In less than two weeks, the 2019 Special General Conference will be meeting in St. Louis (Feb. 23-26) to receive the recommendations from the Commission on the Way Forward concerning the church’s stance and therefore the church’s policies concerning sexual orientation as it relates to marriage in United Methodist churches and to the ordination and…

I was thinking about my Mom today and feeling really sad. It has been almost a year and a half since her death, and I couldn’t understand why I was feeling the loss so strongly.  After all, one would think that we had weathered the hardest part of her death by now. But then I…

“Millennials (born 1980 to 2000) comprise 23 percent of the United States population, but fewer than 10 percent of churches reflect this level of representation.  According to a study of more than 4,400 churches by FaithCommunitiesToday.org, 18 percent of churches report no young adult presence in their congregations.  According to Pew Research Center, 78 percent…

In this new year… May God’s blessings find you, May God’s love surround you, May God’s purpose guide you. “See, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5 Pastor Cheryl

What’s Inside? I sliced the orange open and bit into the sweet, juicy fruit.  As I pulled the slices apart, pulling the rind back, I noticed that the orange had marks and scars on the outside.  This orange wasn’t like most of the oranges in the supermarket that look perfect, but are grown more for…

“I’m just exhausted!” she said. Between caring for her family, doing her best at work, volunteering in several organizations, she was simply exhausted. “I know I should be getting more exercise and should eat better, but when you are tired and exhausted, it just seems easier to grab something on the way home. I don’t…

The Rev. John Beaty was pastor of a small United Methodist Church of which we were members. One day in a small Bible study group he said to me, “Today you are in the transportation business, but some day I see you in the transformation business.” His was one of the voices that would play…

Over the past year, a number of clergy colleagues had recommended a book, “Canoeing the Mountains.” My stack of “recommended books” was high enough, so I was sure I didn’t need to add another book to the pile. Then our United Methodist Bishop Julius Trimble mentioned it at Annual Conference in June. There it was…

On early mornings, I love to sit in the parsonage living room for my devotional time.  Now that school has started, one can see the yellow school buses whizzing by and picking up students in the neighborhood. I remember being excited to return to school — laying out a new dress, new school shoes, and…

It’s strawberry season already! A church member showed up Sunday with a special treat—homegrown strawberries. He had picked and picked and then was kind enough to share from his rich harvest. As I washed the ones he shared with me, I marveled at just how beautiful these berries were. Not your grocery store variety that…