‘If I Do Not Have Love’
As Summer is upon us, and political elections and theological debates are heating up with the temperatures, I have observed that the one key ingredient that is missing from our conversations and debates is this crazy little thing called LOVE. I am greatly troubled by the lack of love and compassion among many Christians that believe the Bible and fight for the truth.
People within and outside the United Methodist Church are willing to do just about anything in order to establish their position, even if it means the harm and detriment to their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is certainly still true when it comes to the issue of human sexuality (and specifically LGBTQ+ persons) and how we as individual Christians and as committed and traditional congregations ought to respond to societal changes.
I am reminded of the sobering words of the Apostle Paul from his first letter to the Corinthians in what is commonly known as the “Love Chapter”.
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Corinthians 13.1-3, New Living Translation)
Likewise, Paul gives us valuable advice on having fruitful conversations with each other, especially when we don’t see eye to eye: Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4.5-6)
We will undoubtedly have difficult conversations about faith matters in the months and years to come. Human sexuality is just one of the ‘hot topics’ we currently need to wrestle with. But can you and I commit ourselves to having conversations about difficult issues and topics in the spirit of Christian love, and with our words being gracious, seasoned with the salt of love for one another?
Quite frankly, nothing else will do. May we always remember that God is bigger than anything that may separate and divide us, for [these] light momentary affliction[s] [are] preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4.17-18)
Privileged to walk on this road together with you,
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
'May we not love alike?'
Bishop Bard’s Column
This month’s newsletter column is a slightly shortened piece our Michigan Area Bishop, David Bard, wrote following the closing of General Conference. His words provide a good overview of what happened, and the work of this General Conference will guide us in the coming months and years. Thank you for taking the time to read Bishop Bard’s insights.
Pastor Daniel
I write this one day following the adjournment of the postponed 2020 General Conference of The United Methodist Church. General Conference is the highest decision-making body for our denomination, whose work is to revise our Book of Discipline and offer other policy guidance and resolutions. Though it typically meets every four years, we have not had a regular session since 2016 due to COVID-19. A special session was held in 2019.
This General Conference was unlike any other I have attended. In 1972, language was inserted into The Book of Discipline’s Social Principles that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” At that time, homosexuality was still classified in the psychiatric community as a disorder, and biblical scholarship on the subject was developing. Our denomination has been embroiled in debates about this matter since. Attempts to acknowledge differing scripturally and theologically grounded viewpoints were consistently defeated at General Conference, and more language restricting ministry and limiting participation in the church continued to be added.
All that changed at this General Conference, and it changed with a remarkably good spirit. Restrictive and exclusionary language has been taken out. Pastors will now be able to officiate at the weddings of parishioners without worrying that if those parishioners are in a same-sex relationship, they could face ecclesial charges. Persons can respond to the call of God on their lives, and boards of ordained ministry can discern those calls, regardless of the sexual orientation of the person being called. We now genuinely agree to disagree without fear of church penalties and punitive processes. Disagreements have not disappeared, but the table has been expanded. We can be a church with people who are more traditional and more progressive without the threat of church disciplinary processes over these matters.
Another way we have moved to change our worldwide denomination is by approving a more regional governance structure. When all the relevant constitutional amendments are ratified, different parts of The United Methodist Church will be allowed to make regional decisions about a wide range of matters, while our fundamental doctrines and structures remain intact. We have not changed our doctrinal standards, remaining rooted in Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Yet future General Conferences will be able to focus on worship, celebration, and basic governance without forcing delegates from outside the United States to listen to lengthy debates about issues pertinent only to the United States, such as the pension plan for U.S. clergy or matters of U.S. law.
While many celebrate the changes made at this General Conference, I recognize not all do. The church has always had disagreements, as reflected in many of Paul’s letters. What this General Conference did was to acknowledge that some issues over which we have been fighting for many years are, in some respects, issues over which there might be genuine disagreement, and we are, in the words of Paul, letting “all be fully convinced in their own minds” (Romans 14:5, NRSVUE).
We are finding new ways to live in the Wesleyan spirit: “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences” (“Catholic Spirit,” a sermon by John Wesley).
