Shiloh United Methodist Church

06/08/2026

We're trying something new.

Each week, we'll be sharing a short clip from Sunday's sermon. The hope is to offer a quick reflection for the week and give people a glimpse of the conversations we're having at Shiloh.

This week's clip explores a different way of thinking about God's judgment, not as punishment, but as reconciliation and setting things right.

I'd love your feedback. Are short clips like this helpful? Is this something you'd like to see more of? Let us know in the comments.

And if this reflection brings someone to mind, feel free to share it with them.

06/07/2026

MESSAGE: GOD WITH US
MUSIC: TRUE LOVE, copyrights owned by Marty Schappell
CCLI, streaming 22316845
CCLI, copyright 1041505

06/05/2026

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before you with humble hearts, asking for your peace and guidance. In a time when division, conflict, and misunderstanding seem to separate people, we pray that you would unite us in love, compassion, and respect. End wars as only your message of perfect love can. Unify your children as only your perfect love can. Let us keep in thought Jesus’ prayer for unity – in the Gospel of John – where he prayed: “That they may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us.”

Lead – as only you can – the discussions between the United States and Iran this week concerning deals and a ceasefire. Help both sides to see that only through you can peace be achieved. Hold the war with Lebanon as they are agreeing to a “mutual cessation of attacks” with Israel. Calm the tensions in Kuwait. In your love, hold tempers during heated diplomatic exchanges between the USA and Israel.

Help us to see one another as your children, created in your image and worthy of dignity and kindness. Remove hatred from our hearts and replace that with an understanding heart. Where there is anger, sow patience. Where there is fear, bring courage. Where there is division, create harmony. Where there is disease, bring healing.

We are grateful for breakthroughs in Duroxon Rasip, a pancreatic cancer drug. Bring healing to the Ebola epidemic in Central Africa. Protect all who have been exposed – especially in South Sudan, Uganda, and the DRC. Help us to see that only your good is spreading over the world.

Teach leaders of states, cities, regions and nations to seek wisdom, justice, and peace. Shrink egos as you are the only perfect ego. Strengthen communities to work together for the common good. Inspire each of us to be instruments of your love, showing grace to our neighbors and extending a hand to those in need.

Don’t let us forget our brothers and sisters in Ukraine who are still at war with Russia. We pray for those affected and wounded by the recent drones on St. Petersburg. May these prayers bring comfort for all who have been touched by this war. Help them to find refuge in you.

We acknowledge that all wisdom, knowledge and creativity ultimately belong to you. You are the source of all truth and the giver of every good gift. As humanity develops new technologies, including AI – artificial intelligence – let us not lose sight of you, Father, the supreme intelligence. Lord – as the Pope has warned us – prevent us from trusting human knowledge above your eternal wisdom. May we use every gift, every discovery, and every innovation in ways that honor you and bless the world.

May your light shine across every nation, culture and people, reminding us that we are stronger when we stand together. Help us to build bridges instead of walls, to listen instead of judge, and to love as you have loved us. Help us to be courteous, kind one to another, and accepting of each other’s contributions.

Pr1otect the USA from violence during the World Cup and Pride Month celebrations. Bind us together in unity. Help us to be accepting – even when we disagree or are disappointed.

Lord, let your peace fill the earth and your unity bind humanity. In the sentiment of the words to “Let There Be Peace on Earth” – by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson – please Lord, let it begin with us. We pray to you the beautiful lyrics to this song of hope and harmony:

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment and live each moment
In peace, eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me

As Jesus prayed, make us one – make us one family under God – united in purpose, united in hope, and united in love. May our unity be a witness to the world of your goodness and grace.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen!

06/03/2026

"Small is not the opposite of faithful.

Maybe the question is not always, “Why is this small church still open?” Maybe sometimes the better question is, “What kind of faithfulness are we overlooking because we have only learned how to recognize success in large forms?”"

Check out the reflection below on celebrating small churches.

What do you love most about our small church?

On faithfulness, hidden ministry, and why smaller congregations still matter

06/01/2026

A great time at Breakfast Church this morning. While there is no video you can read an overview of our discussion topics at the link below.

https://www.craigsefa.org/blog/2026/05/31/god-our-creator

Join us next Sunday as we continue our reflections on the ancient creeds and what we believe.

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

World News This Week in Prayer

Great truth teller, you birth prophets in the form of simple humans, animals big and small, craggy mountains, lazy streams, and wandering plants. You impart your wisdom and send your messengers into the world, to spread the news that is sometimes hard to receive. May we slow down in order to feel the truth in our bones.

Pope Leo XIV, Vatican City, released the encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” which frames AI as the new industrial revolution and makes an appeal to “disarm AI” by removing it from military and economic interests. “Disarming does not mean renouncing technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity,” Pope Leo XIV said.

May we encounter the light of your love in one another.

At least two people were killed, and eight others were injured after a 900,000-gallon tank containing a hazardous chemical mixture ruptured at a packaging facility in Washington, USA. The tank contained a mixture called white liquor, which is used in paper-making processes and can cause severe burns when it comes into contact with skin.

May our prayers be a soothing balm for those who suffer.

Five villagers stuck in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week were found alive, but two others are still missing. Heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit and trapped seven people, according to Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation.

May there be a safe reunification with love at the forefront.

Officials in Uganda ordered that the country close its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo as its neighbor to the east struggles to contain an Ebola outbreak that has already crossed the border and killed more than 220 people across the two countries.

May we grieve those who have died as we strive to protect the lives of the vulnerable.

Deep within the increasingly fragile dry forests of Madagascar, an ecological tragedy is quietly unfolding. One of the island’s oldest and most deeply revered sacred baobab trees—a towering 1,200-year-old giant known affectionately to locals as Tsitakakantsa—is slowly dying, signaling the terrifying collapse of a species that has survived millennia.

May we hear the wail of Mother Earth as she mourns her loss.

Zambian law enforcement agents raided a house in the capital city of Lusaka and arrested ten people, who were allegedly involved in the illegal wildlife trade of over 550 kg (1,212 lbs) of ivory discovered at the property. Agents have spent more than 40 years investigating, documenting, and exposing illegal wildlife trafficking networks operating throughout Africa.

May we hold one another responsible in our actions that cause harm.

Police in Paris, France, are examining more than 100 allegations of mistreatment, physical violence and r**e of children as young as three by school monitors during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities, prosecutors have confirmed. Parents’ groups said they had fought for years for allegations to be taken seriously. They said failures in the recruitment process and checking of school monitors had allowed abuse to continue.

May we hold the safety of children and other vulnerable people as a sacred responsibility that belongs to all of us.

Holy One, lead us to your truth, your light, your healing, and your love for all the world. Amen.

05/28/2026

Seen above our Bible Study tonight... God is doing some great things inside.

Join us on Wednesdays at 6:30.

(photo by Larry Sheppard)

05/24/2026

MESSAGE: IN THE WAITING
MUSIC: “A HYMN FOR PENTECOST”, (tune, ‘’ CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN TODAY’’, copyrights owned by Pepper Choplin
THANK YOU FOR AMERICA( with America the beautiful) copyrights owned by Larry Sheppard
CCLI, copyright 1041505
CCLI, streaming 22316845

05/22/2026

World in Prayer this Week

We can think of intercession as expanding God’s being in every situation we open to Him.

– Sr Margaret Mary, SPB in “Seeking God in the Silence”

In intercession, we, the intercessors, need to know something of the circumstances to kindle our concern. God already knows it all, but it seems in the mystery of humanity, where God has given us free will, he will not bypass this and treat us like robots. Our love and concern open the way for God’s energy, the Holy Spirit, to flow into the world.


So, God, source of all life and being, on this day of Pentecost, when you first gave us the gift of your Holy Spirit, we bring our concerns for the world to you. We do this:

that your energy, light, and love may be unleashed to transform what is broken;

to heal who and what are wounded;

to make straight what is crooked and destructive;

to build up and enliven what is good and true;

that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.



In faith and trust: we thank you for fulfilling your promises



Lord in the stillness of our deepest hearts, beyond all words, lighten the darkness and protect…

those facing unremitting violence, unrest, and suffering in so many countries, including Thailand, Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Myanmar, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, the Gulf States, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, South Africa…

those mourning the dead and sick, and all working to contain and nurse those infected in the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya

those seeking to shine the light of truth, accountability, and justice where corruption, lies, and cronyism protect those in power or influence, including the USA, Australia, Italy, Israel, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, Iraq, and the UK



In faith and trust: we thank you for fulfilling your promises



God, ever merciful and full of forgiveness, compassion, and faithful love, bless, encourage, and give joy and strength…

all aid workers, whether paid or voluntary, who, forgetting themselves, help others in disaster zones and also in our local communities, often caring for the marginalized and forgotten

all those relatives, friends, and carers providing loving support for those seemingly lost in dementia, or living with life-limiting conditions

every act of kindness and love, that it may spread a web of love and peace in the world to counteract the malignant selfishness and greed so pushed by so many interests at this time of chaos, fear, and stress.

Empower all working to break down the seeming inability of so many in power or influence to hear and see that each one of us is made in your image. Inspire and protect all who work together, engendering hope and not hate.



In faith and trust: we thank you for fulfilling your promises



As we celebrate the sometimes uncomfortable and disturbing gift of your Holy Spirit, remind us again daily that your way is not the way of power and domination, but of self-giving love and sacrifice for all. Challenge our narrow and sadly often judgmental views and remind us that because you chose to forsake all to come as a helpless human, to live and learn and grow as we do, you enabled Easter to happen. Your death and resurrection opened the gateway to reconciliation with you that was lost when we chose to exercise our free will to turn away from you in our daily lives.

Give us the courage to say “Yes” to you, as Mary did when Gabriel came and disrupted her life with the news of what you wanted of her. This is a construction zone, for each one of us and also for your world. Transform us, by your light and love, and the transforming power of your Holy Spirit, into the people and world you created us to be.

In Jesus’ name, we share our prayers. AMEN.