Caton Church

The Mid-Week Message is an On-Line Ministry                                  Of Pastor Dick Hurd and the “Caton Church”                                A Global Methodist Community of Faith                                                 October 29, 2025

        As we struggle to figure out the direction that the Caton Church should be going I keep running into a Don Moen song that proclaims “God will make a way when it seems there is no way.”  In my heart I know that this is true but my brain keeps nagging me to invent or create some ingenious way to solve our dilemma on my own.  I think that is how we often approach the struggles we face.  It seems to be our natural, human reaction to fix whatever is broken, and make it all better in our own eyes and then ask for God’s approval.       

           But then I realized that this week we celebrate All Saints Sunday and I began wondering how some of those saints of the past would have dealt with this situation.  I believe that their first inclination would have been to be in prayer, and we have tried to do that as well.  Beyond that I don’t think that waiting and hoping would have been on their list of priorities but rather rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. Granted we live in a different world than the one they dealt with. They didn’t have all the rules and regulations that we have today.         

            I could imagine however, that all the men of the church  would go to the woods to cut trees that would be milled into boards and the building of a new church would begin.  The ladies would begin to create all of the needed accoutrements to finish off the inside of the sanctuary while at the same time providing meals for the men so they could continue to work.  The children would be playing around the site and helping any way they could.  In due time a new church would rise from the ashes so to speak, and then one bright morning worship, praise and pure joy would be heard emanating from within. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

              But I don’t know, I don’t know how to get to that place from where we are right now. But I ran across this piece today, I don’t know who wrote it but I love what it says, and it encouraged my spirit.  Maybe you can appreciate it too!  It’s called the, I don’t know prayer.

                You just go off somewhere quiet and hidden and you walk right up to the heart of God and you say, “I don’t know!”  I don’t know where to go from here.   I don’t know how to process this.  I don’t know what to do with these emotions.   I don’t know how to handle this situation.  It covers a lot of “I don’t know’s” .  And then with whatever dusty little sand grain of faith you have, You say,   “But You know!”   And you leave it there!  God most certainly hears that prayer!!

Yours in the Love of Christ

Pastor Dick

Breath Prayer; Lord fill all of my “I don’t Knows” with the blessed assurance that you do!”  Amen