"A Prayer for the Future and More News" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 02/20/2019

Good morning!
Delegates representing United Methodist Churches (UMC) from around the world are gathering in St Louis February 23-26 in a special session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church.

For the last several years, the United Methodist Church has been grappling with issues surrounding human sexuality.  Currently, the policies of the UMC prohibit the ordination of “practicing” gay persons.  It also prohibits our clergy from conducting same-sex unions and same-sex unions cannot be held in our churches.  Gay persons are welcome in all other aspects of the UMC.  This is a divisive issue.

Several years ago the UMC created A Commission on the Way Forward.  This group has studied scripture, held Christian conferencing with many groups, and prayed and prayed and prayed.  They have created several proposals for a way forward for the UMC, including continuing to adhere to current policies or removing all references to human sexuality in our policies.  Traditionalists, centrists, and progressives have all come to the table.  Beyond all this is the big question: can the United Methodist Church remain “united”?  And perhaps the question, “should the church remain united when positions differ so widely?”

The delegates in St Louis will have the task of deciding what direction to take.  It is a daunting task.
You are educated, informed, faithful people and I am guessing that you already have an opinion on this.  I do.

I am using this moment to think about how my opinions form.  Why do I believe the way I do?

I review the scriptures.  “God looks on the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:7.

I think about the world I have grown up in, how my world view has been formed.  Where and how I have experienced God in the journey of my life?

I think about the people I love, the gift of relationship that I understand as God’s great design.

I think about my own heart.  How often I have sung “Change my heart O God.  Make it ever true.”  Is there room in my heart for those who I disagree with?  In what ways can my heart change?

I think about our church.  I marvel that God has put all this in our hands and asked us, imperfect- complicated us, to be the church and care for God’s people in this time and place.
Here in Iowa, our bishop, Bishop Laurie Haller, has asked us to pray the prayer below for the special conference.

I would ask that you pray this throughout the days of the conference.  If you would like to follow the work of the conference you can go to gc2019.iaumc.org for news, Livestream and to subscribe to daily updates.

Pray for us, that we might be faithful in all things.

Every blessing to you,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265

Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org.
We worship at 8:30 and 11 and we would love to worship with you.

Bishop Laurie’s prayer:
Dear God, thank you for your children here in Iowa. Thank you for the tens of thousands of United Methodists across the state who are now in prayer for this General Conference. As clergy and laity, we have surrendered ourselves to your will, and we are seeking an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to descend upon the delegates as they pray for wisdom and guidance.

We thank you for your children around the world who claim the name United Methodist and are living lives of commitment and servanthood. And we are especially mindful of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, whose faith, ministries, and lives will be affected by whatever decisions are made.
Lord, we know that you love each one of us unconditionally, and you want us to be witnesses to the world. You desire for us to be examples of hope, peace, and grace for one another in the midst of our differences. And so, O God, we ask that you would open doors for The United Methodist Church, that we would seek to remain united so that we can best fulfill your mission that we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

We remember the prayer that Jesus shared during the Lord’s Supper, “I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us so that the world will believe that you sent me.” God, help us to be sensitive and kind to one another, for we yearn to reach the entire world so that all people will know that your name is Love.

Lord, may we be attuned to your Holy Spirit in the days ahead, so that everything we do and say and decide will be pleasing to you and bring glory to your name. Amen.

In other news, I have been alerted that someone is sending out emails in my name asking for gift cards or money.  Note:  I will never ask you for money for my needs via mail or texts.  Do not respond to those requests.

What’s up at WDMUMC:
Preschool Science Fair! Calling all preschoolers and their parents!  On Saturday, Feb 23 from 9-11 WDMUMC Preschool is hosting a science fair here at the church and you are invited.  Lots of science and sensory-based activities for children.  It’s all free and fun.  Great way to beat cabin fever!

"Midweek and Praying Our Way Through Wednesday" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 02/13/2019

How are you?  Is this weather getting to you?  I worry about us.  With all the snow and cold, going outside is a major event.  Gray skies are discouraging.  All of this affects our mental health.

At WDMUMC we are currently in the middle of a three-week sermon series on prayer.  So for today, I want to offer a prayer, the Serenity Prayer.  Reinhold Niebuhr wrote this prayer in the 1930s when the world was still recovering from one war, (they didn’t know it but another war was on the way) and scraping through the Great Depression.  Serenity must have been hard to find. 

