Reorientation: From Doubt To Hope

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Reorientation: From Doubt to Hope

This Sunday is the Sunday after what is considered the holiest day of the Christian year, Easter. The excitement of Easter has started to calm. The dyed eggs have either been eaten or discarded. We are back to reality and wondering, “did all the Easter pomp and circumstance mean anything?” Like Thomas, we wonder, “did he really rise?” We ask, “how can 21st century Christians touch the wound in Jesus’ side and hands and be assured Christ indeed rose from the dead?” In doubting Thomas’ world Rome was still in power, people were still impacted by disease, and Christians were facing impending persecution. In our world, a pandemic enters its 3rd year, the marginalized are still pushed to the side, and our denomination is facing a possible schism. Was Easter Sunday all for show? Come with those questions. Come with that doubt. Come and encounter a God who takes all we are carrying with us, and reorients us to go from doubt to hope.

The scriptures this Sunday come from Psalm 118:14-29 and John 20:19-31

This Week

Sunday, April 24th

Join us in person or via Facebook Live/Zoom for Sunday worship.

Masks will be worn during worship and safe distancing will be maintained.

Cross Roads Cafe

Following our morning worship, please join us for Adult Bible Study in the Patio Room and via Zoom

Get material for class HERE

Every Tuesday

8:30am - Meditative Prayer via Zoom

and Facebook Live

Singles Time Out

Singles group meets every Saturday at 5:30pm in the Patio Room

Meetings This Week

SPRC 4/26 @5:30 via Zoom

Council 4/26 @6:30 via Zoom

POWWOW: Produce On Wheels WithOut Waste

Cross Roads is hosting

POWWOW

Saturday, April 23rd

and we need your help!

Volunteers are needed from 6:00 - 11:30 am

(or any time within those hours)

to set up, bag produce, and smile at our neighbors.

Reminder to Customers:

POWWOW is cash only, customers receive 70lbs of produce for $12. Customers are to remain in cars during this contactless outreach ministry.

For any questions please contact the church office at (602)944-1524

Click HERE to sign up!

Veterans Ministry

Phoenix, Arizona - MILITARY AND VETERANS TO SPEAK AT CROSS ROADS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ON SUNDAY, APRIL 24TH, AND SUNDAY, MAY 22ND, 2022

The public is invited to Cross Roads United Methodist Church, 7901 N. Central Avenue (southeast corner of Central and Northern Avenues), Phoenix 85020 for a Military History series of guest speaker programs from 8 am to 9 am. Coffee will be provided.

The series:

Sunday, April 24th, 8 am to 9 am - David Kampf, Navy veteran and Civil War Reenactor: Notes on the Civil War (confirmed)

Sunday, May 22nd, 8 am to 9 am - Pete Lumianski, Captain, US Navy, Retired: Honoring Arizona's Cold War Veterans (invited)

RSVPs from the public are appreciated. Please leave a message at (602) 943-7834 (Carol Culbertson, Church Veterans Ministry Team).

Questioning the Death Penalty

The Conference Prison Reform Task Force is present a 5-week Zoom series on "Questioning the Death Penalty," featuring a DVD series by Sr. Helen Prejean. This series will be at 6:30pm from 5 Thursday evening beginning April 28 and ending May 26.

This series will take place of our normal Wednesday night book study.

What do you think about the Death Penalty?

Use the link to register and come share your thoughts with us.

Upcoming Book Study

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"

Mother's Day Special Guest Speaker

Join us Sunday, May 8th, as Yolanda Wimbley gives us a special Mother's Day message.

Book signing for her new book, A Mother's Love, will immediately follow after the service.

Foundation Committee

Midnight Miracle on 7 th Street - Max McQueen, Executive Director, Lura Turner Homes

Don’t know about your life, but mine goes up and down like a yo-yo every day. All the more reason I look forward to Holy Week, which should be a time of calming spiritual reflection. Mine wasn’t - for the most part. Every day, I experienced Everest highs and Death Valley lows. I won’t bore you with all the lows, but trust me when I say on a scale of one to 10, my stress level was a solid 15. The first high was on Sunday, April 10 th . That’s when board member Steve Gerst volunteered to take a Jewish LTH resident to a Seder meal, her first Passover since 2019. She was so excited to see her friends at Gesher Disability Resources. Such community engagement is what Lura Turner Homes is

all about. Monday, April 11 th , saw another high. That’s when Channel 10 TV reporter Bailey Miller interviewed long-time resident Barney in advance of April 20 th ’s Barney Night at Denny’s. I alerted her that Barney might not say much. He didn’t. So…camera man Joe just filmed Barney bussing tables and

