Our Campaign to provide mosquito nets for all of Catembe, Mozambique is exceeding expectations. Simply put, malaria kills. Nets can save lives.
Last year, we raised 220 nets to cover the members of our “sister” church, The Catembe United Methodist Church. This Year’s focus is on providing mosquito nets for everyone in the city of Catembe. We need 2000 nets to protect the women, children and families of Catembe. So far we have raised enough funds for 1239 nets. We are at 62% of our goal.
$10 Saves a Life — Buy a Mosquito Net, and give the gift of a healthy life to our brothers and sisters in Catembe! The nets are treated so that in addition to protecting people from mosquito bites, any mosquito that lands on the net is dead within a few minutes. The result is an 82% reduction of malaria cases in the area that the nets have been distributed.
Congratulations everyone for helping saves lives.
Pastor Kathleen
http://www.nothingbutnets.net/nets-save-lives/
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Wilder View - December 2010
Isn’t it amazing how things change so quickly? Yesterday we were walking around in short sleeves enjoying one more day of Indian summer in St. Louis, and today we are wearing sweatshirts. It seems to me that this year has been a year of extremes. We have experienced great joy as we have grown as a church in our faith walk and in our mission outreach. We have experienced significant pain in walking with each other through sickness, death, and loss of employment. We have shared laughter at the wonderful things that God is doing in our midst, and we have shared tears at the challenges of friends losing jobs, and home.
I confess there have been times this year when I have said, “God, I am ready for it to get easier,” only to find that the next day offers an even greater challenge. There have also been times when I have felt so overwhelmed I couldn’t even make my brain think. And then there have been times when I have said, “God, I can’t take any more of this because it is just so wonderful.” And then the next day offers an even greater blessing from God. Maybe you can relate to those feelings and how quickly everything can change.
There is a popular Christian song called ‘Blink’ by a group call Revived. I think the words of this song can be especially meaningful for us as we embark into a season of holidays and end of the year reflection.
By the time you receive this newsletter we will have celebrated Thanksgiving Day. You might find yourself joyfully looking forward to all of the festivities of the season, or find yourself wanting hide in solitude. No matter how we feel, God is present with us and will sustain us through our joys and sadness’s. I invite you to take time this Advent season to stop and listen to God’s Spirit in your life, so that you don’t miss the beauty that is around you before it flashes by.
Peaceful Advent
~Pastor Kathleen
I confess there have been times this year when I have said, “God, I am ready for it to get easier,” only to find that the next day offers an even greater challenge. There have also been times when I have felt so overwhelmed I couldn’t even make my brain think. And then there have been times when I have said, “God, I can’t take any more of this because it is just so wonderful.” And then the next day offers an even greater blessing from God. Maybe you can relate to those feelings and how quickly everything can change.
There is a popular Christian song called ‘Blink’ by a group call Revived. I think the words of this song can be especially meaningful for us as we embark into a season of holidays and end of the year reflection.
Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Taking in all the colors before they fade to gray,
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this.
When it's all said and done
No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this.
Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late.
It happens in a blink,
It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink.
And count every moment before it slips away
Taking in all the colors before they fade to gray,
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this.
When it's all said and done
No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this.
Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late.
It happens in a blink,
It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink.
By the time you receive this newsletter we will have celebrated Thanksgiving Day. You might find yourself joyfully looking forward to all of the festivities of the season, or find yourself wanting hide in solitude. No matter how we feel, God is present with us and will sustain us through our joys and sadness’s. I invite you to take time this Advent season to stop and listen to God’s Spirit in your life, so that you don’t miss the beauty that is around you before it flashes by.
Peaceful Advent
~Pastor Kathleen
Monday, November 8, 2010
The Wilder View - November 2010
I don’t know if you have noticed it yet, but it seems to me that we now have a new ‘currency’ here at Lafayette Park United Methodist Church, and that currency is nets! It has been just a few weeks since we began our challenge to generate enough nets to cover the city of Catembe, Mozambique with ‘bed nets’ also known as ‘mosquito nets, and we have already made great strides towards that goal. It will take a total of 2000 nets to cover Catembe and at this point we have raised enough for 485, so we only have 1,515 to go.
However, the most exciting thing for me is not only hearing people talking about nets, but finding out what they are doing to raise ‘net money.’ We are receiving donations for nets for many different reasons. Here are a few; “We can’t buy that…it is half a net.” “Just because I can give.” “I am going to match my daughter’s donation.” and “From our cuss jar.” People are baking and serving and giving the profits towards nets. One of our children gave a net from his birthday money. We have received donations from the sales of Cheesecakes, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin crochet hats. People have turned in money from substituting and babysitting. “I held off shopping for souvenirs in Mexico.” One of our children has their classroom that is taking this on as their project and a whole school that is going to collect money for nets during Lent. It is downright exciting!
Yet, the most exciting thing to me at this point, is to hear people talking. Here are some of the conversations that I have heard. “This will sell at the Christmas Bazaar and it will be 1 net, and this will be one 10th of a net.” It is like we no longer have dollar bills but we have denominations of nets! I am also hearing people say, “Let’s not do a ‘drive through’, that would be a couple of nets. Let’s just eat at home.”
God is truly doing a great work within our lives and the life of our church. We are thinking about ways to live more simply so that we can give the simple gift of a healthy life to our Sisters and Brothers in Catembe.
I have no doubt that we will successfully meet our goal. Lafayette Park is a church that listens for God’s voice and direction and then follows that voice. Please do include a note with your donations so we can all see what ways our goal is reached. These will be faith stories that will encourage and excite our congregation.
Thanks for all of your faithful support as we work together to change and save lives in Catembe!
