Monday morning was beautiful. To make matters better it was my day off, and I was up early doing errands, which I love to do. As I turned out of my neighborhood on my way to Costco I had a very strange feeling… I felt great! I recognized the feeling from about day 4 or 5 of a two-week vacation. I slowed down a bit and internally asked myself… What is That?
As I kept driving all the lights were green, and all the turns were to the right. I pulled into Costco to get gas and did not have to Wait in Line!!!! And as I pulled away from the gas pump, a parking space appeared. In the parking space across from me there was this lady struggling with two little kids and her stuff from Costco. If you have not been to Costco, the scene I’m describing can be described like this: Imagine coming out of the grocery store with your groceries not bagged, but sitting loose in the cart. It can be a mess… Add to that two squirming little kids and well… now you get it.
This woman did not look to me like she was enjoying this morning as much as I was. And then I noticed that the women’s cart was empty, and the place to take the cart, that was right on my way, was a long ways away and the two kids were not in the car seats yet. So…. Your pastor… being the gracious attentive soul that he is….yes… I said to the lady, “Let me take that for you,” and I rolled the cart away.
The point I’m making is not another call to random acts of kindness, but rather how that sense we have experienced here of “What is that” is meant to be shared. The gift of the Holy Spirit we are becoming more open to at EPUMC will provide opportunities to share its amazing vitality with others. These opportunities will indeed include a random act of kindness; however, today I’m asking all of us to begin to look a little deeper.
Beginning June 4 our worship will focus around some of the core values of our congregation that have risen to the surface in the last let’s say 2-3 years. We are calling it “Creating a Big Tent Church in a Small Tent World.” I know it’s a month away, but today I want to invite you to begin to pray, to be attentive to these areas. I’m asking this because I suspect that the Holy Spirit will call us to share with our broader community through one of these. I have no idea when or how or what….I do not have something up my sleeve. I do believe that the “what is that” we have known here is meant to be shared.
Here are the “core values” as I have observed them that we will be exploring this summer.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan
As I kept driving all the lights were green, and all the turns were to the right. I pulled into Costco to get gas and did not have to Wait in Line!!!! And as I pulled away from the gas pump, a parking space appeared. In the parking space across from me there was this lady struggling with two little kids and her stuff from Costco. If you have not been to Costco, the scene I’m describing can be described like this: Imagine coming out of the grocery store with your groceries not bagged, but sitting loose in the cart. It can be a mess… Add to that two squirming little kids and well… now you get it.
This woman did not look to me like she was enjoying this morning as much as I was. And then I noticed that the women’s cart was empty, and the place to take the cart, that was right on my way, was a long ways away and the two kids were not in the car seats yet. So…. Your pastor… being the gracious attentive soul that he is….yes… I said to the lady, “Let me take that for you,” and I rolled the cart away.
The point I’m making is not another call to random acts of kindness, but rather how that sense we have experienced here of “What is that” is meant to be shared. The gift of the Holy Spirit we are becoming more open to at EPUMC will provide opportunities to share its amazing vitality with others. These opportunities will indeed include a random act of kindness; however, today I’m asking all of us to begin to look a little deeper.
Beginning June 4 our worship will focus around some of the core values of our congregation that have risen to the surface in the last let’s say 2-3 years. We are calling it “Creating a Big Tent Church in a Small Tent World.” I know it’s a month away, but today I want to invite you to begin to pray, to be attentive to these areas. I’m asking this because I suspect that the Holy Spirit will call us to share with our broader community through one of these. I have no idea when or how or what….I do not have something up my sleeve. I do believe that the “what is that” we have known here is meant to be shared.
Here are the “core values” as I have observed them that we will be exploring this summer.
- Our focus to include children in all aspects of our community life.
- Relationships are the focus of faith, not right answers.
- We are a “Reconciling Congregation.” This means that we specifically include and stand in solidarity as fellow Christians with members of the GLBTQ community.
- We celebrate the diversity of faith and understand that we have much to learn from those different from us.
- We believe individuals can make a difference in this world.
- We value opportunities for service to others.
- God’s love and acceptance is not limited by our human understanding.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan
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