"Midweek and a History-Making Day" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 01/20/2021

 

Good morning,

This is a history-making day.  One presidential term is ending and another is beginning.  We are a democracy and we have the privilege of voting and determining who will lead us. It is an incredible gift and responsibility few people in the world have.  At its best, it is a healthy exchange of ideas and positions where all have a voice and through collaboration, discover the best course of action.  We also know democracy can become a battleground with opposing sides pitted against one another.  We have seen a lot of that and too often our emotions have pulled us into the fray. 

So today, while history is being made, I pray that we can remember who we are, and what matters most to us.  The litany below comes from The United Methodist Book of Worship. 

I hope we can add our prayers to this history-making day. 

Let us pray for the Church and the world.

Grant, almighty God,
that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth,
live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Silent prayer.

Guide the people of this land, and of all the nations,
in the ways of justice and peace;
that we may honor one another and serve the common good.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Silent prayer.

Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly
in the service of others and to your honor and glory.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Silent prayer.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours,
and grant that we may serve Christ in them,
and love one another as Christ loves us.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Silent prayer.

Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit;
give them courage and hope in their troubles,
and bring them the joy of your salvation.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Silent prayer.

We commend to your mercy all who have died,
that your will for them may be fulfilled;
and we pray that we may share with all your saints
in your eternal kingdom
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Silent prayer.

We offer these prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessings to you all,

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

And join in worship on-line on Sunday mornings at 9:30 and posted all week long. 

 

This week at WDMUMC:

Monday Morning Prayer!  Every Monday morning at 8 Pastor Cindy goes live on Facebook with a prayer.  This winter the prayers are focusing on the goodness of God using a passage of the bible to lead us.  Join in the Livestream or check out the prayer posted on Facebook. 

#JustRead  Every Tuesday at 4:30 Pastor Cindy leads a bible study on zoom where we just read the bible and talk about it.  We are beginning 1st Corinthians.  Email Pastor Cindy if you would like to join in. 

Small-Group Opportunities Join Pastor Trevor for two ongoing small group options. With both of these, you can jump in at any time.

·       YNAB (You Need A Budget). Get control of your personal finances so that you can spend your money on what’s important to you. Zoom with Pastor Trevor and others on Sundays at 1 pm starting on February 7th.

·       Social World of Ancient Israel. Study the social world represented in the Old Testament. How do our worlds collide? What has changed? Let’s dive into it together Wednesdays at 7:30 pm on Zoom starting on February 17th. Pastor Trevor has books in his office if you would like one.

Sneak Preview for Lent  Lent, the holy season that leads to Easter, begins February 17th.  Two opportunities for you to consider:

·       Yoga!  If there is interest, we will offer a meditative yoga class led by Rev. Dr. Catherine Quehl-Engel.  Rev. Quehl-Engel is an Episcopal priest and is trained in yoga, mindfulness, and meditation.  If your soul needs rest and a reset, think about joining in.  No time or date set yet.  Send Pastor Cindy an email if you are interested. 

·       Lenten Book Study Savior by Magrey deVega.  What does it mean that Christ is our savior?  What happened on the cross?  deVega looks at six different ways we can view what happened on the cross.  You can be your own theologian and consider what the cross means to you.  Let Pastor Trevor know if you or your group would like a book.  We are ordering now!

 

"Midweek and What Does Love Look Like to You?" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 01/12/2021

 

What does love look like today?

That’s a prayer I often pray.  

Looking over my calendar, today love will look like this:

• The staff gathering for a meeting, supporting each other, sharing what we are doing in our separate areas of responsibility.
• Meeting with our bible study group, #JustRead, this afternoon.  Love will look like 16 or more faces on a zoom screen smiling at one another.  It will look like friendship.  They don’t know it yet, but we are going to be reading some tough scripture and then love may look like sticking with something even when we don’t like what it says.  (PS:  I love bible study—sort of a nerd that way. If you would like an intro to the bible or an hour taste of the bible, let me know!) 
• And then meeting with our worship committee.  Worship is an expression of love.  Worship, right now, looks like sacrifice.  We would rather be meeting in person, but we are sacrificing what we want to keep people safe.  Love looks like doing what we can. 
• And then at the end of the day, love will look like going home, my old dog Ike asleep at my feet, Dave and I sharing dinner.

Later this week I will meet with a couple who will be married in a few weeks.  Love looks young and fresh and excited.  (Taylor and Dan are getting married.  Pray for the joy of this.) And then later I will meet with a family to prepare for a funeral. Then love will look like loss and grief and memories. Pray for this expression of love too. 

Pretty easy to see love in all these places. 

That is not always the case. 

Last week at the Capitol, when windows were broken and congress ran for cover and five people were killed, what did love look like?  What does love look like now as debate follows on what to do about all this?  

I know what love is not:

It is not violent.

It does not destroy others.

It is not fueled by blame or anger. 

It is not self-serving.  

Love seeks the welfare of others.

Love is not a pushover, is not meek, stands up when it is time to stand up. 

Love is incredibly honest.  It is fueled by the truth, demands justice, and compassion. 

Love believes in our best character and it ruthlessly pursues us until our best character is revealed.  It refuses to settle for anything less. If something is bothering you know, look again and see if it is love trying to find its way in,  

Love seeks us individually and then tosses us together in a heap in imperfect families and communities and seems to say "there, have an adventure together seeking love."  Love doesn’t mind a mess, maybe even does its best work in a mess.     

Love is our foundation.  Everything else is pretty slippery.

And God is love.

The biggest lesson of my life in the time I have served here at WDMUMC:  love arrives in a variety of forms.  And just when I think that I may have found its limits, it pushes further, arrives in yet another form.  Love is a path forward.

I have no advice for Congress.  I am working on my own heart.  I do know for both Congress and me, our work must begin with love. 

What’s love look like today in your world? 

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 on Sunday mornings at 9:30 on our Facebook page and all week long when our worship service is posted. 

This Week at WDMUMC:

Monday Morning Bell Ringing Each Monday morning we ring our bell and remember those who have died in Iowa in the past week due to Covid.  This week we rang the bell 192 times.  May those who mourn be sheltered in our prayers.  We also pray for our health care workers and those working to distribute the vaccine. 

Everybody Eats!  The West Des Moines Schools are working to provide food to students who live with food insecurity.  They provide snacks for children that include a drink box and some sort of grain—like pretzels or fish crackers.  These need to be packaged together.  Janet Hayes and the MidWeek Refuel teams and other volunteers are packing these snacks.  They follow Covid protocols, wearing masks, and limiting the number of people who can package to two people in a room at a time.  Even during a pandemic, the work of feeding people goes on. 

Worship This Sunday “Here I Am”  This Sunday we will be reading 1 Samuel 3:1-20.  God calls and Samuel says “here I am.”  Where are you?  Does it make a difference?  See you Sunday!

Something you can do!   Bidwell Riverside, a mission on the southside, needs reusable bags.  They make them out of old t-shirts.  No sewing involved.  You can find instructions here.  https://www.bidwellriverside.org/no-sew-tshirt-bags.  I have lots of old t-shirts if you would like to do this. I bet others have old t-shirts too.  

 

"Midweek: Get Some Water and Get Ready for Sunday" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 01/07/2021

 

Hello friends,

This Sunday in worship we will renew our baptism.  Be ready with water! 

I am thinking about the things we renew.  We renew wedding vows, and that reminds us of what we promised maybe years and years ago.  We renew our driver’s license and that enables us to drive in the years ahead.  We renew a subscription so we can continue to receive a service now. 

Why renew our baptism? 

Have you thought about your baptism lately? 

(And let me say right here, the ritual of baptism is a beautiful act of the church recognizing that we belong to God and God’s family.  If you have not been baptized, and you would like to be, let me know!) 

I was baptized as a baby in Jesup, Iowa in the Presbyterian Church.  My parents, Don and Lucille, in their twenties young and full of life, long before my infant self came to know them or remember them, walked to the front of the church, their arms full of me.  They were so out of place there.  My father was an auto mechanic, and my mother a housewife.  Public displays were not their thing.  And yet, they did it. They handed me over to a pastor who held me up to the church, and my family and the whole church were so excited that God had done such an amazing miracle in creating a human (me), that they celebrated with a baptism. With the whole church looking on, I was baptized “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” 

And there I was, a member of the household of God with all that means.  God, the presence of strength and comfort and peace, recognized as my holy parent.  The people of the church, also members of the household of God, living as sisters and brothers to be sharing the adventure of our faith. 

I think I had forgotten about my baptism and what it means. And that’s why I need to renew my baptism. I need to look back on the vows made so long ago and reflect on how they have played out in my life.  I need to renew my baptism so that I can carry it into the future.  I need to renew my baptism so that I can live it today.  A fresh sense of that water that was placed on my forehead, and a renewed acceptance that what God said to Jesus, God has said to me, “This is my beloved child in whom I am pleased.” 

It is so easy to forget that we are baptized and that we are loved by God.  Maybe when we greet one another we should say, “Hey you, baptized person!” just to remind us of who we belong to and how we are loved. 

So Sunday we will renew our baptism.  Hope you will join in the celebration. 

Blessings this day,

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. 

Worship online at 9:30 Sunday mornings and our worship service is posted all week long.  Join us this week to renew your baptism!