Friends, we need to have a celebration:  as of today we have come together to the tune of $1850 toward our $2000 goal for flood buckets for the Mission Barn!  The people of God are serving our neighbors in the name of our Lord—and as Paul says so often in his letters, “I give thanks for you!” 

While we are very grateful for the gifts of this community, please note that our summer celebration of volunteers, hosted by the Fowlers, has been delayed for safety due to the high heat.  We will post new dates when we have them—we’re looking forward to seeing everyone and celebrating this community of faith!

And finally, a personal thank you to the many who have offered help in our third day of no power at home.  I’m especially thankful because I know this community well enough to know that you have offered to your neighbors as well.  God is good, and God’s people here at McKnight are faithful.  Once again, I give thanks for you. 

Looking forward to Sunday worship with you—

Becky

As I was doing my study time this morning—I’m currently reading Pastor by UMC Bishop Will Willimon—I came across this quote:  “Evangelization is not only of the nature of the church evoked by the work of the Trinity; the church is also the object of this work.”  There’s a lot packed into that sentence, but the part that really struck me was that we, the church, are always also the object of evangelization. 

We tend to think of evangelization as something we do, to outsiders, but we Methodists, alongside several other communities, believe in something officially called “sanctification”—simply put, we believe that God’s work in us continues after we come to believe.  God continues the work of evangelization by calling all of the parts of us that remain unconverted, or unaligned with God.  God continues to woo us, to teach us, and to steadily ask us to become more of who we were created to be. 

As you already know, for me, one of the pleasures of being a pastor is continuing study, seeking ideas and inspiration to shape and inform what we do together in work and in worship.  This week I was reading a Diana Butler Bass book this week, since she’s a pretty big name in theological schools right now, and I’d never gotten around to any of her books, and this quotation struck me: 

 “It comforted me that half of the Christian year is called ‘ordinary time,’ a season of prayers and readings in which not much seems to happen, where holiness is marked by the seasons of nature—summer’s growth and fall’s harvest.  No time of expectant wonder, no miraculous birth, no piercing light, no deep lament, no Resurrection triumph.  Instead, these are the weeks when the church reads stories of Jesus teaching, healing, and eating, all that is familiar and familial—the motherly presence of Christ—just ordinary time.”

 Ordinary time is where (or rather “when”) we are right now:  no festivals or holidays, simply weeks of real life and real worship. 

Greetings!

If you haven’t seen the Facebook post yet, there’s another Chapter-a-Day community reading from UMC Discipleship.  This summer we’re doing the book of Acts.  Reading Scripture is an important part of our Christian lives and formation, and this program makes it extraordinarily easy to participate:  a chapter will show up in your inbox each day.  Here’s a link:https://newsletters.umcdiscipleship.org/read-a-chapter-a-day-signup?.

 I spoke briefly from the pulpit about how UMCOR has received a top rating from Charitywatch, so we can know that all of our donations, including our current collection for flood buckets, goes to excellent use.  If you’re interested, here’s a link to the article.  https://umcmission.org/press-release/umcor-receives-top-rating-from-charitywatch/.

 And finally, I ask that all of you keep our Annual Conference in prayer. 

Welcome to summer, the weather is saying—whether the calendar agrees or not! 

I just had the privilege of watching two classes (morning and afternoon) of preschoolers graduate.  The students performed many of the things they’ve learned this year, and those of us in attendance got to see how hard they’ve been working!  The preschool teachers also deserve worlds of credit for all of their hard work, and for their kindness and patience. 

I’d like to once again thank each and every one of you for your prayers and for your meal train and for your practical help when Wayne was sick.  It made such a difference to me that I didn’t have to split my attention in so many directions, and it made such a difference to my whole family to see their church community step up in so many ways, including the tangible.  Thank you for your love and support, and for being the church to Wayne and me and my whole family. 