However, the most exciting thing for me is not only hearing people talking about nets, but finding out what they are doing to raise ‘net money.’ We are receiving donations for nets for many different reasons. Here are a few; “We can’t buy that…it is half a net.” “Just because I can give.” “I am going to match my daughter’s donation.” and “From our cuss jar.” People are baking and serving and giving the profits towards nets. One of our children gave a net from his birthday money. We have received donations from the sales of Cheesecakes, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin crochet hats. People have turned in money from substituting and babysitting. “I held off shopping for souvenirs in Mexico.” One of our children has their classroom that is taking this on as their project and a whole school that is going to collect money for nets during Lent. It is downright exciting!
Yet, the most exciting thing to me at this point, is to hear people talking. Here are some of the conversations that I have heard. “This will sell at the Christmas Bazaar and it will be 1 net, and this will be one 10th of a net.” It is like we no longer have dollar bills but we have denominations of nets! I am also hearing people say, “Let’s not do a ‘drive through’, that would be a couple of nets. Let’s just eat at home.”
God is truly doing a great work within our lives and the life of our church. We are thinking about ways to live more simply so that we can give the simple gift of a healthy life to our Sisters and Brothers in Catembe.
I have no doubt that we will successfully meet our goal. Lafayette Park is a church that listens for God’s voice and direction and then follows that voice. Please do include a note with your donations so we can all see what ways our goal is reached. These will be faith stories that will encourage and excite our congregation.
Thanks for all of your faithful support as we work together to change and save lives in Catembe!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Wilder View . . . October 2010
Can you believe it? I was in a store the other day and saw Christmas decorations already…Christmas in October! It seems like the focus on Christmas and buying gifts happens earlier and earlier each year. There is a great pressure to find the perfect gift and to be able to purchase the newest technical gadget possible. Yet, the real meaning and purpose of Christmas is pushed into the background.
At Annual Conference this year, Michael Slaughter the pastor of Ginghamsburg, UMC spoke about something they began several years ago. The idea was simple… “Christmas is not your birthday.” Pastor Michael invited the congregation to begin to celebrate Christmas by recognizing that Christmas is the Christ’s birthday and that our giving and our focus should be on Christ versus seeing how many gifts we can buy for everyone else or for ourselves. He challenged the church to give as much to missions that Christmas as they spent on Christmas gifts. Over the next years, amazing things have happened through this church’s focus; wells have been built in the Sudan, schools built, and many lives have been saved!
At the last council meeting, I asked Lafayette Park to make a commitment this year to celebrate Christmas by giving the gift of health and life. Malaria is a horrible disease that greatly impacts many people in Africa. It is estimated that it kills 800,000 children each year in Africa.
You might remember that last summer God placed upon my heart a call to provide mosquito nets for the people of Catembe. We quickly raised enough money to provide nets to the members of our sister congregation. I have since come to understand that the call was for us to provide nets for everyone in Catembe.
Carol Kreamer, our mission coordinator for the Mozambique Initiative, told me recently about work that is happening with the United Nations Foundation. They have been piloting a mass deployment of mosquito nets to specific areas. The nets are treated so that in addition to protecting people from mosquito bites, any mosquito that lands on the net is dead within a few minutes. The result is an 82% reduction of malaria cases in the area that the nets have been distributed. Catembe is targeted to be one of six locations in Mozambique to have nets deployed.
The council agreed that our focus for Christmas this year will be to raise money for mosquito nets for the entire area of Catembe. The nets only cost $10 and they save many lives. I am asking you to become intentional about ways that you can raise money between now and Christmas that can go towards the mosquito nets. The day after council, I heard from members of the church who have pledged towards the nets. Jim and I will be making and selling pumpkin pies during the holidays with the proceeds going towards nets. The Wilder children will be hosting a yard sale in the future to raise money towards the nets as well. As you have opportunities to make a donation towards the nets, jot down what you did to raise the money. I think the stories behind our creative endeavors will provide an additional blessing to our brothers and sisters in Mozambique. Our total goal is 2,000 nets we have already sent in the funds for 200 nets from last year. We are already 10% there!
This Christmas the people of Lafayette Park will give gifts that reflect our gratitude for the gift of life we have received through the birth of Jesus. Let the creativity, planning, and excitement begin!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kathleen
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wilder View - August 2010
Don’t you love the sounds of summer… children laughing as they splash in a swimming pool, the ice cream truck driving down your street, and conversation at backyard BBQs? Yet, there is one summer sound that I would venture to say, we all hate to hear – the sort of hum/buzz that sweeps around our head, the sensation of a tiny soft landing which prompts us to slap the mosquito that is threatening the calmness of the moment. I have yet to find someone that likes mosquitoes. Yet, for the majority of us in St. Louis, mosquitoes are just pests. For our brothers and sisters in Catembe, Mozambique, mosquitoes are deadly.
Many of you might remember last summer that I had this God experience at 3:15 in the morning. I was in a dead sleep when a dialogue of questions and answers went through my mind;
“Does the pastor of Catembe have mosquito nets for her family? To which I replied, “I don’t know.
“Well shouldn’t they?”
“Well, yes.”
“How are they going to get them?”
“Well I should get them.”
“What about the United Methodist Women at Catembe? Do they have nets?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well…“
“Ok, we will take care of them as well.”
“What about the men’s group?"
"Yes, of course”
“And what about the whole church of Catembe?”
“What if the people of Catembe could have some way to tangibly show the love of God to their whole community?”
“Ok, ok, I get it… we should get mosquito nets for all of Catembe.”
Then I was back to sleep. The next morning, my sermon changed half way through and I shared this dialogue with you all and some of you probably thought, “There she is, going crazy again.” Others of you thought “Wow, what a God moment!” In a very short time we were able to raise enough money to purchase a mosquito net (220 nets) for every family of Catembe United Methodist Church in Mozambique.
