UMC NEXT- I am so right brain, and I am trying to listen deeply: to what is being said by my colleagues but also the Holy Spirit. I want to be fully present at UMC Next! However, here are a few impressions. The opening worship called us to “‘practise living into the beloved community… to […]
Author Archives: paulrpurdue
No matter what our lesser rules or rulings might say, our United Methodist constitution declares: “The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, […]
My mother was terrified of water: terrified. She could sit on the edge of a pool almost shaking with fear. And yet, she sat on the edge of the pool. Mom’s almost irrational fear, of even the shallow end, came to me as a four year old through mandatory swim lessons. After ending one swim […]
May 18, 2019 Dear Belmont Family, As we continue to live into these times of change and transition, I am thankful to be joining a larger conversation about what’s next for the UMC to help shape and create the next Methodism – a Methodism defined by Wesleyan theology, a missional focus, evangelism and social justice, […]
My mother was terrified of water: terrified. She could sit on the edge of a pool almost shaking with fear. And yet, she sat on the edge of the pool. Mom’s almost irrational fear, of even the shallow end, came to me as a four year old through mandatory swim lessons. After ending one swim […]
“As a mother comforts her child, So I will comfort you, says the Lord, You will be comforted.” As babies nurse in their mother’s arms, Lord, cradle us within your love! (from Isaiah 61) Oh God- Our Mother Today, we pause in praise of mothers, who carried us whose labor pushed us into […]
Acts unfolds with acts or scenes as in a grand play, “The Acts of the Apostles.” Our passage begins with directions: “Meanwhile.” Meanwhile, in simultaneous time, God’s unfolding drama leads Philip on one stage and Saul on another. Acts 8 began, “at that time, the church began to be subjected to harsh persecution…those who had […]
Easter sends us out with a benediction to live as Jesus lived: “as the Creator sent me, so I send you.” (John 20) In our passage from Acts 5, Luke recounts actions from the earliest days of the church. “The Apostles On Trial” is a story of holy boldness. Just as Jesus lived with a […]
“By the rivers of Babylon — there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps…. How could we sing the Lord’s song as slaves in foreign land?” Psalm 137 Today, I sat on my porch nearly in tears as I read the […]
Like all preachers, I want you to leave here saying, “I saw Jesus.” If I could hand out a little Easter Sampler Basket to give you that then I would. It might hold beautiful wrapped gold foiled delights: “A sense of the Holy, Awe before the Creator, knowledge that you are made in God’s image, […]
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