The gospel is audacious, offering God’s wide and wild love in Jesus to the world. Knowing such love changes us profoundly or is intended to do so. And God’s beloved community is always a missional community. We break down dividing walls, not simply to enjoy one another’s company but to witness to a divided world where all persons are created in the image of God and loved by God in Jesus Christ. We have good news to share and to live out. Being part of the beloved community in the church, we seek to extend it into the world, offering healing to the broken, food to the hungry, justice to the oppressed, and peace and reconciliation to the divided. God’s beloved community in Jesus is a missional community. Our joyful journey continues, and I am delighted to share it with you.
Gain a better understanding of what is going on in The United Methodist Church, find inspiration in stories of ministry and learn how our denomination is transforming the world.
The Recap / Post-General Conference episode (umc.org)
Why We Do Not Lose Hope
I watch the livestream of the 2024 General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, as I write this month’s reflections. I must confess that I am not a particular fan of the legislative process in general. Yes, I fully realize that it is a necessary process, but that does not equate automatically great enthusiasm on my part. Observing how we get so often hung up in the minutiae of written or spoken words, large amounts of time and energy are expended for certain business items, and too little time on that which may be difficult or unpopular to deal with.
That doesn’t take place at a global General Conference, of course, but also on the local and personal level from time to time. There is no conspiracy behind any of this, no intentional disinformation strategy, or any such things. We could chalk it up to the category of “it’s in human nature” and accept it as a fact of everyday life.
What do we do with the incessant flood of images and reports that flood before our eyes and minds every single day of our lives, whether we search for them, or they come to us unbidden and as an intrusion? We are now such a connected world that anything happening in even the remotest part of the earth will become immediately newsworthy around the globe. I know that many people feel overwhelmed and helpless before the onslaught of non-stop news.
These things have been weighing on my mind a lot in recent weeks, and as I turn to Scripture for guidance and wisdom to handle the many issues before us as a world and as a society, I was reminded of some words in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
That is why we do not lose heart (or hope) in whatever situation we may find ourselves, because we focus on the things we cannot yet see, trusting in God our Creator to walk with us towards the future that only God knows is just beyond our horizon.
May God bless us and keep us as we live as people of trust and a future with hope.
Pastor Daniel
CHRIST IS RISEN! SO WHAT?
Easter Sunday has once again come and gone. Hopefully the glorious music and worship keep lingering in your hearts and spirits as they do in mine. Among many of the things said on Easter Sunday was the reminder to greet one another often with the traditional Easter greeting, “Christ is risen!” To which a parishioner once replied “Yes, nice sentiment, Pastor, but honestly: so what?”
As I write this column, I enjoy the warm-ish sun filtering through the window in my office. While the warmer temperatures and the sunshine can help boost our overall mood following a seemingly endless winter, for many people there are still dark clouds hanging over them, obscuring the ability to enjoy life fully. For some it may be health issues, or the heartache of a broken relationship, while for others it is the specter of an economic downturn that affects their everyday existence. If left unattended, many of these heavy burdens tend to only increase in weight with time, and there comes a breaking point when these burdens reach unbearable proportions. Many are probably familiar with the saying, “Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill,” but what are we to do when life has dealt us a blow and we stand facing a sheer unconquerable mountain?
Whenever dark clouds seem to gain the upper hand in my life, I remember an event in the life of the British writer Thomas Carlyle. Let me briefly share his story here.
One of Carlyle’s major works is the voluminous French Revolution. Following at least two years of painstaking research and writing diligently day after day, page after page, with a goose quill and inkwell, Carlyle delivered the bulky manuscript bundle to his friend and neighbor, John Stuart Mill, to read the manuscript and comment on it. Several days later Mill appeared on Carlyle’s doorstep, visibly shaken and depressed over something. As it turned out, Mill’s maid had thoughtlessly used the manuscript pages to light a fire in the fireplace!
For days Thomas Carlyle moved about in a stupor. A major part of his life’s work gone up in smoke! He raged, groaned, and declared that never again would he be able to pick up a pen and write.