We found out as we began to send in our money in that there wasn’t a structure in place to get our nets directly to Catembe, so we slowed down in our efforts to get nets to cover the entire peninsula of Catembe, Mozambique.
Recently we found out that the United Nations Foundation has been conducting pilot programs of mass deployment of mosquito nets in an area to greatly reduce malaria in that area. They have received a success rate of 82% in the reduction of malaria in those pilot locations. Carol Kreamer our Missouri Mozambique Coordinator, along with many other people in Misri, and Mozambique are meeting weekly through Skype to discuss the mass distribution project for six areas of Mozambique. Catembe will be one of the areas!
For this to happen, they will need to find community groups that will go and survey the needs of the community so that they identify what each family will need. Then they will distribute the nets, and help install them. They will have to stop by several times during the next year to determine the effectiveness of the project. What a great mission project for the Catembe church to save the lives of many people in their community and tangibly show the love of God! The goal for this new distribution will be to get an 85% reduction of malaria in an area.
The nets that will be deployed are not just repellent nets. A mosquito will die within 10 minutes of landing on the net. The nets will help protect young children, elderly family members, and reduce the devastating reoccurring illness of malaria. On average, $10 provides for the net. If the Spirit nudges you to sponsor a net, or two, or more just note it on the memo line of your check or put it on the offering envelop.
Although God hasn’t nudged me at 3:15 am again, I think the original question remains, “Shouldn’t we help if we can?” I think the original answer remains as well, “Yes, of course.”
Shalom,
~Pastor Kathleen
Many of you might remember last summer that I had this God experience at 3:15 in the morning. I was in a dead sleep when a dialogue of questions and answers went through my mind;
“Does the pastor of Catembe have mosquito nets for her family? To which I replied, “I don’t know.
“Well shouldn’t they?”
“Well, yes.”
“How are they going to get them?”
“Well I should get them.”
“What about the United Methodist Women at Catembe? Do they have nets?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well…“
“Ok, we will take care of them as well.”
“What about the men’s group?"
"Yes, of course”
“And what about the whole church of Catembe?”
“What if the people of Catembe could have some way to tangibly show the love of God to their whole community?”
“Ok, ok, I get it… we should get mosquito nets for all of Catembe.”
Then I was back to sleep. The next morning, my sermon changed half way through and I shared this dialogue with you all and some of you probably thought, “There she is, going crazy again.” Others of you thought “Wow, what a God moment!” In a very short time we were able to raise enough money to purchase a mosquito net (220 nets) for every family of Catembe United Methodist Church in Mozambique.
We found out as we began to send in our money in that there wasn’t a structure in place to get our nets directly to Catembe, so we slowed down in our efforts to get nets to cover the entire peninsula of Catembe, Mozambique.
Recently we found out that the United Nations Foundation has been conducting pilot programs of mass deployment of mosquito nets in an area to greatly reduce malaria in that area. They have received a success rate of 82% in the reduction of malaria in those pilot locations. Carol Kreamer our Missouri Mozambique Coordinator, along with many other people in Misri, and Mozambique are meeting weekly through Skype to discuss the mass distribution project for six areas of Mozambique. Catembe will be one of the areas!
For this to happen, they will need to find community groups that will go and survey the needs of the community so that they identify what each family will need. Then they will distribute the nets, and help install them. They will have to stop by several times during the next year to determine the effectiveness of the project. What a great mission project for the Catembe church to save the lives of many people in their community and tangibly show the love of God! The goal for this new distribution will be to get an 85% reduction of malaria in an area.
The nets that will be deployed are not just repellent nets. A mosquito will die within 10 minutes of landing on the net. The nets will help protect young children, elderly family members, and reduce the devastating reoccurring illness of malaria. On average, $10 provides for the net. If the Spirit nudges you to sponsor a net, or two, or more just note it on the memo line of your check or put it on the offering envelop.
Although God hasn’t nudged me at 3:15 am again, I think the original question remains, “Shouldn’t we help if we can?” I think the original answer remains as well, “Yes, of course.”
Shalom,
~Pastor Kathleen
Monday, June 7, 2010
Wilder View - June 2010
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1
I have had the privilege of sharing many seasons with Sharon. Our first season was when we were both in the exploration and wonder of going into ministry. We were both part time staff members at Webster Hills UMC and were filled with wonderment that God could call us and use us in ministry. It was a season of newness.
We shared another season as I was first appointed to Lafayette Park and Sharon served as our intern while she was in seminary. A season of questions – why do you do this, have you thought about doing this. What is the story behind… what if we tried this? This was a season of experimentation and learning.
And then we shared another season… a season in which we served the people of Lafayette Park. Time was spent on how we could better care for those we serve. This was a time of perfecting pastoral skills and learning administration. It was a season of preparing to be a seasoned pastor.
Now a new season begins. A season of soaring above the clouds! Shortly, Pastor Sharon will begin a new season, a season of serving as pastor to two churches. She will start the season of falling in love with more of God’s people. She will learn the unique gifts that are within those churches and will help those gifts become nourished and begin to grow.
We at Lafayette Park UMC also enter a new season. This will be a season of discernment as we seek out specific areas where we would like to grow. We will call forth gifts of ministry within the congregation so that we all may grow into using the gifts that God has placed within us.
Every season contains joys and sorrows, life and death, tears and laughter. Let us enter into this new season with the expectant hope of the God that is the giver of life and love, and ask God to plant within us the new growth we hunger for in our churches.
May God bless Pastor Sharon and her two new churches as they enter into this new season of hope and growth. May God bless Lafayette Park as we enter into this new season of hope and growth.
