Encouragement (Page 3)
The Hero’s Journey Revisited
June 12, 2024A Note from Pastor AprilGreatest Hits Beloved Friends, This summer marks four years that we’ve been writing you a letter each week. So much has happened in these last few years, and it feels like it might be helpful to celebrate the amazing things that God has done during that time. So this summer we are going to revisit some of those letters we wrote over the years, starting with the first. Think of it as a “Greatest…
The Summer Day
June 5, 2024A Note from Pastor April & Mary Oliver Dear Friends, Yes, I know we aren’t “technically” fully into the season of summer until the 20th of June, but I can’t help but feel the shift in the season as soon as school lets out. Amid busyness and vacations and summer rhythms, I invite you to take some space and enjoy this classic Mary Oliver poem. May there be room for us to notice the small grasshoppers and the…
Annual Conference
May 30, 2024A Note from Pastor April HUMC Family, Last night the West Ohio Annual Conference convened at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. Each year, equal numbers of clergy and lay delegates from each church across West Ohio gather to worship, pray, commission and ordain new clergy, and vote on important matters before the annual conference of the United Methodist Church. Your two pastors, along with your Lay Delegates, Stephanie Harrell and Michael Haney, will be representing our church as…
Listening to our Hearts
May 22, 2024A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, I’ve been back from my renewal leave for six months this week, and I continue to feel the benefits of those four months away. Some of the gifts were expected — rest, time with family and friends, and a chance to travel were among the highlights. One of the greatest gifts, however, was entirely a surprise. The time away gave me time to LISTEN to what my heart truly desires. I’m…
The Church
May 15, 2024A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, Spending time with family has always been really precious to me. When Martin and I made the move to Ohio in 2003, we left behind our families in Arkansas. Since then, my immediate family has only become more scattered across the US (my sister in Seattle and my brother and his wife in Colorado). Though we make lots of efforts to stay connected and see each other throughout the year, I…
Fill Your Cup
May 8, 2024A Note from David Bartholomew Dear Friends, So, you’re hoping to be in tune with today’s discipleship in a time when your views on social change can make or break nearly all sense of community? No matter what beat you’re marching to, we can all find common ground in the idea that we are here to do what He has called us to do. That is the very foundation of what led me to join the congregation officially…
Retreat
May 1, 2024A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, As I write this Letter of Encouragement I am just over a month from having been appointed the Associate Pastor here at HUMC for five years. In that time we endured a global pandemic, became an official Reconciling Congregation, grieved the loss of dear friends through death or who moved on from this faith community, and relaunched worship in Warehouse 839, among MANY other things. These five years have been some…
Youth Mental Health
April 24, 2024A Note from Max Andrick Hey Friends! I have volunteered and walked beside youth and their families for a while now, and I believe that there is a greater need now more than ever for us to share in this journey. Proverbs 22:6 says Train up a child in the way they should go,and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Psalm 139:14 This scripture makes it seem so simple. Train the child up in…
Plants and More Plants
April 17, 2024A Note from Pastor April & April Andrick Dear Friends, Today’s letter is a tag team from the Aprils — Pastor April and April Andrick, our Director of Youth Ministry. April Blaine: While I had always enjoyed outdoor gardening, it wasn’t until the pandemic that I ventured into indoor houseplants. They seemed to require a lot more attention and care than I had time for. How much water to give them? How much sunlight did they need? House…
My Passion for Music
April 10, 2024A Note from Jeff Rone Dear Friends, Music has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. My mom likes to tell the story of when two-year-old Jeff would toddle around the house singing his ten-year-old sister’s piano recital music. This kind of thing is how my mind works. I can’t tell you what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can still sing you music that I learned when I was nine in…
Seeing Resurrection Everywhere
April 3, 2024A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, My friend Christelle and I were having lunch at my house on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. “What is the deal with the Easter Bunny and all the eggs?” she asked. Christelle is from Peru, and their Easter celebrations don’t involve egg hunts or bunnies or anything of the sort. We talked about the ways different cultures both create and then sometimes export their beloved rituals and celebrations, until sometimes…
Life, Death, & Resurrection
March 27, 2024A Note from Abby Que Dear Friends, On September 28, 2015, the world ended. Well, that’s what it felt like for me. My first husband, high school sweetheart, and best friend, Kevin Schranz, had taken his life. I was in a state of disbelief and numbness for almost a year. This was a person I felt deeply connected to spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Reflecting now with time, experience, knowledge, and internal resources I didn’t have at the…