multiple surgeries to restore the visionin his right eye.
• Prayers for Harriett Zickertt who has had a couple events resulting in short hospitalizations.
• Prayers for the earthquake victums in Venzuela.
• Prayers for Travis Martinez who is going through a difficult season.
• Prayers for Lynn Kluegel for her current treatment to continue to working.
• Prayers for Marianna's friend and coworker, Jeannette who has just been diagnosied with cancer.
• Prayers for the situation in the Middle East.
• Prayers for our country and our world.
• Prayers for healing for Bodil Brandow, Stacey Castille, Liz Martinez, Sandra Jo Rudloff, Erelne Seay, Judy Thompson, Lee Weinland, and Harriett Zickert.

Church Families to pray for this week:



Debbie Trimmer                                   

Tom Trautlein

Nancy Waller                                       

Katie Weinland

Lee Weinland                                       

Brad & Camille Wescott                

Harriet Zickert                                     

Amanda White & Family

If you have a prayer request or praise that you would like to share please call, 505-662-6277 or email, office@lafumc.org, the church office. If you would like your prayer to be confidential just let us know.

Wednesday, July 29

6 p.m. Summer Movie at Church

Begin Again

7 p.m. STARS NA meeting in Church Library on Zoom tonight.

Thursday, July 30

7 p.m. Troop 122 in Fellowship Hall


Sunday, August 2

9 a.m. Bible History Class in Friendship Center and Zoom

10 a.m. Traditional Worship In-person and Online

11:15 a.m. Service Project for Pathways Shelter

Ice-Cream Social in Fellowship Hall


Monday, August 3
1:30 p.m. Clubhouse Knitter's Group at Ridge Park Clubhouse 
505 Oppenheimer Dr. Los Alamos

Tuesday, August 4

1:15 p.m. UWF Executive Committee Mtg. - Friendship Center

Wednesday, August 5

6 p.m. Movie Night in Friendship Center

Dead Poets Society

7 p.m. STARS NA meeting in Library (C1)

If you see your name missing or the date needs correcting

please email the church office at office@lafumc.org.

July/August Birthdays

Juy 28 Natalie Tremblay

July 29 Crystal Dale

August 7 Molly Morris

August 16 Don Enemark

August 19 Charles Snell

August Anniversaries



August 16 Tito and Cathy Hinojosa

August 23 Don and Sheila Enemark

Monday through Friday

9 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

505-662-6277 or office@lafumc.org