"I'm Giddy this Week" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 03/28/18

Good morning!

I am not sleeping very well this week.  There are six worship services between Thursday and Sunday!  Lots of details to attend to.  But that is not what is keeping me awake at night.

I am just plain excited.  Like a kid-before-Christmas-excited. Giddy.

It started last Saturday when the prayer team hosted a 24-hour prayer vigil at the church and camped all night in the prayer room praying for our church.  I couldn’t sleep that night either.  So I just laid awake and thought about the people praying at church and smiled.

And then came Sunday, Palm Sunday and the palm parade.  Did I mention that I love Palm Sunday?  Many thanks to the amazing, enthusiastic children who paraded at both services to celebrate the day!  You rock!

All this week our staff is working hard to prepare the church for Easter. I am excited about their excitement about their work.

Charlie’s Filling Station brought us two big loads of groceries this week and a cash gift for our Little Pantry.  Generosity is always exciting.  Feeding hungry people is super exciting.  Meeting new people and sharing ministry with them–to-the-moon exciting!

Thursday the men of the church will tell the stories of the disciples in the Last Supper Drama.  Are they nervous about performing?  I don’t know.  I am excited.

Friday in our Good Friday service or hearts will descend into the depths of Jesus’ pain and sorrow.  A painful and heart-breaking sort of excitement.

And then SUNDAY!  Easter Sunday. Lilies and trumpets and bells.

I am excited about the blurry-eyed 6:30 am service when the sun will rise and the Son will rise.

I am excited about 8:30 and 10:30 worship services and the Hallelujah chorus we will all sing just because sometimes you have to let loose and sing “Hallelujah.”

And more than all this I am excited about that empty tomb and the stone rolled away and the light that comes streaming in.  I am excited about what that means in my life and yours. The places that feel like tombs, mistakes I’ve made, hurt I have felt and hurts I have inflicted, relationships that have broken up and broken down and ache for healing. All those tombs are open and the fresh air of grace can bring healing.  I am excited that the stones of judgment, cynicism, hatred, greed, prejudice, all those heavy boulders we heave at one another, can be rolled away.

And the light of the resurrection.  The Risen Christ standing with us and for us.  Who could have seen that coming?  You know what this means?  Anything is possible.  ANYTHING!

So I can’t wait and I can’t sleep and I am excited.  (I’ll sleep next week.)

See you Sunday.

Every Easter blessing to you,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-279-0826

This week at WDMUMC

Wednesday Night Live TONIGHT!  Supper at 5:30.  Rehearsals, youth group, confirmation and more.  The Praise band is growing!  Want to be a part of it?  6:15 p.m. in the Friendship Room.

Last Supper Drama Thursday at 7 pm.  Hear the stories of the disciples and share communion with them.

Good Friday Worship at 7 pm.  A solemn service of scripture and music.

Easter Sunday Worship!    Sunrise service 6:30 am.  Traditional Services in the Sanctuary at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Praise be to God!  I am excited!

"From the Stone Age into the 21st Century" Mike Plymale - 03/21/18

Ten years in internet time is like 10,000 years in real time.  I have been working with the Web Team for ten years.  We have been using the same platform for our website for longer than that.  It was old looking and did not meet the needs of current users.  It did not work well with smartphones or tablets.  It was like a huge ocean liner held together with chewing gum and duct tape.  Things fell apart and it took a lot of time to change direction.

All of this changed in January.  After meeting with Pastor Cindy to discuss the advantages and benefits of investing in a new platform for our website she found the funds to bring us into the 21st century.  We now have a church website that is modern and will meet the needs of our members, future members, and the community.  You can access all information from your home computer, tablet or smartphone.  And we are saving money too.

The first thing you see when you open our website (www.wdmumc.org) is a pair of welcoming hands.  On the homepage, there is a “New to WDMUMC” module that when clicked takes you to information that anyone looking for a new church would need.  It features a 30-second video by Pastor Cindy welcoming people to come to our church.

There are also modules for “Worship”, Children & Youth”, “Music”, “Education”, “Missions”, and “Give Online”.  Each of these modules contains pictures and information that is of interest to our members, future members, and the community.  In the Tool Bar, you can access modules about groups and committees, information about our church its leaders and history, and media (The Link, Pathways, sermons, news and the blog).

How will you use our new website?  Do you want to know who is on the Board of Trustees, the information is there.  Do you want to see pictures from the latest youth mission trip?  They are there.  Do you have a question about holding a wedding at WDMUMC?  The Wedding Guide is there.  Did you miss church last week and want to hear Pastor Cindy’s message?  It is there.  What is for dinner this week at Wednesday Night Live?  The menu is there with pictures.  Want to know how many days until the State Fair stand opens?  It is there.  And if you are looking for something and can’t find it, just let us know and we will do our best to get you the information.

