Embracing Everyone
Vision & Values Gatherings
For the last three years, we’ve been journeying through The Great Story. Our goal at the outset was to understand the larger arc of scripture and the grand story of what it is trying to tell us. This is a God of relationships whose primary desire has been to connect with us and help us to connect with all of creation. As we near the end of this three-year journey, we couldn’t be more excited to share with you some of the…
UMC General Conference Decisions
Announcement about General Conference Decisions Over the last two weeks, members of The United Methodist Church gathered in Charlotte, NC, for the postponed 2020 General Conference. While the General Conference made many important decisions, we want to lift up some specific changes that relate to the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people into the life of the Church. This General Conference voted to: We give thanks for progress in the pursuit of justice and inclusion. May our connection grow in love,…
Opportunities to Serve
We have LOTS of ways you can offer to serve others at a time that fits your schedule and in a way that feels right to you. Assist families at the Hilliard Food Pantry’s Holiday Store December 15-17. Help welcome our weekday preschoolers & their families for their Christmas programs on Monday or Tuesday, December 18 or 19. Pack bags of food for Hilliard students in need to take home for the holidays with our Feeding Hilliard Students ministry. Help…
Statement of Affirmation
This Statement of Affirmation was approved in spring 2021 when we voted to become a Reconciling Congregation – we just wanted to share it with you again. Statement of Affirmation “We celebrate God’s gift of diversity and value the wholeness made possible in community equally shared and shepherded by all. We welcome and affirm people of every gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, who are also of every age, race, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, level of education, and…
Pride, Prejudice, & Pronouns
June 21, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, I remember the first few times I heard people introduce themselves and include their gender-related pronouns. “My name is Greg and I use he/him pronouns.” I was confused. Why was he stating something that (in my mind) appeared to be obvious? Shortly after, I began to see friends introducing themselves with pronouns I was less familiar with. “I’m Jane and I use they/them pronouns.” Now, my English grammar lessons from school…
Summer Events!
We’ve got some great stuff planned this summer to connect, play, serve, pray, and learn!
Town Hall Meeting: Action Steps
Whether you were able to attend the State of the Church Town Hall Meeting or not, we are SO grateful that you are interested in taking some action steps on these issues. Your participation means more than you know, and your engagement will help us create our future as a church. Thank you! Action Step Ideas We invite you to prayerfully consider what God is inviting you to do in the days to come. Choose the step or steps that…
Becoming the Church the World Needs
November 9, 2022A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was 10 years old, and my family and I were on our way out of First United Methodist Church for the day. Rev. Brooks, the retired minister who attended our church, stopped me in the hallway. “Mark my word, April… I think one day you are going to be a minister.” I don’t remember exactly what I said to him in that…
Letting Go
October 12, 2022A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, I’ve always been fond of the season of fall. The cooler, crisp temperatures. The changing colors of the leaves. The start of my Fantasy Football League (and all the delightful trash talking that comes with it). The pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. (Whoever brought the pumpkin spice donuts to church last week… you are very appreciated!) And all the amazing Halloween decorations, costumes, and fabulous candy. (It’s not too late to join us…
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…
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…
Hilliard UMC is a Reconciling Congregation
Hilliard UMC is now a proud member of the Reconciling Ministries Network! This congregational vote and the high percentage of affirmation helps us to send a message loud and clear to the LGBTQ+ community here in our neighborhood that they are not only welcome in this church, but they are loved just as they are. More details HERE, along with our Statement of Affirmation.