Beyond the Pulpit 5.10.26
Good Morning CUMC,
I’m looking forward to being together with you this morning! On this Mother’s Day we give thanks to God for the mothers and mother-figures whose love, faith, and care reflect Christ’s compassion in our lives. We also acknowledge and hold in prayer those for whom this day is difficult, those who grieve the loss of a mother or child, or whose relationships with their mothers are marked by hurt or distance. As the body of Christ, we are reminded that it takes a caring community of faith to nurture all God’s children. Thank you to all who share in that holy calling.
Today, is also the 6th Sunday of Easter, which is a reminder that we are still in the season immediately following Christ’s resurrection when we celebrate God’s gift of eternal life. This year, we are concluding this season by highlighting the bishops’ new vision for the UMC: Love Boldly, Serve Joyfully, Lead Courageously. Today we will focus on joyful service, and one of the best examples of this is UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. If you are new to the UMC, this is our denomination’s worldwide disaster relief ministry, which specializes in long-term recovery, rebuilding, and cleanup around the world! UMCOR is one of the reasons I am proud to be United Methodist. As a global denomination supporting humanitarian relief, we can do more and have a wider reach in extending care as a united connectional system than other independent churches and regional denominations. Whenever we give to support a specific relief effort, 100% of our funds go to that effort. That promise is made possible because of the special offering we take today, which, when combined with the offerings from other UMC’s, underwrites UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” Today’s UMCOR Special Offering essentially covers administrative costs, so that all other donations made – when crises strike – can be used for humanitarian support. Consider making an offering to UMCOR today!
This past week seems to have had a theme of ministry with and for young people!
- I joined preschool staff and students for our last Chapel of the school year. We have learned all about love from 1 Corinthians 13. And we can share about love in sign language too…just ask a preschooler to tell you about love, and then watch the video below to learn how they have been signing “love” throughout the year.
- I also spent some time in correspondence with the Virginia Annual Conference inviting them to once again provide a grant to support our Summer Youth Mission Trip. This year, 30 (THIRTY!) people will participate, and we are grateful for the ways the Conference supports this effort!
- The highlight of this past week has been meeting individually with our 19 confirmation students and their families – I still have 3 more to go! The students have been committed to this experience and our conversations have been rich. They’ve shared what they’ve learned on their confirmation journey and how they believe God is nudging them as they consider next steps in faith. In these discussions, the students have been able to practice articulating their faith and how they see faith shaping the decisions they make in their everyday lives. I hope you are planning to join us next Sunday, May 17, for Confirmation Sunday!
It is a joy to serve among you, and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us this week!
Pastor Christy!
Click the link for the Sign Language Video: