Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, Everything feels different now, doesn’t it? Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, temperatures have plummeted, and snow blankets nearly all we see. Here in December, even this early in the month, everything just feels different somehow. I think it is part of the magic and the chaos of this month, […]
Invitation to Observe a Holy Advent Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family,Have you noticed that there seems to be a special name for, like, every single day this week? Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday (aka Bears Game Day!), Small Business Saturday, First Sunday of Advent, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday…all we seem to be missing is Taco Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday, and Thank God it’s
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, Last week in this space, I shared a bit about our Church Conference that occurred at the end of October. You can read part one by clicking here. Read part two by clicking here. Today, I offer the third and final part. I asked our committee chairpersons and the leaders
Church Conference: Embodying Hope Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, Last week in this space, I shared a bit about our Church Conference that occurred at the end of October. You can read part one by clicking here. Today, I offer the second part. I asked our committee chairpersons and the leaders of our various ministries to offer a narrative
Church Conference: Challenges Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, Church Conference was a success! We gathered last week for, as Methodists have historically called it, Holy Conferencing. Meaning it was more than a business meeting. Though it was a business meeting too. We handled all the required items: —We passed our 2026 budget —We elected our chairpersons and members
Church Conference: Wins Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, As I wrote last week, we recently received a letter from our Bishop Dan Schwerin (we meaning our Northern Illinois Conference). Bishop wrote “to challenge you to pay attention to and love your neighbor in three concrete ways.” I shared the first two of those ways last week: pray and
A Letter, Continued Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, Don’t take advantage of any stranger who lives in your land. You must treat the outsider as one of your native-born people—as a full citizen—and you are to love him in the same way you love yourself; for remember, you were once strangers living in Egypt. (Lev. 19:33-34) In everything, do
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, Despite what you may have been taught or lead to believe, the word ‘sin’ doesn’t appear in the bible until Genesis chapter 4. According to the text, the original human sin has nothing to do with Adam, Eve, a snake, an apple, or sex. No, the first use of ‘sin’
Over and over and over… Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, “Jesus demonstrates that the way of God in the world is one of non-violent resistance to violence and violent oppression.” I forget who said that, but they sound quite wise 😉 It seems to me that the last thing any of us needs right now is a rehash of the
Non-violent resistance: This is the Way Read More »
Dear Minooka UMC Found Family, “These violent delights have violent ends.” —William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 6 ‘These violent delights have violent ends.’ That line keeps echoing in my head this week. Our hearts are broken once again by yet another school shooting. This time in Jefferson County, Colorado—the same county as the
Violent Delights Have Violent Ends Read More »
Christmas Eve at Minooka UMC
Wednesday, Dec. 24
4:00PM featuring Pop-up Pageant
9:00PM featuring Communion
