Dear Friends, 
A few years ago the girls and I went together to see the latest teenage dystopian movie that was all the rage, and for which the girls had been waiting. I have to admit that I sat in my seat with my hand over my eyes, peeking through every now and then when things weren’t gross or scary.

It’s natural to want to look away. When things get difficult, or messy, or violent, or scary, we want to look away. We cannot stomach what is happening, and the mode of self-protection is to look away.

This week I have been overwhelmed by the ease with which a white suburban woman like myself can look away from the messiness and violence of the murder trial here in our city. If I cannot stomach it, I can use my streaming services to watch some “fix up my house” or “buy me an island” kind of show, looking away from the horror and difficulty. This week I have also been overwhelmed by the presence of God urging me to refuse to look away. Take it in and see the violence and the messiness of what happened last May. Sit with those witnesses and see the pain on their faces, hear the angst they feel for not being allowed to step in and do something, touch the tears streaming down their faces from the too vivid memory of watching a man die in front them. “Don’t look away,” I hear God pleading with me. I have this strong sense that God knows I need to see, hear, and feel with this trial in order for me to understand that work for justice and my part in it.  Don’t look away!

It's some strong irony that this is God’s message to me about another trial, the one that happened two thousand years ago. Please read my words carefully; I am not equating the two in any way. But I feel the same strong compulsion from God toward the capture, trial, and execution of Jesus. Don’t look away.

There are so many other things to do and places to distract this weekend. Getting ready to celebrate the resurrection may require new clothes, a basket of candy, some fine food preparation. But all of these have the ability to distract, helping us look away from the horror and violence of the death of Jesus. I’m not into the gory details of Jesus’ death.  But I feel a strong compulsion to sit with the story, to look it straight on, and take it in fully. “Don’t look away,” I hear God pleading with me. I think God knows that if we refuse to look away from the story of Jesus’ violent death, if we take it in even when there are parts that trouble, confuse, and confound us, we will be more ready to enter the early hours of the first day of the week.

Friends, my charge to you on this Holy Thursday, is this:  Don’t look away! 

If you are inclined to invite a friend, co-worker or acquaintance into the fullness of life in Jesus, direct them to our “All About Easter” website page located HERE. Our online Easter Worship service, complete with the Hallelujah Chorus you won’t want to miss, can be found there on Easter morning.

One last thing, the staff have a message for you this Easter and you can find that video message here.
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May you be blessed into a fuller understand as you refuse to look away,
Pastor Becky Jo

Dear Friends
Recently an evangelical Christian personality publicly announced that she was leaving her Southern Baptist tradition because she could no longer stomach the way in which it lived and defined the Christian life (my words, not hers). She would go on to cite things like the role of women, the support of public officials who degraded women, and silence on the abuse women face. It was not a journey she took instantly; she had been speaking up about these issues for about four years or so.

What you don’t see on the surface of her story is that in those four years of speaking up, evangelical circles of people have been targeting her with hateful messages, questioning her faith, speaking ill of her and pushing her further and further outside of the evangelical circle. Unfortunately, that’s not the first time we have seen that in the evangelical movement. I remember when Rob Bell came out with his book Love Wins that spoke a new and not evangelical message about heaven and hell. The evangelical world turned on him with hateful and harmful messages, dehumanizing him for his views.

Now, this isn’t to pick on the evangelicals. I have seen it in liberal Christian circles as well. When someone seems to have stepped out in faith in a direction not in keeping with the majority’s ideologies and theology, the majority tends to undermine, denigrate, disparage and dismiss that voice. And it’s been happening in the political arena as well. You may have even experienced in your family.

What if instead of demonizing a different point of view, we who call ourselves followers of Jesus try to live within the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. We know from Galatians 5 that those who live within the power and influence of the Holy Spirit pour out “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) What if we commit ourselves to language, interaction, and attitudes that pour out the fruits of the Spirit into the lives of those who agree with us and those who do not? What if that happened in our interactions with our family?  What if that happened in our posting and sharing on social media platforms? What if that happened as we listen to the news? What if that’s the standard for how we will have political conversation?

When we treat people with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, it’s hard to think of them as anything less than a beloved child of God. It makes it possible for us to listen to their points of view, even when we disagree. It allows us to hold strongly to our own ideologies and theology while allowing someone we have come to love to hold different ones. That’s what the kingdom of God looks like. That is, in part, what it means to live out our pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” May it be so!

On another note, some people have already received or will receive a stimulus payment from the COVID relief bill. I know that there are those of you for whom this will be a needed blessing to your lives, and for that, I am grateful. Please let me know if the church can help further in your lives. 
Some of you may be in my financial position. I have been paid well by my employer (you!) straight through the pandemic and have not suffered financially in the past year. If you are in a similar financial position, I want to encourage you to pay it forward by giving a tithe (10%) or more of your stimulus check to a charity of your choice or a person or family in need. This week two friends of the church already came in with “pay it forward” kinds of gifts that we will use to bless others. Be that kind of positive force in the world!

Outdoor Live Easter Worship:
I have heard many of you say you plan to join us for Easter Outdoor Worship.  Please remember to register for that service HERE, so that we can manage the size of the gathering for everyone’s safety.  We will have a brief (Bring a chair only if you are unable to stand for 15-20 minutes) outdoor Easter Worship Service at 10:30 a.m. April 4 on the front sidewalk and driveway of the church. We will sing and hear the resurrection good news. We will share communion (safely!) and find the blessing of looking into one another’s eyes (masks and safe distancing still required). As always, a worship service will be online and available Easter Sunday as well. Parents of school age children will want to make plans to worship with your children on Easter Sunday with the special worship experience designed for children. It will also be located on our webpage Easter morning.

Pastor Becky Jo

Dear Friends
Crampons. They have become one of my more valuable possessions this winter. While the temperatures have been conducive to walking outside for exercise and a change of scenery, melting some of the snow around, they also hover in the freezing areas in late afternoon and evening. I love walking outside. But Minnesota has taught me that no tire or shoe tread is a match for ice, even a thin layer of ice.

I have strapped those crampons to the bottom of my shoes so that I could walk with confidence in the beautiful weather. They aren’t that impressive. Small metal cleats are what grips into the ice to create the sure footing. I am always amazed that this small addition to the bottom of my feet give me the security and confidence of walking on ice without slipping (and falling!).

The national ground around us is slippery, folks. Yesterday was a downright ice storm across our country. It seems nearly impossible to walk the landscape of America right now without slipping and falling. What is it that can give us a sure footing in the days ahead? 

There are political answers to that question, but that is not my role with all of you. I am charged with seeking spiritual answers that will guide me and those in my spiritual care. My sure footing is my belief in a God of love and hope. 

We worship a God who hounded after God’s people when their hearts turned cold, a God who sent prophets to woo God’s children back, and when all else had failed, came among us to demonstrate in flesh and blood God’s love for us. When the brightness of God’s love in Jesus illuminated the shadowy places in their lives, the people turned on Jesus, collectively nailing him to the cross. One would have thought that death would be the end of the story of God’s pursuing love for us and the absence of hope forever. But the love of the God we worship will not be deterred or defeated. Resurrection is certain hope and the never failing love of God! The resurrected Jesus speaks the words of comfort that enabled his followers to carry God’s love generations into the future: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This is where hope lies! I have hope in a God whose love cannot be defeated. I have hope in a God who promises to be with us always!

So in our country, with uncertain footing of rising deaths due to the pandemic, the icy terrain of racial inequalities (on full display again in yesterday’s events), and the slippery landscape of political crisis created by deep division, our sure footing is in the truth that God is with us always. We must stand up, strap the crampons to the soles of our shoes, and walk in the love of God, being God’s love in the flesh everywhere you go.  In your activities, in your rhetoric, in your social media posts, in your conversations, in your willingness to see your hurting neighbors, be the love of God in the flesh. This is the sure footing of our future together. This is the way we walk with confidence. God is with us always! In this promise we have hope and we live out that hope.  So be it!

Blessings,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink
 

Dear Friends,
With the joy of God in our hearts, we are leaning into these final days to prepare for Christmas. Not with a superficial joy based on the circumstances of our days. Because, let’s face it, there are so many circumstances that are difficult, uneasy, frustrating and tragic. Many of us won’t get to “be with” our relatives for Christmas. Some of us may be unable to provide the gifts we would have liked. Some of us won’t be able to put a feast on the table. Some will be lying alone and frightened in a COVID unit at the hospital. Some will be grieving the loss of loved ones. Let’s face it, this Christmas is short on circumstantial joy.

But joy from God is deeper. It is not based on our circumstances, but on the truth of Christmas. God has come among us, Emmanuel. Christmas means that we are never alone, even when we are lonely. Christmas means that we are forever filled up by the love of God. Christmas means that we are rich because of our identity as beloved children of God. Christmas means that, even in our grief and loss and tragedy, God is at work creating all things for good (Romans 8:28).

You can spread that deep joy this Christmas.  Here are some ways you can do that:

You are invited (along with your relatives and friends) to join us for worship on Christmas Eve.  Use this link to join our Christmas Eve worship, combining live and prerecorded segments, ending with holy communion. You can view a recorded Christmas Eve worship featuring “The A B Cs of Christmas” as shared by children from Eden Prairie UMC, on the home page of this website beginning Dec. 24.

By the way, we want to make Christmas Candles available to you for your at-home worship time, especially if you want to join us for the live Zoom Christmas Eve Worship Service at 7 p.m.  You can come to the church, enter by the front doors (masks on, please) and gather from the table as many candles as you and your family need for Christmas Eve worship.  Feel free to take some to share with your neighbors or loved ones, too.  The candles will be available 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 21-23.

You can spread that deep Christmas joy by being a part of the Christmas Offering at Eden Prairie UMC.  The offering will be shared between PROP’s COVID Relief Fund and the Solidarity Fund at New City Church.  You will have deep joy in being able to make a difference in our neighbor’s lives. You can learn more about the offering here. Your gifts can be mailed or given electronically through the website or the Give Plus+ App.  Choose “Christmas Offering."

You can spread that deep Christmas joy by being a part of the MN United Methodist movement called “Go Light the World.” a campaign to bring the light of hope, peace, joy, and love to our communities and the world by offering encouraging cards and greetings to health care workers in these challenging weeks and month.  Learn more here (https://www.minnesotaumc.org/golightyourworld).

Join us for worship this weekend as we focus on the peace that Jesus’ coming gives us, a peace that we share as we work for justice in our society.

Blessings to you,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink

Dear Friends
Advent season is for waiting patiently for God to reveal God’s plan and purpose of salvation in each generation. We wait, whether patient or not, for such a revelation. We have waited to see how God is going to redeem the chaotic year we have had, the effects of the virus on our lives, the unrest in our political systems, the injustice among people of color in America.  How do we wait?

Sometimes we wait patiently. We stay home. We keep our bubble secure. We work remotely. We rearrange our homes so our children can attend school on electronic devices. We wait patiently for God to work and act through scientists and public health officials and others who are empowered by God to bring about an actual healing from the virus. We would like to be able to act, but the action that is required of us is patient waiting.

Sometimes we wait impatiently. We cannot sit back and watch the thing happen. So we seek ways to partner with God in what God is doing to bring salvation and redemption in a particular setting. I am waiting impatiently for racial justice in America. My impatient waiting involves educating myself and speaking up, all while I am praying for wisdom and guidance from God.

Always we need to pray in our seasons of waiting. Prayer enables us to know if this is a time to act or a time to still ourselves to make room for God to act through others. Knowing the difference is critical. Joseph wanted to walk away from the pregnancy he had nothing to do with. But in a dream, God came to him with a prompting to act.  And he did.  He acted out of love, following the will and direction of God. He took Mary as his wife and raised the Savior as his own.

In this season of waiting, what is your prayerful discernment revealing about God’s call on your life? How is God prompting you in this season of waiting? Where is God calling you to act? Where is God calling you to wait more patiently? 
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May God give you the courage to act when you must, and to wait more patiently when you ought.
Blessings,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink

November 12, 2020
Dear Friends
Reimaging a new way to do things has been a constant practice in the past eight months.  The pandemic has forced us to reimagine ways to celebrate birthdays, engage in small group discussions, attend school, go to group dance or exercise classes.  We even reimagined our “Great Minnesota Get Together” in fun ways!  Reimagining these things has brought vitality, energy and innovation.

This week in worship we are invited to reimagine our personal and corporate money stories, leaning into God’s economic system that is built to provide for and benefit all.  God’s economy stands in stark contrast to our American economy. There are choices to be made. Will we be a people who get what we can for ourselves and our own?  Or will we be a people who live as trustees of what God has given us? Will we hoard our resources and our energy for ourselves and those like us? Or will we share what we have so that others can eat, find shelter, be loved?  Can you reimagine economic and social systems where people in need are lifted up and liberated and honored?  Because that’s what God’s economy looks like. Can you reimagine?

Poet Sara Are invites us to reimagine such things in our time, in COVID times, in times of racial injustice, in these days in which we find ourselves. In invite you to take in and reimagine with her words.
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Blessings,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink
 
Love, By Another Way
I used to think that love was simple.
You would know when you know,
What was meant, would be.
But I fell in love
And it’s not that easy.
It’s compromise and identity,
Mountains and valleys,
Apologies and memories,
Imbalance, recentering.
It turns out,
Love took reimagining.
 
I used to think that Church was simple.
Church was community, not the walls,
Faith and hope mixed with call.
But then the world grew violently sick
And the way to be Church
Was to keep distance.
So doors were closed,
And people sent home.
It was all love, by another way.
And yet it was not how we imagined Sunday.
 
I used to think that justice was simple,
That I could make a difference, all by myself.
There was a clear right and wrong, a way I could help.
But then I learned of privilege and bias,
Of white savior complex and our Church’s silence.
And all at once, it wasn’t so easy.
I needed to learn. I needed to listen.
I needed to reframe my original vision.
 
I guess what I’m trying to say is
Life will throw first drafts our way.
The chance to dream,
To lead, to sing,
To love, and give,
To pray, and be.
But in order to grow,
To follow God’s lead,
We have to to do the work--
Reimagining.
 
And despite our best efforts,
Love will fail.
Churches will close.
Justice will leave the vulnerable exposed.
And when that happens,
We must own our part,
Say we’re sorry
And try to restart.
 
So write it all down.
And write it again.
A first draft,
A second,
An epilogue, and then
Share it with me
And we will pray.
 
And the spirit will move,
And maybe one day,
We can write this world
inside heaven’s gate.
 
For I am
Starting to believe
That what matters in life
Will never be easy.
So we must imagine and imagine again.
We must dream and try, die and rise.
And in our rising, may we see
The next right reimagined thing
Until step by step we are home.
 
Love, by another way.

By Sarah Are
from Sanctified Art Our Money Story Study Journal

 

Dear Friends,
 
When the seven confirmation youth took their vows of membership on Sunday, they committed to support the church “by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service and their witness.” Each of the youth and I talked about what these meant.  The one they easily understood was supporting the church with their presence. “It means you show up” they would say. Yes, that’s exactly what it means.
 
When each of you made a commitment to Eden Prairie UMC, whether by becoming a member or claiming this community of faith in another way, you made a vow to support the church by those same means. In particular, supporting of the ministries of the church with your presence has become a new experience. How do you “show up” when the building is closed to in-person gatherings?
 
