'spiritual growth' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
February 14, 2024A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, It’s the most wonderful time of the year… One of my favorite songs of the Christmas season is the Andy Williams’s classic, “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year.” I just love that song, and I get all kinds of giddy when I hear the opening notes on the radio. That song took on a different meaning for me in college as I was about to begin my sophomore year…
109th Year of Camp!
February 7, 2024A Note from April Andrick Dear Friends, This July will be the 109th year of Lakeside Institute camp — 109 years of a camp dedicated to the faith journeys of youth & young adults! Thinking about the number of teenagers, adults, and families that have been impacted by camp over that number of years leaves me in awe. Did you know that the youth group here at HUMC has been sending youth to Lakeside for more than twenty…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Connecting with God and Learning How to Pray
We all want to experience a deeper connection with God… but most of us don’t really know how. And most of our spiritual life is going to be spent outside of church, so here are some ideas of some things we can do on our own to connect with God. Prayer & Meditation Boot Camp Class First, we have a great prayer class coming up at church, if you’d like to develop your own prayer practice. Prayer and Meditation Boot…
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…
Fast Forward, In Reverse
July 26, 2023A Note from John Hoffman Dear Friends, Pastor Jon asked me to share some information about myself. He said it would be good for you to know a little about me while I attempt to fill the gaps during Pastor April’s Renewal Leave. The first thing to know is that I am not comfortable sharing things about myself. I’m not an introvert, just private… avoiding attention, working behind the curtain rather than under the spotlight. What follows is…
Space
July 5, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, Space. As I listen to people talk about what they are going through, I hear this consistent longing. More space. They may not always use this word, but it’s there under the surface. “I can’t wait for some time away from work.” “I’m waking up exhausted each day.” “I haven’t had time to myself in weeks.” “I just wish I had more time with the people I care about most.” More…