Category: Uncategorized
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Pouring The Holy Spirit into Stewardship
In this video, Pastor Steve Smith (First UMC in Bangor, Me and Corinth UMC in Corinth, ME) and his two granddaughters, Brooklyn & McKenna Rand, explore what happens when we invite the Holy Spirit into our stewardship ministry. Quoting Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and God will establish your plans,” they try everything on their own first, then decide to invite God into the equation. It’s a great video to share during your weekly worship service.
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Legacy Roadblocks or Obstacles to Meaning
Recently the Foundation invited people to participate in a donor survey. Forty-six percent of the respondents said they have thought about leaving a legacy gift to their church or another charity and 21% said they already had made such a gift. However, and this is telling, 48% of the respondents said that they are concerned about what would happen to their legacy gift should their church close without a successor. The uncertain future is always more troublesome than knowing; just ask someone waiting for a doctor’s report. That uncertain future is on the minds of nearly half the people in…
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Where are They Now?
From time to time I see a website article asking, “Where are they now?” in relation to an old TV show. The Brady Bunch or Little House on the Prairie are common examples. Sometimes the “Where are they now?” question has to do with rock stars or sports players. The human-interest stories are fun to read and often reveal things that we can relate to, especially hardships and suffering. There is a deeper level to the “Where are they now?” question. It has to do with life after death. My wife Carol and I found a well-kept old cemetery in…
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Removing the Mask or Showing Our True Colors
Back in 1986 Cyndi Lauper sang the song, “True Colors” for which she received a Grammy Award. I heard the song and reflected on the title. At first, I thought of the tall ships with flags flying from their topmast. During times of war, a false flag would be flown to get close to the enemy and then the true flag, the true colors, would be raised before the battle. The concept of true colors goes back even further to the time of Hippocrates who identified four different temperaments of humans: Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, and the Melancholic. These ideas were…
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A Mother’s Day Behind the Walls
Mother’s Day has come and gone. As my sons remembered their mom with gifts, I remembered my mom with prayers. I am grateful because my mom by all accounts was, and still is, a role model for the women who knew her. I am also painfully aware that not all sons and daughters were so blessed. It is with this awareness that I share a different Mother’s Day reflection. Some of you have lived a Walk to Emmaus, Cursillo or Tres Dias weekend. For those who have experienced the weekend, you know the transforming power of being in close Christian…
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Resurrection Hope & the Response to Covid 19
Resurrection involves transformation, and to proclaim resurrection hope is to affirm the possibility of change. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff sees resurrection hope in the willingness of so many churches to embrace new and innovative approaches to ministry in this time of uncertainty and travail. Our Lenten journey this year has been dominated by fear and anxiety, disruption and disease, economic uncertainty and loss. Churches are adapting daily to changing circumstances — congregants sheltering in place, suspended worship gatherings, and disrupted patterns of engagement and activity. Under normal circumstances church life can be stubbornly resistant to change. But…
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What Would it Take…$5000??
Do you have a mission dream that you would like to become a transforming ministry reality? What if you had a financial partner to invest in your idea? Wouldn’t a grant of up to $5,000 from the Foundation do just that? Are you seeking to build partnerships with other organizations in your community? Would you and other faith communities like to come together in a regional ministry like the River Churches above? Receive “seed money” to raise additional funds in order to create over 51,000 meals for hungry neighbors in Western Massachusetts? Introduce your youth group to cultures of which…
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Capital Campaigns – A Means of Grace
Spring is coming and churches are beginning to explore projects around their facilities that cost more than what’s in their Trustees budget. So, what is a church to do? In the last month, I’ve received calls from a number of churches wanting to explore capital campaigns. They want to repair the roof, replace a parking lot, create more storage space, fix all the little things that have been building up over the years. The reasons are many and they can’t be ignored. The stress they create must be addressed. Anxiety about a capital campaign can come out in different ways.…