Well, you have been doing it! You have shown up for online worship. Our average worship attendance is running very close to last year’s numbers, which tells me that you are showing up, maybe in part because there is the flexibility of time given that our worship in “on demand” right now. I have heard several of you say that you worshiped when you returned from one place or another, even if that meant you worshipped on a Tuesday evening!  Isn’t that an awesome benefit to this season?
 
You have shown up for leadership meetings, Let’s Connect Groups, book and Bible Study discussions, gardening for PROP, donations for various service organizations, for Sunday School and youth group.  You have shown up!
 
This week I want to encourage you to “show up” for two very specific opportunities.
 
“Show up” this Sunday at 10 a.m. for Semi-Live Worship on Zoom.  We will worship together, pray together and share communion together.  While it isn’t in-person, it will be a holy experience and I would love to have you “show up” for it.  Come at 9:30 a.m. for Fellowship Time to visit with one another in a small group format (breakout rooms).  Follow this (link) to connect on Sunday morning.
 
Please consider “showing up” for our Trunk-or-Treat event this year! The children’s experience of Halloween will be vastly different this year, and we want to make it special. Our Trunk-or-Treat event will be on Halloween, Saturday, October 31, from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. in the church parking lot. We need people to commit to decorating their “trunks” so the kids can have an amazing experience. If you are willing to do that, please contact Jody Veatch (jodyv@prairiechurch.org).
 
Thank you for all the ways you support the ministries of the church, especially in the ways you “show up!”
 
Blessings,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink

​ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3-4(NRSV)
 
Dear Friends: 
I have been reflecting on this passage as it relates to our election season. Like many of you, I have requested a ballot that came to my home this week. I am not waiting until the first Tuesday in November to vote. But I do have some more homework to do before I am ready to fill in the entire ballot. That has led me to think about what criteria I will use in my discernment for voting in 2020.
 
As always, I want my vote to reflect my faith in Jesus. I want it to be obvious, at least to myself and to God, that I have voted with the values of my Christian faith. I think Paul’s letter to the Philippians does a good work of encouraging that perspective. We are encouraged to put the interests of others before our own. We are to look out for the powerless and voiceless among us.  We are to take action from a place of humility. I need to check myself. I need to stop and honestly ask myself what motivates me to vote for a particular candidate. And when I honestly discover that truth, ask myself if that motivation reflects humility and the value of putting the interests of others before myself.
 
Wherever you are at in the voting process, I would encourage you to carry around this scripture. Pray it daily. Put it to memory. Let it be a test to your actions, your attitudes, and your vote. That is the way in which our civic duty as citizens of the United States of America intersects with our citizenship in the kingdom of God.
 
Join me in reading and learning as we discuss A Good Time for the Truth. In this provocative book, sixteen of Minnesota’s best writers provide a range of perspectives on what it is like to live as a person of color in Minnesota. They give readers a splendid gift: the gift of touching another human being’s inner reality, behind masks and veils and politeness.They bring us generously into experiences that we must understand if we are to come together in real relationships.Discussions will be held Wednesdays at 7 PM OR Thursdays at 10 AM on Zoom starting October 7th / 8th.  SIGN UP by emailing beckyjom@prairiechurch.org. Find your own book at https://www.mnhs.org/mnhspress and other typical online book retailers in both print and e-book versions. You can prepare to discuss two chapters at each session.
 
This weekend you may have to bundle up to join us, but outdoor worship will be worth it!  Bring your own chairs, wear a mask, and dress for the weather (blankets are welcome!). Click here to register for outdoor worship on Sunday October 4th or Sunday October 11th.  As always, worship will continue to be available on our website.
 
Rally Day is this Sunday, October 4th. We will “rally” in two ways:  1) a drive through rally for all ages (beginning at 1 PM) where you will receive information about fall programs and treats from the Grow Team, and 2) a car bingo rally for all ages (beginning around 1:20 PM) - sign up here for a spot in the parking lot to park your car and play bingo for prizes. Friends, join us at least for the drive through. But the bingo will be fun for all ages, too!

See you on Sunday, whether in person, in the drive through, or online.
 
Blessings,
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink