Pastor’s Ponderings

As we move through August and look to the fall ahead, this is a good time to be in prayer. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer…. For those facing evictions because they have no funds to pay rent. For those who have lost employment and may not have a job to return...

Rev. Steve has decided to use this space over the next three weeks to share insights and thoughts from various sources in the wider United Methodist Church. This week some ideas are shared with us from UMCOR) “Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let...

(Rev. Steve has decided to use this space over the next few weeks to share insights and thoughts from various sources in the wider United Methodist Church. This week some ideas are shared with us from The General Commission on Religion and Race) A Moment for Mission...

I been riding my bike several days a week. We’ve had some beautiful weather and Frederick County has wonderful country roads for biking.  We’ve had a chance to enjoy eating outside on our deck several times and we’ve watched the sun set. Wanda and I visited a friend...

5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for...

Bishop Bruce R. Ough issued the following statement May 31, 2020, amid protests and violence happening in Minneapolis six days after the death of George Floyd. Bishop Ough is the Resident Bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area. Dr. Martin Luther King astutely observed...

I’ve been reading Erik Larson’s book, The Splendid and the Vile, that tells the story of the Battle of Britain from the perspective of Winston Churchill and his immediate family. From June 10, 1940 until June 1941, London and several other cities in Great Britain...

With stores and other businesses starting to re-opening with restrictions, churches will have to consider what is best to do with regard to worship. Not only will that mean roping off pews and wearing masks, disinfecting spaces and providing hand sanitizer. It will...

One of the things that has been a topic of conversation in lots of homes and media outlets is “When will things re-open?”  As much as we all would like to go back to life as we knew it before the outbreak of this pandemic, it’s not really going to be possible for the...

Today would have been the start of the 2020 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. Five months ago, there was lots of conversation about the future of the denomination and various plans that would have divided up assets and liabilities and who might get to...