On a different note, I have ordered a VBS curriculum for us this year.  While McKnight hasn’t done a VBS for a while, I think this one is pretty special. 

Rather than a letter from me this week, I thought I’d offer a letter from our Council of Bishops regarding Regionalization, a move to amend our United Methodist constitution so that some decisions can be made that are specific to certain areas, which will allow us to express our faith in our own contexts. Here is the press release:

Leaning in to ministry—spiritual gifts survey

Welcome to May! 

In this season of springtime and renewal and new growth in the natural world, McKnight is also leaning into renewal and new growth.  Some of you were able to join us at our service this past Sunday, and heard Craig speak about the spiritual gifts survey that we’re doing.  Part of following the Spirit’s leading is acknowledging what sort of gifts that we have been given; this is an opportunity for both the individual and the church body.  The more we know about our particular part of the body of Christ, the more we can lean into the gifts that God has already given us as we turn to ministry in our communities.  So . . .

You may or may not already know that our United Methodist General Conference, which meets every four years, has begun on April 23rd and will run through May 3rd.  Many issues are discussed every time Conference meets, and only General Conference can speak for United Methodism as a whole.  Some of the discussions will center on what we call legislation, which if passed will be entered into our next edition of the Book of Discipline, which describes our mission, who we are, and how we work. 

As I write this letter, Church Council has just met, and I have to say that I’m excited about the growing sense of purpose and direction. Council here at McKnight has always, in my experience, been thoughtful and ministry-oriented, but I think we’re asking better questions now, and discerning new and better possibilities. Some of you have had a chance to do a spiritual gifts survey, and we’re hoping that more will be able to participate in the coming weeks—it will be fun to see where we all fall in terms of the survey. I should also say that if you think the survey doesn’t properly account for your gifts and inclinations, you are free to lean into your own sense of who you are. This survey just gives us a sense of what kinds of ministries might interest different people, so that we might invite you to participate in the things you actually enjoy.

In seminary we learned that “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet” (Frederick Buechner). While we all might sometimes pitch in in places where we don’t necessarily feel “gifted,” we should consider whether our inclinations are telling us something, particularly about our skills, and especially about God’s calling.

This week’s letter is a couple of quick announcements: 

In light of recent floods, which seriously depleted supplies of flood buckets at our Western Pennsylvania Mission Barn, we are collecting supplies for flood buckets.  Follow this link for specifics:  https://umcmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Cleaning-Kit-Assembly-Instructions_September-2023.pdf.  Please note that you can purchase all of the materials or simply a few, and used 5-gallon buckets are accepted; used buckets must be clean and odor-free. 

We are also currently collecting items for the rummage sale at our sister church, Epworth UMC in Allison Park (they are collecting flood bucket supplies for us, too!).  They are accepting most of the usual things, including furniture, but please no electronics and no upholstered furniture. 

Happy Easter!  It was my honor to celebrate this most beautiful of all of our holidays with all of you once again! 

Thank you all for all of your contributions to the M&M’s personal care collection for North Hills Community Outreach, and for all of the food items as well.  This sort of work is so important for the community, and you honor your Christian faith when you participate as you are able. 

 I hope you all enjoyed the Easter bulletin board, full of color and life with all of the Easter eggs hand-painted by the young students at our preschool. 

I can’t believe Lent is nearly over!  I have very much enjoyed our Lenten Soup Suppers, and have heard good reviews overall, so I’m hoping to continue those in the future. 

That said, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it this week.  As many of you know, I had to take a family member with severe stomach pain in to the ER, and we ended the day with an unplanned abdominal surgery.  I am grateful to all of you who prayed, who showed up for the Soup Supper and had prayer and fellowship, and to all of you who offered help as well. 

Last night we had another wonderful Lenten Soup Supper, with Split Pea Soup and Minestrone this time, and with homemade bread and cookies—thank you to all who have contributed on any of the nights, whether through food or labor!  And thank you for your conversation with each other in the small groups:  whether you answer the questions directly or simply speak about an adjacent subject, it’s an exercise in holy community.  We have two more weeks of this time together, and I’m looking forward to spending it with you!

