2024
A Letter from Pastor Andy: February 7, 2024
Dear U Park Family,
The author of the Biblical book of Proverbs writes, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” I’m always grateful for the people of this congregation; you sharpen me, help me think through how to offer my best ministry, and make me a better pastor. This Sunday, I’ll be closing out our “I’ve Been Wondering…” sermon series focusing on questions about Christian faith in a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Cathie Kelsey, who I think will sharpen all of us as we reflect on her words. Cathie’s been part of our congregation for years, and you’ve probably seen her running the camera at the 11:00 worship service. She is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at the Iliff School of Theology. She has taught United Methodist History, Doctrine, and Polity courses at Iliff, and she’s one of the translators of the authoritative critical edition of the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher’s (1768 – 1834) work The Christian Faith.
As a capstone to our sermon series on faith, doubt, and questions, I’ve asked Cathie to join me in a conversation about salvation. What does it mean to be “saved,” and what are some helpful ways for us to understand it now? In our preparation for Sunday, Cathie has sparked new ideas for me, and I know that you’ll leave with fresh perspectives on a very old topic. I hope you’ll join us in person for either the 9:00 or 11:00 worship services on Sunday, but if you’re unable to be there in person we’ll livestream the worship on Facebook during the 11:00 service and post it to our YouTube channel later that afternoon.
After our 11:00 service on Sunday, anyone who is new to the congregation and would like to know more about Methodism and where U Park fits within it is welcome to join me in the library (just adjacent to our Sanctuary) starting about 12:30. We’ll serve a light lunch of sandwiches and drinks, and I’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide some information about this remarkable church.
A few of you have gotten back to me about the 2023 Giving Statements we emailed out a several weeks ago. If you’d like a paper statement mailed to you, or if you feel that our records are mistaken, please let me know.
Grace and Peace,
Andy
March 2, 2022
Dear U Park Family,
Blessed Ash Wednesday to you. I hope it’s been reflective and rewarding. We have services at the church today at noon and 6:00 P.M., and I hope you can join us for one of them.
I’ve talked with several Pastor friends of mine, and we are unanimous about one thing: traditional Ash Wednesday and Lenten themes don’t resonate very well this year.
Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is a time to reflect on the transience of life and to think about how we can appropriately use the time we have. It’s the beginning of Lent, and the Ash Wednesday liturgy usually includes what’s called the “invitation to the observance of Lenten Discipline.” Traditionally, when we make the sign of the cross in ashes on the hands or foreheads of worshipers, we say, “you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It’s meant to be a solemn reminder of our mortality, as the beginning to a season of reflection and repentance.
But discussing it this year, my friends and I all agree that we’ve had more than enough reminders of mortality over the past couple of years. Thank God, vaccinations continue to increase and the pandemic mortality continues to decline. But the pandemic is far from the only thing reminding us of our mortality lately. Climate change (complete with the recent, bleak IPCC report), escalating rates of violence in our nation, Russia’s sudden and disturbing attack on Ukraine: it seems like everywhere we turn we’re being told that we’re dust and to dust we shall return.
For that reason, I’ll be approaching Lent differently this year. What if the Gospel stories are not just stories about Jesus, but stories about us? What if the resurrection story isn’t just about Jesus’s miraculous triumph over death, but a template for us? In our Lenten reflections this year, I’ll be focusing on what we’re called to leave behind in order to be resurrected – to be formed into the joyful and thriving people we’re called to be. This Sunday in worship, I’ll focus on the story of Jesus’s temptation in the desert, found in the Gospel of Luke. I’ll be asking the question of what the story asks us to leave behind. I hope you’ll join us at 10:00 A.M. in the Sanctuary, or later that afternoon from home by watching on our YouTube Channel.
Speaking of things we’re leaving behind, this coming Sunday we’ll move from “masks required” to “masks encouraged” status. As always, I’m very grateful to our congregation’s medical professionals who have advised the staff throughout the pandemic. We’re all agreed that this is the right move. Of course, there are a number of people in the congregation who need or wish to remain masked, and we completely support that need and encourage you to do so. Others may decide to go unmasked. What’s most important, it seems to me, is that we continue to respect one another and support one another’s needs just as we have done throughout the pandemic.
On the 20th and 27th of this month I will be in Guatemala with our church’s mission team, serving a medical clinic operated by the nonprofit agency Salud y Paz (“health and peace”). Those two Sundays, we’ll have guest preachers – I’ll keep you posted here about who they will be.
May your Ash Wednesday and Lent strengthen and ground you in these unsettling times, as we begin this season of reflection.
Grace and Peace, Andy