"Midweek and Celebrating the Saints" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 10/30/2019

Good morning!
This Sunday we will celebrate All Saints Sunday.  We will remember the saints in our lives and thank God for them. 

So I suppose the first question is:  who is a saint?  “Saint” implies austere, perfect people who always do the right thing.  People who are eventually immortalized in marble statues or have cities named after them like St. Louis or St. Paul.

In the Methodist church, anyone can be a saint. The only requirement is loving God.  And loving God inevitably leads to trying to live as God would want us to, loving others and doing what God would want.

The saints in my life are not perfect people.  Their halos are bent and dented and hang at funny angles because the saints I know have stumbled and tumbled a bit.  They will never be cast in marble, because they are on the move, doing what needs doing, their arms reaching out to others.  Their faces are wrinkled from a lifetime of smiling and encouraging others.

And they would find it hilarious that anyone would think of them as a saint.

They will never have a city named after them because their sainthood is local and day by day.  They simply live with grace and extend it to others.  Everyday saints who bless my life every day.
I hope to be one too.

I just arrived at my desk this morning and a saint greeted me as I entered the building.  It is 7:23 and I have already been welcomed into the day by someone who shares a deep sense of goodness.

So Sunday we will celebrate our saints living and dead.  They form our lives, a rich gift that only a loving God could have thought to give us.

And I am inviting you to come to the celebration.  I hope you will come to worship on Sunday and thank God for the people God has given you.

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

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

We worship at 8:30 and 11 on Sunday and you are invited!  We also Livestream our 8:30 service on Facebook!

This Week at WDMUMC:
No Midweek Refuel this week!  Tonight is Beggars Night in West Des Moines, so our midweek classes are canceled (unless your music director has indicated otherwise.)  Enjoy the goblins and princesses that appear at your door.

Launching a New Women’s Covenant Group!  A covenant group is a small group of people who meet once a week for an hour to check in with one another and challenge one another to grow in faith.  Here at WDMUMC we have a number of covenant groups, some of who have been meeting for over a decade.  A new group is forming.  Interested in meeting people and growing your faith?  Contact Pastor Cindy.

Financial Commitments for 2020!  We are making our financial commitments for 2020 and if you are planning to make a commitment but haven’t done it yet—send in that pledge card!  We are making plans for 2020 and those plans depend on your faithful giving.  If you need a pledge card, call the church office at 515-279-0826.  And if you have made a pledge, thank you!  You make ministry happen!

"Midweek and an Abundant Church" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 10/23/2019

Good morning everyone—

John 10:10 “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

For the last two Sundays, I have been preaching about the abundant life Jesus promises.  I made the case that church is a sort of an abundant life factory, a place where we
·         gather and welcome one another,
·         where we support and encourage one another,
·         where we dive in deep and ask big questions about life and faith and God,
·         and then molded and fueled by the grace of God and the encouragement of the community, we launch into the world to live as people filled with grace serving others. 
 
Last Sunday, we opened all the doors of the church, letting the Holy Spirit carry that vision and us into the world.

We are a redemption center really, a place where people who were cast off or lost can find worth again.  And then the redeemed participate with God in the redemption of others.  It’s all an upward movement.  We, meaning everyone, rise because of Christ.

I love that image of the church.  And honestly, as I preached those words, I felt refreshed.  I like the idea of being in the redemption business.

In the last few days, I have had conversations with people about this idea.  I have discovered two things:
·         A lot of people have a much different image of the church.
·         A lot of people have lost hope in the redemption of the world or people.  It is just too far gone.

This email goes out to the WDMUMC church family.  I would like to hear about your image of the church. What is our work?  Bottom line, what should we be about?  Why do we exist?  Have you felt the redemption I am talking about?

A pastor who once served here always asked a lot of questions, and he would follow with “Jesus said we could ask.”  So I am asking.  In this complicated world, what is the church?

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

Visit us at wdmumc.org or like us on Facebook

We worship on Sunday at 8:30 in a traditional way or at 11:00 in a casual way. And you can follow the livestream of our 8:30 worship service on Facebook.

This week at WDMUMC
Trunk or Treat!  Tonight from 6-7:30 ghosts, goblins, and Spiderman and a princess or two will gather in our parking lot for trick or treating.  Bring your goblins to trick or treat or fill your trunk with candy and come and share.  Suppers on too!

