'community' Tagged Posts
Welcome to 2024
January 17, 2024A Note from Marilyn Hoeflinger Dear Friends, Welcome to 2024! January received its name from the Roman god, Janus, which has its root meaning in new beginnings and transitions! No wonder so many people use this time to make New Year’s resolutions in hopes of eating better, gossiping less, or any myriad of other habits we want to make or break. The church uses this time to constitute new leadership teams and involve its constituents and members in…
Back from Renewal Leave
November 22, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dearest Friends, It’s so good to be back with you! In this week of Thanksgiving I’m feeling gratitude for a season to reconnect with many of you and to share some of the amazing ways that God has been at work in our lives during the four months that I’ve been away. In a week when we will likely be reflecting on the people in our lives who matter to us, I wanted…
Why We Chose HUMC
November 1, 2023A Note from the Rev. Melonie Harnish Dear Friends, I have been attending for the last year but most of you do not know me — my name is Melonie Harnish, and I moved to Hilliard in June 2022. I am a retired United Methodist Elder (pastor) in full connection with the West Ohio Conference. I have been retired since July 1, 2021, after serving in West Ohio for 34 years. I have been married to Sam for…
My Answer from God?
October 11, 2023A Note from Michelle Dethlefsen Dear Friends, When I had my son, I quickly realized that I didn’t know half of what I thought I did. I was 24 and a single mom. I didn’t really have a place to live, and I was determined to make my child feel as if he wasn’t missing out in life due to the choices I made. I crashed at friends’ houses, moved in with someone I barely knew, worked four…
God loves you… no matter what!
September 13, 2023A Note from Rev. Woody Woodward Dear Friends, I don’t remember when it was exactly. To be honest, I don’t even remember the year. But I’m guessing it was eight or nine years ago, when I sat in a circle in a classroom in the Sanctuary building with a dozen or so other folks from HUMC. We had been called together as part of a strategic planning process for the church, and the discussion turned to the idea…
There is Enough
August 30, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, This Thursday night and into Friday morning it will be time to turn the page. Like it or not, we will acknowledge that we are two-thirds of the way through this calendar year of 2023. The page turn to September, however, is an exciting one for me. The excitement is not just because my kids are all back in school either. I have always loved this time of the year. There’s…
Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright
July 19, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, Every little thing’s gonna be alright… As I write this Letter of Encouragement, it’s been just a little over 72 hours since Pastor April has headed off for her 16 weeks of renewal leave from Hilliard UMC. As the days drew closer to her departure, I could feel the tension building in my body as I was acknowledging to myself that I was about to take the reins for this 16-week…
Summer Events!
We’ve got some great stuff planned this summer to connect, play, serve, pray, and learn!
There All Along
June 1, 2023A Note from Deborah Mitchell Dear Friends, It’s Been There All Along, Waiting for You What does it mean to “grow”? What does it mean to grow as a Christian? To grow as a human being? In many ways, the idea of “growth” has been central to how I’ve tried to understand and interact with the world throughout my life. When I was a little girl, very early on I gravitated toward the idea of growth as mastery,…
Holy Ordinary
April 5, 2023A Note from Jon Esala Dear Friends, On January 18 of this year, one of my dreams came true. My wife Meredith gave birth to our son Emmett at just after 9 in the morning. I became a dad. He’s a little over two months old now, and every morning around 7am I get him out of his bassinet and change his diaper. As I do, he brightly smiles good morning to me. I smile back. We’re both…
It’s almost Farm Market season!
March 22, 2023A Note from Amanda Nofzinger Dear Friends, When I was a little kid going to the Farm Market with my grandparents in Michigan, I never really thought about what it would take to run one. I had no idea that that little seed of tradition would lead me into the role I play today. Now that I am the Farm Market Manger, let me share with you what it takes to organize the summer market. December: January: February:…
Curiosity
March 15, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, Curiosity killed the cat? (But did it really?) Growing up I remember when I found myself asking too many questions (never understood what that means) that the grownups started saying, “You know, Jon, curiosity killed the cat.” It only took a few times of hearing that statement before becoming conditioned to stop asking questions out of my own curiosity. My curiosity was often stifled and discouraged. As an Enneagram 9 (see…