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

What are you working to accept?  Another person?  The changes happening around us?  A different way of thinking?

What can you change?  Hint:  you can change someone else’s life today with a phone call, or a visit, or cookies.  That phone call could be to that person. It could also be to a senator or representative to change an unjust law or create a fair one.  Or you could call some mission site and volunteer to help.
Courage. God grant us courage.  We need courage.  Hard things take courage.

Wisdom.  Wisdom from the very soul of God.  Wisdom that builds up and strengthens.

Living today.  One day at a time.  Enjoying one moment at a time.  Living with purpose.  Even in the winter.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.  The snow is pretty.  And spring will come.
(Read on for ways you can fight Cabin Fever!)

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

Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org.

We worship at 8:30 in a traditional way and at 11 in a casual way.  We would love to worship with you in whatever way is right for you.

This week at WDMUMC: 
MidWeek Refuel!  Tonight is Cuban Night!  (It is 75 degrees in Cuba at this moment!) At 5:30 we will be serving a Cuban feast and that will be followed by a concert by Timberline Brass.  Come and join in!  There is no charge, just an offering of whatever works for you.

Sunday is Hawaiian Shirt Sunday!  We are saying no to the snow by wearing summer clothes this Sunday. Wear your Hawaiian shirts and sundresses.  (You may need to wear thermal shirts under them—but what the heck!)  Sayin’ No to the Snow—just for fun.

Mind Matters! On the 24th our youth and their parents are invited to go to the Science Center for their special exhibit “Mental Health:  Mind Matters.”  It is getting great reviews. This is a great way to open discussions with your youth about mental health.  Contact Morganne at mreinboldt@wdmumc.org if you would like to go along.  Another way we can change lives.
We CAN beat this winter! 

"Midweek and God is Listening" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 02/06/2019

Good morning! This Sunday we begin a three week series on prayer.  When we think of prayer we might think of prayer in a traditional sense, hands folded and heads bowed for a few quiet moments.  Or maybe we think of pastor-lead prayers during worship.  The best-known prayer in the Christian tradition is the Lord’s Prayer and honestly, I believe that in every moment of every day, someone somewhere on the planet is praying the Lord ’s Prayer.  Korean Christians use a form of prayer called Tongsung Kido, which means “cry out together loudly” and in this sort of prayer everyone gathered prays their own prayer out loud together and it sounds like a roaring wind.  Buddhists hang festoons of prayer flags.  I like the idea of sending up a flag as a means of prayer.  Sort of like saying “Help God!  I am over here and I am ready to surrender!”  (If you sent up a flag today, what would it say?)  Buddhists also use prayer wheels that they spin as a means of prayer. Here at WDMUMC, we have a labyrinth where people can walk and pray.  A week ago our prayer team hosted a Taize service, a time of prayer and song and silence.  Prayer shawls, prayer cards, prayer beads. I am not well disciplined when it comes to prayer.  Most of my prayers are done on the fly.  When I am in coffee shops and restaurants, I pray for everyone in the room.  I pray before worship and again before I preach.  I think singing and writing are forms of prayer.  And lately, in the early morning, I linger in bed for a while and I have discovered that I am praying without even realizing it.  Often a message seems to be waiting for me, as though God has been waiting all night for me to wake up and listen.  Maybe that is the best time to catch me before the very human rush of the day disconnects me from any sense of the divine.  I suspect there are as many ways to pray as there are people on the planet.    There is no perfect posture or perfect words.  I don’t think the way we pray is as important as our need to pray. All of us reaching out to God.  And the even more amazing thing:  God listens and responds.    What about you?  What’s your prayer practice?  One ambitious church made a list of 100 ways to pray.  Do you have some suggestions? Every blessing to you today.  Stay warm. Pastor Cindy Pastor Cindy Hickman West Des Moines United Methodist Church 720 Grand Avenue West Des Moines, Iowa 50265 515-279-0826 Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org We worship at 8:30 (traditional) and 11 (casual) on Sunday mornings and we would love to worship with you.    This week at WDMUMC: MidWeek Refuel Tonight! Suppers ready tonight at 5:30!  There’s no charge--just a free will offering, with the proceeds going to feed hungry families and children in our neighborhood.