For all the saints, who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia, Alleluia! Every year at Annual Conference, we sing “For all the saints.” It’s the customary opening hymn for the Memorial Service, which is somewhat like a catch-all funeral for all …
Some of you know that I had high hopes that our United Methodist General Conference would approve significant re-structuring of our General Church agencies. Their work is important and none of it should be done away with. But our agencies are designed to work individually with little contact with each other. (Some call these “silos.”) …
Our 2012 Confirmation Class formed in January. Since then, the six young people, all in the sixth and seventh grades, have been preparing to affirm their faith in Christ and become Professing Members of the United Methodist Church. The young people appreciate the interest which members of First Church have shown in their progress and …
“Paint Christ Alive …Risen!” Easter is not just a Sunday. Easter is not just a season of the church year when we keep out the white paraments. Easter is the reality which changes everything. I find in Easter the hope that I need. Out of the death of God’s Son came his new life and …
Each Cheraw Spring Festival that I have experienced since coming here in 2008, the weather has been nice. Each First UMC Barbecue I have experienced (seven since coming here in 2008) the weather has been nice. I write a week in advance of this year’s Spring Festival and Barbecue, and I hope the string will …
The words “Via Dolorosa” are Latin for “Way of Suffering” or “Way of Grief.” The Via Dolorosa is a walking route through the Old City of Jerusalem. It follows the approximate route Jesus took to the cross, and Christian pilgrims have been retracing it for many centuries. The First Station of the Cross or beginning …
Our first destination in Jerusalem a few weeks ago was not our hotel but a large gift store. The proprietor and his staff served us hot tea and the Arab version of baklava. (It was yellow and as scrumptious as any Greek baklava I have ever had.) After giving us plenty of time for shopping, …
In late January, Kay and I went for a fun swim in the Dead Sea. “Swim” is not really the right word. We floated around, never daring to put our heads underwater. A sign posted on the beach warned in three languages that if you put your head under the surface or so much as …
Imagine you are a visitor to the States from another country. You spend a few hours in front of a television as a presidential primary (either major party) approaches. You learn that Candidate A is a lying two-faced hypocrite with seedy friends. You learn the same about Candidate B and Candidate C. The tone of …
I think we’re going to have an exceptionally good Christmas. Those words were written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from a prison cell in Berlin, Germany, on December 1, 1943. Earlier that year, he was arrested by the Nazis who suspected he was trying to undermine the German war effort. He was writing to his fiancée, Maria …