Omelet Breakfast!  This Sunday the MitsWits Sunday school class is serving up breakfast from 8-11:30.  Yumm!

Laity Sunday!  This Sunday the pastors will be loafing and the people will lead worship.  Mark Willson will share the message.

Bar+Church!  Pastor Trevor will lead Bar+Church at The Hall on Sunday at 1 pm.  A new place to talk about faith with new people.  You are invited.

And if you haven’t made a financial commitment to the church for 2020, and you would like to, contact the church office for a pledge card. 

"Midweek and What You Said" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 10/16/2019

Good morning West Des Moines United Methodist Church!

Last Sunday we asked two questions:

• What does your faith mean to you?
• What does this church mean to you?

And you lovely people responded with wonderful answers:

“Coming home to be with people who care for you.”

“My connection with God.”

“My faith is my blueprint for my daily living.”

“My church is my anchor, my community that gives me strength, support, and love.”

“Patience!”

Both make my life “richer and fuller”

“Sharing”

“Purpose in redemption”

“Family, hope, love”

“Seeing lots of kids learning about Jesus.”

“Being able to be accepted and involved.”

“My faith is everything!  It helps me with my everyday living.  It gives me a great opportunity to meet and serve others.  We have been here for 40 years and have enjoyed it very much.  We would have trouble living without it.”

This is what you said.  This what our faith means to us.  This is what our church means to us.  If you want to read more comments, they have been hung up in the Disciple Hall.

This is Stewardship Season.  This Sunday in worship we will offer our financial pledges for the year ahead and this is what we are investing in:

a community where we find friends,

where we can sort through our troubles,

where we can join together to serve.  All of this is God’s gift to us and our gift to the world around us.

That’s something to celebrate!  See you Sunday.

Blessings,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
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 11 in a casual way.  Whatever way works for you--you are invited!

This week at WDMUMC:

Tonight is Midweek Refuel!  Lots going on at the church tonight!  There is something for everyone!

5:00 Happy Hour Bible Study;  Christ Chimers Bell Choir (have an elementary-age child who might like to ring bells!  Bring ‘em!);  Youth Bells

5:30 Children’s Choir (All children are invited to sing!)

5:30-6:30 Supper!  Pizza, salad bar, and an outrageously good desert.  You pay what you can afford.  Extra generous funds we receive are used to support our “Everybody eats!”  program, our commitment to address hunger.

6:00 Praise band!  Always looking for more musicians

6:15-7:30 Youth Group!  Junior High and High school students, this is the place for you!  Jerry has something fun planned and some good discussion about faith and what is happening in your life.

6:15 Bells!

6:30-7:00 Midweek Connection, place of children and families to learn about faith.

6:30-7-30 Yada Yada Tweens!   Grades 4-6!  Come and learn about faith!

And tonight—I have a free hour between 6:30 and 7:30 and I would like to spend it with you so I am offering a one hour class on bible basics.  Feel like a rookie when it comes to the bible?  This is the class for you.  We will talk about how the bible is put together and the background of the bible and dip in and read a bit.  I love the bible—but I have to wrestle with it.  Join in and we will do a bit of wrestling.  Meet in my office!

Trunk or Treat!  October 23 we will host Trunk or Treat in our parking lot.  If you would like to bring a trunk or help with the event see Morganne.  And we need candy!  Drop off bags of candy in Morganne’s office.

Mental Health!  Access to Mental Health Services is an issue in our state for adults and children.  Dawn Grittmann and Kylee Rugg are working on this issue.  On Sunday they will be inviting you to sign a postcard to send to our legislators letting them know that we care about mental health.  Look for them between services and let them know that we care!

Hillside Elementary Blood Drive!  The kids next door at Hillside Elementary are again hosting a blood drive on October 22.  You can sign up at https://donor.lifeservebloodcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/164096.  And they also would like cookies to hand out to donors.  Does anyone want to bake some cookies?  Reply to this email if you would be willing to provide cookies and bars.  A good cause we can share with our neighbors!

Overheard:  “My Sunday school teacher is awesome!”  If your children have not yet found their way to Sunday school—there are wonderful teachers waiting to meet them!  See you this Sunday at 10!

The building will be closed on Friday afternoon.