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Feb 2023
This is our first Sunday in Lent. Lent began with Ash Wednesday this week and continues until Easter Sunday. It’s 40 days, plus Sundays. This season, we invite you to read through the Gospel of John together. Each day is about half of a chapter, and we will read through the entire book by a week after Easter. Then on Sundays, we will read some of the powerful conversations that Jesus had with individuals as he was here on earth. Who are those people you can talk with about anything? My great-aunt......
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Happy Anniversary!
What were you doing 20 years ago? 20 years ago, I was appointed to my second churches, a two-point charge just south of Marshall, Illinois. Ron and I had been married almost two years,...
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Grace / Sacraments
On Sunday as we join around the communion table, the pastors will pray, “Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in...
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The Sounds of Christmas
What’s your favorite Christmas song? You shared a number of favorites in worship when I asked last Sunday. It seems we like everything from “O Holy Night” to “Rudolph” to “O Come All Ye...
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Christ the King Sunday
In the church year, this week is Christ the King Sunday. It’s the last Sunday before the new year starts, with Advent next week. On this Sunday, we are reminded that the crucified God...
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Who Will You Invite?
When people hear our church’s name, what comes to mind? This is the question the United Methodist Church asked decades ago, so it did research. It discovered the general public didn’t have a good...
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Blessings of Love
Part of the amazing nature of God is the unconditional love that’s offered to all people. We see this love in the promise to care for the descendants of Abraham. In Joseph’s love for...
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Learn. Love. Grow Together.
I have been asked to cover the blog this week by Pastor Lynn, who has been on vacation. She’s asked me to write about the “Learn. Love. Grow Together.” seminar scheduled for 9 a.m....
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Choosing Love
It’s Christmastime! Well, almost. This Sunday is our last Sunday of Advent. It’s the Sunday of love, in the traditional readings. We will talk in worship about the light and life that Jesus brings,...
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Do Good
As a parent, I have been watching our nation argue about rights and responsibilities around children wearing masks in school. As a parent of school-aged children, I have joined other parents in feeling dismay...
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