I can’t tell you why I stopped writing in the blog.  I just did. Oh well.  An article in the IowaUnited Methodist Reporter got me going again.

 I ran across this article about on line communion.  Andrew Thompson writes that “ Lisa Millerdescribed  a number of different churchesand pastors who are providing Web-based Eucharistic services in a Nov. 3Newsweek article.“ I had been aware of one online location where a United Methodist pastorprinted the Great Thanksgiving, provided pictures and video of himself prayingit and encouraged people to get bread and grape juice and join him.

Thompson does an excellent job arguing why web basedcommunion is a bad idea.

“The “celebrant” is just a disembodied voice playing through your computer. And all the rubrics of the Word and Table service are ignored: There is no actual elder laying hands on the bread and cup, no congregation present and no liturgy enacted in the context of the church’s worship of God.”

“such radical individualism, it destroys the community that God intends for it to be.”

“The church should have little sympathy for people who aren’t willing to make the time to physically attend and participate in the Holy Communion service.”

This whole idea is a symptom of an over-individualized faith.  (More)

We have had an outbreak of generosity at RUMC lately. 

The history has been that it was hard to pay bills, and apportionments frequently did not get paid.

Recently:

• Pledges are up 12%
• Giving has held firm in spite of  adverse weather
• The bills are paid
• The apportionments are paid
• There is a little money in the bank
• We have given $2200 to missions
• We have given well over 200 pounds of food to the Reinbeck food pantry
• Uncounted numbers of items from the garage sale to the women’s shelter, vetrans home, Sartori hospital and a host of other worthy organizations.
• 190 stuffed animals for grieving children
• 32 fleece blankets to grieving children
• I am sure I have missed things we have done together
• I know individuals do things I don’t know about!!

Last week I asked “how do you account for that?”  The answer was that it is an outpouring of the spiritual gift of generosity that grows out of God’s generosity to us.

I am so proud to be the pastor of such a generous congregation   And I am so pleased to see us growing in generosity.

This week’s question is "what’s next?" 

Some of you may have started getting your economic incentive checks this week.  I’m sure you have all kinds of plans for them.  I do too.  Have you considered how you might give thanks to God for this “bonus” money?  For my part, Robyn and I will be tithing from our check and asking that it be used to pay ahead on apportionments.  It seems we may have already turned the tide on our church finances.  Wouldn’t it be great to take that to the next level. . . take it out of the realm of church finances to generous stewardship!

Generous stewardship grows out of our thanksgiving to God and is best reflected in the words of John Wesley:

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.” (JW)

The Question of the faithful steward is not “can I afford to do this.”  The question of the faithful steward is “How much good can I do with this?”

The Administrative Council and I challenge you to do all the good you can with your economic incentive rebate.  And when you are making that decision consider tithing 10% to pay ahead on apportionments.  Reading the reports from general conference I can’t think of anything that could do more good than supporting the thousands of wonderful ministries of the United Methodist Church

A public Apology

I feel like I owe an apology to Rev. John Wesley Yohannas.  The problem is I haven’t met him yet.

I don’t remember if the district mission representative used the term “missionary” or guest or something else when she called to make arrangements for his visit.  Somehow I got “missionary” stuck in my head.

  (More)

The Larger Church

The General Conference of the United Methodist church meets this week.  A number of things have happened.  Among those things that will change the church are

• Approving a committee to bring a new hymnal to the 2012 General Conference for approval.
• Approving Full Communion with the Evangelical Church of America pending their approval next year.
• The Côte d’Ivoire Methodist church was accepted as part of the United Methodist church

  (More)

We have had an outbreak of generosity at RUMC lately. 

The history has been that it was hard to pay bills, and apportionments frequently did not get paid.

Recently:

• Pledges are up 12%
• Giving has held firm in spite of  adverse weather
• The bills are paid
• The apportionments are paid
• There is a little money in the bank
• We have given $2000 to missions
  • $640 to nothing but nets
  • We have given $400 to the operation threshold food pantry which will buy a ton of food at the food bank.
  • We have given $400 to World Vision for world hunger which will be matched to become $1600 to be used in hunger ministries.
  • $513 to Ricks House of hope (one Sunday to go)
  • $100 to the Iowa Nigeria project
• We have given well over 200 pounds of food to the Reinbeck food pantry
• Uncounted numbers of items from the garage sale to the women’s shelter, vetrans home, Sartori hospital and a host of other worthy organizations.
• 175 stuffed animals for grieving children
• 30 fleece blankets to grieving children
• I am sure I have missed things we have done together
• I know individuals  do things I don’t know about!!

  (More)

Everything I read lately seems to be citing the recent study by Pew Forum on Religion.  Though there are many things happening on the religious front, few (including General Conference) are getting as much ink as this study.

o                28% of the American population has left the religious tradition of their childhood.

o                44% have left the denomination or tradition of their childhood.

o                8.3% of adults say they were raised Methodist.  6.2% are Methodist now.  A loss of 2.1%

o                12.1% choose no religious affiliation at all.

How do you read those numbers?  You know what they say “ 40% of the time, 90% of the statistics can be used to say whatever 18% of the people want to hear.”  Or something like that.  (That’s at least 75% right.)

  (More)

It was an experience they will never forget.  Our first 30 hour famine.  Fasting, collecting food, collecting money, learning, worshipping, leading worship, playing . . . it was all there.  The youth did a great job!

I was thinking about the lesson I most want them to take with them.  And it occurs to me that maybe we all need to learn that same lesson.  I know I do.

I would like the youth to remember that they can make a difference! 

Sometimes we get an attitude like “Poor little me.  I can’t really change anything.  I can’t really make a difference.  I can’t . . . really!”  But you can.

As I stand looking at the starkness of the blonde wood chancel area I feel a certain sadness.  Today we "Stripped" the sanctuary as a way of visually participating in the passion of Jesus Christ. All the decorations: that beautiful Lamb of God banner, the gold of the cross and the candles, all the color is gone. Yet my sadness is not related to Christ's death.  I think my sadness is related to the passing of Lent.

Lately I feel like I am in the middle of an argument between two 5 year olds.  Watching the petty "he said/ she said" politics of our day.  It makes me remember the days when my children were small and it was "He started it"  "No she started it." 

    I got to thinking about this as I studied the book of Romans. . . 

Today someone broke into my car and stole my son’s wallet. 

 That is such a small thing compared to the stories in the news this week:

 Two separate men throw their children from bridges on opposite sides of the country.  Is that the image of God?

 Terrorists line up to strap on explosives to kill people who believe differently than they do.  Is that the image of God?

 Crack addicts with gaunt faces covered with lesions, rotted teeth, and thin brittle hair.  Is that the image God wants us to see?

 12 year old boys convicted of felony sexual assault.  How can that be in God's image?

 Sometimes I look at the things people do and I have to wonder where the “made in the image of God” tag has gone.  Has it been thrown out like the Styrofoam that surrounds your new computer, the mysterious “inspected by #4” tag, or the plastic fortress that protects your new CD?