One morning, while gazing over the rooftops of London, Carlyle watched a stone mason building a wall. This huge task was done by tackling the wall bit by bit, one brick at a time. In that moment Carlyle received fresh inspiration and energy. No longer would he spend his days grieving over his great loss. No, he would accept the fact that the manuscript was gone, and then, like the stone mason, he would build his monumental work on the French Revolution again, word after word, page by page. In that fashion Thomas Carlyle rewrote his history of the French Revolution, a book that even today counts among the world’s greatest literary achievements.
One of our proverbs suggests that “if you want to move a mountain, begin by carrying away one small stone at a time.” We live in the days after Easter Sunday. We can face each day with the assurance that the risen Christ is walking by our side, bit by bit, step by step, day by day. May we be encouraged to begin moving the mountains in our lives by carrying away small stones. Because Christ IS RISEN, and because CHRIST LIVES, WE can face all of our tomorrows.
Christ is risen indeed!
Pastor Daniel
Carpe Diem -- Making the Most of Time
I came across an interesting book on time management a while back. Most time management books never truly live up to the words describing their aims and concepts on the back cover. Instead of finding more time to cram in even more projects and activities in an already overpacked day, the precious commodity of time literally runs out in every 24-hour cycle (see, for example, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey). We end up feeling guilty for seemingly never having enough time to accomplish the things that are truly needful.
The book I saw on our daughter’s desk a few months back took quite a different and, in my opinion, rather intriguing approach. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman works from the premise that each person has a finite number of hours, days, and weeks (hence, Four Thousand Weeks). Instead of stuffing every precious hour and day to the gills with activities, appointments, and projects, what if we took the time we have to smell the proverbial roses, treasure our relationships with our spouses, children, and friends? And what about building and strengthening our relationship with God?
I am regularly stopped in my tracks by Jesus’ words in the Gospels when he asks his listeners,
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
(Mark 8.35-37, also: Matthew 10.39; Luke 17.33; John 12.25-26).
Granted, these passages are about much more than time management. Jesus speaks about Discipleship, his invitation to all of us to Come, and follow me (Matthew 4.19, for example).
Let us also consider the words of Psalm 90, believed to have been written by Moses, the man of God:
For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.
The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. …
So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. (Psalm 90.9-10, 12)
Isn’t it odd that in our attempts to gain that one elusive hour or day to achieve goals and meet some arbitrary deadlines, we miss out on doing the things that matter the most?
We do not have 4,000 weeks during the season of Lent. We only have 40 days during which we can seek to gain a wise heart and grow ever so much closer in our relationship with our Creator, Saviour, and Friend by making each day count.
By the time this column will be published, 15 days of those 40 days of Lent will have come and gone. Let us commit ourselves to truly seize the day (carpe diem) and count our days, that we may gain a wise heart as we follow Jesus the Christ through the wilderness, and onward and upwards towards the promised land.
The Lord bless us and keep us, forevermore.
Pastor Daniel
SOMEBODY TO WALK BESIDE
I was sitting next to a window in a café the other day. It was a cold but sunny day, and I was watching people come and go from the café to the parking lot. Something about the way people were all bundled up and hurried across the road to their cars struck me as unusual. I kept looking to see what made this scene so unusual when it suddenly struck me. I was looking through a double-paned window, and in the window was the reflection of a roaring fireplace behind me, and as I watched people walk across the street, I saw each person walk through this blazing fire. It wasn’t the prospect of hell that flickered across my mind’s eye, but the saddening thought that every single person walking through this blaze of fire was walking it alone. This image was a very powerful and thought-provoking one. Why is it, I asked myself, that so many people in this world must literally walk through the fire every single day without anybody walking with them? Why is it, Henry David Thoreau wrote, so many people “lead lives of quiet desperation”?
A passage from the prophet Isaiah came to mind.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. […] Do not be afraid, for I am with you. (Isaiah 43.2-3a, 5a)
I continued my train of thought. When God so chooses to walk with us through the waters and through the fire, why can’t we as human beings do the same for each other? And closer to home, how come not more of the followers of Jesus the Christ are consciously on the look-out for people who are going through living hell every single day of their lives, or who struggle with issues that makes them feel like the water has reached up to their necks?
Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent are a stone’s throw away. Ash Wednesday Service in Reed City with imposition of ashes on Wednesday, February 14, at noon. Ash Wednesday Service in Brooks Corners with imposition of ashes later that day at 7 pm.
