Pastor’s Note
So, where are we today? Some things may have changed since yesterday. Yesterday may have come with rain that cooled the earth and gave relief to its parched surface. Today the sun may have reasserted its dominance by heating the air to where it sits just above 100°. Yesterday when the rain fell someone somewhere may have grumbled, because the baseball game they had wound themselves up to go watch was canceled. And today they grumbled because they had to work out in the heat. Their brow is covered in beaded sweat, and their shirt is damp from exertion.
Circumstances change from day to day. Some days go your way. When they do you understand the words of the ‘Song of the South.’
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Or maybe it is not your day and ‘Tears of Heaven’ tells your story. The truth is that no matter what the circumstances are you can be in the same place. Paul writes about that possibility.
“12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13
For those of us in Christ Jesus the place where we can be, no matter the circumstances, is in the presence of Christ Jesus, standing on a solid foundation. Circumstances should not be allowed to buffet us around like the wind does to a sailboat. Pushing us here and then pushing us there, defining our outlook, injecting us with hope and then stealing it away in the next moment.
Hide yourself in Christ Jesus and discover what the Psalmist had when he declared, “Even when I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
In Christ’s Service,
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Jay
Liturgical Colors
Mariel and I went to over 65 different churches during our time on the road. And they weren’t all Methodist. We’ve been to Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Foursquare, Cowboy, Church of Christ, Baptist, and a few others. That got me to thinking about all the different symbols and ceremonies that we saw. One of the things that I noticed was that the colors in the church all changed throughout the year. Why?
Someone, somewhere decided that they needed to redecorate their sanctuary based on the season of the year. As far as I can tell, it didn’t come from the Bible unless it’s in the book of Thessophesians.
Since I’m now lazy, I’ve asked an AI to do the research for me. This is what it said… let me know if there are any errors!
Churches didn’t start out with a universal “color calendar.” Early Christians certainly used special vesture and beautiful materials, but a standardized, church‑wide system of assigning specific colors to specific seasons emerged gradually in the Western church and was largely systematized in the Middle Ages. By the late 1100s/early 1200s, Pope Innocent III described an organized set of liturgical colors for the Roman Rite that became the backbone for later practice. Later, the 1570 Roman Missal of Pope Pius V helped solidify and spread a more uniform scheme in the Latin (Roman Catholic) West.
Why did the church start doing it?
The point wasn’t “because the Bible says so,” but because the church found that color is a simple, powerful way to teach and reinforce the meaning (mood, theology, emphasis) of the season or feast—penitence, celebration, martyrdom, resurrection, “ordinary” growth, etc. Sources describing the practice note that it helps clergy and people “feel the mood and spirit” of a feast/season and marks transitions through the Christian year.
Methodist Liturgical Colors
In the Methodist tradition, the colors are less about a strict rule and more about using visual symbols to help tell the story of the Christian year (the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—and the life of the Church).
Methodist resources also point out that special holy days can override the standard seasonal color (for example, white on Transfiguration Sunday or Trinity Sunday), and they encourage some local creativity with worship visuals as long as the symbols help proclaim the gospel clearly.
| Season / Day | 2026 Calendar | Color | At-a-glance meaning |
| Advent | Nov 29-Dec 24 | Purple or Blue | Preparation for Christ’s coming; purple often highlights repentance/royal expectation, while blue highlights hope and watchful waiting. |
| Christmas Season | Dec 25-Jan 10 | White / Gold | Joy and celebration of the Incarnation; light, glory, and praise. |
| Lent (incl. Holy Week) | Feb 18-Apr 4 | Purple | Repentance, prayer, self-examination, and the road to the cross. |
| Easter Season | Apr 5-May 23 | White / Gold | Resurrection joy; victory, new life, and God’s renewing power. |
| Pentecost | May 24 | Red | Holy Spirit and fire; the Church sent into mission and witness. |
| Ordinary Time (most weeks) | Jan 12-Feb 17 May 25-Nov 21 | Green | Growth in discipleship and everyday faithfulness; life and maturity. |
| Other major festival days (examples) | Transfiguration: Feb 15 Trinity: May 31 All Saints: Nov 1 Christ the King: Nov 22 | White / Gold | Celebration of key moments in Christ’s life and the Church year. |
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays
| Dale Walls | Aug 1 |
| Caroline Smith | Aug 5 |
| Ronald Long | Aug 21 |
| CanDee Brannan | Aug 21 |
| Achilles Lightner | Aug 27 |
Anniversary
| Rod & Sue Hancock | Aug 15 |
Upcoming Meetings
You can find the AA and Al-Anon, men’s breakfast, and Sarah’s circle meetings schedule on the calendar page of the website: https://aztecmethodist.org/events/
Beyond that, we also have these meetings happening in August:
- August 2: Church Conference @ 3:00pm
- August 9: Leadership Team Meeting @ 11:00am
- August 18: Finances @ 5:30pm & Trustees @ 6:30pm
Christian Anagrams
These were pretty easy, you should have been able to finish them relatively quickly:
RAEGC – GRACE Clue: What we say before meals and in worship.
HITFA – FAITH Clue: Trusting God even when we can’t see.
SUSEJ – JESUS Clue: The Son of God.
REARPY – PRAYER Clue: Talking with God.
LPSAM – PSALM Clue: A song or poem in the Old Testament.
HURCHC – CHURCH Clue: The gathering of God’s people.
LEBIB – BIBLE Clue: God’s Word.
VLOE – LOVE Clue: The greatest commandment.
SACERIFC – SACRIFICE Clue: What Jesus made for us on the cross.
NHEAVE – HEAVEN Clue: Our eternal home with God.
Finances & Attendance
| July 5 | July 12 | July 18 | July 26 | |
| Giving | $2705 | $1316.55 | $3692 | $1161 |
| Worship | 44 | 42 | 65 | 55 |
| Sunday School | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
—2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (ESV)
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