Newsletters
2025 Newsletters
October
As October arrives, the world around us shifts into a new season. Leaves turn brilliant shades of red and gold, fields are ready for harvest, and the air carries a cool reminder that summer has passed. In these changes, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness in every season of life. Just as the earth cycles through planting, growing, and harvesting, so too our spiritual lives move through times of sowing, waiting, and reaping.
September
As summer winds down and the school bells start to ring, we enter a season of fresh beginnings. New backpacks, sharpened pencils, and blank note-books are ready for the year ahead - but so are new challenges, opportunities and moments to grow. Whether you're a student heading to class, a parent navigating carpools and homework, a teacher preparing lesson plans, or you are impacted in any way by summer's end, this is a time of transition. And in every transition, God offers us God's presence and guidance.
August
“Wait I only have 3 weeks left?” That was the reaction from my kids when they realized that the beginning of the school year is not that far off. As August arrives, vacations wind down, school supplies fill the aisles, and our schedules begin to shift again. This month often feels like standing on a threshold—looking back at what summer brought, and forward to the new season ahead.
July
I am writing this article as we are in the middle of a heat wave. I imagine that by the time many of you read this it would have cooled down a little, but we know the summer months around here can be hot. So we do whatever it takes to cool us down. We crank up the air conditioning, grab cold drinks, and look for shade.
June
This month, we rejoice together as we celebrate 65 years of God's faithfulness to Good Samaritan. From humble beginnings to the community we are today, we give thanks to the Lord who has sustained and guided us every step of the way.
May
What a wonderful Easter celebration we had! Between the Easter Egg hunt and Easter service, there was so much life in the church. For those of us who were preparing for over the last many weeks, it seems like a great culmination of all the work that went into it.
April
This month as a church we are preparing ourselves for Easter. But at the same time, we are still in the season of Lent. A time of self-reflection. And before we come to Easter, we first have to encounter the truth of Good Friday where Jesus suffered and died due to our need for salvation.
March
March 5th is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a sacred season in the Christian calendar, observed as a time of prayer, fasting, and spiritual renewal. It begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for forty days, excluding Sundays, leading up to Easter Sunday. This period mirrors the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness, preparing for His public ministry.
Feb
If you are forgetful like me, I am sure you appreciate a reminder that February 14th is Valentines Day. But in our culture, we tend to focus on the romantic aspect of love this month, often equating it with a feeling. But love, at least from the Christian perspective is much more that that. Love is our driving force and made known in action.
January
Greetings to all the families and friends of the Good Samaritan UMC,
As we step into a new year, many of us reflect on ways to grow in different areas of our lives. In our family, a few years ago we started making vision boards for ourselves. We put pictures and words on there that point us to some of the goals that we have for the year. I would like to say we always stick to it, but the reality is that we often fail to revisit it throughout the year.