Depending on what faith tradition you were raised in, you may have already made a list of things you want to give up for the 40 days of Lent in order to pick up a closer walk with God. Here is a thought that struck me sitting at that café table: What if I didn’t worry so much about foregoing sweets or pop for Lent, but instead said “goodbye” to pushing my own agenda on others or lived my life so self-absorbed that there was seemingly no room for another human being I could walk with, no matter how fierce the fire or how deep the water?
I count on God to be with me when I pass through the waters, and I seriously hope God walks closely beside me when I must walk through the fire. Can others count on me to walk with them in their times of trial?
God bless us and keep us in his tender care.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
May Everything We Do Be Done in Love in 2024 (and beyond)
Finding Our Way Home
Advent is a gift from God to us. It is a time of preparation, anticipation, and expectation, not unlike the long 450-year period between the closing remarks of the prophet Malachi, and the moment the angels brought the wonderful news of the world’s Savior to a band of shepherds outside Bethlehem.
God has such a great sense of humor! Here the people were awaiting some superhero dropping from the sky to save them, or at least some sort of king or mighty military leader who would equip them and lead them into glorious victory over their oppressors, when God did the completely unexpected. While people were watching the front gate of the royal palace, God entered our lives through the back door of history, as a vulnerable baby born in a barn! I am afraid that quite often we rob ourselves of the anticipation and excitement of waiting for Christmas when we get so caught up in the busyness of the season. Our family enjoys the tradition of an Advent calendar, where, beginning December 1, we open one little door, window, or frame to reveal an image of Christmas underneath it, until, finally, December 24 arrives, Christmas Eve, when the biggest window can be opened, and a manger scene is displayed. Yes, most people count the days until Christmas, but it is often only in terms of how many shopping days are left. Every year it seems that the first harbingers of Christmas come earlier and earlier, and every year more and more people find that the joy and true spirit of the Advent and Christmas season eludes them.
Advent begins Sunday, December 3. We will begin the season with celebrating Holy Communion on that first Sunday in Advent. The theme for this year’s Advent and Christmas season is Finding Our Way Home. Everyone will most likely have a different definition of home and the places where we belong. Some people may find home not in physical spaces, but instead in belonging to a community that accepts us for what God created us to be. Advent and Christmas are a sort of homecoming: God found a new home among us in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ! The dwelling places where we find Christ today can be in our mangers, surrounded by parents, shepherds, and a variety of animals, but also through the movement of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes those dwelling places can take us by surprise, and sometimes those dwelling places will be where we experience the most comfort and joy, the places where we truly belong in creation. Each Sunday during Advent and Christmas we will explore a different aspect dealing with homecoming:
December 3: The End of the World as We Know It
December 10: Where the Wild Things Are
December 17: Coming Home
December 24: (Morning Service) Pitching the Tent
December 24: (Christmas Eve Service at 5:30 p.m.) At Home in the World
December 31: God’s Reign Coming About
I look forward to this season of Advent. I look forward to the unexpected moments when we can simply take a deep breath and have time to prepare our hearts, anticipate, and expect the unexpected.
I pray for a restful and peaceful season of Advent, and I wish all of us the best of a blessed Christmas.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
Who is Coming to Dinner at Your House?
It seems only appropriate that as you read the November issue of our church newsletter we talk about hospitality and Thanksgiving.
As a family we made a conscious decision years ago to always keep open spaces around the Thanksgiving table for guests God laid on our hearts.
Over the years these may have been recently widowed women and men, or persons we knew would be alone because they had no family nearby, or simply people who had no place set for them around anybody’s dinner table.
This year, my wife and I have been invited to sit at our daughter’s table, and she is contemplating who else she might want to invite in her neighborhood and community.
I was struck by something Jesus said to a man who had invited him for dinner.
“When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14.13-14)
If I understand Jesus correctly, then the blessing is based not upon how spiritual or “good” of a person we are, but based upon the fact that people gather around the table who cannot repay us in any form, shape, or whatever.
Jesus asks us to get out of our comfort zone and interact with people who are often “invisible” to us. If we truly desire to look at one another the way God sees us, then we begin to see one another not from the perspective of “what’s in it for me if I interact with this person,” but instead appreciate one another as God incarnate, God among us.
Keep looking up: God is here and now!
May you be blessed as you will be blessing someone else this Thanksgiving!
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
A Half Century of Offering Christ to Our Community
On October 29, 2023, Reed City UMC will celebrate a half century of ministry in its present building and location. As a congregation, our history reaches back much further to 1867, but this year we are focusing on the past 50 years, 1973-2023. During this relatively brief span of 50 years momentous events took place in the life of the Reed City UMC as well as in the world at large. Here is just a glimpse of what happened in the world in 1973. Gasoline was 40 cents a gallon, and a dozen eggs could be had for 45 cents. By October of that year, OPEC will drastically reduce the production of crude oil, increasing the price by 200%.
In Paris, France, the United States ends its involvement in the Vietnam War by signing a peace treaty, ending almost 20 years of hostilities.
Roe vs. Wade makes abortion an US constitutional right.
Oglala Lakota Native Americans and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began their occupation of Wounded Knee in South Dakota that February, highlighting the continuing discrimination against the first peoples in America.
Britain, Ireland, and Denmark join the European Union.
NASA launches the Mariner 10 Mercury probe spacecraft.
The Sears Tower in Chicago is completed in May of 1973.
So much for a few of the events that were happening in the United States and the rest of the world in the year the Reed City UMC moved into its new location and building.
The Reverend Forrest E. Mohr was serving in Reed City during the building and dedication of our present church facility, and since then, 8 pastors have served you during this half century of worship and ministry.
We are at present putting together a PowerPoint presentation for a ‘show-and-tell’ time during and after our celebration on the 29th of October.
We will share stories and memories of all the great things God has done in our midst and through our presence in this community.
And, … we will re-dedicate our beautiful church facility and ourselves as a congregation to making a difference in Reed City and beyond in the next half century!
Just imagine, what will the next 50 years bring?
Excited to celebrate and discover God’s goodness together with you,
Pastor Daniel
For Whom the Bell Tolls
I have been thinking about the importance of bells lately. And when I write bells, I mean church bells specifically. Those of us familiar with world literature might recall Ernest Hemingway publishing his novel For Whom the Bells Toll in 1940, describing the dark and brutal days of the Spanish Civil War that became one of several preludes to World War II. Hemingway borrowed the title for his novel from John Donne, an English writer and poet living from 1572-1631. Donne’s famous poem by that title describes the interconnectedness of each human being with the larger community.
When I think about bells, I think of them in terms of life. For most of my growing up years we literally lived in the shadow of a bell tower. The daily tolling of bells was a familiar and comforting part and rhythm of my life, and it is during Sunday mornings that I really do miss hearing the sound of bells ringing. The first bells calling the faithful to start their weekly walk to worship God were the bells of the Roman Catholic Church in town, followed an hour later by the Protestant faith community, and later still the much smaller United Methodist chapel.
Sunday mornings were transformed by the symphony of centuries old as well as relatively newer cast bells from the various churches. The familiar everyday rhythm stopped for the duration of a Sunday morning, and whether people actually made it to their respective church service or simply paused from the ordinary hustle and bustle in their homes, was what mattered most. Church bells were the invitation to cease our usual pace and simply pause, reflect, and find peace even for just a few minutes before the relentless pursuits of life reclaimed each individual person.
Church bells rang in each New Year’s Day, joyously helped celebrate annually the National Day of Independence, rang victoriously all over the land when World War II finally ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, and a single, somber bell would toll on the occasion of a national or international tragedy.
We don’t hear bells much these days. Pastor and author Brian Zahnd wrote in one of his blogs that “the sound of secularism is the silence of the church bell.” This made me think about our church bells here at the United Methodist Church of Reed City. What would it take to get them ringing again, drawing people to pause, reflect, and connect with God?
While we are living in this world of care
Many the burdens that we have to bear
But there’s a prayer bell at the Lord’s right hand
Give it a ring and He will understand
Prayer bells of heaven oh how sweetly they ring
Bearing a message unto Jesus our king
When you are burdened down with sorrows and care
Ring on and on for God will answer your prayer (Prayer Bells of Heaven, 1937, by W. W. Ward)
I am interested in your thoughts about ringing the church bells again. We are celebrating our 50th anniversary at our current location, after all. You can phone me, e-mail me, or drop by and share your insights with me.
May the blessed peace of Christ surround you.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
CONSTANTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
The signs of serious construction are everywhere these days in our fair county, and while the ongoing construction is a major nuisance for many businesses and residents, they are a necessary nuisance that will help improve the roads in our county considerably.
To be honest, the construction didn’t bother me nearly as much when it was centered on someone else’s street or road, but now that it has come to the street I live on, my perspective has slightly changed. Other than in the beginning of my professional career (and that on a different continent!), I never did have to commute before I accepted my appointment to the Reed City and Brooks Corners Methodist Circuit. As I write this month’s article, the repaving of US-10 is fully under way, and I can see the traffic backups from my office window. But I can put up with this temporary inconvenience, because driving on the sections that have already been completed, the experience is like night and day. So we take the detours and go out of our way to go places. And all the while humming the mantra, “This too shall pass.”
This construction business got me thinking about the church. While the physical structure may remain the same for decades, the people who make up a church are constantly under construction. People come and people go due to changes in life situations, employment, etc. We here in the Reed City congregation most definitely have had our share of transitions lately, what with people moving away to be closer to family, or losing friends and neighbors to death. But as the people of God we do not remain stagnant, ever. God is constantly creating something new in us, with us, and through us.
For example: How do we build a church that is viable and adapted to the needs of the next generation? How do we build bridges now that span the philosophical and cultural divide that exists between generations? Several studies show that in many contemporary churches there are as many as 10 different generations present, a generation denoting separate age groups. Think, for example, of the differences that exist between junior high and senior high youths; between 18 -34 and 35–49-year-olds; between pre-retirement age and post-retirement people. I think you get the idea.
So how do we build the necessary bridges that will enable the United Methodist Church of Reed City to deliver the timeless message of Jesus Christ to each new generation? I believe we can build these needed bridges by being open to God’s Spirit to de-construct and re-construct us as God’s people again and again.
The church being constantly under construction: a lot of food for thought. What do you think? Drop me a note, write an email, or let’s get together and share ideas.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
One Thing is Needful Perhaps you have by now heard the news that the long-awaited and oft-postponed General Conference of the United Methodist Church will take place April 23-May3, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
What I want to focus on in this article is the question, “what will General Conference 2024 mean for the people of the Reed City UMC, and also what it does not mean for us.”
Let’s talk first about what the General Conference (GC) of the United Methodist Church is: General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church. The assembly meets at the beginning of each quadrennium to consider revisions to church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs for the next four years. The odyssey leading up to the 2024 General Conference began in 2016. This GC was the regularly scheduled conference that takes place every four years. That GC reached an impasse over the human sexuality issues, and the Council of Bishops was tasked with finding a way out of the protracted situation. A special General Conference dealing solely with the issues surrounding human sexuality was the proposed and agreed upon for 2019. Among the thornier issues were ordination of LGBTQ clergy and how to resolve issues when a clergy violates the UMC’s stances on human sexuality by, for example, performing a same-sex marriage.
Several different proposals were offered up for consideration, and when the elected members voted, The Traditional Plan was passed, which meant that our current statements about homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ persons would not fundamentally change. For an explanation of those current statements, click here: http://ee.umc.org/what-we-believe/homosexuality-full-book-ofdiscipline-statements .
We did not all leave as one happy family but were ready to do more battle at the regularly scheduled full General Conference in May of 2020.
And then COVID-19 walked onto the world’s stage, and everything pretty much was put on hold. In the meantime, though, lots of big and small steps have been taken to move beyond the impass of our denomination, such as the formation of at least one new Methodist denomination, and the introduction of a new paragraph in the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline, the Disaffiliation Paragraph. This time-limited paragraph gave local congregations the opportunity to leave the United Methodist Church and either join the newly formed Global Methodist Church, or join with another denomination.
To date, 60 out of 721 United Methodist congregations in the Michigan Conference have voted to leave (disaffiliate) the Michigan Conference, and the majority of congregations chose to become independent congregations, that is to say, with no affiliation to any particular denomination.
So what does any of this mean for us here in the Reed City United Methodist Church? Here is, first of all, what it does NOT mean.
We do not need to decide whether the Reed City Church should remain a vital part of the United Methodist Church or leave the denomination and affiliate with another yet to be formed alternate Methodist denomination, or none at all.
We do not need to decide whether or not Reed City UMC would be agreeable for its Pastor to conduct same-gender unions.
These three statements on what we do not need to act upon right now won't simply go away, and there will be a time and place to answer them in depth later on.
Here is what I believe what all of this means for us right now:
“Only one thing is needful,” Jesus said when asked to settle a dispute between two sisters, Mary and Martha (Luke 10:42). That one thing needful was to simply sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen to what he spoke. This is not an argument about whether or not someone takes the Bible literally. This is about whether we take the Bible seriously. What is God saying to the church about being the body of Christ? Do we truly believe that all people created by the one God are welcome to enter a house of worship?
Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. This has been the slogan of the United Methodist Church since 2001. Is this slogan also true for the Reed City United Methodist Church?
What is open about our hearts, our minds, our doors? Is everybody welcome here, regardless of ethnic, economic, or educational background, creed, gender, or legal status? Do we tolerate self-appointed gate keepers who decide whether or not a person desiring to be a part of this worshiping community is acceptable or unacceptable?
The one thing needful for us to do NOW is to answer honestly and truthfully these difficult questions of how we define being a welcoming church. We owe this honest and deliberate conversation to those who are already part of this congregation, and (perhaps even more importantly) to those who have not yet affiliated with us but are waiting on the sidelines, wanting to know whether they, their friends, or their sons and daughters are welcome to worship in this congregation.
May we right now commit ourselves to lean into the guidance of the Holy Spirit? May we together discern right now the question of who is welcome in our congregation to worship God, praise God, and receive forgiveness for all that separates us from each other and from complete reconciliation with our Creator?
Let us take the time to sort these important matters out and commit ourselves to truly say “welcome” to whosoever might choose to walk through our sanctuary doors. Let us pay attention to what Jesus said to Mary and Martha in Luke 10:42, “Only one thing is needful,” and discover together what that one thing is. Yours in Christ,
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
MAKING THE MOST OF OUR TIME
A quick look at my day planner reminded me that it was high time to write this month’s newsletter column. I had a deadline looming, so to speak.
The funny thing about the word “deadline” is that it did not originate in the newspaper world but has its origin in the American Civil War.
Congressional Records first mention the word in 1864. It states that the guards at the notoriously brutal Confederate military prison at Andersonville drew a line on the ground around the perimeter of the compound, a uniform seventeen feet inside the prison walls. Any prisoner crossing over that line was presumed to be trying to reach the wall in order to escape and was summarily shot. This boundary was known succinctly as "the dead line."
This looming “deadline” to write my monthly column got me thinking about time management in general. As a United Methodist I am well aware of our spiritual father’s admonishment to “not trifle away time.”
In his “Rules for a Preacher’s Conduct.” John Wesley gave a number of practical guidelines: “Be diligent. Never be unemployed: never be triflingly employed. Never trifle away time: neither spend any more time at any place than is strictly necessary.”
These guidelines are certainly not applicable to clergy only, but hold true for all of us.
I am thinking here specifically of a passage in Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, where the following words literally jump off the page and beg to be applied in our daily lives: “Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.
Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step.
Use your head.
Make the most of every chance you get.
These are desperate times!” (Ephesians 5.11-16, The Message)
Neither Christ, nor Paul, nor John Wesley ever understood church as something to be “played” with, but as an organism that was alive and kicking, being busy in the pursuit of making the Kingdom of God a reality on earth.
May this column about deadlines and not wasting our time encourage us once again to not be content with merely playing church, but go out there and BE THE CHURCH!
In the awesome name of our risen Savior,
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
The Natural State of Being
This month’s ‘Pastor’s Column’ comes to you by way of Pastor Tim Carson, the Senior Pastor at The Estero Church in Estero, Florida. His blog was shared with the Leadership Team at the February meeting, and I felt that Pastor Tim’s words were very timely then and, perhaps even more so, these days. May you be as blessed by these words as I am.
The Lenten season offers many opportunities for reflection, evaluation, and furthering direction. As we know, in our own United Methodist denomination, there is much seeking of direction as we are reflecting on the future of our collective churches. No matter which way we look at it, there is plenty of frustration and anxiety about the tomorrows.
We read and hear news of denominational turmoil around our country. There’s a lot of sadness and anger in wondering how our beloved United Methodist Church became so “untied.” Yet, some congregations are joyful in their decisions, feeling that they can best support their mission in service by aligning with the Global UMC. Others look forward to the more enveloping inclusiveness of a progressive church, or a different denomination entirely. And those in the middle of it all? They’re looking to understand a measure of “spaciousness” (as described by our own Bishop, David Bard), embracing our Wesleyan heritage with a loving and inclusive appreciation of what brings us together in Christian faith.
These are difficult times. There are no simple answers, but we can look to scripture for support. Paul tells us (Philippians 4:47), “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Anxiety is a natural thing. It comes from processing circumstances of uncertainty and unfamiliarity. It comes from concern over leaving a comfortable place for something new. It can also come in facing a lot of work and stepping into a place we’re not sure of with people we may not know. Decisions rarely come without some experience of anxiety. That’s not wrong, it just “is.”
The good news: Paul gives us a solid “out” for our worry! He’s urging us to transfer our anxiety with faith— turning it over directly to God and leaving it with Him. What a gift! An unconditional one, at that! Imagine yourself sitting at the kitchen table with Jesus, and as you’re talking with Him, you’re writing down your worries on pieces of paper and passing them across the table to him. He waits patiently for you to let go of your grip on them, and smiles as you turn them over to him, each and every last one. “There!” He says, “I’m so glad you trusted me with these. They’re mine now. Finished. Done. No worries! Be happy!” Can you imagine your feelings at that moment? Whew! An overwhelming feeling of…peace, beyond understanding? God’s peace—to fill your heart and still your mind in Jesus!
Perhaps Lent offers us an opportunity to sit across the table with Christ, to let go of our worries, trusting that God has us firmly in his care. Again, Paul’s words, from Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him…”
Preparing for the 40 Days of Lent
6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.” Isaiah 58:6-9 (NRSV)
We are a couple of weeks away from the start of the season of Lent (Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023). Lent is a word that comes to us from an Old Germanic word meaning “longing.” Just as people long for Spring after a hard dreary winter, so the spirit longs for renewal and life in communion with God.
Lent is the gateway we must walk through if we want to understand the events of Holy Week and Easter. There is no Easter without the cross, and there is no cross without us being prepared to carry it.
Jesus offers us companionship on our personal journey through Lent. We begin the 40 Days of Lent with Ash Wednesday on February 22nd . This year we will move beyond our beautiful sanctuary and extend an invitation to our larger community. We will offer each person the traditional sign of the cross on their forehead as they drive by our church between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on their way to work or school. The sign of the cross with ashes signify that we are committing ourselves to spend the next 40 days in a significant manner. Alternatively, I will offer an Ash Wednesday service at the Brooks Corners UMC at 6 p.m. that same evening.
For many Christians today, Lent is a season of preparation and conversion: We acknowledge the ways we have turned away from God in our lives and we focus on turning our hearts and minds back toward God. For some this means giving up something for Lent as a form of fasting. We can deprive ourselves of some small pleasure or indulgence and offer that sacrifice up to God. Or we might give up a bad habit as a way of positively turning our life back towards what God wants for us.
An experience of want, however temporary, can help us to appreciate the true abundance in our lives. And a small positive change can have a big impact that lasts beyond the 40 days of Lent.
I invite you think about what you might want to give up this year. Perhaps the words from the Prophet Isaiah at the beginning of this column can be a good starting point for us to examine our motives and expand beyond giving something up for Lent and seek out ways in which we can be a light shining in the darkness and a beacon of hope for those struggling with injustice and issues of poverty and hunger.
As you prepare for your forty-day journey through Lent, I wish you a deep and lasting experience of God’s Grace and Love that will extend far beyond Lent and Easter.
I am privileged to share this journey together with you.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann