"Midweek and I Have a Wacky Idea" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 07/14/2020

Hello everyone,

I have this wacky idea.

I believe that every day God will show me something new.  I believe that every day I will grow a little deeper in my understanding of who God is, and who I am, and how this world works.  That means I have to be ready every day for some fresh way of seeing the world.

Case in point.  This morning a young mom shared how scared she is for her children during this pandemic.  If school is open this fall, should they attend?  Are they becoming depressed from being cut off from other children?  And she is not only a parent, but she is also employed.  How does she juggle child care and her work requirements?  And is she safe going to work?  Could she bring COVID home to her children?

I knew all this.  I am a grandmother, and I watch what is happening at my daughter’s house with my grandchildren.  Parents are making very hard decisions.

But then she went on to ask, can the church do something about this?  That was a new thought, the moment when God cracked open possibilities.

Could the church do something about this? Help some way?

I don’t know.

But I have this wacky trust that every day God will show me something new.  God will nudge the door of grace to open a little wider.

And, I believe, God will not abandon me to what is revealed.  God will not show me something and then leave me to wallow in my anxiety.

In my wacky way of understanding God, I believe when God reveals something, God will also lead.
So I just emailed the principal at Hillside, our neighborhood elementary.  I am very grateful I don’t have his job, especially now.  And I am very grateful he does because he is a very good principal.  I asked if our church could help in any way.

And as for the mom who shared her worries, now I am wondering how I can help her.
All because I have this wacky idea that every day God is in it, in my life, in our world, nudging, shoving, pulling, hoping, us forward.

Do you think it is wacky to believe that every day God shows us something new? Reveals a new way of thinking?  And leads us to live faithfully with this new understanding?

What did God show you today?

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.

Join us for worship this Sunday online at 9:30.  We are exploring the ways we know God.  As United Methodists, we believe that we know God through scripture, church traditions, experience, and reason.  This Sunday Pastor Trevor will share how he has come to know God through his experiences.  Read John 9:1-11 to prepare!

And Sunday evening at 6:45 join us for Parking Lot Worship.  Wear masks, bring a lawn chair, or remain in your car to social distance.  Come and worship!

"Midweek and Knowing God" Pastor Trevor's Devotion 07/08/2020

Hello Church Family!

We’re in this new sermon series on Knowing God. I talked in my sermon on Sunday how one of the ways we know God is through the holy scriptures. How often do you read your bible? No judgment here, before I was a pastor, I surely wasn’t reading it enough. It helps to get paid to read it ;)

For real though, I’d like to know about your relationship with your bible. Each of us could likely be spending more time in the scriptures. I find it more enjoyable and beneficial to my own life when I’m reading it with others. Pastor Cindy sent me a reminder that says we don’t just read the bible, we let the Bible read us. So whether you read the bible or you allow it to read you, would you mind replying and telling me about you and your bible? I don’t have one, let me know, I can get you one.

I’ve also found it incredibly helpful and often easier to read some other resources to help me to make sense of the bible. Here are a few:
1. Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton.
2. What is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything by Rob Bell.
3. Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible by Rachel Held Evans

Rob and Rachel will get you excited to read your bible and Adam will help you craft some really good theology about scripture. If you like to read, I recommend reading all 3. I also keep a Bible Reading Log app on my phone to track what I’ve read. There’s something about checking the boxes that keep me reading. However, reading scripture, like everything in our faith journeys is about so much more than checking boxes. We read because we encounter God when we do. Sharing your experience of your encounter with God lifts all those involved. So find a buddy, or a small group, or shoot me a message whenever you’re reading something so we can encounter God together.

Blessings,
Pastor Trevor
Pastor Trevor Vaughn
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave.
West Des Moines, IA 50265
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Worship with us from your home or anywhere you can jump online on Sundays at 9:30 am. A lot of the church will watch together on Facebook but you can also find our worship videos are posted on our website (wdmumc.org), Facebook, and YouTube.

"Midweek and Here We Are" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 07/01/2020

Present!

The world has shifted.  (Can I get an amen?) So much of what we knew and did just a few months ago has changed.

One of the biggest changes is that we are no longer present to one another in the way we once were.

Our children are not present at swimming pools and summer camp the way they were last summer.

We no longer sit down at the coffee shop and spend an hour chatting with a friend, present to hear what’s happening in their lives.

We no longer sit together in worship among our friends.

Even being present for a doctor’s appointment has changed.  My last checkup with a doctor was a zoom visit.

We used to move through crowds of people at the Farmers Market or the State Fair, aware of people around us but completely unconcerned that being so close to someone could threaten our health.

As we hear of states “opening up” what is happening is that people get to again be present with one another.  In bars, on beaches, and at events, people can once again stand close to one another, see each other’s faces.

Regardless of what is opening up, there is a pandemic happening, and that life-threatening reality shadows over our activities.  We make conscious decisions about what we can and can’t do for our health and the health of others.

Until we lost it, I never realized what a gift being present to one another is.  More than a gift, I think being present to one another is life-giving. We have a God-designed need to see one another’s face and hear each other’s voices.  To be human is to share our lives with others.  There is no such thing as a virtual kiss.  A kiss requires presence. A kiss requires human contact.

Last night our bible study class #JustRead met.  We meet by zoom.  (You are invited.  Reply to this email and I will include you in the zoom login info.)  Many of the people in #JustRead have never met one another in person.  If you have not zoomed, it is a good tool because it lets you see one another and hear each other’s voice.

But it is also frustrating.  We see each other in one dimension.  Only one person can speak at a time.  The system is sound activated and that means we can not all laugh at once.  A week ago we tried to sing “Happy Birthday” and that didn’t work.

And yet, despite its limitations, we are forming a community.  The power of being present to one another cheers us. If someone is missing we miss them.  We have started to look at the background behind each person, and we ask about their setting.  We have met some of our pets.  It is as though there is something in us that wants to know others and we know others by being present with them.

This Sunday we are going to explore this idea of being present in two ways. 

On Sunday morning during our 9:30 on line worship, we will share in Holy Communion.  There is a great deal of debate about whether communion should be offered online.  Communion IS the presence of God within in the presence of community.  By definition, we must be together to share in Holy Communion.  But I wonder how God regards our being together.  Paul wrote in Philippians that the same mind should be in us that was in Christ.  Can we be of one mind even if we are not in one room?  Is the table Christ invites us to bigger than any table made by human hands?

On Sunday morning before worship, I would like you to think about presence as you prepare for communion.  You will need to have some sort of bread and juice ready.  And I also encourage you to create a special place.  If there are children in your home, have them help you.  Explain to them what you are doing as you prepare a small altar.  You could include a candle or flowers, something that reminds you that God is present.  I would also ask you to pray for others.  Bring them to mind even if they can’t be present.  Create a community around your place of communion.

That’s one event happening this Sunday.  The other event happening this Sunday is much different.

Sunday at 6 pm we will have Taste and See! Parking Lot Worship. We will meet in our parking lot for ice cream and worship.  Outside Scoops Ice Cream Truck will arrive at 6 pm bringing 7 flavors of homemade FREE ice cream.  From 6-6:30 we will eat ice cream.  From 6:30-7, we will worship.  Our praise band will provide the music.  Scripture for the night comes from Psalm 34.  Read Pathways for more details.

This is a different way of being present.  It sounds like a party—and there is always an element of celebration in worship, but we will still be conscious of the pandemic.  We will still mask and social distance.  We are setting up special parking for those who want to remain in their cars.  And not everyone will be comfortable coming to this event.  Please feel free to assess your level of comfort and do what feels right for you.

Communion at a distance from one another.  Parking lot worship.

The world has changed.  And yet, what remains the same?

The church, a people inspired by Christ to care about the world.

The longing in each of us to know one another and share our lives.

The presence of God holding our lives together.

That has not changed.

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 on-line at 9:30 on Sunday mornings and post our worship all week long. 
And this Sunday, you are invited to Parking Lot Worship at 6 pm. We are looking for Parking Lot Guides and ice Cream Runners if you would like to help.  Reply to this email!
Read Pathways for more details!