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
~Pastor Kathleen
Time with Sharon: Practicing Our Goodbyes
 |
| From Lafayette Park UMC-Pastor's Blog |
June 2010
Now the LORD said to Abram: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.” - Genesis 12:1
Some years ago, when I began the exploration of my call to Ordained Ministry, I met with a mentor, whose task it was to help me make some sense of the intense yearnings of my heart scrambled together with a boatload of objections coming from my head. When I finally realized I must leave my home church of nearly 20 years to go onto a new place for ministry, I was hit by the profound impact of leaving the community that I had grown to love and serve. My wise mentor suggested that if I was to become a United Methodist pastor, then I had better start practicing my goodbyes. She was referring, of course, to the itinerant nature of our ministries, moving from church to church as our bishop finds need for our gifts and graces.
Leaving my home church was painful and some of the goodbyes tear-filled. I had raised my children there, developed close friendships there, and come to a deeper, more vibrant faith there. Sort of like Abram, only in a car instead of a camel, and on a highway in stead of on a desert path, I trusted in God as I left what I knew and set out on a journey into the future. God’s path for me, via Highway 44, brought me to this place,
Welcoming and sending. Gosh, when you think about it, that’s an integral part of what we do in the church. Into our midst and heart, we welcome visitors in worship each week. We welcome as littlest members, babies fresh with the splash of the baptismal waters still upon their cheeks. We welcome home long-missed folks returning from journeys to other lands. And we welcome new workers to the vineyard. Together, we pray, we worship, we hear the Word spoken, and we respond. But it doesn’t stop there. If it did, eventually, the gospel message would die. No, at the end of our time together, we are commissioned, scattered, sent out. Like little Abrams, we journey with God to our places of work and leisure, to witness our faith in “the land that God will show us.”
And so, goodbyes are every bit as important a part of our loving God and each other as our hellos. I leave you, my friends, to take up a new appointment in the Gateway Regional District. My little rural churches are in a far-off land from LPUMC. As my season with you ends, I am assured of your blessings, and your love. I shall saddle up my little Prius, packed full of memories and experiences. Confident that you will continue the work of welcoming and sending that defines us as Christians, I will head west, “to the land that God will show…to me.”
Goodbye, and may God bless you and keep you always,
 |
| From Pastor Sharon Kichline Ordination |
Pastor Sharon
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wilder View - May 2010
During the month of April our sermons have focused on ‘playing in God’s garden.’ We have been challenged to sow seeds of God’s love and justice wherever we go in the world. We have also been encouraged to look at the weeds in our lives differently – to find the value that they might bring to our lives and community. Finally, we were challenged to dream of what God’s vision for our community might look like.
What dream has God planted in your mind? Is it ending violence? Protecting children? Stopping hunger? Ending homelessness? Growing mature, spiritual youth and children? Do these dreams seem too big? Do they seem too impossible? The truth is that with God all things are possible.
We are in the midst of creating a community garden with McKinley Classical Leadership Academy. (The big school located on Russell Blvd. between Missouri and Mississippi) In the days and weeks to come, we will be tilling ground at the school, building raised bed gardens, and planting plants with the students, staff, and neighbors of McKinley. We will also create container gardens at Centenary that will be used for food at the Bridge and possibly even start a social entrepreneurship from our garden. Everyone is invited to participate in this exciting adventure.
This is only the beginning. We have been invited to sow seeds of tutoring in each of the schools we are connected to McKinley, Sigel, and Hodgens. There are construction projects we will be doing this summer in our various schools to create more nurturing learning environments.
Most importantly, we have been invited to sow life changing seeds through the process of mentoring one child at a time for a school year (or longer) if it is a good match. Just imagine meeting with a boy or girl for a year and building trust with them. Think about the power of cultivating dreams in young people who may have had their dreams crushed out of them.
It is exciting and great fun to play in God’s garden. So, roll up your shirt sleeves, and dig in! The harvest is great, and laborers are needed.
See you at the Harvest Party!
Pastor Kathleen
What dream has God planted in your mind? Is it ending violence? Protecting children? Stopping hunger? Ending homelessness? Growing mature, spiritual youth and children? Do these dreams seem too big? Do they seem too impossible? The truth is that with God all things are possible.
We are in the midst of creating a community garden with McKinley Classical Leadership Academy. (The big school located on Russell Blvd. between Missouri and Mississippi) In the days and weeks to come, we will be tilling ground at the school, building raised bed gardens, and planting plants with the students, staff, and neighbors of McKinley. We will also create container gardens at Centenary that will be used for food at the Bridge and possibly even start a social entrepreneurship from our garden. Everyone is invited to participate in this exciting adventure.
This is only the beginning. We have been invited to sow seeds of tutoring in each of the schools we are connected to McKinley, Sigel, and Hodgens. There are construction projects we will be doing this summer in our various schools to create more nurturing learning environments.
Most importantly, we have been invited to sow life changing seeds through the process of mentoring one child at a time for a school year (or longer) if it is a good match. Just imagine meeting with a boy or girl for a year and building trust with them. Think about the power of cultivating dreams in young people who may have had their dreams crushed out of them.
It is exciting and great fun to play in God’s garden. So, roll up your shirt sleeves, and dig in! The harvest is great, and laborers are needed.
See you at the Harvest Party!
Pastor Kathleen
Time With Sharon - May 2010
On May 24th, 1738, John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, felt something remarkable happening to him as he attended a worship service in London. He later wrote in his journal:
“In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-Street…and I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine…”
Together with his many brothers and sisters, John Wesley has been involved in church his whole life. His father was an Anglican priest in the Church of England, and his mother, a strong, caring Christian whose stalwart faith greatly influenced her 10 surviving children. John studied at Christ Church College in Oxford, and at the age of 25, was ordained as a priest in the Church. But it wasn’t until that evening on May 24th that he experienced the power of God’s Holy Spirit stirring within him, affirming God’s love for him as a beloved child of God. It was that service to others, it increases the probability of experiencing God’s stirring in our souls. To some it feels like the flutter of butterfly movement of God’s Spirit that propelled his ministry to re-vitalize the church with greater zeal and dedication.
