Pastor’s Ponderings

From time to time, I am asked to do some work on behalf of other congregations in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Recently, I was asked to be part of a study team to examine the current health and ministry of the United Methodist Church elsewhere in Frederick...

During the season of Lent, we had a weekly study of the various parts of Holy Week using a book by Amy-Jill Levine called Entering the Passion of Jesus. We did not get a chance to discuss the last chapter which focused on Jesus in Gethsemane just prior to his arrest....

Happy Easter to all.  Check out the new photo gallery from our Easter Celebration and Easter Sunday.  The Pastors Pondering will return April 9.

These are some full and exciting days! On Sunday, we celebrated the start of Holy Week. We remembered the way in which an excited and joyful crowd welcomed Jesus into the ancient city of Jerusalem. We were reminded that all too soon, the people would turn against...

WE CARE. That’s the name of the group that offers a meal after a memorial service or funeral. When a family is in grief and busy with all the things that need to be done after the loss of a loved one, this time for sharing food and memories and being with one another...

During this season of Lent, I have been using the book Freeing Jesus, by Diana Butler Bass as a starting point with my Sunday messages. In the book, she lays out seven different ways of experiencing Jesus. We’ve looked at Jesus as a friend, teacher, savior, and...

The Staff Parish Relations Committee wishes to announce that the church seeks someone to serve as Financial Secretary. The Financial Secretary is responsible for handling, recording, and reporting financial contributions and other sources of income received by the...

Blessings in a Backpack (BIAB) Frederick County provides bags of nonperishable food to elementary school-aged children.  These bags help feed children who qualify for free and reduced meals (FARM) at school.  Without this program, many of these children would not have...

This year, the Valentine’s Day holiday falls on the same day as Ash Wednesday. That means we will begin the season of Lent with calls to repentance of spiritual discipline on the same day we celebrate romance and love. Not much is known about the real history of the...