"Midweek: Who Lives in Your Village?" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 06/03/2020

Good morning!

This Sunday Pastor Trevor is preaching about community.  That has me thinking about my community, the people who surround me.

I have moved a lot in my life, but everywhere I have lived, I have had a community.  To me,  community is more than a population of people in one place.  To me, it is a connection to people.   Community weaves us together, strengthens us, makes us better.

I don’t want to intrude on Pastor Trevor’s sermon, but the topic has me thinking about the communities and towns and villages where I have lived, places where my soul has felt at home, and where I have felt the presence of God.  I want to celebrate that.  So in random order, here are the communities I am celebrating…

Married student housing at the University of Michigan and the moms and families who played at the sandbox outside our door.

My high school buddies.

The kitchen crew at People’s Memorial Hospital where I worked when I was in high school.

The women of Hagemann Hall at the University of Northern Iowa.

Friends in Sturgeon Bay, Door County Wisconsin.

Twisted Sisters, my covenant group.

The community at St Paul School of Theology.

Linn Grove United Methodist Church.

Bloomfield United Methodist Church.

My Thursday Lunch Bunch.

The staff of WDMUMC.

A Driveway Bunch that has been a new blessing.

My sibs and their spouses and kids.

Every mission trip team I have traveled with.

As I write this, I am aware of how at home I feel in these communities.  In their presence, I can be the real me, honest about my struggles, asking questions, celebrating even silly things, there is laughter and when there is sorrow, the group provides shelter.

Right now, in our world, we are facing big questions about community.  Can we keep our communities safe by not spreading COVID?  Are our communities open and safe for everyone?
I encourage you to think about the communities that have been important to you, the people who make up your towns and villages.  And on Sunday we will all celebrate community with Pastor Trevor.  Can’t wait!

Stay well.

Blessings,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265

Like us on Facebook or visit us at WDMUMC.org

And join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 9:30 on our website or Facebook.  

This Week At WDMUMC:  
On line Worship.  We are continuing on-line worship for the foreseeable future.  We are surveying our church community to gather ideas about when and how we will return to in-person worship.  If you have not already responded to the survey, you can find it at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5S5TNQ3.  Our church council will be meeting via zoom on June 15th to discuss the responses and our plans going forward.

Remembering Those Who Have Died of COVID  On Monday our church joined with churches across the metro ringing our church bell for each person in Iowa who has died of COVID.  At the time of this writing, there have been 566 deaths in Iowa.  Please pray for the families who have lost loved ones.  There is a discussion of doing this again.  We will keep you posted.

Vacation Bible School in Your Backyard! Your children can enjoy VBS at home on June 14-18!  Register at our website and we will get the materials to you!

Communion!  This Sunday following our worship service, Pastor Trevor will live stream a time of Holy Communion.  If you would like to join in, have bread and juice or water ready.

Everybody Eats!  This week we will make our first delivery of packs of food to 180 homes.  The food will reach hundreds of children.  The goodness of God in a grocery bag!

"Words from Justice Ben Emunah" Pastor Cindy Hickman 05/31/2020

Good morning,

On Monday, May 25th in Minneapolis, George Floyd, an African-American man, died after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; 2 minutes and 53 seconds of which occurred after Floyd became unresponsive.  Other officers also held George Floyd down.  Floyd pleaded with the officers, telling them he could not breathe and asking them not to kill him.   George Floyd’s death is the latest in a number of deaths of African American persons in police custody.  Throughout the United States, including here in Des Moines, demonstrations have been held. People have gathered in the streets asking for change, calling on our justice system to change its practices, and calling us all to consider how we participate in systems of racism that favors people of white heritage over persons of color.  In some cases, tempers have flared and violence has resulted. Persons seeking to create havoc have damaged property. If you have watched the news, you are aware of all of this. 

Behind all this is the problem of racism in our country.  We have a long history of judging one another based on the color of our skin. Not all police officers are like the police officers who killed George Floyd.  Not all white people are like the white people who killed George Floyd, but they represent us all until we stand for justice and change. 

On Tuesday Justice Ben Emunah contacted me.  Justice is a member of our church.  He serves on the Worship Committee.  You may have met him when he worked at the State Fair Stand. 

Justice shared the video of Floyd’s death with me.  And Justice asked to bring this conversation up with the church.  If we were meeting in person today, we would be talking about this.  My sermon today was recorded earlier in the week before I knew about this incident.  My sermon is about understanding.  Was I giving it in person today, I would talk about the death of George Floyd. 
Justice wrote about how all this feels to him. His words appear below.  Read his words, hear his voice.  Pray. And then as persons who follow Christ, do what you can do to bring about change. 

Justice’s words: 
There is something wrong when parents of black children fear when they walk out the door. It is sad when I have to tell my three boys, who are not thugs as our president likes to tweet, but college kids who just want to be young. I tell them not to wear a hoody, keep it down, when police pull you over do not move, Put your hands up right away, stay still-this from me thinking it might save their life. 
What should I tell my boys now? What should I tell them when they see men that look like them killed in the streets by the same people who are supposed to protect us? What should we tell them when they see a police officer have their knee in the neck of a black man for 8 minutes while not resisting when a black man goes for a jog and gets shot down by vigilantes when a young boy goes and buys tea and skittles gets shot by a scared vigilante (this could be one of our boys), when a child playing cops and robbers gets shot by a cop, when having car trouble on the side of the road leads to suspension and death.

