This Sunday we continue with Jesus' farewell words to his disciples. In John 14 Jesus tells them, "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

It seems that Jesus wants the disciples to know that love is an essential element of his Way. And, indeed, when we are lovers of God we will be doers of God's word.

This Sunday we will also be reading our Mission Statement aloud. As I've thought about the Scriptures from John and our Mission Statement I've wondered if our Mission Statement could be described as our vision of love? Does our Mission Statement reflect the ways we want to live out God's love in the world by loving God and loving others? I've copied our Mission Statement below. What do you think? Share in the comments!


Faith United Methodist Church is an accepting community, gathering for the purpose of serving, 
encouraging, and supporting others in living Christ-centered lives. 


To that end, we focus our local and worldwide efforts to:
o Nurture people in faith, providing meaningful worship for God’s Glory
o Serve people through outreach, providing opportunities for people to know, develop, and use their spiritual gifts
o Share (witness) the Good News of Jesus Christ, providing educational opportunities of faith
o And, to maximize our collective resources and church facilities to enhance our ministry.

Recently Gary and I spent a couple of nights at a hotel in Montreal. We had a lovely time which was made more lovely by the hospitality on the part of the hotel staff. After checking into our room we found that we were on the same floor as a group of teenagers ~ probably part of a sport's team in town for a game. I have been on enough Youth Group trips to know that it is impossible to quiet a group of excited teens spending the night in a hotel! The yelling and slamming of doors was completely understandable, but didn't quite fit with our idea of how the weekend would unfold.

Not wanting to 'complain' I called down to the front desk to simply 'inquire' if our room could be changed. Within 15 minutes we were moved into our new (quiet) room on the Corporate floor with an even better view. After getting a good night's sleep we gave thanks for the generous act of hospitality on the part of The Holiday Inn Downtown Montreal!

Often we think of hospitality in terms of making people feel comfortable. People who are preparing for careers in the restaurant or hotel business can get their degree in hospitality. And when we invite people into our homes we hope we are being good hosts. But hospitality is more than just being nice. Hospitality is a Biblical principle.

Thomas Hawkins writes, "Hospitality is an outward and visible manifestation of God's unconditional love. When we show hospitality, we mediate God's grace. Hospitality fosters a climate where the marks of Christian community become visible as signs and instruments of God's reign."

Hospitality is more than making people feel comfortable. It is helping people to feel accepted, loved, welcomed, and nurtured just as they are. Through our acts of hospitality we can be part of being God's love and doing God's work in the world.

Again, as Thomas Hawkins explains, "Hospitality was a primary form of evangelism in the early church. In a world where people outside one's own family, tribe, or village were viewed with suspicion, Christians engaged in radical acts of welcoming."

When have you experienced true hospitality? How are we, as a church, hospitable to those outside? How could we be more hospitable? Are we called to do God's work by radical acts of welcoming? How would that look in our church? In our community?

What does Jesus mean when he tell us, "In my Father's House there are many dwelling places"? (In some of our translation 'dwelling places' is rendered 'mansions.')

Often we think of this passage in terms of heaven. We think that Jesus promises us a place with him in the afterlife, a place of mansions and streets lined with gold. Yet something my colleague, Steve Garnaas-Holmes, wrote on his blog, Unfolding Light, got me thinking about this differently. Perhaps Jesus wasn't talking so much about the afterlife, but life right here on earth.

Throughout his ministry Jesus was often concerned with how we live in this world and not just how we prepare for the next. Even so, we know this life is full of troubles. We face challenges, personal and global, every day. As Steve writes, "Maybe Jesus is promising that God has prepared a place for you in this world. Despite all your troubles, despite the times when you feel that you don't belong or that you're not safe, you are in the right place. God wants you here. "

It is comforting to me to think that God has prepared a place for me here. That God has made a dwelling for me here. That God is with me in this world in addition to being with me in the next. This gives me hope for the future and an assurance of God's presence as I continue to strive to do God's work in the world.

What do you think about this passage? Do you find hope in the idea that God prepares a dwelling place just for you? Does this passage give you comfort as you think about heaven? As you live day to day?

Sunday's Lectionary readings bring us these familiar words of Jesus, "“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." It is interesting that the Lectionary offers this passage during the Season of Easter. Jesus shared these words with the disciples before his death on the cross. Yet this is the season when we celebrate the resurrection. Why are we looking back now?

I think it is partly because Jesus said these words to prepare the disciples for his death and resurrection. These were words of comfort they could reflect on for guidance and strength after Jesus left them to return to the Father. These are words of comfort and strength we can reflect on for guidance and strength even today.

Jesus knew that the disciples would face troubling situations ~ not the least of which would be his own death on the cross. Later they would face their own trials as they spread the message of Jesus throughout the land. In the face of all the troubles of the world, Jesus wanted them to know that he would continue to be with them. Indeed, he would even come back for them. "I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also."

I admit that sometimes my heart is troubled. I have bad days. World situations, local needs and personal frustrations and grief often challenge my ability to find peace. Yet, even so, Jesus' words remind me that there is more to the life of faith than the present situation. This is a hope I try to hold on to even through the bad days that come along.

What troubles your heart? What difficulties in your life or in the world weigh heavy on your soul? How does it help you to know that Jesus continues to seek relationship with you, will even one day come back and take you to himself? Does this assurance make the troubles any easier to bear?

Our stewardship theme for this Spring is "Reaching New Heights in Giving." The Stewardship Team is inviting all of us to consider how our ministries would flourish if we all reached a little higher in our giving to the church. Several of our Teams have been dreaming about ministries they might be able to accomplish with increased funds. You can see some of these dream lists on display in the Narthex. It is always fun to dream, and our dreams are just the first steps toward real possibilities!

I would also ask us to consider how we might reach new heights in our spiritual lives by giving more generously to the church. As we know, the decisions we make with our money are, at their core, spiritual decisions. By deciding to give more to God we decide that God's work is more important than our morning latte or those new shoes we've been eying on Church St. Those aren't always easy decisions to make, but when we do make them we can (through prayer and mindfulness) grow closer to God.

I want to be part of God's work through Faith UMC. I hope you do to! We have many vital ministries and, as people of the Spirit, we know God is always calling us to new ways of mission and service. Together let's reach new heights in giving ~ to our own spiritual growth, to our church, to our community, and to our world in the name of Christ!

It is the time of year when United Methodists begin to plan for the big gathering of the year ~ Annual Conference. Our Vermont Pre-Conference Meeting was last Saturday. Four of us from Faith UMC drove down to Barre to review the pending legislation and orient ourselves for the work ahead. The Pre-Conference Booklet is extra thick this year with several Resolutions for consideration for General Conference 2012 and biographies for potential delegates for General and Jurisdictional Conference.

Sometimes all of the hard work we must do at Annual Conference seems like just that ~ hard work! I've even wondered if it would be beneficial to take a year off now and then to rest! But in the midst of the piles of resolutions (with their inevitable amendments and amendments to the amendments) the work we do on a District and Conference level is important. For one thing, Annual Conference keeps us accountable. At Annual Conference we ask ourselves questions such as :

~ what is important to us?
~ where is God calling us to focus our resources?
~ what direction do we want to go in as a Conference?
~ what input do we want to have in the work of the General Conference?

Of course we can't always agree on everything. Yet we always know that we will gather again and can, with the guidance of the Spirit, continue the conversation.

As a church in the Vermont District of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, we have similar hard work to do. The questions I listed above are not just important on the Conference level, but on the local church level as well. What is important to us? Where is God calling us to use our resources? What direction do we want to go in as a church? What input do we want to have in the work of the wider church?

Gathering in worship, in study and in Council we have these important conversations, hold each other accountable and do the hard ~ yet rewarding ~ work of the church.

This big news this week has, of course, been the death of Osama Bin Laden. The news media has been talking about it non-stop since Sunday night. President Obama has been praised and criticized. People around our country have rejoiced and have questioned the necessity of taking a life. One popular quote on Facebook this week comes from Martin Luther King Jr.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

As a Christian, I can't rejoice in the death of anyone, no matter what horrific deeds that person did. That said, I recognize the sense of closure Bin Laden's death may bring to those who lost loved ones on 9/11 and in Bin Laden's other acts of terror. I think the United States was completely justified in raiding Bin Laden's compound. I can acknowledge the necessity of Bin Laden's death under the circumstances of the raid. But I can't celebrate it. What I will celebrate is the moment when peace prevails, when violence is not met with violence, when acts of terror have ended, and when God's kingdom truly comes on earth.

It is the Second week of Easter and Christ is still risen! Our Easter worship was a wonderful celebration, yet the challenge is often to remember that every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection!

As I was getting ready for Sunday service yesterday it felt like something was missing. Then a question popped into me head, "Why don't we have Sunrise service every Sunday since every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection?" I'm not really volunteering to get up at 5am (or earlier) every Sunday for a Sunrise Service, but we might want to ask ourselves if there are things we can do every Sunday to make us more aware that we are (always) Easter people.

In that spirit, I offer these links to a video (in three parts) of our Easter Sunrise Service!

Easter Sunrise Service Part 1

Easter Sunrise Service Part 2

Easter Sunrise Service Part 3