Seeds of Faith
September 7, 2022A Note from Nikki Buskirk Dear Friends, By now many of you know that I have this dream of being a homesteader, of having acres upon acres of land where I can grow things. Even though that’s a distant dream of mine, I do have a substantial garden plot in my backyard where Tyler, the boys, and I grow food every year, which we harvest and then process to be used until the next growing season. This year…
“Make me an instrument…”
August 31, 2022A Note from Jody Hepp Dear Friends, When do you feel closest to God? For some people it’s in nature. For some people it’s in quiet meditation. I’m sure it is no surprise that I feel closest to God through music. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17) I once heard a devotion on this verse…
Watch the Ripples
August 25, 2022A Note from Amanda Nofzinger Dear Friends, The Dalai Lama once said, “Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.” This quote has really resonated with me as I have been reflecting on my three years as the manager of the Hilliard Farm Market. I would never have guessed just how many “ripples” there would be. These are just a few of the ripples that…
Where Y’At?!
August 17, 2022A Note from April Andrick Dear Friends, Where Y’At?!?!?! I am finally starting to feel fully rested from our week of camp at Lakeside Institute a couple of weeks ago. I do not know the last time anyone else slept in a non-air-conditioned space, on a metal bunk bed with the thinnest mattress ever produced in the history of mattresses, in a large open bunkroom with 50+ of your closest friends and people you have never met before,…
Opportunities to serve!
Looking for a way to help change the world, or even just your little corner of it? Serving others is so good for our souls! It boosts our joy and confidence. It builds others up and helps us connect with others in friendship and love. It fills our lives with meaning and purpose, and it helps change the world! And it opens us up to being influenced and shaped by God and others, which is life-giving. Click or tap the…
Wednesday Community Supper Resumes INSIDE!
August 10, 2022A Note from Beth Latella Dear Friends, Feed My Lambs — join the Wednesday Supper Team! What do cooking and quilting have in common? They are two of my favorite activities, but more than that, for me, they are two methods of offering warmth and comfort. They are also two important ministries of Hilliard United Methodist Church. Both were changed, but not stopped, by the pandemic. Quilters quilted at home, which suited my view of sewing as individual…
Full Circle
August 3, 2022A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, “When life brings you full circle,pay attention.There’s a lesson there.”~Mandy Hale I was eight years old the first time I remember attending Catholic Mass with my grandmother. While some of the rituals felt different from the Methodist church I was used to (why did people keep touching their foreheads and shoulders?), others seemed familiar. I knew you were supposed to stand up when the songs started, and most of the words…
Feed My Sheep
July 20, 2022A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, A short while after Jesus first appears to the disciples following his resurrection, the disciples had left Jerusalem and had seemingly returned to their prior jobs, as we discover in the Gospel according to John. Seven of the disciples, including Peter, had returned north to The Galilee and had resumed fishing. John’s Gospel (chapter 21) says that early one morning Jesus was standing on the shore while the seven were in…
Deeper Waters: Highly Recommended!
July 13, 2022A Note from Emily Clark Dear Friends, Last August, two of my closest friends, Jon Esala and Meredith Osborn, told me of a group that was starting at their church — one that they thought I might be interested in. I had never even attended HUMC, but Jon and Meredith gave me the information, mentioned my name to Beth Palmer, and I decided to apply. The group was Deeper Waters, and I was pretty jazzed when I read…
Everyone is entitled to God’s amazing love & grace
July 6, 2022A Note from Shiloh Abner Dear Friends, I believe with every generation, it gets more complicated to raise a child. More and more families are getting away from the church and consequently God because of bad theology and out-of-context scripture. What a refreshing time it was to move to Ohio and find a church that believed that everyone is entitled to God’s amazing love and grace. Coming from previous churches that held on to “traditional” stances on social…
Deeper Waters: Innovative & Courageous Leaders
Deeper Waters: Innovative & Courageous Leaders September 2022 – May 2023 It’s an extraordinary time to be a human. With everything we are facing collectively and individually, more than ever, the world needs innovative and courageous leaders who can meet this moment with a: Capacity to hold complexity and ambiguity Compassionate, non-anxious presence Commitment to pursuing the most humane and loving path forward How do we continue to evolve into the leaders that are needed in this season? Research consistently…
Raising Children in a Church Known for its Love
June 29, 2022A Note from Anthony Coy-Gonzalez Dear Friends, In the midst of such volatile times where up and down, past and present, new beginnings and déjà vu all seem intertwined, I reflect on the comforting words of Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” On good days and bad, I settle on these words to…