"Midweek and Honoring a Good Man" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 02/26/2020

Good morning, friends, 
Judge Colin Witt has died.  He served as a District Associate Judge in Polk County serving in the Juvenile Court.  He was 45 years old.  He died on Sunday after a long battle with lymphoma.  During his career as a judge, he worked to improve the lives of children and strengthen families.  Each day in his courtroom he listened to the stories of what went wrong and he worked to restore what is right.  He was a public servant who made our community better.

This morning his obituary appeared in the paper.  It is beautiful, words we all need to hear:  “Colin believed that our commitment to justice, the character of our society, the rule of law, and fairness and equality is how we treat the poor, the lost, the broken, the accused, and the incarcerated.  He believed that each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.  Colin had the ability to hold power and tenderness in the same breath; always seeking to see the other and lead with love, understanding, mercy, and justice.  He believed in the power of community and that together we are each other’s harvest…Colin believed in building up others around him.” 

I met Judge Witt only once, very briefly.  I didn’t really know him.  I never sat in his courtroom.  I don’t know the families he worked with or specific rulings he made, although I do believe his work changed the community around me.  What I do know are lawyers and social workers and judges who worked with him.  I know him because I saw the difference in his strength of character made in their lives.  I know his dedication because I have seen it in the lives of those he inspired.  On Sunday in our worship service, one of the people who had worked with Judge Witt lifted him in prayer.

Even though I barely knew him, his life had a ripple effect touching my life even though I never stepped into his courtroom.  One person living life with conviction and purpose can do that. 

Each of us has the ability to lead our lives with love, understanding, mercy, and justice. And when we do, those same qualities to ripple into the lives of those around us. We influence others to live with love, understanding, mercy, and justice.  Those same qualities ripple out, as a stone dropped in a pond, extending further and further.  They bring a harvest that looks like the kingdom of God.
Today Lent begins.  One man begins his walk to the cross.  We will follow him and the way he lived will ripple into our lives, carry us on a wave of love, understanding, mercy, and justice. 
And that changes everything.

My sympathy to the Witt family and my deepest thanks to them for sharing Colin with us.

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.

On Sunday morning we worship at 8 am in a traditional way, at 9:30 blending tradition and new music and at 11 in a casual way.  You are invited to join in worship in whatever way is right for you.  NOTE!  These are new worship times!   Sunday school is from 9:30 to 10:30. 
And we will Livestream our 9:30 service! 

This Week at WDMUMC
Ash Wednesday Service tonight at 7 pm.  Our confirmation students will lead this service.  The service will include the imposition of ashes.  Come and begin the journey to Easter.

Midweek Refuel tonight!  This is our weekly meal.  Tonight our cooks are serving up tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Comfort food on a cold winter night!  Serving begins at 5:30.  A free-will offering supports our Everybody Eats! program ensuring that neighborhood children and beyond have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.

Sunday!  Our Lenten Series begins as we launch a new worship service.  Please keep our church and this new chapter in your prayers. 

Coffee Servers Needed this Sunday!  Would you or your group be willing to serve coffee?  Reply to this email!

"Midweek and I'm Thinking About Peace" Pastor Trevor's Devotion 02/19/2020

Peace is what’s on my mind today. Well, most days. I think that’s a result of having three children. Doing all the wonderful parent things brings me peace but also sometimes I’m just looking for some peace and quiet. We had parent-teacher conferences last night and my two 4th graders are doing very well academically, socially, and seemingly internally as they are discovering themselves. My 9-month-old is usually a pretty calm baby but during conferences, she was super loud and refused to just chill. It’s okay, that’s what babies do sometimes… whether or not the teacher agreed, that’s what I kept telling myself as I struggled to hear all that was being said about my children. Overall, yesterday evening brought a sense of peace that my kids are “on the right track for success” whatever that means.

As someone who wasn’t on the right track for much of his life, I can say that sometimes “tracks” are a little overrated. So if you aren’t or your kids aren’t or someone else’s kids aren’t… have some grace and be intentional.

Even so, the peace of the afternoon shifted after I got the kids all laid down in bed. Bedtime was actually easy last night but then I started to work on some of my homework for my chaplaincy program at Unity Point Hospital. I remembered my classmate who told us that he’s not allowed to return home to Turkey because of politics. If he showed up, he’d be arrested. Not because he did anything morally wrong, but because he is a supporter of a peace movement.

Politics. Ugh. I thought about our own conflicted politics. I realized that peace in the home for our children isn’t a reality for all children. I thought about how once they leave our safe home, they’ll be confronted quickly with a myriad of conflicts and many spaces in our world that lack peace - even in our own backyard. How do we prepare our children? How do we teach them peace? I attended a covenant group meeting yesterday morning where I left thinking about what it means to be an active agent of peace. We are creators of peace.

How do you create peace? Not rhetorical. I really want to know. Send me an email (tvaughn@wdmumc.org) and let me know. Then join us on Sunday morning at 8:30 & 11 as we continue this conversation on peace.

Peace be with you.
Pastor Trevor
Rev. Trevor Vaughn
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave West Des Moines, IA 50265
Church: 515-279-0826

West Des Moines United Methodist Church we worship on Sundays at 8:30 in a traditional way and at 11 in a casual way.  You are invited to worship in whatever way is right for you!  We are livestreaming our 8:30 service.  Check us out on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org. 

This week at WDMUMC
Midweek Refuel Tonight!  Chicken and Gravy over mash potatoes tonight!  Come and enjoy it!  Supper’s on at 5:30. 

Church Directories!  Do you need a church directory?  Contact the church office! 

Ministry Opportunities!  Hospitality needed!  

Office Volunteers needed!  Are you available to staff the reception desk a few hours a week and answer the phone?  We are looking for volunteers!  Reply to this email if you are available!

Sunday Morning Coffee Hour!  Our super coffee hour team will be vacationing in March.  We need coffee hour hosts March 1 and March 29.  Would you and your friends be willing to host?  Reply to this email! 

"A Prayer for the Midweek" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 02/12/2020

Good morning!

We are in the middle of a sermon series called Finding Peace in an Anxious World.  So for today, I thought we could share in the wisdom of the Serenity Prayer.  It was written in 1932 by Reinhold Niebuhr.  World War I had ended a little over a decade earlier.  Thousands of people died in the Flu Pandemic of 1918-1920.  The stock market crash had brought the country into the Great Depression.  In Eastern Europe powers were forming that would lead to World War II.

2020:  A hurry-up pace and constant media. Coronavirus, worries about finances, loneliness, national debates.  A big disparity between the rich and the poor.

And always, in 1932 and 2020, a listening and acting God.

Niebuhr wrote this prayer, but sometimes I wonder if we compose our prayers or if God writes them on our souls, giving us the words and inspiration we need, just when we need it.  The prayer appears below.  Read it slowly.  Let the words come in rhythm with your breath.

God, give me the 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.
Here’s a thought.  Print it and carry it with you.  Reach for God’s calming presence wherever you are, enabling us to live as God’s people, facing the storms, sharing God’s grace.

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.

On Sunday mornings, we worship in a traditional way at 8:30 and in a casual way at 11.  And we invite you to join us and worship in whatever way is right for you.  And now we are live streaming our 8:30 service.

Coming Up At WDMUMC

Tonight!  Midweek Refuel!  Soup’s on!  Baked Potato soup and lots of fixin’s at 5:30!  See you there!

Sunday!  A concert you won’t want to miss!  Dan Hanze and Gina Gedlar, AMAZING MUSICIANS, will entertain us with music and song Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.  This is part of our Music and More on Grand Concert series.  A great way to soothe our souls.  I will be there and I hope you will be there too.

New Security System is in place!  Our new controlled access system has been installed.  Our doors will be locked when the preschool is in session in order to increase the security for our children.  Groups and individuals can access the building by using their assigned code or by ringing the doorbell.  Patience as we get used to a new system!

Are you good at marketing?  Love weddings?  We are looking for someone to review our wedding policies and develop a wedding ministry that connects young couples to our church.  Interested?  See Pastor Cindy