This month, we will celebrate the 272nd year since John wrote about the occasion of his warm heart. Maybe you have your own heart-warming experience. I’d sure love to hear about it. Or maybe you are still waiting.
God’s Spirit can move anyone at anytime, under any circumstance. But it seems that when we place ourselves in service to others, it increases the probability of experiencing God’s stirring in our souls. To some it feels like the flutter of butterfly wings, and to others, like being hit with a brick (in a nice way). But most certainly, it leaves the recipient amazed and craving another encounter.
So I invite you to find a way to serve others with your gifts and graces. Cook a meal, offer a ride, participate in a Hands in Mission event, sit with someone at Fellowship Time after church that is sitting alone. Give of yourself. And while you’re busy, and least expecting it, may God stir your soul, and your heart be strangely warmed.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Sharon
“In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-Street…and I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine…”
Together with his many brothers and sisters, John Wesley has been involved in church his whole life. His father was an Anglican priest in the Church of England, and his mother, a strong, caring Christian whose stalwart faith greatly influenced her 10 surviving children. John studied at Christ Church College in Oxford, and at the age of 25, was ordained as a priest in the Church. But it wasn’t until that evening on May 24th that he experienced the power of God’s Holy Spirit stirring within him, affirming God’s love for him as a beloved child of God. It was that service to others, it increases the probability of experiencing God’s stirring in our souls. To some it feels like the flutter of butterfly movement of God’s Spirit that propelled his ministry to re-vitalize the church with greater zeal and dedication.
This month, we will celebrate the 272nd year since John wrote about the occasion of his warm heart. Maybe you have your own heart-warming experience. I’d sure love to hear about it. Or maybe you are still waiting.
God’s Spirit can move anyone at anytime, under any circumstance. But it seems that when we place ourselves in service to others, it increases the probability of experiencing God’s stirring in our souls. To some it feels like the flutter of butterfly wings, and to others, like being hit with a brick (in a nice way). But most certainly, it leaves the recipient amazed and craving another encounter.
So I invite you to find a way to serve others with your gifts and graces. Cook a meal, offer a ride, participate in a Hands in Mission event, sit with someone at Fellowship Time after church that is sitting alone. Give of yourself. And while you’re busy, and least expecting it, may God stir your soul, and your heart be strangely warmed.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Sharon
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wilder View - April 2010
Some of my fondest childhood memories were watching my Grandparents look through their jars and envelopes of seeds on cold winter evenings. Looking at tomato, lettuce, cucumber, and watermelon seeds seemed to create a sense of hope on long winter nights. I remember both the joy of feeling the dirt in our hands each spring as we planted those same seeds in the garden, and the anticipation of the vegetables breaking through the dirt.
My grandfather and I would play pirates as we dug for the potatoes, finding buried treasures. We would share wonderful conversations as we hulled the peas, and snapped the green beans. They are all rich, wonderful memories, and all are connected to life in the garden.
Someone asked me recently how many times garden is mentioned in the Bible, and the answer is 52. It seems only proper to have a garden for each week of the year. The gardens range from Eden, to Gethesemene, to the resurrection. God is actively working through gardens that are planted throughout the Bible.
In April we are going to do a three week sermon series on Life in the Garden. Each week we will explore a part of the garden and how it impacts our lives with God and each other. I invite you to come and roll up your sleeves, dig in, and see what amazing fruit God can grow in your life as you putter around in your spiritual garden. The series will culminate in an Earth Day celebration on April 25.
Happy digging!
~Pastor Kathleen
My grandfather and I would play pirates as we dug for the potatoes, finding buried treasures. We would share wonderful conversations as we hulled the peas, and snapped the green beans. They are all rich, wonderful memories, and all are connected to life in the garden.
Someone asked me recently how many times garden is mentioned in the Bible, and the answer is 52. It seems only proper to have a garden for each week of the year. The gardens range from Eden, to Gethesemene, to the resurrection. God is actively working through gardens that are planted throughout the Bible.
In April we are going to do a three week sermon series on Life in the Garden. Each week we will explore a part of the garden and how it impacts our lives with God and each other. I invite you to come and roll up your sleeves, dig in, and see what amazing fruit God can grow in your life as you putter around in your spiritual garden. The series will culminate in an Earth Day celebration on April 25.
Happy digging!
~Pastor Kathleen
Sharing Time with Sharon: Hope
April 2010
“…and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:5
I went walking in Lafayette Square last week. As I write this, we are just on the cusp of spring, and there is more brown than green showing in the park. So I was encouraged by the bits of green shyly peeking out from under a sheaf of dead leaves. This green was slender new reeds of grass poking out of the earth; they looked far too delicate to push through the heavy mass of leaf matter that laid like a heavy blanket upon them.
Yet, these determined little green needles were coming up anyway. This week, they had pushed through the brown blanket, and were standing rather proudly, I mussed, above the dank darkness, reveling in, and being filled by, the warm sunshine.
Hope is like that. It starts as just a tiny seed that, nurtured just a bit by God’s breath, breaks open and begins growing, imperceptivly at first. The darkness actually provides a place where it can be nurtured, until the day it punches through into the light, and God’s presence working in our lives becomes visible to us and others.