greeting diners. It was more important to Barney to keep working than to be on TV. That’s Barney. Tuesday brought a low. That’s when I had to chase a threatening homeless man off our property with all the vocal force I could muster. He wasn’t going to leave – until he heard me call the police. I hate doing such things, but the safety of LTH residents and staff is always top priority for me. Yes, I have my “Mr. Warden” side. It’s not pretty. More highs on Wednesday AND Thursday AND Friday. That’s when Personal Touch Catering blessed us with so much of their great food we ran out of space to store it all. What we couldn’t use, I

took to St. Vincent de Paul’s Sunnyslope shelter. When the director saw the unexpected bounty, he got all choked up. So did I. Thank you, Lou and your Personal Touch team. On Friday I was determined to hang a “Barney’s Night” banner at Denny’s first thing in the morning. But all day long, I had to put out “one fire” after another. So many that I didn’t get to Denny’s until 11:30 p.m. While hanging the sign on the restaurant’s handrail, a raggedy man walked up. I know he was homeless because he held a cardboard that read, “Homeless and Hungry.” As I unfurled my own sign, the man shouts: “Barney! You know Barney!” I calmly said “Yes.” Here’s his retort, word for word: “That Barney. He’s one fine dude. When I get enough coin, I sit at the counter. Buy a coffee. And that Barney…well…he treats me just like anyone else. No flak from him. He’s one fine dude.” As this guy sang Barney’s praises, a distinguished-looking man came out of Denny’s. He too saw the sign and queried: “Do you know Barney?” “Yes.” Then he says, “Let me tell you about Barney.” He said he goes to that Denny’s because he enjoys watching Barney work and “making everyone feel at home.” He finished his high praise of Barney with this: “I’m 83. I’ve been around. I’ve never seen

anyone work as hard and diligently as Barney. Not only is he a fixture here. He makes this place.” Believe it or not, this gentleman had the pixie-ish demeanor of Clarence, the angel in “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Not only that, he stood high on the walkway, looking down on me like some heavenly presence - replete with outdoor lights framing his silver hair like a halo. I shook my head thinking I was so tired I was seeing things. But he was for real. “What do you do, sir, besides hang signs?,” asked this angel in disguise. With that innocent inquiry, I laughed a heart-healing laugh while managing an answer that not only put my job – but my life - in

perspective: “I run Lura Turner Homes, where Barney lives. There’s staff. And volunteers. And a church family. We all work together to help Barney have the most meaningful life possible. You can meet them all next Wednesday.”

“I’ll be there.” Then he disappeared into the night. I’ll be looking for him.

For more information, call Lura Turner Homes at 602-943-4789 or visit www.luraturnerhomes.org.

Photo Credit: Kathryn M. Miller

Job Posting

GCU Is hiring!

If you are interested in a job as a Guest Service Representative please click on the link below for more information.

https://gcu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/GCU/job/AZ-Phoenix/Guest-Services-Representative_R000038927

Directory Reminder

We're updating our Directory!

Please fill out the online form here so we can let you know about all Cross Roads activities, as well as

keep our records updated.

Questions? Concerns? Contact Margarita at [email protected].

Opportunities to Serve

Donate nonperishable food or funds to our Cross Roads Food Pantry.

Have an announcement about a service or committee at Cross Roads? Submit it to the church office by 2:00pm on Wednesdays.

Join our new Veterans Ministry as a veteran or a grateful volunteer. For details, contact Clayton Bowman [email protected] or

Carol Culbertson [email protected]

For more information on any of these, email us at [email protected] or call the church office at 602-944-1524.

Our Giving

If you use your mobile device to give your tithes and offerings to Cross Roads, you'll need to install the Vanco Mobile App.

A reminder: If your giving comes by check, please expect a slight delay in your bank account deduction. A growing number of tithes and offerings now come to us electronically, so our money counters only meet every other Monday to deposit cash and checks. Until then, all gifts wait patiently in our church safe.

Click HERE to give online.

Prayer Requests

This week,

please pray for...

Amanda Robinson & Andrew Montano Sr and Family, Susan Turner, Rev. Kimberly Scott, Chris Basped, Bertus Berg & The Berg Family, Ed McQueen, Leaders of The U.S. Government, Lura Turner Homes Residents & Care Givers, Navajo Nation,

Cross Roads Community

Cross in the Desert UMC, Chandler UMC