Stories that matter

Dear Minooka UMC Found Family,

Since Easter we’ve been exploring the overarching theme, Stories That Matter. We started by looking at some of Jesus’ post-resurrection encounters with his disciples. Encounters that always ended with Jesus giving his disciples (that’s us!) a mission—Go! Go where to do what? Jesus responds with way more than enough mission to keep us active for, well, ever: Go and tell, go and baptize, go and teach, go and make disciples, go and forgive, go and trust God loves you, go and remember Jesus is with you, go and feed those who don’t have enough to eat.

You all are living that mission in so many ways each and every day. Gathering to pray with and for one another. Gathering to learn with and from one another. Gathering to feed hungry neighbors. Gathering to use your voice and power to advocate for our nation to better use our resources to feed neighbors so that none go hungry. Gathering as a community firmly committed to being open, welcoming, and affirming of all our neighbors—especially our LGBTQ+ neighbors, whom some loud cultural and self-described Christian voices try hard to exclude. (What do I mean? Ask our new Soccer Sunday team for their experience with a self-professed Christian organization actively making life harder for any one who doesn’t fit their patriarchal, heteronormative agenda.)

All of that to say: I see you. I see you doing all you can to live as the disciples Jesus calls you to be and I’m so proud and honored to get to be your pastor. I will continue to strive to encourage you and equip for for that discipleship work. This journey through Stories That Matter is meant to do just that: encourage and equip.

Next, we went Back to the Beginning! in an attempt to read with new eyes some of the foundational stories in Genesis. After spending several weeks with the incredible, multi-layered poem of creation that begins Genesis—and, crucially, sets the stage for all the follows it—we are finally ready to move on to…another creation story??

Why do the writers and editors of Genesis 2-3 have a completely different creation story immediately follow the first creation story? Why would we ever think we are supposed to read them “literally” when the two stories are so very obviously incompatible with each other and unreconcilable to each other? All these centuries later, is it even possible for us to read the story many know as the Garden of Eden without reading it through the lens of Augustine? Might we instead begin to read Genesis 2ff as it was meant to be read—through the lens of Genesis 1?

That’s what we’ll explore this Sunday, May 17th, in my sermon Back to the Beginning! Unoriginal Sin.

Participate in our worship experiences Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in person at 1210 S. Ridge Road in Minooka. Or via livestream on our Minooka UMC Facebook page or on our Minooka UMC YouTube Channel.

Whether in person or online, all are invited to our welcoming and affirming congregation.

Plotting Goodness, 
Pastor Dave