The tomb where Jesus was laid was dark. No light reached him. Yet, like tender green shoots of spring, hope was born in the darkness and began to stir. The Apostle Paul declared “hope does not disappoint us”. That is a stubborn and glorious truth of God’s presence in our lives; Hope, planted within us and nurtured by God’s breath, triumphs over darkness. God’s light can permeate any heavy mass under which we have become buried, calling forth something new, resilient, and beautiful to unfold. God’s breath…God’s holy spirit is working within us.
Is there a place of darkness in your life? Invite God’s spirit to permeate it, soak through it, and use it to nurture hope. Because hope will not disappoint. Hope triumphs over darkness. Let this be our prayer as we await for hope to burst into the sunshine.
Grace and peace+
~Pastor Sharon
“…and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:5
I went walking in Lafayette Square last week. As I write this, we are just on the cusp of spring, and there is more brown than green showing in the park. So I was encouraged by the bits of green shyly peeking out from under a sheaf of dead leaves. This green was slender new reeds of grass poking out of the earth; they looked far too delicate to push through the heavy mass of leaf matter that laid like a heavy blanket upon them.
Yet, these determined little green needles were coming up anyway. This week, they had pushed through the brown blanket, and were standing rather proudly, I mussed, above the dank darkness, reveling in, and being filled by, the warm sunshine.
Hope is like that. It starts as just a tiny seed that, nurtured just a bit by God’s breath, breaks open and begins growing, imperceptivly at first. The darkness actually provides a place where it can be nurtured, until the day it punches through into the light, and God’s presence working in our lives becomes visible to us and others.
The tomb where Jesus was laid was dark. No light reached him. Yet, like tender green shoots of spring, hope was born in the darkness and began to stir. The Apostle Paul declared “hope does not disappoint us”. That is a stubborn and glorious truth of God’s presence in our lives; Hope, planted within us and nurtured by God’s breath, triumphs over darkness. God’s light can permeate any heavy mass under which we have become buried, calling forth something new, resilient, and beautiful to unfold. God’s breath…God’s holy spirit is working within us.
Is there a place of darkness in your life? Invite God’s spirit to permeate it, soak through it, and use it to nurture hope. Because hope will not disappoint. Hope triumphs over darkness. Let this be our prayer as we await for hope to burst into the sunshine.
Grace and peace+
~Pastor Sharon
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wilder View - March 2010
Putting God First Update!
In January’s newsletter we told you that as a faithful congregation, we are putting God First in every part of our daily church life. Thus, we have faithfully written a tithe check each week to ministry beyond our church. As of February 28, 2010 we have contributed $2,973.00. This completes our commitment to World Service. World Service funds a large number of ministries; theological education in Africa, age level programs, camps and retreats, Christian education, colleges and universities, media, global mission, as well as peace and justice issues to name a few.
This past December, I heard about a young 18 year old woman from Kenya who was helped by the World Service fund. She is the oldest of three children who had lost their father to AIDS when she was 12 years old and their mother to AIDS when she was 14. World Service provided missionaries who supported her family through the loss of their parents. They taught her how to farm, raise goats, and care for her two younger brothers. This Christmas, as a result of the efforts of those World Service Missionaries, she was able to provide Christmas dinner for other AIDS orphans in her village. World Service is dramatically touching lives and changing communities. Thank you for your support of ministry around the world.
"And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, . . . They . . . pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.”--Acts 2:44-45
As of February 28, 2010 we have sent $3,402.25. for Haiti relief through UMCOR – United Methodist Committee on Relief. 100% of this money will go directly to Haiti. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of millions.
~Pastor Kathleen
In January’s newsletter we told you that as a faithful congregation, we are putting God First in every part of our daily church life. Thus, we have faithfully written a tithe check each week to ministry beyond our church. As of February 28, 2010 we have contributed $2,973.00. This completes our commitment to World Service. World Service funds a large number of ministries; theological education in Africa, age level programs, camps and retreats, Christian education, colleges and universities, media, global mission, as well as peace and justice issues to name a few.
This past December, I heard about a young 18 year old woman from Kenya who was helped by the World Service fund. She is the oldest of three children who had lost their father to AIDS when she was 12 years old and their mother to AIDS when she was 14. World Service provided missionaries who supported her family through the loss of their parents. They taught her how to farm, raise goats, and care for her two younger brothers. This Christmas, as a result of the efforts of those World Service Missionaries, she was able to provide Christmas dinner for other AIDS orphans in her village. World Service is dramatically touching lives and changing communities. Thank you for your support of ministry around the world.
"And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, . . . They . . . pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.”--Acts 2:44-45
As of February 28, 2010 we have sent $3,402.25. for Haiti relief through UMCOR – United Methodist Committee on Relief. 100% of this money will go directly to Haiti. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of millions.
~Pastor Kathleen
Sharing Time with Sharon: Making Your Pilgrimage
March 2010
During the season of Lent, the New Testament scriptures place Christians with Jesus on a path toward Jerusalem. The journey that stretches before us is meant to provoke self-reflection and deeper spiritual connection with God. It will not necessarily be an easy one. Struggle, temptation, confession, self-discovery, self-sacrifice, and love will likely be the stones paving our road, as they were for Jesus. Some may stumble and fall, only to be helped up by a fellow traveler. Others of us may need to stay penitent upon our knees for a time, while our hearts find healing.
Christian pilgrimages have always been risky. As far back as the tenth century, faithful Christians were expected to make the journey at least once in their lifetime to Jerusalem. But over time, war and politics made it too dangerous to travel to the Holy Lands. As an alternative, church leaders designed cathedral labyrinths –stone or marble paterns. built into the floor by talented masons—by which Christian pilgrims could make the journey to Jerusalem symbolically, walking the narrow path upon the floor while meditating upon scripture or offering up prayers.
Well, not everyone could travel to a cathedral either. So over the centuries, personal prayer labyrinths began sprouting up out of bricks, flowers, paper, wood, canvas, spray-painted grass, and even on computer screens. While I was in seminary, a group designed and cut a labyrinth into the grass upon the lawn of the school, under the trees. There in the quiet of the morning, with the sunshine streaming through the newly budding trees of spring, I walked the labyrinth slowly, deliberately placing heel to toe, listening for God’s small, still voice in my heart. It was a profound experience.
As with all prayer practices, the labyrinth offers a prayer path for all times in life. Yet for me, there is remarkable power in traveling the labyrinth during the introspective season of Lent. Both Lent and the prayer labyrinth is about a faith journey, with clear beginnings, centers, and endings. Both draw me into a deeper faith connection through movement and prayer. As I move toward center, I prepare myself to be opened afresh to God’s promptings, perhaps discovering a word, a thread of scripture, or a nudge to action revealed. From a cloistered center of rest, I am drawn back out again, to return to the world with my new nugget, my blessing, from God. By the time I have completed my return journey, my heart is prepared to re-enter life again, only now changed a bit by my encounter with God’s divine presence.
During this season of Lent, I invite you to make use of the labyrinth that will be lovingly created at the church, as well as the prayer centers that will be set up in the Sanctuary that will provide multi-sensory places of rest and reflection. They are provided to stimulate and enrich your pilgrimage of faith to your “Jerusalem”.
Good journey, my fellow travelers
- Pastor Sharon
During the season of Lent, the New Testament scriptures place Christians with Jesus on a path toward Jerusalem. The journey that stretches before us is meant to provoke self-reflection and deeper spiritual connection with God. It will not necessarily be an easy one. Struggle, temptation, confession, self-discovery, self-sacrifice, and love will likely be the stones paving our road, as they were for Jesus. Some may stumble and fall, only to be helped up by a fellow traveler. Others of us may need to stay penitent upon our knees for a time, while our hearts find healing.
Christian pilgrimages have always been risky. As far back as the tenth century, faithful Christians were expected to make the journey at least once in their lifetime to Jerusalem. But over time, war and politics made it too dangerous to travel to the Holy Lands. As an alternative, church leaders designed cathedral labyrinths –stone or marble paterns. built into the floor by talented masons—by which Christian pilgrims could make the journey to Jerusalem symbolically, walking the narrow path upon the floor while meditating upon scripture or offering up prayers.
Well, not everyone could travel to a cathedral either. So over the centuries, personal prayer labyrinths began sprouting up out of bricks, flowers, paper, wood, canvas, spray-painted grass, and even on computer screens. While I was in seminary, a group designed and cut a labyrinth into the grass upon the lawn of the school, under the trees. There in the quiet of the morning, with the sunshine streaming through the newly budding trees of spring, I walked the labyrinth slowly, deliberately placing heel to toe, listening for God’s small, still voice in my heart. It was a profound experience.
As with all prayer practices, the labyrinth offers a prayer path for all times in life. Yet for me, there is remarkable power in traveling the labyrinth during the introspective season of Lent. Both Lent and the prayer labyrinth is about a faith journey, with clear beginnings, centers, and endings. Both draw me into a deeper faith connection through movement and prayer. As I move toward center, I prepare myself to be opened afresh to God’s promptings, perhaps discovering a word, a thread of scripture, or a nudge to action revealed. From a cloistered center of rest, I am drawn back out again, to return to the world with my new nugget, my blessing, from God. By the time I have completed my return journey, my heart is prepared to re-enter life again, only now changed a bit by my encounter with God’s divine presence.
During this season of Lent, I invite you to make use of the labyrinth that will be lovingly created at the church, as well as the prayer centers that will be set up in the Sanctuary that will provide multi-sensory places of rest and reflection. They are provided to stimulate and enrich your pilgrimage of faith to your “Jerusalem”.
Good journey, my fellow travelers
- Pastor Sharon
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wilder View - January 2010
s our finance team met to plan for the New Year, the decision was made to put God First. What you may ask, does that mean? We always put God first don’t we?
In the simplest terms, for our church, it means that as a faith community we will begin by writing our tithe check of 10% of our budget gifts for God’s ministry beyond our walls (including apportionments). This check will be written first, each week, without fail. We will schedule our church building and activities with the focus of God First. Worship, faith development and small groups will be our first priorities. We will look for additional ways that we can give God the first of our time in service.
What might God First look like in our own home? Perhaps it might be that before we get out of bed we stop and give the day to God. “God, I want to put you first today. Show me ways that I can organize my time, and resources that put you first in my life. Help me to live so that others will see you active in my life.” It could be that you try a new spiritual discipline such as reading a devotional book each day, or reading a few verses of the Bible each day. It could be starting the day with a family devotion. It could also mean that when we get paid, the first check we write is for our tithe or pledge for God’s ministry.
I wonder what God First looks like in your life. I wonder what would happen if everyone in our church committed for one day, or one week, or one year in one way to put God First? Just imagine the impact we might have in our church and community.
I pray that 2010 is a great year for you. I pray that you encounter God’s presence and power in your life in dramatic and wonderful ways every day and I pray that you will join me in this adventure to put God First. God First,
Always In All Ways,
~Pastor Kathleen
In the simplest terms, for our church, it means that as a faith community we will begin by writing our tithe check of 10% of our budget gifts for God’s ministry beyond our walls (including apportionments). This check will be written first, each week, without fail. We will schedule our church building and activities with the focus of God First. Worship, faith development and small groups will be our first priorities. We will look for additional ways that we can give God the first of our time in service.