I’m glad many of you will never have those fears for your children or even the understanding to grasp what I’m saying. It’s a sad truth, people are mad, people are tired of the killing, people are tired of others being afraid or suspicious just because of the color of their skin. Fourteen years ago my son who was 5 and I were volunteering in mowing the church's lawn he was So excited. We were done and sat inside the SUV, both sweaty and dirty. An elderly couple from the church pulled up next to us and the driver got out and the lady with him started staring at me and pulled the man's shirt and they moved to a different side of the parking lot and parked. My 5 year old said, “daddy why did they move”. I didn’t know what to tell him. Something is wrong with this and here we are 14 years later. 
Here is a poem that I wrote as well.

“Justice” Not For A Selected Color

Born just a stone's throw from the castle that housed slaves with a church on top of the dungeons. I have never experienced the harsh reality of being black until I lived in the United States of America. 
Black people had a land of their own but were forced to leave it all behind only to become a victim to the American law enforcement. 

As he whispered “I can’t breathe” his voice died down at the end. As the sun rises from New York and sets in California, the Blackman is afraid to be the next victim of police crimes. When every race is asleep, in the middle of the night, dreaming about Romeo and Juliet, the Blackman is dreaming about the next Blackman who will fall victim to police crimes. 

Black people are mentally exhausted. A White man stands up in an interview and says he is applying for the job because he wants to be able to beat people legally is an example of today’s enforcement. Police crimes have always been part of American culture. The only thing different today is that technology has caught up to them, they cannot hide their crimes. As he screamed “I can’t breathe “, the wrinkles on his face became a perfect trace for his tears while he died. Don’t wait until police crimes reach your door before you realize you are the next victim. Peaceful black protesters get tear-gassed, while white men carrying AK47’s get police escorts. Justice should not be for only a selected color.

Lord, search our hearts...
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave.
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-279-0826

"Midweek and We are Praying" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 05/27/2020

Hello everyone—
What are you praying for these days?  I think it is curiously wonderful that there is a constant invisible conversation going on between God and people every day, all day, and well into the night.
There’s power in that conversation.  Prayer draws us closer to God.  We invite what is holy and sacred to fill us and when it fills us, God uses us to change the world.

So today, I want to tell you what I am praying about. Feel free to reply and share what you are praying about.

I am praying
·         For the pandemic to end.
·         That I find steadiness in this uncertain time. (This pandemic has rattled me.)
·         For a better understanding of the privileges I have and how God wants me to use them.
·         That no more black men die in the hands of the police.
·         For people with Covid19.
·         For people facing health crises during this time when their families cannot visit them in the hospital.
·         For people who are grieving.
·         For my children and grandchildren.  That is an unending prayer.
·         To heal the anger and blame in our country.
·         For our church.  I offer prayers pondering how and when we will emerge from this time.
·         For our elderly who live with such courage.
·         For our children, for the fear they may be feeling now.
·         Late at night, I look out the window and pray about how beautiful the world is.
·         That I might do a good job of being a pastor.
·         For forgiveness when I have been unkind.
·         About how connected we are, even when we have to be social distancing.  How much we enjoy seeing each other’s faces, hearing each other’s voices.
·         For clarity about what is the best thing to do at this time, at this moment.
·         For the day before me.
·         For L. and R. and J. and C.  For so many people who have been a blessing in my life. 

Prayers of thanks.  Prayers of wondering. Prayers that ask for help.  Prayers that are just chatting with God about things I don’t understand.  Prayers of awe.

Last week in my prayers, I heard God speak to me in the way God speaks.  I know it is God because it is a combination of wisdom and grace that takes me beyond the narrowness of my soul.  Last week I heard God say “a lot of things are out of your control.”  Clear as could be.

I know it is God when it feels like good news.  A lot of things are out of my control.  That was good news.

Let go, Cindy, and just breathe. 

That’s what God said to me.  I think God wanted to me share that with you.

I hope you and God are having rich wonderful conversations.  Let me know what you are praying, and what God has been saying to you.  

Every blessing,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
515-279-026

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

And join us for on line worship every Sunday morning at 9:30.  

This week at WDMUMC:
New Sermon Series!  We kick off a new sermon series (Re)New Promises!

Everybody Eats is making preparations to send out bags of food next week.

Good Neighbors!  Our good neighbors, the patrons of Charlie’s Filling Station lead a food drive and provided hundreds of items for our Little Food Pantry.  Together, we are feeding the neighborhood!

Looking for Your Thoughts We will be sending out a survey to gather information about returning to in-person worship.  Watch for the survey in the mail or on-line.  And send your thoughts and ideas to the church.

And also this week, in your homes and neighborhoods, may you love God and serve your neighbors.