'inclusive' Tagged Posts (Page 3)
Advent & More Space
November 15, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dearest Friends, It’s so good to be back with you! In this week before Thanksgiving, my heart is full of gratitude to you, the HUMC congregation, lay leaders, and staff for supporting this sacred time away. There aren’t enough words of thanksgiving for the ways all of you continued to embody the mission of our church, taking significant steps forward to meet the needs of our community and to keep our shared work…
Cram the Cruiser Coat Drive
Help Hilliard Police Cram the Cruiser with new winter gear for Hilliard City Schools students! Most needed items: Every donation stays local. Any and all clothing sizes are accepted. Bring to the marked bin in the Sanctuary building entryway or the church office by December 3.
Attending to Things of Importance
November 8, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, It is with a tad bit of excitement that I’m typing these words to offer you this week. A quick glance at the calendar says it’s officially November. My calendar says that on the 13th of November, Pastor April resumes duties as Lead Pastor at Hilliard United Methodist Church. As you all know I look forward with great anticipation to her return and to no longer carrying the yoke of pastoral…
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…
Financial Update
Thursday, October 26, 2023 Beloved HUMC Community, Last year about this time we held a State of the Church meeting to share about how we were having a difficult year in terms of our finances at HUMC. We had some expenditures that caught us by surprise, leading to a nearly $80,000 projected deficit, and you responded. You helped to close that significant gap by the end of the year. As a result we pushed our budget planning until the beginning…
Showing No-Matter-What Love
October 25, 2023A Note from Nikki Buskirk Dear Friends, As many of you know, back in January I officially became a Godly Play trainer. I get to go to other churches and train people in how to do Godly Play, the Bible stories and materials we use in our Children’s Ministry on Sunday mornings with kids age four through 6th grade. I have loved every moment of it: meeting new people, talking about Godly Play, speaking the language of Godly…
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…
The Church Where We Belong
October 4, 2023A Note from Donna Bradley Dear Friends, Walking into church many years ago, our then three-year-old son Elliot became obsessed with a deceased squirrel we passed crossing the street. During a quiet time of prayer, the questions rang from his mouth, not yet pronouncing “squirrel” properly. “Mommy, is the dead girl still in the street?”“Why can’t I touch the dead girl?”“Who will clean the dead girl up?” I remember trying to stifle my laughter and sheepishly clarifying “squirrel”…
Who We Are
September 27, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, I don’t know if you’re tired of hearing me say it, but I will continue to do so: I am eternally grateful to each and every single one of you. In this season of renewal for our Lead Pastor, Rev. April Blaine, you have continued to drive forward our mission and vision of sharing the love of God with all persons, No Matter What. Time and time again, you have stepped…
Wasteful with our Prayers
September 20, 2023A Note from Beth Palmer Dear Friends, In early August I got some upper respiratory crud that has hung on FOREVER — it’s been six weeks now, and it’s still not totally gone! Here’s me at my best. (Ha.) Dry throat for a week, then the chest cough, deep and croaky, for a couple weeks. Next was the worst. head. cold. ever. The phlegm, my God, the phlegm! Then it plugged up my ears, and my hearing got…
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…
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…