What might God First look like in our own home? Perhaps it might be that before we get out of bed we stop and give the day to God. “God, I want to put you first today. Show me ways that I can organize my time, and resources that put you first in my life. Help me to live so that others will see you active in my life.” It could be that you try a new spiritual discipline such as reading a devotional book each day, or reading a few verses of the Bible each day. It could be starting the day with a family devotion. It could also mean that when we get paid, the first check we write is for our tithe or pledge for God’s ministry.
I wonder what God First looks like in your life. I wonder what would happen if everyone in our church committed for one day, or one week, or one year in one way to put God First? Just imagine the impact we might have in our church and community.
I pray that 2010 is a great year for you. I pray that you encounter God’s presence and power in your life in dramatic and wonderful ways every day and I pray that you will join me in this adventure to put God First. God First,
Always In All Ways,
~Pastor Kathleen
Time with Sharon: Like Jesus
January 2010
I joined an enthusiastic bunch of folks at The Bridge this past week to help cook and serve supper to about 200 men, women, and children of our city’s sojourners. These are folks who, for a bunch of different reasons, have found themselves gathering for shelter, camaraderie, and a hot, tasty meal at this warm facility, housed at our sister church, Centenary United Methodist Church at 16th and Olive. The Bridge serves three meals a day and is open from 6am to 6pm, providing warmth from the cold and a cool reprieve from the heat. LPUMC folk gather from 4pm-6pm to help prepare and serve supper there on the first Tuesday of each month.
It was a cold evening…with record freezing temps and snow expected the rest of the week. As the dining hall emptied out, I wondered, where will they all go now? My eye caught sight of a little boy, maybe 12-15 months old, bundled up in a stroller between his parents. I wondered about this little guy, and I’ve been wondering about him since.
I began pondering: what can I do for this little boy to keep him warm and safe? In a few years, will he go to school? What if he gets sick? My imagination has been concocting all kinds of dire circumstances for his fragile future. As a follower of Jesus, the One who fought for justice for “the least of these”, I went home thinking about what I could be doing for him, and those like him, facing a deep freeze in these uncertain times.
So I made phone calls. And I learned about emergency numbers to call for housing resources and warming shelters in our city. I learned about a blessed group of volunteers, called the Winter Outreach, who go out in the night armed with blankets, sleeping bags, and coats, seeking to help people who are cold. Yes, good people are doing much. Still, the thought tugged at me, what am I doing to love this little boy like Jesus?
Then, in prayer, God’s spirit reminded me that every time we pray for the children of our city, we are loving them. Every time we help a child read a little bit better, we are helping to pry open their potential so that they can be all that God wants for them. Providing new school supplies nurtures their intelligence and creativity. The donated coats, hats, and mittens we share help make these cold days and nights warmer. The hot meals we stir up and serve help them grow stronger. The financial gifts that we make to our collaborative United Methodist ministries help to provide training, housing, medical care, and spiritual support. At LPUMC, we are already part of God’s ongoing work to bring hope and wholeness to the children of our city.
A sense of peace covered me as I thought about how the little boy visiting The Bridge has been and still is in God’s care. And God will continue to provide for him and his family through the work of the many who share and care. I want to be part of that, and I bet you do too. May 2010 be a great year for him. And may 2010 be the year we reach out a little further to help make it so…for him, and for all the children of our city.
Can I get an AMEN?
~Pastor Sharon
I joined an enthusiastic bunch of folks at The Bridge this past week to help cook and serve supper to about 200 men, women, and children of our city’s sojourners. These are folks who, for a bunch of different reasons, have found themselves gathering for shelter, camaraderie, and a hot, tasty meal at this warm facility, housed at our sister church, Centenary United Methodist Church at 16th and Olive. The Bridge serves three meals a day and is open from 6am to 6pm, providing warmth from the cold and a cool reprieve from the heat. LPUMC folk gather from 4pm-6pm to help prepare and serve supper there on the first Tuesday of each month.
It was a cold evening…with record freezing temps and snow expected the rest of the week. As the dining hall emptied out, I wondered, where will they all go now? My eye caught sight of a little boy, maybe 12-15 months old, bundled up in a stroller between his parents. I wondered about this little guy, and I’ve been wondering about him since.
I began pondering: what can I do for this little boy to keep him warm and safe? In a few years, will he go to school? What if he gets sick? My imagination has been concocting all kinds of dire circumstances for his fragile future. As a follower of Jesus, the One who fought for justice for “the least of these”, I went home thinking about what I could be doing for him, and those like him, facing a deep freeze in these uncertain times.
So I made phone calls. And I learned about emergency numbers to call for housing resources and warming shelters in our city. I learned about a blessed group of volunteers, called the Winter Outreach, who go out in the night armed with blankets, sleeping bags, and coats, seeking to help people who are cold. Yes, good people are doing much. Still, the thought tugged at me, what am I doing to love this little boy like Jesus?
Then, in prayer, God’s spirit reminded me that every time we pray for the children of our city, we are loving them. Every time we help a child read a little bit better, we are helping to pry open their potential so that they can be all that God wants for them. Providing new school supplies nurtures their intelligence and creativity. The donated coats, hats, and mittens we share help make these cold days and nights warmer. The hot meals we stir up and serve help them grow stronger. The financial gifts that we make to our collaborative United Methodist ministries help to provide training, housing, medical care, and spiritual support. At LPUMC, we are already part of God’s ongoing work to bring hope and wholeness to the children of our city.
A sense of peace covered me as I thought about how the little boy visiting The Bridge has been and still is in God’s care. And God will continue to provide for him and his family through the work of the many who share and care. I want to be part of that, and I bet you do too. May 2010 be a great year for him. And may 2010 be the year we reach out a little further to help make it so…for him, and for all the children of our city.
Can I get an AMEN?
~Pastor Sharon
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