Over the last four weeks, I have been participating in a “Boot Camp” with Aboundant, our internet platform provider, to improve my skills in using the new platform and get expert advice about the content, look, and feel of our website.  The “Boot Camp” consisted of twelve missions that were completed, submitted, and then critiqued by professionals.  Mission 11 was to let you know what changes are happening to our website and how you, future members and, the community will benefit.   I hope I pass.

"Why You Should Come to Church this Sunday" Pastor Cindy's Devotion - 03/21/18

I was an incredibly shy and serious little girl.  Take a look at my second-grade picture.  My mouth is clamped shut tight. I am staring straight at the camera and I look like I am personally responsible for world peace and failing the task.  (It doesn’t help that my bangs are super short.  That’s another story.)  I didn’t talk in school.  I went by my official name “Cynthia” because I was afraid that if I went by “Cindy” no one would know who I was.  There was no reason for all this anxiety.  I grew up in a loving home.  I lived in a peaceful community.  My teachers were good people.  It was just me living in my fortress of shyness.


My family attended the Presbyterian Church, sometimes.  And sometimes we didn’t attend at all.  My grandmother was very involved in the church and it was her influence that got us there, sometimes.  Our church was a solemn place.  The faithful Presbyterians sat quietly in the pews absorbing their religion passively.  It was all pretty boring, but for a shy little girl like me who wanted to walk through life unnoticed, that was ok.  Maybe the reserved nature of my church even reinforced my fears.  The people sat so quietly, so obediently, maybe there was something to fear.  Maybe silence was the way to get through this scary life.


And then that all changed.  Palm Sunday arrived.  Lucky for me Palm Sunday was one of the sometimes we attended church.  Every person entering the church was given a palm branch.  The pastor in his dark robe had a palm branch.  The grim man who sat behind us and nodded off during church was given a palm branch.  The choir, in green robes, were all handed palm branches.  Grandma was given a palm branch.  Even the children, like me, were handed a palm branch.


We stood and the organist began to play and all heaven broke loose.  Up went the palm branches, waving back and forth.   The children paraded around the sanctuary and all those solemn Presbyterians began to smile and then laugh.  Honestly, it was the first time I had ever seen them move in any joyous way.  They were happy.  Me too.  It was like those palm branches were a magic wand that set us free.   I didn’t know then that “Hosanna,” the word we sang over and over that morning, meant “save us.”  I just knew it was ok to smile, to laugh, that there was something in us all that wanted to be set free.  For this one morning, these good-hearted Presbyterians were free to stand and smile and parade around with joy.


The following Sunday was Easter.  I liked the smell of the lilies and we sang with more gusto than most days, but in my little girl mind, nothing could compare to Palm Sunday.


This Sunday is Palm Sunday.  My favorite Sunday.  I can’t wait.


Every blessing,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-279-0826


We worship at 8:30 and 11 on Sunday and we would love to worship with you.


This week at West Des Moines United Methodist Church
Tonight!  Wednesday Night Live will be serving up a Baked Potato Bar supper at 5:30.  The cost is a free will offering and the proceeds will be used to feed hungry children next summer.


The Praise Band is in launch mode.  They are looking for a drummer and someone who plays the bass—but every musician is invited.  They practice at 6:15 in the Friendship Room.



And youth group and confirmation and the traditional choir and bible study and more, it’s all happening tonight.  And you are invited. 

"Courage" - Pastor Cindy's Devotion - 3/14/2018

Courage, noun.

1.the power or quality of dealing with or facing danger, fear, pain, etc

2.the courage of one's convictions, the confidence to act in accordance with one's beliefs

Originating from the Latin “cor” “to speak from one’s heart.” 

When I am preparing a sermon, I print the scripture I will be using, put it in my pocket, and carry it around for a few days.  I ask God to show me the truth of the scripture, now, in the world around me. 

Next Sunday the message is about courage.  So here’s your assignment.  Write the word “courage” on a piece of paper and put it in your pocket.  Carry it around and ask God to show you what courage means, in your life, in your neighborhood, now.  (Some of you are on Spring Break.  We are jealous.  Do this assignment anyway.  I hope you have a pocket in your swimsuit.) 

Of course, there are varieties of courage:

·         The heroic run-into-a burning-house sort of courage.

·         The courage of the old man who goes to the nursing home day after day to visit his wife as she descends into dementia. 

·         The courage of kindness.

·         The courage of a parent to love their children even when they are ornery, to drop them off at daycare or kindergarten and trust they will grow up healthy, to hand them the car keys and watch them drive away. 

·         The courage to risk confrontation and speak out about what you know to be true. 

·         The courage to speak up about things people don’t want to hear. “#Me Too” sort of courage.

·         The courage of the students of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School to return to classes after the shooting. 

·         The courage of the widow to trust that a time will come when the grief-fueled ache she feels every morning will ease. 

·         The courage to trust God and to trust our own hearts. 

Courage great and small, personal and public.  Put courage in your pocket and carry it around this week.  Let me know what you discover.  On Sunday we’ll thank God for the gift of courage. 

