First United Methodist Church

Click on the FB image in the upper right corner or click on this YouTube link to be taken to our worship video for Sunday, May 31st - PENTECOST

As we continue to hear messages from our President and Governor about their perspectives regarding allowing places of worship to reopen their buildings, we want to be clear that we will be developing a careful, reasoned plan that uses John Wesley's instruction to "Do No Harm" as the foundational criteria. Currently we know the building will remain closed until at least June 15, and ask that even those members who have keys respect that closure. If you have a need to enter the building, please contact the church office or Pastor Terry, as some of our staff need to be in the building at times and we want to insure their safety and well-being. In the meantime, ministry continues in a variety of ways and we ask for yourcontinued prayers and grace. Pastor Terry

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED SO FAR

We're two months into the impact of COVID-19, and I find myself reflecting on some of the lessons and re-awakenings I've experienced so far. Every aspect of life has been changed by this pandemic, from the local and global economy to the ways that we interact with one another. The very fabric of our society has been rearranged (some might say unraveled) , and we've been called to sacrifice our privileges for the sake of the health and wellbeing of our neighbors. I want to share some of what I've been noticing, in what I hope will be the beginning of a conversation in which you will share some of what you've been experiencing as well.

• In times of crisis most people tend to rise up to their very best versions. Once again, we have been alerted to the reality that, whether we like it or not, we share the planet with everyone and everything on it, so how we come out of this will depend largely on how big our hearts are and how well we understand the “Good Samaritan” story.

• The veil has pulled back from some of our misconceptions and we’re recognizing many everyday jobs are actually heroic. Along with the emergency and medical workers we easily acknowledge as worthy and valuable, we have begun to celebrate folks who work at or near minimum wage who keep food on grocery store shelves, even getting it out to the curbside for our no-contact pick up; the people all the way through our food chain that raise/grow, harvest, process, and deliver to our stores the food that we need and enjoy, and the people who care for our children so we can be at work.

• It’s going to be much harder to under-value teachers, school administrators, support staff, and all the folks that it took to not only educate our children but be sure they had enough to eat and we're listened to by caring adults. I've been reminded of how much training and preparation goes into a good educational process (and how much even more to make it a great one!), from preschool through Graduate School…and how unprepared most of us are to directly provide a rich education for upcoming generations.

• I've also seen that there is no situation that doesn't look to some like an opportunity for personal enrichment by taking advantage of their neighbors’ fears, despair and desperatio. Sadly, I see that this includes some who claim to be Christian leaders, tarnishing that identity for all who claim it.

• While the building is closed, ministry continues to transform individuals and beyond beyond its walls. I've been powerfully reminded that an attractive and useful building can be a great tool for ministry, the “church” is not a building and what we do away from it is at least as significant as what we do in it.

• I have experienced anew the joy and value of hearing another person's voice, even when I can't see their face or touch them, and of receiving a card or letter, as well as the importance of having a national Postal Service that ensures all of us can receive send and receive those cards and letters, whether we're in urban or rural areas.

• I have a refreshed and deepened grasp on how much my mental health depends on a balance of time alone and time with others. I’ll remember how reassuring it is to talk to my children (sadly, my parents are both deceased), siblings and friends near and far, long after the restrictions of this pandemic fade away.

• “We are in the same storm, but we are not in the same boat.” Those who were already the most vulnerable among us – the homeless; those upon whom our system of agriculture depend but whom our leaders call ‘rapists, murders and gang members; the growing ‘caste’ of the impoverished; workers who are seen as replaceable parts; people of color; the mentally ill for whom little or no treatment is available – are bearing the brunt of this crisis, as they do with every crisis and socio-economic fluctuation.

• These three abide: faith, hope and love, and love is the greatest of these!

Thank you for your faith in the God Who creates and sustains, comforts in times of challenge and challenges in times of comfort, and has promised to be with us always. Thank you for the hope you choose over-and-against the temptation to despair, a hope that stands as a beacon in a too-dark world. Thank you for placing love, which naturally evokes a caring and sharing attitude along with the actions that allows God’s love for you to become God’s love for all you encounter, at the center of your choices and resources. Like Abram, we are blessed to be a blessing!

Pastor Terry

In this very challenging time, we want to pause for a few moments of appreciation, thanksgiving and prayer. We want to express our appreciation for all the people who are leaving the safety of their homes to care for residents of care facilities and those seeking care through hospitals, clinics, emergency medical service and pharmacies.  Likewise, we are thankful for grocery store clerks and those stocking shelves, preparing fresh meat, vegetables and fruit so the rest of us can find what we need, as well as our fellow shoppers who care enough to wear masks when they are out and maintain physical spaciousness in public places and those who are delivering needed goods with care.

We give thanks, praise and our prayers to teachers, para-educators, school administrators and secretaries who are working under extreme conditions to continue to educate and care both about and for their students, while we also hold those students in our hearts and prayers for their safety, a sense of calm and the discipline to still attend to their schoolwork. We are so delighted by the cooperation of the vast majority of our neighbors who are bearing up under the stay at home order, and by doing so are expressing their recognition that we are all in this together.

While we may be frustrated and fearful as we read news about mounting numbers from our local, state, national and international health officials, we can take comfort in the accompanying news that many places are seeing the hoped for 'flattening of the curve' and know we are, in fact, saving lives through our relatively simple sacrifices. We are using some of the time we find available to us to hold others in prayer and then cooperate with our own prayers by making phone calls and sending cards.

This is a time we will all remember. It is our hope and belief that in addition to the separation and things we did to keep our spirits up, we will look back on this as a time when we gained new clarity about our connections - how complex they are, how deep they run, and how they call us to engage our "better angels" and live out of our very best versions. Know this: we will get through this, all of this. We are neither alone nor abandoned and there is new life yet to come. May we all open ourselves to the blessings available to us even in times such as these, the better to be a blessing to one another!             ~ Pastor Terry