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Pastors Pondering

Each year, every United Methodist congregation is asked to complete a statistical report. The report includes financial numbers, such as income and the amount spent on the program, staffing, and operating costs for the year. The report also includes statistics...

Pastors Pondering

While watching the snow come down yesterday, I reread King’s famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. It can be found at click here.  Written in 1963 on scraps of paper smuggled out from a jail cell, the letter is a stirring account of what King was intending to accomplish...

Pastors Pondering

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, had a practice of leading people to renew a promise to God. During Wesley’s life, this became a yearly practice that came to be known as a “covenant service,” often celebrated on New Year’s Day or on a Sunday near...

Pastors Pondering

I had an interesting conversation over the holiday. Somehow, while wishing Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to friends, someone at the table asked, “Can you wish everybody well? How about someone who was an abuser, a criminal, a bully? Is it possible to wish that...

Pastors Pondering

Christmas time is full of stories. Remember the time that we piled into the station wagon and drove to Grandma and grandpa’s house in the snowstorm? How about that time when Dad picked out the Christmas tree that wouldn’t fit in the living room? Remember the time when...

Pastors Pondering

  Last month a group from the church met to discuss ways that we could promote caring for God’s creation. We decided to share a list of practical things that can be done that can make a difference. Here are things that individuals and groups can do. Consider...

Pastors Pondering

This Sunday we begin the season of Advent, really. I know, the church is already decorated, and the holiday music has been playing in the shops and on the radio. But Sunday we begin a new church year and light the first candle in the Advent Wreath and begin our...