1/6/2022
Sure, the snow looks beautiful when it’s falling – but eventually it needs to be cleared up. That’s where the Snow Angel program from Lincoln St. Luke UMC comes in. For the past 10 years, the volunteers help clean the sidewalks and driveways of those who might not be able to do it themselves. “We help a lot of people, again mostly elderly and disabled folks, that need help anywhere from this inch snowfall or inch and half snowfall, all the way up to a foot,” volunteer Scott Opfer told KOLN/KGIN....
1/5/2022
Donations from Great Bend First UMC’s Christmas Eve services were used to help farmers who were impacted from what the National Weather Service called “a record-breaking, and historic, wind event” on Dec. 15. According to reports, approximately 366,000 acres burned in Ellis, Osborne, Rooks and Russell counties. Farmers lost fencing, as well as cattle, barns, other outbuildings and homes. One farm family was left with the clothes they were wearing, a small outbuilding and a few cattle, having ...
12/10/2021
Romans 8:28 says this: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." We'll come back to the scripture in a moment. But first, I want to talk about engines — how I’m amazed by them, and how I am utterly confused by them. My dad has a great mechanical aptitude. My brother is pretty good at mechanical things as well. I most definitely am not, but I am still fascinated by them. All sorts of pieces and parts of different shapes and...
12/9/2021
Advent started a new church year and soon the calendar will also turn to a new year -2022. Amid this continued unsettling time of pandemic, as divisions run deep and as we are all experiencing a multitude of emotions, let’s pause once again, before this Advent season ends and listen for God’s voice calling us forward into 2022 and new ways of caring for each other and for all of God’s creation. Advent is a time when… A nticipation builds D ays shorten V aried activities are offered E arth rests...
11/3/2021
The Rev. Dee Williamston, clergy excellence director and assistant to the bishop, is one of three women who led a drive to get a memorial marker for Dana Adams, a Black man who was lynched by a mob in Salina in 1893 for refusing to leave a train depot when a white man told him to. According to the Kansas Reflector, Williamston told the crowd about her trips to Gypsum Hill Cemetery, where a headstone for Adams had been placed on Juneteenth 2009. “I would always stop and say, ‘We’re not done with ...
10/27/2021
Have you been lost, but didn’t know you were lost, until you were found? I understand, from scientific reports, many people found themselves lost during the pandemic. Depression, boredom, fear, despair, and loneliness, all taking its toll on many of us. I certainly felt the effects of the isolation. Attempts to recover from the pandemic are still preventing “back to normal” for most of us. I believe we are in a process of defining a new normal. Accepting that life will never be the same again is...
10/15/2021
Is your cup half full or half empty? That’s an old, old question which somewhat defines how we view life. A lot of us see the cup as half empty. Pastors are stressed out trying to meet the needs of their charges and families while struggling to decide whether it is better to meet in person or in some other setting. Are we going to lose members to other churches if we require masks? Will people come back or will they get used to staying in their “jammies” on Sunday morning? All questions that ...
9/28/2021
Recently I received a gift – a cross with the words of the 23rd Psalm written on it. It is a wonderful daily blessing. For David, The Lord is my Shepherd speaks of an intimate relationship with God. It’s an affirmation of who is his personal shepherd, who he owes and gives his allegiance to, who he belongs to, who loves him just as he is and who calls him back into close relationship and reminds him to return to his calling. David says my shepherd, asserting that even if God is shepherd to no ...
9/24/2021
It seems that no matter who we are, we all have fears. Some of those fears are natural, like wild animals charging us, spiders crawling on us, heights, weather events such as hurricanes or tornados, lightning and thunder that surprises us. We struggle with fear more frequently than we care to admit. Our hearts are constantly torn between fear and faith. That has been obvious the past 18 or so months with COVID-19 spreading throughout the world. It’s the bipolar nature of every Christian who ...
9/7/2021
A friend of mine recently wrote of how she is dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and I thought it worthy of sharing here: “I enjoy walking in the early mornings when my schedule allows it. Recently, my walks have been made more adventurous by the addition of a detour on my route — not a detour for me but for many drivers who were used to taking another route and now are forced to drive slower, through my usually quiet neighborhood. The traffic has become heavier, yes, but it’s the ...
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