Every blessing,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

West Des Moines United Methodist Church

720 Grand Ave., West Des Moines, IA 50265

515-279-0826

We worship at 8:30 and 11 every Sunday and we would love to worship with you. 

This week at WDMUMC: 

Gabe Schott will be practicing with the Praise Band at 6:15.  We are looking for musicians!  Join in the fun. 

No Wednesday Night Live Supper—the cooks are off on a beach somewhere (sigh,,,,). 

"Practice the Pause" - Pastor Cindy's Devotion - 03/07/2018

Congratulations!  You made it to Wednesday!  Whatever loomed large on Monday—that conversation you needed to have with your boss, taking the dog to the vet, a dentist appointment for all three kids, whatever it was—you made it.  It’s Wednesday.  You can see Friday from here!

So I am going to ask you today, right here in the middle of the week, to pause.  (It’s ok.  You can stop for a moment.)  Pause and feel what you are feeling.  Look around.  Inhale and exhale.  Let a sense of peace arrived.

So did it?  Did peace arrive?  A strange mixture of it-will-be-all-right and a steadiness that whispers you-are-a-perfectly-acceptable-human-being-loving-and-lovable.
 

Do you suppose that just beyond our busy schedules, just beyond the blink of a text on my cellphone, just beyond the noisy anxiety that has become white noise to us, just beyond all that, God stands waiting, the divine hands full of fresh air and fresh grace, ready to hand us peace if we just pause?

Beauty queens say they all want world peace.

And there it is.  Just beyond the zooming of our lives.  Peace in our hearts.  This is the first step. 

Once more, pause.  And breathe.  Hear the whisper of God say your name.
  

Every blessing,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-279-0826

On Sundays, we worship at 8:30 in a traditional way and at 11 in a casual way.  Hope to see you there!

Please feel free to share this with your email friends.

See you Sunday!

"Praise Band" - Pastor Cindy's Devotion - 02/28/2018

Gabe wants to start a Praise Band at our church. 

That makes me smile.

A Praise Band will broaden our ministries.  We will have both traditional music and contemporary music and we can reach people who listen to either style.  Gabe is new to our church and he wants to bring his talents and abilities to the church. Gabe is in his 20’s and he represents a whole new generation.
 

All of that is a reason to celebrate.
 

The way I calculate it, we are the 80^th generation of followers of Jesus Christ.  For 2000 years, generation after generation has arrived at the church, brought in by parents and grandparents, invited by a friend to youth group, stumbled in looking for something.  Curiosity, community, hope, and hunger are all tactics employed by the Holy Spirit.  One generation yields to another.  The Bible pays close attention to generations.  Genesis 10, Matthew 1, and Luke 3 all describe one generation “begetting” another.  We are born, we age, we grow old, and another generation rises up to carry on the work of the church, the work of living on this planet with grace and commitment as followers of Jesus Christ.

People of Gabe’s generation are called “Digital Natives.”  They have grown up with computers and the internet and quick access to social media.   I feel my age.  I am over the hill.  The digital landscape of Facebook and Twitter feels like a foreign place to me.  I would rather sit on the porch and read a book.
 

But we need digital natives to reach digital natives.  This new generation, people like Gabe, will lead the church.  I believe and I hope they will honor our traditions, but they will not be content to simply follow our traditions.  The changing world outside the doors of the church will not allow them to.  In addition to being digital, they are the generation who grew up after 911.  School violence has always been a part of their understanding of school.  In light of what they have seen and experienced, their world makes different demands.  They will respond in their way.  They will start new traditions of their own, just as we did 40, 50, 60 years ago.

Gabe has written a description of what he hopes to do.  The goal is not just a band.  The goal is a small group ministry, where people get to know one another and glorify God with their gifts.  By their lives, they will inspire others.

Each new generation is really a fulfillment of God’s promise.  Hope continues.  Faith is eternal.  Mercy maintained. One generation after another.  New voices.  The same God.

That makes me smile.  Draws a prayer of thanks from my heart.

Holy God,

Thank you for the gifts of each generation.  With eyes open wide, the youth of each generation emerge.  Thank you for my father and his generation, who with full hearts headed off to World War 2 and then came home to live and lead their communities with the same sense of service.  Thank you for my generation, those who shared this road with me, the ones who knew Viet Nam and the Civil Rights Movement and paused before television sets to watch a man walk on the moon.  Thank you for the generation to come, those with cell phones in their pockets and apps and twitter to guide their days.  A generation who has grown up after 911.  A generation well aware of school violence.  Every generation has faced challenges and in each generation, Good and Holy God, you have been faithful, leading and guiding, teaching us to care for one another.  A changing world.  A sure and consistent grace.  As a new generation rises, allow us to hand over the reins of leadership with trust and celebration and anticipation of what is to come.  In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-279-0826

Please feel free to share this with your email friends.

See you Sunday!