"Midweek: We Belong to One Another" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 05/04/2021

 

Good morning friends,

Every Monday morning shortly after 10 o’clock, a small group of men arrives at the church.   They’ve come to ring the bell as a memorial to the people across Iowa who have died in the previous week due to COVID.  At 10:30, whether it is pouring rain or minus 17 degrees or if we have glorious blue skies that seem oblivious to the sad loss of life, we announce the number of deaths and we ring the bell.  It is a solemn moment.  We imagine the grieving families and their heartache, hoping that this recognition in some small way acknowledges their pain and lets them know that others are thinking of them. 

After we ring the bell, we gather in the narthex.  Sometime during the 49 weeks that we have been doing this, someone started bringing donuts.  A pot of coffee appears, and we circle up chairs at a COVID-advised distance, and for half an hour or so we talk. 

Maybe this is a reaction to the acknowledgment of death, a bit like the luncheon after a funeral, a time to reaffirm that despite the loss, life is good, and we are here together.

Over all these weeks we have talked about babies born, grandchildren's adventures, mailboxes, Corvettes, heart surgery, dental work, how far one person traveled to get married, computer challenges, and car accidents, all the adventures that make up life.  We tell our stories and share our lives.

And you know what God has done. 

God has turned a shared task into a place of belonging, friendship. 

It’s happened to you.  A work-group at the office, a yoga class at the Y, soccer parents standing at the edge of the field, even a committee at church, a group gathered for some particular task.  While you are at the task, you begin to tell your stories, and something just as important as the task happens friendship forms.  When the task is over, what you take away is friendship, a sense of caring about others, and being cared for.  Maybe this is even more important than the task.  Ask someone who worked at the church’s State Fair Stand what it was like.  They will not tell you how gratifying it was to serve biscuits and gravy.  They probably won’t even tell you how much money the stand made the day they worked and how that advanced the mission of the church. They will tell you about the people they met and worked with. 

We belong to one another.  We are God-designed to be connected.  Mother Teresa said, “If we have no peace, it’s because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”  We like to think that we are independent individuals, standing on our own, making our own decisions, but we are deeply connected.  To deny our connection creates conflict and only brings us pain.  It is the stuff of war. 

This pandemic has demonstrated again and again how deeply we are connected, how dependent we are on one another.  We depended on medical providers to step up, work harder and longer, to meet the needs of covid patients.  We discovered how much we depend on farm and grocery workers all along the supply chain to get food to our tables.  Scientists working in far-off labs squinted over microscopes to develop vaccines to keep us safe.  And friends, on computer screens or in texts or from a distance of six feet at our door, checked in on us, reminded us that we were not alone.  That we belong to one another. 

In silent, often imperceptible ways, God moves among us, drawing us to one another.  God is love. That is an incredible gift, received with gratitude and handled with great care.   

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

And join us for worship!  We worship at 8:30 in-person in our sanctuary.  Please wear a mask and plan to social distance.  There’s room for you!  This service is live-streamed—so you can catch it on our Facebook page.

We also worship in an online worship service that premieres every Sunday at 9:30.  Worship in the way that is right for you! And know you are among friends. 

 

Coming Up At WDMUMC--

All Church Picnic May 12th at 5:30 in Raccoon River Park in the shelters.  Bring a lawn chair and wear a mask as you are comfortable.  It’s time to reconnect!  We will pray a little, laugh a lot and share in a meal.  We can still use servers.  Email Pastor Cindy if you would like to help. 

Memorial Remembrance

Friday, May 7th at 1:30 we hold a memorial service for Jackie Johnson.  We will remember this much-loved wife and mother and friend.  Please hold Bob and his family in prayer in this time of sadness. 

 

"Midweek Friends" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 04/28/2021

 

Hello friends,

We are in the last week of our worship series on friendship, and it has been fun renewing friendships and making new friends. 

But, when Jesus called us “friends,” he may have been thinking of friendship a little bit differently than we typically think of it.  We tend to think of friends as a private relationship between two people or a group of people.  We are possessive of our friends.  We claim them saying things like “Sally is my friend.” Friendship is personal. 

The people in Jesus’ day had a different understanding of friendship.  At that time, being a friend was a role you learned.  When Jesus called people together, they learned how to be friends, maybe the way we might learn how to be a musician or a chef.  They learned friendship by following Christ and practicing things compassion and caring, sharing and mercy, empathy, and forgiveness.  When a musician becomes skilled, they share their music with the world.  When a chef becomes good at preparing food, they cook for a broader audience. In Jesus’ day, when you became skilled at being a friend, you lived as a friend in the world in all your encounters.  You were a friend to God and people and the entire world.

Jesus wasn’t looking for a clique of followers.  He was forming disciples who could live as friends to the world for God.  

Kind of interesting, don’t you think?  What if each of us, as followers of Christ, lived as a friend in the world—not just to particular people, but to everyone?  What if we all listed “friend” on our resume as our profession?  What if a church was a place where friends gathered to practice and improve their skills at being friends so that they could be better friends in the world? 

It all just has me thinking. I will soon need new business cards. What if my new business cards simply read “Friend”?  Could I live up to that? 

BTW:  what’s on your business card? 

According to Jesus, what should be on all our business cards? 

Blessings and see you Sunday,

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.

Worship!  (Where people become friends!)  We worship in person at 8:30 on Sunday mornings.  That service is live-streamed and available all week long.

And at 9:30 we post an online worship service.  Worship in the way that is right for you!  This Sunday we will be sharing in Holy Communion. 

WDMUMC News!

Hello Edgewater!  We will resume worship services with the residents at Edgewater this Sunday.  We have missed you!

All Church Picnic!  Mark your calendars!  May 12th at 5:30 at a shelter at Raccoon River Park.  Bring a lawn chair and we will provide the food! 

Memorial Service for Jackie Johnson This service will be held in our sanctuary on May 7th at 1:30.  Please keep Bob and his family in prayer. 

 

"Midweek and Thinking About Friendship, Pt 2" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 04/21/2021

 

Good morning--

"I have called you friends.”  Those are Jesus’ words.  Here at wdmumc, we are exploring friendship and it has been fun. 

A couple of questions for you today.

Question #1:  What do you look for in a friend? 

Honesty.  Integrity.  Commitment.  Kindness.  Compassion.  

All that, and I like friends who are engaged in life, who like to learn and explore, who enjoy people, and are ready to have an adventure living out their faith.  I like friends who help me see the world in new ways. 

And I like friends who can see the humor in life and laugh more than they whine.  I like friends who forgive themselves and others.  I like friends who understand that sometimes life just is and you have to roll with it.  

I like friends who like ice cream and appreciate a good cookie.   

Question #2:  (a bit harder)  What kind of friend am I?  (That prompts more questions.) 

I look at all those qualities above and I have to ask, do I live those qualities in my friendships? 

Have I been a good friend?  Friendship has two sides, receiving and giving.  

(Groan.)  That takes some soul-searching. 

Can you remember a moment when you were a really good friend?  Can you relive that moment? Just relish it and enjoy it all over again?  

Make a list of what you like in a friend.  Do you live those qualities?  Are there some you would like to strengthen?  

Might be a good day to talk this all over in prayer. We have a friend in Christ who will listen.  

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

In-person at 8:30 Sunday mornings—early enough for you to get to the golf course or soccer game before noon!  Please mask and social distance! 

And online at 9:30.  Worship in the way that is right for you!

A Thought on This Morning

Yesterday Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the death of George Floyd.  I, like so many of you, have followed this story.  One man is dead.  Another will go to prison.  Our court system has done its justice work.  Our country has a history of division concerning race.  Today we are sorting through all that, working to be a land of freedom and equality.  Today I want to hold this all in prayer, seek God’s guidance as to how we have come to this tragic moment, and how we live out of it.  Jesus, lead us.

Memorial Service for Roy Messerschmidt

Roy Messerschmidt died on November 16, 2020.  Due to the pandemic, his memorial service was postponed.  It will be held this Friday.  This is a private service for immediate family only. Roy was an impressive person.  He loved this community, and he loved our church.  He had been a member of the church for 60 years.  He served in many leadership roles. He participated in the State Fair Stand and the Men’s Choir.  He was one of the original cast members of the Last Supper Drama.  Please hold Jan and their family in prayer as they honor Roy on Friday.

All Church Picnic!  Raccoon River Park May 12 at 5:30.  Mark your calendars!