With the recent earthquake in Haiti, the chaotic situation in Afghanistan, and Hurricane Ida hitting our southern shores I want to remind us all that we can help by giving to UMCOR—the mission organization of the United Methodist Church. One hundred percent of what you give will go to the people you feel called to help. You can choose to give where the greatest need is or give to U.S. national disaster response or international disaster response funds. Follow the link to learn more about how to give to UMCOR and where they are working. Let's all pray for those who are in need of UMCOR's help, as well as the UMCOR staff and volunteers who are providing that help. Pastor Cathy
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What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 This past week was Welcome and orientation for new Bethel freshmen. As a professor, I only had to participate in a few of their activities, and after we had our first class on Thursday I felt so tired. I can’t imagine what they felt like. Good thing they’re younger than I am. I got a lot of “if” questions the first day of class. “What if I don’t have a laptop?” “What if I don’t have my textbook yet?” My guess is there were a lot of unasked “if” questions too. “What if I don’t make any friends?” “What if I don’t understand the material?” “What if I can’t find the right classroom?” One student found out the answer to that one on Thursday. “If” is a tiny word, but it can open doors of opportunity or prevent us from looking for doors of opportunity. We are starting a 4-week series based loosely on Mark Batterson’s book titled If. The book centers on Chapter 8 in the NT book of Romans. I’d encourage you to grab a Bible, and spend time reading Romans 8 the next four weeks. Pay particular attention to the “ifs” as you read—there should be around 10. That word If plays a powerful role in Romans 8 and in each and every one of our lives. That one little if can change everything; that one little if can change anything (Batterson). Tyner UMC is getting back into the swing--literally and figuratively. Literally, our annual golf outing to support Blessing in a Backpack for Walkerton Schools is gearing up for a lot of fun on September 11 at the beautiful Pretty Lake Golf Club outside Plymouth. Information and the entry form can be found on the Connecting page. Now that my husband and I are moved into the Tyner parsonage and (fingers crossed) we're moving past many of the COIVD pandemic restrictions, Tyner UMC is getting back into the swing of supporting the community. Many of our ministries continued even during COVID, but just updating the Connecting page of our website today made me feel as if we are finally getting back into the swing of serving. Please check out the Connecting page as well as our August newsletter (soon to be posted) to discover ways you can join us to support our local community. 5 things small churches can uniquely offer … right now by Ben Gosden
Published January 29, 2015 on the Ministry Matters website For the next few weeks I will be sharing one on Gosden’s five things in our bulletin to give us a start on discussing ideas for applying them at Tyner UMC. My hope is that all people in our congregation will prayerfully reflect on how we might “play to our strengths” as we rethink church and cast a new vision for Tyner UMC in 2021 and beyond. The second asks us to think about a population that we might be uniquely suited to serve—one that often gets overlooked. 3. More people can help lead worship. Since the small church is often less concerned with production led by professional worship leaders, it can incorporate more laity in the leading of worship. Remember: Nothing says the pastor is supposed to be the sole worship leader. Liturgy is the work of the people. And faithful worship incorporates the efforts of EVERYONE as together we offer ourselves to God in praise and thanksgiving. So find ways to let people pray, read Scripture, serve Communion, sing and maybe even occasionally preach in the small church. As people lead and serve more in worship they often feel transformed by the experience. I’m so grateful to those who have helped lead worship in the time I’ve been at Tyner, sharing their gifts with all of us. Pre-COVID I had hoped to ask each of our worship leaders to help lead one extra part of worship in addition to the announcements and scripture—their choice—children’s message, offering prayer, pastoral prayer, etc. With COVID changing some aspects of our worship and limiting the number of worship leaders ready to participate during in-person services, I’ve had to rethink that plan! Praying for the day when even more people can serve during the service at Tyner UMC. 5 things small churches can uniquely offer … right now by ben Gosden
Published January 29, 2015 on the Ministry Matters website For the next few weeks I will be sharing one on Gosden’s five things in our bulletin to give us a start on discussing ideas for applying them at Tyner UMC. My hope is that all people in our congregation will prayerfully reflect on how we might “play to our strengths” as we rethink church and cast a new vision for Tyner UMC in 2021 and beyond. The second asks us to think about a population that we might be uniquely suited to serve—one that often gets overlooked. 2. Welcome special needs persons and families with special needs children. One of the quiet struggles churches often don’t recognize is how to incorporate persons with special needs into the life of the church. Small churches offer a unique opportunity to meet this need because they are small enough to warmly welcome and offer the individual attention a family who has a special needs child might need. It’s a daunting thing to take a child with special needs to church for fear of them standing out or somehow disturbing the flow of worship. It’s also very lonely for that child to get lost in the mix of a large, overwhelming children’s program. Small churches can offer love, hospitality and attention to make a family feel welcome. I’m not sure how to reach out to this type of population. Since we’re focused on evangelism this week in the message maybe it’s best done “one by one.” Is there a family you know or perhaps an adult with special needs that could use a church family? If they aren’t able to come to church, are there other ways our congregation might support and encourage them? Dear Church, When I first read Thom Rainer’s blog post on “12 Trends for Post-Quarantine Church,” I admit I got a little excited because at Tyner UMC we already are experiencing four of the trends!
On the downside, other predicted trends include: attendance in worship post-pandemic will drop 20-30% once numbers stabilize; denominations will face a steep decline, stemming from the decline in worship attendance, fewer new churches being started, and church closures or withdrawals; and 9/10 North American congregations self-defining as needing revitalization. This last trend is part of the reason I chose Rethink Church as our first worship series of 2021. If we can start thinking, talking, and praying about ways to confront these trends before the post-quarantine world arrives Tyner UMC will be ahead of game. In Christ, Pastor Cathy Dear Church,
Back when I was working toward being a certified lay speaker rather than a pastor, I took an online class on an educational website associated with the United Methodist Church. I fell in love with the name: “Be a Disciple.” The message on January 17 focused on our mission as Christians in general, and as United Methodists specifically, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Carla read the mission Jesus gave to his disciples in Matthew 28:16-20 and I challenged us to rethink how do we do that. I think it helps immensely to see ourselves as disciples—and that’s why I like the “Be a Disciple” title. Perhaps we could start our days by affirming, “I am a disciple of Christ.” For me, I can claim the roles of wife, mother, pastor, college instructor; however, it helps me to remember each day that I am first and foremost a disciple of Christ. Second, I love what Jeff shared with me as we prepared our messages last week, “In the original language, the Great Commission is really ‘as you are going make disciples’ rather than ‘go make disciples’.” That means we don’t have to set aside a special time to “make disciples” or check it off a list. Instead, as we go about our lives can we intentionally make disciples along the way? This week’s message asks us to look at the unique way we as individuals and as a church can live out our mission in this place and this time. In Christ, Pastor Cathy Dear Church, As Pastor Jeff and I were looking for themes for this year’s Advent series, this one by Cynthia M. Campbell jumped out at us. The worship series will “visit” four homes for Christmas—Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John to see how Christmas is portrayed in the four gospels. The title of the series, “Home for Christmas?” comes from the uncertainty of what this Christmas might look like. Will we be able to follow all the traditions we usually do? Will we see the people we always see over the holidays? Will we stay home when we normally travel? Christmas likely will not be the way it’s “always” been this year. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be joyful, worshipful, giving, and connectional. You might even decide to incorporate some of this year’s new ways of moving through Advent and Christmas into next year’s. Since we will be online for the first two Sundays of Advent, I'd encourage you to set up your own Advent “wreath.” Some of you may already have one, but if you don’t make one. The traditional colors are three purple candles, one pink, and one white Christ candle—but there's no need to go shopping. Any five candles will work. If you don’t have greenery in your Christmas decoration stash, maybe you have a pine tree in the yard. Create your own unique holy space for worship when you join us online or worship on your own. In Christ, Pastor Cathy Dear Church,
Each Sunday we meet together we pray, “Thy Kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer. Yet, during the week we spend a lot of time building temporary kingdoms—kingdoms of this world. A strong family. Financial security. Political power. A better body. As nice as these are, are they “God’s Kingdom come”? Our next worship series, starting Nov. 1, is called “Kingdom Builders.” In the weeks leading up to Advent, we’ll look at what we as individuals and as a church are building. We’ll think about how scripture guides us in answering questions like: · What foundation are we building upon? · How deep does our foundation go? · What are we investing our time, energy, and resources in? · How does God figure into our plans? The COVID pandemic has wreaked havoc on many of our plans, traditions, and routines in 2020. Yet the changes offer exciting possibilities for creative ways to build God’s Kingdom in ways we never imagined. How will we, as individuals and a church, greet 2021? With mourning for what we’ve lost or with a vision for what we might build in the future? In Christ, Pastor Cathy Some of you know my husband Jeff and I choose a guiding word for each year. This year we chose the word “pray”! From my unexpected surgery in January to getting our churches online during the COVID lockdown to watching our country devolve into a quagmire of arguing over things as trivial as wearing masks—and the fact that it’s an election year, “pray “seems to have been a great choice. I can’t say any year is a bad year to choose “pray” as a guiding word, but you have to admit it was an excellent choice for 2020. In light of our “word of the year” I started 2020 revisiting a favorite devotional, Maxie Dunnam’s Workbook of Living Prayer. Praying with perseverance, boldness, and purpose are all challenges that are explored in the book. I believe it helped me to transform my prayers into ones that are not so “wimpy.” One suggestion both Dunnam and Rebekah Simon-Peter give is to prepare a list of who and what you want to pray for—because our spontaneous prayers are likely to be for what we’re thinking about at the time. Again, the most devoted athletes don’t make up their workouts as they go. They know workouts are most effective when they follow a well-crafted plan. I’m not saying we should stop praying for the concerns most deeply on our hearts—or that even devoted athletes shouldn’t take a spontaneous jog on a nice summer evening. It’s not an either/or choice. Can we pray for healing, comfort in grief, protection in travel AND for God’s creatures to be safe during storms, kids whose families don’t have reliable internet for online schooling, and an end to systematic racism? I pray that as individuals and a church, we will challenge ourselves to move beyond the prayers we normally offer to pray with perseverance, boldness, and purpose. |
Pastor CathyPastor Cathy has been appointed to Tyner UMC since July 2019; she also is a part-time writing instructor at Bethel University in Mishawaka. Archives
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