Oakland United Methodist Church

11/14/2025

A writing of loss and grief.

It did not kill me,
and it did not make me stronger.

Instead, it came the way
the weather will come~
in its own shape,
with indomitable arrival:
mercy,
and loss.

Afterwards,
the world went on.

People went to work,
children played.
The trees dappled rain
and leaned, slow and wise,
into the light.

A small sparrow
sang on
from the neighbour’s balcony.

Nothing changed,
despite the apocalypse.

And I went on too,
carrying the scent of it—
the way the smoke of housefire
can never quite be lifted
from the curtains,

the way the earth nurses
the painful memory of devastation
beneath her bark.

The price of loss
and love:
a quiet, endless ache,

beneath
Life’s green.

~Rachel Alana (R.A. Falconer)
Midwives of the Soul

art | Angela Barret


ttps://amzn.to/46o5Nbo

11/14/2025

FRI, NOV 14 DAILY READING - Psalm 113 (NRSVUE)
113 Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.

4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,

6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

11/13/2025

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR WEEK OF November 16 | 23rd Sunday After Pentecost; Isaiah 65:17-25, Isaiah 12, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Luke 21:5-19

Isaiah 65:17-25 (KJV)

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.
____________

Isaiah 12 (KJV)

12 And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
____________

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 (NRSVUE)

6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister living irresponsibly and not according to the tradition that they received from us.

7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not irresponsible when we were with you,

8 and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you.

9 This was not because we do not have that right but in order to give you an example to imitate.

10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: anyone unwilling to work should not eat.

11 For we hear that some of you are living irresponsibly, mere busybodies, not doing any work.

12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
____________

Luke 21:5-19 (NRSVUE)

5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,

6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

8 And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.

9 “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom;

11 there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

12 “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

13 This will give you an opportunity to testify.

14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance,

15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.

16 You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

17 You will be hated by all because of my name.

18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.
____________

11/13/2025

THU, NOV 13 DAILY READING - Haggai 2:1–23 (NRSVUE)
2 1 in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying:

2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say:

3 Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?

4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts,

5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear.

6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land,

7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts.

9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.”

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, saying:

11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests for a ruling:

12 If one carries consecrated meat in the fold of one’s garment and with the fold touches bread, or stew, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does it become holy?” The priests answered, “No.”

13 Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered, “Yes, it becomes unclean.”

14 Haggai then said, “So is it with this people and with this nation before me, says the Lord, and so with every work of their hands; what they offer there is unclean.

15 But now, consider what will come to pass from this day on. Before a stone was placed upon a stone in the Lord’s temple,

16 how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty.

17 I struck you and every work of your hands with blight and mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me, says the Lord.

18 Consider from this day on, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider:

19 Is there any seed left in the barn? Do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still yield nothing? From this day on I will bless you.”

20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month:

21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: I am about to shake the heavens and the earth

22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations and overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders shall fall, every one by the sword of a comrade.

3 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.”

11/12/2025

In case you missed it... Sunday's Sermon

November 9, 2025 Sermon: "How Has Grief Been Experienced In the Past?"

11/12/2025

In case you missed it... Sunday's Worship Service.

November 9, 2025 Worship Service@oaklandiaumc

11/12/2025

WED, NOV 12 DAILY READING - Haggai 1:1–15 (NRSVUE)
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.”

3 Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying:

4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

5 Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared.

6 You have sown much and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared.

8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord.

9 You have looked for much, but it came to little, and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses.

10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.

11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the soil produces, on humans and animals, and on all their labors.”

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people feared the Lord.

13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, saying, “I am with you, says the Lord.”

14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month. In the second year of King Darius.

11/12/2025

Reflections on grief.

11/11/2025

TUE, NOV 11 DAILY READING - Nehemiah 12:27–47 (NRSVUE)
27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with rejoicing, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

28 The companies of the singers gathered together from the circuit around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites,

29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem.

30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate,

32 and after them went Hoshaiah and half the officials of Judah,

33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

35 and some of the young priests with trumpets: Zechariah son of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zaccur son of Asaph,

36 and his kindred, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe went in front of them.

37 At the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went straight up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

38 The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall,

39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate, and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard.

40 So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me;

41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;

42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader.

43 They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

44 On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites from the fields belonging to the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.

45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.

46 For in the days of David and Asaph long ago there was a leader of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants of Aaron.

11/10/2025

🎉 Happy Birthday Wishes! 🎉

Wed, 12th: Leslie Cleaveland

Fri, 14th: David Gute
Fri, 14th: Carley Danker
Fri, 14th: Hayley Haines
Fri, 14th: Ellen Carley

Sat, 15th: Molly Hughes
Sat, 15th: Eli Petersen
Sat, 15th: Jason Carley

Sun, 16th: Kelly Turner
Sun, 16th: Reagan Giles
Sun, 16th: Zach McManigal

11/10/2025

MON, NOV 10 DAILY READING - Nehemiah 8:1–18 (NRSVUE)
8:1 all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.

2 Accordingly, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month.

3 He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

7 Also the Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places.

8 So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.”

12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

13 On the second day the heads of ancestral houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law.

14 And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the Israelites should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month

15 and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem as follows, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”

16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on the roofs of their houses, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.

17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them, for from the days of Jeshua son of Nun to that day the Israelites had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.

18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, Ezra read from the book of the law of God. They kept the festival seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.

11/09/2025