And speaking of community, our preschool is currently working on an Easter bulletin board, so soon we will be able to celebrate those children in our midst.  There’s a fresh energy to children’s art, where you can see them experiencing and experimenting with all their senses—I’m really looking forward to seeing it with you in our front hall. 

As it begins to feel more and more like spring, and we begin more and more to anticipate Easter, I am treasuring this Lenten journey with you.  I appreciate that so many of you are coming to the Lenten Soup Suppers, and that your response has been so warm.  I think community—behaving as a body—is one of McKnight’s strongest gifts, and I am very happy to live into that with you, even as we reflect together each week on themes having to do with Lent. 

While we’re talking about the soup suppers, I want to thank the people who have put extra effort into setting up, making soup, making or bringing bread, and cleaning up afterward.  I’d also like to thank Kay, for leading on the 5th when I was down with this virus, and Craig for leading the service this past Sunday.  To all of you:  your time and energy is much appreciated, and we see your love for your church! 

As I write this, we’ve just had our first Lenten Soup Supper, and it was a success!  This first time I brought two soups, Carla brought homemade bread, and Kay brought a baguette, and some people set up and other people cleaned up.  We ate well and had good fellowship and then a short time of thinking together about Lent and about wilderness—about what wilderness can show us about ourselves and about God.  It was good to be the church together!

We’ll be doing Soup Suppers each Tuesday through Lent, and we’ve already got our next three cooks lined up, so even though it’s a simple dinner of soup and bread, it’s sure to be delicious— we’d love to see you there!

It’s so strange that Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fall on the same day this year—celebration and mortality, all in the same day.  But I’d like to invite you to consider that it’s not actually a bad combination. 

Part of remembering that we’re mortal is about knowing that we are finite—that we are not God.  And yes, (this) life does have a period at the end.  We are fragile beings, entirely dependent on God and God’s creation.  But there’s something about the awareness of that fragility that invites us into better love:  we only have so much time, so let’s pay attention while we’re here. 

Greetings! 

As we approach Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, I’d like to highlight a few things: 

1.       Our upcoming Soup Suppers, on Tuesday nights at 6:00.  I’ll be doing the meditations each week of Lent, and I’ll bring the first soups and some bread or crackers.  I’ve already got some people lined up for cooking on some of the other days but have a couple days left, so if this is your thing, we’d love to have you sign up for soup!  This will be a simple time of food, meditation or learning, and Christian Fellowship—a good way to observe Lent together. 

A possible personal practice for you:  if you read a chapter of the Gospel of John each day starting after Ash Wednesday, you’ll finish just before Palm Sunday. 

Grace and peace to you on this sunny, warm day!

Believe it or not, Lent is already coming soon, and we are going to try something new this year. We are going to do a Lenten Soup Supper on Tuesday nights at 6:00, starting on February 20th. I’ll lead a short meditation each week and we’ll have a simple dinner, with bread or crackers.

The first night I’ll make a soup, and we’ll have some bread or some crackers alongside, for an easy dinner for everyone. I’m hoping that others will volunteer for some of the other Tuesdays. These evenings will allow us some fellowship and a little extra time to rest and to pay attention to our faith and to our faith community during this season leading up to Easter.

This month is a little bit of a respite, liturgically speaking.  We’re between the major holidays and seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter, which gives us an opportunity to savor our time in Mark’s gospel.  We get to learn about what makes this gospel unique, as each of the gospels has a certain flavor, and we get to revisit once again some of the beloved stories of Jesus. 

I’ve been talking recently about how we are continually learning, continually discipling.  Knowing who Jesus is and what salvation is still leaves plenty of room for growth, and how we spend our time shapes us.  Together or alone, we worship, we pray, we study, we think and meditate.  Both together and alone are important.