Month: October 2014

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Public Wi-Fi Now Available

The technicians from Eagle Communications came today and switched us over from AT&T. The church’s phone number remains the same, but we now have a public Wi-Fi network. The name is simply “First UMC – Public.” We encourage members and guests to take full advantage of this service, but because we are a church, access to some sites is blocked. The plan is to extend access to Wright Fellowship Hall sometime next week.

The switch to Eagle Communications was made in the interest of more reliable service, faster internet speeds, lower costs and Mary’s sanity. So far all of those ends are being met.

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Fall Family Fun Day

First United Methodist Church will have a Fall Family Fun Day on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at Brown’s Park from 4 to 7:30 pm. There will be “pumpkin painting, hotdogs, s’mores, hayrack rides and more. Drinks will be provided, but attendees are encouraged to bring a side dish.

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Vintage Years Sunday

calendear iStockOn Sunday, November 9, 2014 we will hold our annual Vintage Years Celebration and honor the “gift of years.” During the worship services, there will be a time of recognition for those members of our congregation who have reached 80 years of age or more, with special recognition for nonagenarians (those in their 90’s).

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Tomorrow’s Children’s Message

Children and YouthWendy Robinson has called in sick and she has my prayers, but her absence brings up a pressing question. That question: what am I going to do for a children’s sermon? The answer: I’m going to talk about the salvation of animals. This is very Wesleyan; our founder offered a well reasoned theological argument for the salvation of all creatures in his sermon, “The General Deliverance.” Wesley argued that in the life to come:

“The whole brute creation [that is, the animals] will then, undoubtedly, be restored, not only to the vigour, strength, and swiftness which they had at their creation, but to a far higher degree of each than they ever enjoyed. They will be restored, not only to that measure of understanding which they had in paradise, but to a degree of it as much higher than that, as the understanding of an elephant is beyond that of a worm. And whatever affections they had in the garden of God, will be restored with vast increase; being exalted and refined in a manner which we ourselves are not now able to comprehend.”

The whole sermon can be found here and an excellent summary by Allen R. Bevere here. I’ll be giving a version accessible to children (hopefully).

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Voice of the Day: Frederick Buechner

one way crossToday’s voice of the day is from Frederick Buechner:

“The New Testament proclaims that at some unforeseeable time in the future, God will bring down the final curtain on history, and there will come a Day on which all our days and all the judgments upon us and all our judgments upon each other will themselves be judged. The judge will be Christ. In other words, the one who judges us most finally will be the one who loves us most fully.”

But this doesn’t mean that we get off scot-free. Buechner characterizes the love of Christ as follows:

“Christ’s love sees us with terrible clarity and sees us whole. Christ’s love so wishes our joy that it is ruthless against everything in us that diminishes our joy.” — Fredrick Buechner, Wishful Thinking.

The list of things that diminish our joy includes a lot of things to which we’ve grown quite attached. We will have to part with, or at least be parted from them, but what Christ has to offer us in turn is far better. He offers us the unadulterated joy of the kingdom.

 

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Telephone/Radio Difficulties

antique phoneAt present, we are having trouble with two of the church’s three telephone lines. Line one has a great deal of static and so we’re automatically forwarding calls to line two (you can simply call the church at the same number you normally use). Furthermore, the church’s dedicated phone line for the radio broadcast is not allowing the station to call in. It appears that our only recourse it to wait for these lines to be replaced, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 16, 2014.

The worst thing about having to wait is that we probably won’t be on the air this coming Sunday (October 12, 2014). I’m truly sorry about that because the radio broadcast is an important ministry of this church that ties our shut-in members to the worshiping congregation. I’ve done everything I can to ensure that our equipment will be ready to transmit the service to the station on Sunday, October 19, 2014. Thank you for your patience and your prayers.

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Problems With the Radio Broadcast

Vintage radioDue to technical problems, the 10:30 am worship service was not on the air this past Sunday (October 5, 2014). We’re working to address the issue and hope to be back on the air by this coming Sunday.

We are aware that the weekly broadcast is important to many of our members who are shut-ins. Our shut-ins are important to us and therefore the resumption of the broadcast is important to us. However,  we’ve been having a lot of trouble with our phone lines and so I can’t make any promises.

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Wednesday Communion Service Update

We’re moving the time of the Wednesday evening communion service from 6:45 pm to 5:45 pm. We’ll still meet in the sanctuary. The Wonderful Wednesday study will begin at 6:00 pm in Wright Fellowship Hall and wrap up in time for choir practice to begin at 7:00 pm. This change is being made to make it easier for youth to attend.

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Representing the Church, Part 2

old rugged crossIn my post of September 29, 2014, I spoke of how, as a pastors, Jenny and I represent the church at funerals (and weddings). Representing the church is also why we want to be present at all funeral services held at First United Methodist Church. We are happy to have the church open to non-members for funeral services, but the sanctuary is not just a hall to be rented out: it is a holy place, set aside for the church to worship God. When one of us is there in our representative role, the church is there and the sanctuary’s purpose is fulfilled. That is the theological reason for our officiating even when there is to be a guest preacher assisting with the service.

The other reason for being there even when there is a guest preacher is less lofty. As your pastors, we are responsible for what is said from the pulpit. I’ve never felt the need to dispute something that was said from the pulpit, but I have, on occasion, attempted to provide a gentle redirect after a sermon by a guest preacher. We feel that we have a duty to be present when the church is used for a wedding or funeral in order to provide that course correction if necessary.

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Music Matters

The following post was received from Clark Williamson:

We welcome the John Wesley Bell Choir this Sunday as they ring for the first time in the Fall music schedule.  They will be playing Cynthia Dobrinski’s arrangement of “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”; one of the more familiar traditional hymns incorporating the ST DENIO tune, a melody originating in Wales, United Kingdom.  The prelude music is full of big vertical walls of sound, lush chords which allow more ringers to be active at the same time.  The melody also goes through several transformations using variation techniques where the congregation will hear handbells shaking quickly, bumped against the cushions, and LV (let vibrate) to overlap sounds.  In 1867 Walter Chalmers Smith based the first stanza of lyrics on the passage from 1Timothy 1:17.  “Immortal, invisible, God only wise; in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.”

Sheet MusicAlso on World Communion Sunday, our Chancel Choir will be singing the anthem “And Can It Be” which includes original music composed by Dan Forrest (2014) and lyrics by Charles Wesley (1738).  “Amazing love!  How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”  Wesley’s text is very moving and challenges us to realize the sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross. This is a very beautiful choral work in the way the vocal lines are developed, and how the music builds in intensity, plus the lovely piano accompaniment.  Nobody has a boring part in this piece.  It’s an anthem that both begins and ends quietly which calls for an audible Amen from the congregation rather than applause.

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Confirmation Meeting

Children and YouthThere will be a confirmation meeting for all seventh and eighth-grade youth and their parents on Sunday, October 5, 2014 at 4:30 pm in Peatling Hall. If you are unable to attend, but would like your child to be part of this year’s confirmation class, please let Wendy Robinson know.

Confirmation is an important part of our faith journey. It is a time when youth can choose to confess their faith take up for themselves the vows that their parents made at their baptism. As such, it is a solemn and serious matter. I’m sure that Wendy and Karlene Taylor will make sure that it is also fun.