The Way, the Truth, the Life

 March 10, 2021

Hello, members and friends of Epworth UMC!

Here I am, sitting in a comfy chemo chair wrapped in a quilt handmade by good friends, surrounded by other patients and amazing nurses. A woman was here just now finishing her last treatment, and brought flowers for the nurses. They gave her a big loud bell to ring and the whole place applauded. Brought tears.

I was given a gift of a beautiful devotional called “Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness” by Nan Merrill. It is a sort of meditation on the psalms we know and love, using somewhat different language to express the same ideas from a bit of a different perspective. Rewording the parts especially that call for God to smite enemies and whatnot, and focusing more on the evil in us that comes from our own ego, on forgiveness, and on God as Love itself. I am finding it really wonderful. Here’s an example of a rewriting of Psalm 3:

O Beloved, how numerous are my fears! They rise up in me whispering,

there is no help for you.

Yet You O Beloved radiate Love around me, my glory;

gratitude becomes my song, When I cry out to You,

You answer within my heart. I lie down to sleep; if I should

awaken, my Beloved is there holding me with strength

and tenderness.

I feel secure.

Now, I shall forgive all illusions

that my ego tries to build.

For my courage is in You, O Love, You who are the Lover hidden

in every heart.

Rise up, Love! Set me free!

For through Your guidance,

My fears will fade into love. Free from fear, I will know

the Oneness of Being that encompasses everything!

I shall be free to serve Love with a glad and open heart.

I have been praying with that all morning, so I thought I would share it with you. So much trouble in our lives comes from fear. What if we forgave ourselves of it, and gave it all to God, and were free?

In faith, hope, and love,

Pastor Dawn

Worship Any and Everywhere!

I AM The Way, the Truth, and the Life

This week, while Pastor Dawn is resting and recovering from her latest chemo treatment, Jim Wieboldt is bringing us a message about the wonderful love of our lord Jesus Christ. Our reading comes from John 14:1-7, part of Jesus’ long final sermon to his disciples as he prepares for the culmination of his ministry. He is trying to prepare them for his departure, telling them that he is preparing a place for them where he is going, and reminding them that “you know the way to the place I am going.” Phillip protests. “We don’t know where you are going, how can we know the way?” And Jesus responds, “I AM the way. And the truth, and the life.” You might like to take some time before worship on Sunday, to read this passage and sit with it awhile, to see what God might be saying to you through it.

Thanks to the excellent work of our city and county in getting folks vaccinated, and thanks to the faithfulness and diligence of our members, we are able to welcome folks back in to worship at 50% capacity! We continue to wear masks when we gather, and keep socially distant, and sanitize our spaces before and after each use, and we plan to keep up those practices long into the future. But we are able to have hymnals and Bibles in the pews again, and cushions back in the pews! The Praise Team will be joining us in worship again soon, too, and we are so glad to be able to sing and praise the Lord again. Whenever you feel ready, we would love to see you.