Ever return to a place you'd been to before, and it seems the same as it did, but not quite? It is, or you are, or something about it is different. This is the reality of the disciples gathered on the lakeshore breakfasting with the risen Jesus (John 21)--it is the same, but different. Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for May 10, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Fifth Sunday of Easter.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Have any of your patterns and practices changed? Are you doing things now in ways that you couldn’t imagine ever doing them? The story for this Sunday from John 21 has that—at the suggestion of Jesus. Insight for us? Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for May 3, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Second Sunday of Easter.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
As I stated last week, often for us, seeing is believing. Jesus shows the disciples--and later, Thomas--his scars. But what of scars that we don't show? Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for April 26, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Second Sunday of Easter.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Seeing is believing. This statement makes sense to us. The disciple Thomas said in essence the same thing when the other disciples told him they had seen Jesus alive after he had been crucified--basically, "I'll believe it when I see it". Does that really make him "Doubting Thomas"? Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for April 19, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Second Sunday of Easter.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
How do we celebrate Easter in social isolation? Well, the first Easter involved social isolation too--and the Risen Christ made it possible to go on from that. Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for April 12, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Easter Sunday.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
"I Love a Parade” is a catchy song from nearly 100 years ago that many people agree with--loving a parade, that is. The first Palm Sunday was a parade of sorts, with different meanings as to what made it a parade—and then what happened during the week after the parade. Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for April 5, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Palm/Passion Sunday.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
"Where he leads me I will follow" begins the refrain of the old hymn. But what does this mean? And what does it mean to follow "more nearly"? Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for March 29, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Fifth Sunday of Lent.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Kenny Rogers has died at the age of 81. His long career in music, in "The New Christy Minstrels" and "First Edition" before many years as a solo artist, produced a whole slew of songs. What insights does a particular Kenny Rogers song give us into "Loving God More Dearly"? Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for March 22, 2020 for further thoughts. Tune in on Facebook Live or call in on WebEx for worship at 10 AM this Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
The word “Dear” gets used in a number of ways. In the song “Day by Day” from Godspell, we sing “O Dear Lord, three things I pray”. What might “dear” mean in that phrase? And how does what it means affect the praying we do?
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for March 8, 2020 for further thoughts. See you in worship at 10 AM this Second Sunday of Lent.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Some things we do every day in our "regular" lives--our lives when we're going along without major disruptions. We eat. We sleep. We breathe. Some of us have routines that we do every day. Is prayer--both speaking and listening--among those routines? Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for March 1, 2020 for further thoughts. See you in worship at 10 AM for the First Sunday of Lent. We will celebrate Holy Communion, to which all are welcome.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
On the one hand, we really think there ought to be "transparency" about some things--that "secrets" hide something suspicious. On the other hand, we know that "confidentiality" is key in parts of our lives--like the HIPAA requirements with medical information. And then there are the timing issues about when we say what we know. The Transfiguration story seems to be to be a timing issue, as Jesus says "Tell no one . . until . . ." Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for February 23, 2020 for further thoughts. See you in worship at 10 AM this Transfiguration Sunday.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
We wish we could hang on to Christmas all of the time, but we find that the “world” intervenes—the world we live in where stuff happens. Some of the stuff that happens is unfortunate stuff. And some of it happened to Jesus, too, as it turns out.
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for December 29, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to be at McKnight UMC this Sunday for worship at 10 AM.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
This Fourth Sunday of Advent, we will light The Candle of Love. We of course are inspired by the beautiful manger scene, and intuit Mary’s love for her newborn child—many of us have experienced that same love for our own newborn.
What about this particular birth conveys something else also about love?
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for December 22, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to be at McKnight UMC this Sunday for worship at 10 AM.
The "Longest Night/Blue Christmas" worship, especially for those for whom the holidays are difficult because of grief and loss, will be at 7 PM on Sunday. And of course Christmas Eve will include a 5 PM Family Worship (with Candlelighting) and a 7 PM Traditional Worship (with Candlelighting and Communion). Any or all of these will enhance your celebration of Christmas this year.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
This third Sunday of Advent, we will light The Candle of Joy. Joy has been defined “to experience great pleasure or delight”. On that first Christmas, the angel proclaimed to the shepherds “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord”.
What about that brings great joy to our lives?
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for December 15, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to be at McKnight UMC this Sunday for worship at 10 AM.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
This second Sunday of Advent, we wrestle with what The Candle of Peace can possibly be about in a world that seems to be in perpetual conflict. How do we live with—and in-peace, and what does Christmas have to do with it?
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for December 8, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to be at McKnight UMC this Sunday for worship at 11 AM (note time change—an hour later than usual), after we decorate the Sanctuary and Welcome Center (from 9-11) after our breakfast together (at 8 AM).
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
This is the first Sunday of Advent, the time of preparing for the celebration of God entering our world in human form in the newborn Jesus. The four candles on the Advent wreath represent Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, and we will explore those four themes this Advent season.
Hope is vital in a world where we don’t have nearly as much control over what will happen as we wish we did. Hope is a trust, a “hanging in there” in the face of disappointment. Hope is key to “getting” Christmas.
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for December 1, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to share in worship at 10 AM this Sunday. We will celebrate Holy Communion.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Our Stewardship series, with the theme "Trusting God While Using What We Have," concludes this Sunday--where we not only dedicate our Giving Commitments in worship, but celebrate this week our Thanksgiving holiday. We give thanks this week--and it is not insignificant that the word thanksgiving implies that the way that we give thanks is BY giving.
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for November 24, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to share in worship at 10 AM this Sunday--and at our church Family Thanksgiving meal at 5 PM later on Sunday.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Our Stewardship series, with the theme "Trusting God While Using What We Have," continues this week. We are asked to be “All In With What You’ve Got”—giving fully of the gifts that God has given to each of us, which prayerfully are complemented by the gifts that others have (since no one individual has all of the gifts that the church needs).
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for November 17, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to share in worship at 10 AM this Sunday.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce
Our Stewardship series continues this week, with the theme "Trusting God While Using What We Have"—with a reminder that even if we want life to be easy, “easy” still involves doing something.
Follow this link to the Pastor’s Ponderings for November 10, 2019 for further thoughts, and plan to share in worship at 10 AM this Sunday.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Bruce