Eden Prairie United Methodist Church
Connect with Us!
  • Home
  • Being Church
    • Crops For PROP
    • Serving Our Neighbors
    • Fellowship >
      • Women's Retreat
      • Church Directory
  • Children | Youth
    • Nursery
    • Sunday School (Preschool through 7th grade)
    • Especially for Families
    • Rooted (3rd - 4th grade)
    • Vacation Bible School
    • Middle School Youth (Grades 7-8)
    • Confirmation (8th-9th grade)
    • Higher Ground (10th-12th grade)
  • Music
    • Adult Music Opportunities
  • About EPUMC
    • Worship
    • Staff
    • Notes from Pastor Becky Jo
    • Lay Leadership
    • A Reconciling Congregation
    • Tumbleweed Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Annual Report
    • Sermons
    • Calendar
  • Prayer
  • Online Giving
  • Contact Us

Weekly Memo  from Pastor Dan — April 24, 2014

4/24/2014

Comments

 
Yesterday, I attended a gathering of Church Pastors and Outreach leaders gathered together by PROP (People Reaching Out to Other People). I’m a pastor and a member of the PROP board so; I had two good reasons to be there. As the crowd gathered it was so good to see at least four others from EPUMC were in attendance.  Ok, two of them work at PROP but one was there to be present and the other because he is a volunteer who is going to help lead a faith based team for PROP.
 
I decided to sit next to someone I didn’t know and introduced myself as a United Methodist pastor and a PROP board member.  We struck up a conversation.  She is on the board of something called “Beacon” in Minneapolis. At first I thought it was the bank, but she told me it was a church based outreach organization that works with the poor much like PROP.  She was talking about a United Methodist Church that is connected to Beacon and then asked me if I knew Cooper, the pastor.  Well, I’ve known Cooper for as long as I’ve been in Minnesota and we’ve had some very good times together.  My new friend said, “It’s a small world.” at which point I said what I always do when this happens, which is, “Be careful.” J
 
After that (before things got started) I stood up to get an extra cup of coffee and almost bumped into the guy behind me in a bowtie, who was also from Beacon.  I excused myself and he introduced himself.  Before I could get to the coffee he asked, “Are you the spouse of the Pastor at Good Samaritan UMC?”  I said, “Why yes I am.” To which he said, “It’s a small world.” to which I said, you guessed it, “Be careful.” J
 
When this happens people usually take a second or two for the joke to process before they laugh or smile.  I know it’s a little pessimistic.  I could be saying something like; “Isn’t it wonderful how connected we all are,” or “I so enjoy how we find ways to network with one another.”  Or “Who was it that said that there is only five degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon?”
 
The truth is, “Be careful.” is me.  I like knowing the context of the connection we are sharing.  You see, I’ve spent more time having good times and eating out with Cooper then I have working in inner city ministry with him.  And I won’t go into what it is the expected response to “Your wife is also a pastor.”  “Yes she is.  And by the way did you also know she’s a great cook,” is what often comes to mind. We all have dual relationships, different contexts in which we know someone. Being sensitive or careful about that is, I’ve found, very important.
 
I think a lot of people are confusing relationships when it comes to how we share our faith with our friends, our co-workers, or community.  Could it be that the best way to talk about the relationship we have with Christ with a friend is to be a very good friend? Or how about being a follower of Jesus, by making your co-workers job a little easier by doing your job well.  Or what about listening closely to our community to discover what is needed.
 
When we take care of most important part of a relationship, when we are “Care filled.” about what really matters, the other usually falls into place.
 
Comments

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2012

    RSS Feed

Connect with us!
office@prairiechurch.org
(952) 937-8781

15050 Scenic Heights Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Picture
Picture