"Midweek and Time to Say Thanks and Goodbye" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 06/16/2021

 

Hello friends,

This is the last issue of the Midweek Devotion.  Thanks so much for listening for the last four years!

Sunday is the day we generally think about church and faith. That has faded a bit in our current culture where we will fill every day to the brim and Sunday Sabbath has been doubled booked with sports and shopping.  Even so, Sunday is still church day, even if that is more of a whisper than a shout. 

The Midweek Devotion generally came out on Wednesday, smack dap in the middle of the week.  Wednesday.  A work day.  Hump day.  Right in the middle of the hectic.  Sunday’s sanctuary prayers are long forgotten.  Wednesday, the day we set out our garbage in my neighborhood. Catch our breath and press on to Friday. 

The Midweek was my way of pausing and listening for what God might be saying in the middle of the week while I was wrapped up in practical work tasks.  It was a way of encountering God in my work, the morning after a committee meeting and the day before the bulletin was printed.   It was a way of opening my six-day-work-week life to my Sunday Sabbath God. 

In these last four years, God was always faithful.  There always seemed to be some message of grace waiting to be heard.  Patient God waiting while we do what seems so important.  Waiting while we complain that we are so busy and so tired. Offering calm and rest. If we just had the time. 

So thank you for joining with me and giving God a bit of our Wednesdays. I know that I can’t speak for God, I am oddly confident that God liked being in our thoughts right in the middle of the week.

God of the everyday. God looking over our shoulder when there are dishes in the sink. God watching while I scratch something off my to-do list. God present while we look for a child’s backpack on the way out the door to school. God in skipped meals. God standing nearby when our head hits the pillow.  Ever-present God in a too often too busy world.  

So on Wednesdays, we paused just for a few moments to breathe and notice.  God in it all.  Thank you for sharing in this.  

And thanks be to our every day, every moment, God. 

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 all week long—but we worship together on Sunday at 9 am in person and Livestream.  At 9:30 we worship in a special online service. 

Happenings at WDMUMC

Remembering Gary    The memorial service for Gary Norton will be held on Saturday, June 19th at 11 am here at West Des Moines United Methodist Church.  The visitation will be held Friday night from 5-7 pm at Resthaven Funeral Home.  The burial will take place on Saturday before the memorial service for immediate family members only.  A luncheon will be held here at the church following the memorial service.  Please surround Barb and her family with your prayers of comfort and peace. 

STATE FAIR!  August in Iowa means the Iowa State Fair and it is time to sign up to work at the wdmumc state fair food stand!  We will need more volunteers than we have at our church. It is also time for all of us to do some creative recruiting!   Who can you recruit? 

• Are you on Facebook?  Post the link on your Facebook page and encourage friends to sign up!
• Nonprofit groups who serve at the state fair stand can earn money for their mission!  What about that board you serve on?  Would they like to earn money, do a little teamwork AND earn money for their mission?  
•  Your daughter’s dance troop? The 4-H Club?  The soccer team? 
• Your cousins?  Your gal pals?  Your fishing buddies? 
• Those friends who love the fair and want to see it from another point of view. 

Everyone who serves gets free admission to the fair.  Four-hour or eight-hour shifts available. 

Here’s the link to fun at the fair!  https://wdmumc.org/group-pages/state-fair-stand/

Have fun!  

 

"Midweek and Two Questions and an Assignment" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 06/02/2021

 

Good morning friends!

Today I have two questions for you and an assignment.  All this leads up to worship on Sunday. 

The questions:

Question #1:  When has someone told you that they believed in you?  They may not have said it in those exact words, but when have you known by someone’s words or actions that they believed in you?  That they believed you had the personal character to do what needed to be done?  That you would do your best to do the right thing? 

Question #2:  How did it make you feel?  Did knowing that someone believed in you change your behavior, make you try a little harder, trust yourself a little more?

I think of times when I was a young teen and my parents would go out for the evening and leave me at home.  They believed in me.  I admit, if they stayed out late, there were times when I was a little scared, but they believed in me, so maybe I could believe in me.

In 2017 at my ordination, I knelt and Bishop Julius Trimble put his hand on my head and said “take thou authority” and lead the church.  It was his way of saying we believe in you.  It felt good.  It was also followed by a lot of responsibility.  There were many times when I was called to do more than I thought I was capable of.  But the Bishop believed in me, so maybe I could believe in me, dig deep and find a little more courage. 

Who has believed in you? 

And now the assignment.  Learning that someone believes in you is a powerful thing.  We can give the gift of belief to others.  So today, give some thought to the people you believe in and tell them.  Let them know what you see in them and why you believe in them. 

And then, join in worship on Sunday and we will talk more about who believes what and what a difference it makes. 

Every blessing to you on this beautiful day,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-279-0926

Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org

AND join in worship in person or online.  Whatever is right for you! 

In-Person Worship at 9 a.m. this Sunday!  Note the new time.   This service is live-streamed!

And online at 9:25 a.m. 

Coming Up At WDMUMC

The Iowa State Fair!  The best state fair anywhere is back August 12-22 and our food stand will be back.  And we need volunteers.  Working at the food stand means making walking tacos and egg sandwiches and LOTS and LOTS of friends!  You can sign up to volunteer at wdmumc.org.  WHOOO!  HOOO!  How Iowa has fun! 

Wisdom Worship Service on June 27th.  We are inviting our 90+ members to share their wisdom with us.  If you are 90 or older and would like to be part of this, please reply to this mail.  We want to hear what your faith has meant to you!

Vespers is back!  This Sunday afternoon Bill and Helen Brantley are again hosting a vespers service at Edgewater and Pastor Cindy will preach.  So good to be with our friends at Edgewater. 

Welcome, Paige and Sara!  Paige and Sara Little will be baptized this Sunday.  They are the daughters of Lisa (Hickman) and Ryne Little and the granddaughters of Cindy and Dave Hickman.  Congratulations! 

A note from Pastor Cindy:  As I approach retirement, please no gifts.  You all have been a gift to me!

 

Midweek Message to My Mask" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 05/26/2021

 

Friends,  

The church council has adopted new covid protocols.  We will no longer require masks for those who have been fully vaccinated.  (The full protocols appear below.)  I have spent a lot of time with my mask this year and before I say goodbye to it, I wanted to share some thoughts.  

A message to my mask

Thank you. 

This has been a tough year and there were moments when I felt pretty hopeless and sometimes it felt like you were all I had in the fight to prevent COVID-19. 

I remember the first day I wore a mask.  It was a Sunday and we were told that masks could help prevent the spread of the virus.  I found directions on how to make masks online so I sat down with my sewing machine and made two masks out of some leftover fabric.  Dave and I put them on and looked into the mirror.  Didn’t we look weird? 

That weirdness faded as more and more people masked up.  Masks became a fashion statement.  All sorts of colors.  Some were printed with some sort of statement.  Sequined.  I went with basic black. 

You were controversial.  We worried about breathing.  You were hot in the summer, and we later discovered, warm in the winter.  Our glasses fogged up.  I know a person who wore a shield and without thinking smashed a sandwich into it at lunchtime. 

You were one more thing to remember as we walked out the door in the morning. 

I wondered if I would lose the ability to make appropriate facial expressions. 

We discovered how many people have some level of hearing loss and rely on reading lips to help them understand speech. 

The thing about prevention is that when it works, nothing happens.  We will never really know if the prevention worked or if the thing we were trying to prevent would not have happened anyway. 

You were just a small piece of fabric with two loops to go over my ears. 

I don’t know if you stopped a covid virus from entering my lungs.  I do know that it is now a year later.  I have not been sick this year. 

I am not entirely ready to let you go. I find you in my purse, in my workbag, in my car. 

And when I do, I sigh. 

I am certain you saved lives this year.   

So I just want to say thank you.  Sometimes small things matter a great deal.  Thank you for reminding me of that. 

Blessings,

Pastor Cindy

Pastor Cindy Hickman

West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-988-0636

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

YES!  We worship!  Join us!  In-person at 8:30 on Sunday!  Live streaming at 8:30!  Or our special online service at 9:30.  Worship in the way that works for you! 

WDMUMC News!

This Sunday our worship series, The Promise, continues.  We will also honor Memorial Day by remembering those who have died.  Join in!

Changing worship time!  Our In-Person Worship will change to 9 am beginning June 6th.  Sleep in a little and then—come to church! 

New Covid Protocol

The Church Council voted this week to adopt these new covid guidelines. 

In the last few weeks, there has been good news in the effort to end the pandemic.  More and more people are getting vaccinated.  The CDC has stated that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing.  Governor Reynolds has encouraged the lifting of restrictions.  Based on these recommendations and the current rate of infections, WDMUMC will no longer require masks and social distancing for people who are fully vaccinated.  Those who are not vaccinated are encouraged to mask and distance.   

As a church, we understand that everyone is using their judgment to determine what is right for their circumstances. Covid is a serious infection for those at risk.  We have learned this year that masking protects people from other infections besides covid.  If you would like to continue masking and distancing, you can do that.  We want to find our way through this pandemic in as safe and respectful a manner as possible.