Monday Daily FC

FAITH CONNECTION – FARMERSVILLE UMC

Ministry Updates for Monday, August 17^th, 2020

Note: The following was written by Sarah Helsinger, a teacher and member of FUMC. She wrote it on early Monday morning (March 16^th), before the last day of school for Ohio students for the foreseeable future. We are re-running this because so much still applies, and there will be an updated follow up tomorrow, also written by Sarah.

 Hello, not only does our country and the state of Ohio need prayers, but specifically school administrators, teachers, students and parents.  Administrators are having to make very tough educational decisions regarding what to do for the next 9 weeks of the school year.  Teachers are expected to create lesson plans where students will learn the material on their own on a completely different format than they are accustomed to.  Many of these students are hard to motivate in the classroom, let alone when they are expected to do things on their own, many without internet or technology to be successful on these types of assignments.   Students are forced to stay home, many in homes that they do not feel safe in, nor have parental guidance to explain to them what is going on in the world.  Many of these students depend on school lunches as their main meal.  The state of Ohio, and the schools are making arrangements to provide breakfast and lunch, but not all students will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.  Parents are taxed with maintaining their current day-to-day job, and attempting to keep their children motivated to complete school work. Please consider these individuals in your prayers along with EVERYONE in the state of Ohio and the country.

 Scripture for Reflection – Proverbs 8:10

Take my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold.

 Prayer

Lord, they called him ‘Rabbi’, teacher. He knew that what could be contained in the heart, mind, and soul was more valuable than any material items. We take time today to give you thanks for the education we have received. We give you thanks for the wisdom that brings us to you. On this day, we want to pray for all whose job it is to educate our youth and children, as they negotiate brand new waters. We know that teachers not only impart knowledge, but also stand in as much needed role models. As such, they may feel anxious for their students during this time. We pray for peace upon their hearts. We pray for the administrators and all who play a support role and who also serve as role models for the students. We pray for the students themselves, that they might value the gift of education and pursue it where the necessary supervision may be lacking due to this national quarantine. We pray for their parents and guardians and their homes, that these might be safe havens where love is practiced, and learning encouraged. We pray this in the name of our Teacher, Jesus the Christ. Amen.