"Midweek: What I Haven't Quite Learned Yet" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 10/28/2020

 

Philippians 4:11b…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

I am heading out the door, and I can’t find my mask. 

I am learning to be content whatever the circumstances.

I am about to join a zoom meeting and the internet is down. 

I wish I could be content whatever the circumstances.

Today looks a lot like yesterday.

I wish the circumstances would change, and then maybe I would be content.

Working at home, again.  Friends and co-workers quarantined.  Yoyo emotions. 

These circumstances stink.  

Another night of Netflix? 

Content?  What’s that? 

Any of this sound like your life?  I met with Evelyn yesterday, and she suggested that we should count our blessings, the things we have learned during this pandemic.  Evelyn has experienced blessings.  I trust that God is bringing us blessings because God is always bringing us blessings.  And some days I can see them.  But lots of days it feels like I am still a new arrival to this new circumstance, and I am carrying a little suitcase filled with questions.  I haven’t found a content place to put down my bags and actually begin to live. 

I have learned this:

We need each other.  More than ever before, I have come to realize how much we need each other.  A text from a friend is a blessing.  Going home to supper with Dave is a blessing.  A conversation with you is a blessing. 

My life and how I live it impacts the lives of others.  Your life and how you live it impacts my life.  We are contagious.  The virus is contagious, true.  But encouragement is also contagious.  Creative thinking is contagious.  Compassion and mercy and forgiveness are contagious.  Even strength is contagious. We can be exposed to the strength of others and "catch" their strength.  Evelyn’s assurance of blessings was catching.   (Bitterness is contagious too.  We have to be very careful about what we spread.) 

Life is fragile.  I have learned that too.  A friend writes that the world is too fragile for anything but love.  I think she is right. 

Sometimes people share scripture with me.  That scripture I opened with came from a woman named Irene.  She was in her second and final bout with breast cancer, the one that would end her life.  Philippians 4:11b…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  These were not just words for her.  She lived and breathed a kind of contentment.  This was not resignation.  She had not “given up.”  She had lots of things to take care of, and she did.  But she embraced her life with a sort of contentment that said: “this is how I will live today, doing what I can, and above all else caring for those around me.” And through it all, she was certain that God was with her.  (You might want to read all of Philippians 4.) 

I am not content, not yet, but I believe is possible.  I think I am learning that.  Thanks be to God.

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 online at 9:30 on Sunday mornings and it is posted all week long.  Hope you will join in!

This Week at WDMUMC

Please Welcome Theodore Zachary Valentine!  He will be baptized this Saturday.  He joins Elaine Ann Manchester who was baptized several weeks ago.  God is good!

All Saints Service at 2 pm in the parking lot.  In the United Methodist tradition, a saint is anyone who loved God as best they could and loved others. During this brief service, we will remember the saints who graced our lives.  We will pray and ring the bell in remembrance. The Memorials Committee will light a candle for those remembered.  Please mask and social distance.  We will remain in cars. The service will be held just outside the lower level doors. Please park so that you can see that space.  Needed:  we need someone to ring the bell!  Could you do that?  Contact Pastor Cindy

Have you filled out the survey?  WDMUMC is preparing for a new senior pastor.  (Our old one is worn out, and she will be leaving in June.)  We want to know what the church hopes for in a new senior pastor.  Go to our website and scroll down and you will find a link to the survey.  If you are a paper sort of person, call the church and a paper one will be provided to you.  This is important for the future of our church.  We hope you will share your thoughts. 

Looking for a Fun Safe Halloween?  Fair Meadows Parent/Faculty Committee is hosting a drive-through Halloween celebration on Saturday night from 6:30-9.  This is a fundraiser for the school.  $10 per car. 

 

“Midweek: What Does an Old Hound Dog, a Spoon, and a Young Photographer Have in Common?” Pastor Cindy’s Devotion 10/21/2020

 

Together for Joy.

That’s our theme for our Generosity Campaign this year.  For the last few weeks, members of the church have been receiving mailings encouraging them to pledge to support the church in the year ahead.  I hope you will make a pledge. Your support makes our church and our ministries possible.

Together.

Early in the morning, my old hound, Ike, gets up, goes outside, eats his breakfast, and then hops in bed with us.  We do not let him sleep with us, but in the early mornings, he gets in bed with us.  He just wants to be together with his family.  Together is important, even for an old dog. 

We humans, know that too. The Holy Spirit has created the church as a place where people are together. 

Together in covenant groups.

Together last Saturday when we baptized a two-month-old girl and promised to be together for her entire life. 

Together on trips to Cuba and Detroit, and last week in Argentina through a zoom mission trip. 

Together packing food for Meals from the Heartland. 

Together with those who grieve on Monday morning when we ring the bell as a memorial to those who have died from Covid.

Together when we send out a prayer request on our prayer chain.

Together with the kids at Hillside Elementary when we read with them, and now together as our Reading Buddies ministry shifts to pen pals!

Together in grief, sheltering those who have lost a loved one. 

During this pandemic we are discovering just how important together is as we look through nursing home windows to see our loved ones, and as we can only see our grandchildren through face time on our cell phones, and as we worry for a friend with asthma and do all we can to honor her vulnerable health.  We are all discovering the power of together during this time when in so many ways our in-person together has become limited.

Together is the core value of the church, our deepest commitment.  Soul linked to soul, pandemic or not, we are the Body of Christ, together with God and neighbor. 

For.

We have a purpose.  We are for something.  My toddler grandson is just discovering what a spoon is for.  Sometimes a spoon is for scooping up yogurt, but sometimes it is for banging on his plate like a drum, and sometimes is it for throwing on the floor and seeing if Grandma or the dog gets to it first. 

The church is for ministry.  For the world.  For God’s mission.  We have a purpose. 

Joy.

Last Saturday one of the children of our church was in the sanctuary. She borrowed her mother’s cell phone and walked all around the sanctuary taking pictures of every stain glass window.  Why did she do that?  Because this is her church.  Because she feels safe here.  Because she is inspired by the beauty of the church.  Because in the church, she is free.  As the church, we provide that sense of security for her.   And that is joy. 

This is the deep-soul, character-defining joy that emerges when we know we are following Christ and living as God wants us to.  This joy changes the world.  This joy changes us.  This joy warms us.  This joy opens us to possibilities.  This joy is peace and justice. This joy moans on Good Friday and shouts "Hallelujah" on Easter morning.  

We are West Des Moines United Methodist Church.  We are together for joy. 

Blessings,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-279-0826

Let’s worship together!  On-Line Sunday at 9:30 and posted all week long.

This week at WDMUMC:

Generosity Sunday!  On Sunday between 11 and 12:30, you are invited to drop off your pledge card at the church.  This is a drive-by.  The pastors and the Generosity team will be there to greet you.  If you have already sent your card—Thank you!

Looking for Scripture Readers for Sunday Morning!  Would you be willing to read scripture for our online worship?  Hollie arranges for readers each week and she is always looking for new voices.  Simply reply to this email and we will send your name on to Hollie.  Thanks a bunch! 

 

"Midweek Devotion: So Why Did She Give Away a Kidney?" Pastor Cindy Hickman 10/14/2020

 

Hello everyone--

Last week in my sermon I talked about a woman who donated a kidney.  I wondered why someone would give such a generous gift.  Seems like a risky sacrifice to me.  This week I had an email exchange with the woman who made this incredible gift.  Why did she give away a kidney to a stranger?  it?  Here’s what she said: 

"Well, that’s a good question.   Originally I was going to give it to [a friend], but then she got one from someone who died-the day after we found out we were a match.

Then I didn’t think about it again until last year right around this time. I read a post from a friend who had reposted from someone who used to be her cousin by marriage. She was married to a man who had Parkinson’s and wanted to be able to take care of him. But she needed a kidney.

I had an extra one because we only need one!

Long story, but my results from Methodist went to Iowa City. [My husband] and the kids knew it was important to me and said they supported my decision. Then IC said we weren’t a perfect match and asked if I was OK with going on the National Kidney Registry. They would be able to find a better match for [the other person] and my kidney would go to someone else on the registry.

Then COVID put a halt to things until May. We both got a match and surgery was scheduled for both of us on June 3rd in Iowa City.

Through a Facebook group that I belong to, I learned that my match was a lady in NC that had been waiting exactly a year. She must have been waiting for me. I don’t know who she is, but her friend who contacted me said that I was her miracle. It’s very humbling to know that someone thinks of you that way. It was a decision that brought about a lot of conversations with God. In my sixty years of life, it’s the single best decision I’ve ever made. Two months later I was back to my old self. So very minimal effort on my part to hopefully enrich someone else’s life for many years to come. Oh and we were part of a chain- not sure how big - but many people gave and received a kidney to keep it going since January 2020. The little things we do to change the world are awesome but sometimes you get the chance to do something bigger ."

And that’s her story—to be part of something bigger.  Something big—like the kingdom of God.  A life-giving sacrifice that makes the lives of others possible.  I am in tears by the end of her story. 

So now you know why she did it.  This month at West Des Moines United Methodist Church our focus is Together for Joy.  How much more together can one be than donating an organ?  And how much joy there must have been in that hospital room when someone received a new opportunity for health.  And how God must have laughed with delight. 

Obviously, we cannot all give a kidney, but we can all read her story and be inspired to do what we can. 

Thy kingdom come, God.  That’s what we pray.  Through our lives may your kingdom come. 

Blessings, friends,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

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

We worship at 9:30 on Sunday morning on Facebook and all week long our website.  Join in together for joy!

 

This week at WDMUMC!

Midge is celebrating her 100th Birthday and who doesn’t want to be part of that!  A drive-by celebration, led by a vintage firetruck, will be held by her home Sunday, October 18, 2020, from 12:00-2:00 pm. Midge will be at her home, with her family, greeting everyone. Meet up in your car at Fair Meadows Elementary School parking lot, located at 807 23rd St in West Des Moines. And follow the parade.  Decorate your car! And bring a greeting card to drop off as we go by.  And did you know that Midge swam across the Mississippi River when she was a teenager! 

Watch your mail for our Generosity Campaign!  Your financial support strengthens our church and makes our kingdom work possible.  Together with God, we change the world.