On the first Sunday of November each year we celebrate those members who have gone to be with the Lord in the previous year. It is a meaningful time for me as I light a candle for my grandparents, parents, and those who have influenced my life in faith. I remember them each by name. As we remember those who have led us to the Lord, let us count our blessings, share the gift of faith with someone in need, and do something to make a difference in our world.

In this email, I want to offer thanks for the great work being done around Stonebridge UMC and provide reminders about a few upcoming events.

• Fall Festival was awesome! Thank you to Molly Gardner, Devon McCary, and their army of volunteers that made the day possible.

• We dedicated over 90 Harvest Boxes for Meals on Wheels! Thank you to Becky Neeley, Ellen Hefner, and Patrice DuCharme who coordinated this effort with the help of many more volunteers.

• Thank you to our Imagine Our Next 30 capital campaign team for spending hours making calls, designing publications, planning gatherings, organizing worship services, creating videos, and so much more.

This Sunday is Gratitude Sunday, a day of giving thanks for the work of Jesus Christ in our lives through Stonebridge United Methodist Church. In our get-it-done society, let’s take at least one Sunday and say thanks for what our Savior has done for us through our church family. May our faces glow with delight as we remember the times of blessing. May our thanks on this special Sunday make God smile. 

The words of Dr. Hinson’s “lively church” sounds a lot like Stonebridge UMC. We are a congregation who believes in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. We are a congregation who believes Christ makes the ultimate difference in our lives and in our world. We are a “Kingdom Church” – living our mission to live and love like Jesus.

Each Sunday that we have a new guest walk through our doors for worship, we have the opportunity to share the love of Jesus through our hospitality. Hospitality is the greatest draw to bringing individuals and families into the church. Keep up the great work. Thank you.

I am so grateful to be the pastor of Stonebridge UMC. The 30th anniversary celebration was phenomenal! The sounds of praise filled Celebration Hall as we sang the songs of faith and received the blessing of special music. The video testimonies were a reminder of the impact of the Gospel of Jesus and changed lives. You reminded me of what the church should be like as a worshipping community. 

As we celebrate this day and the church we call Stonebridge UMC, we now hold the legacy of those who have gone before. The vision of God is now in our hands. As we stand on the shoulders of so many, let us look to the future with hope and anticipation of what God is and will be doing through us. 

I often find myself consumed by the schedule of the day. Making my way from one task to another. Happy just to check another “to do” off my list. When I least expect it, the days are interrupted with the fragile nature of life. These moments bring me back to how precious life is - an unexpected beauty… a gesture of love… a heartbreaking loss. 

This Sunday’s sermon will tackle the great human struggle with suffering. Does God Really Care? Why is There So Much Suffering? For Christians the answer to the question of suffering is found in Christ. Christ, the eternal Son of God has lived on earth as a human being and endured hunger, thirst, temptation, shame, persecution, nakedness, bereavement, betrayal, mockery, injustice, and death. Only Jesus is in a position to fulfill our deepest longing. 

Let us never forget, for it is important to remember the struggles, the achievements, and the determination of those who built the great institutions of our society. These memories instill wisdom, inspire gratitude, and create new visions for the future. 

This is why we are putting so much energy into the 30th Anniversary of Stonebridge UMC, September 21st. The Anniversary team has planned an awesome combined worship service at 10:00 am where we will Remember Our Roots, Empower the Present, and Imagine the Future. We will celebrate through special music, video testimonies, and I will be preaching on Hebrews 11 – Answering God’s Call Into the Future. 

The next few weeks are going to be full of opportunities to celebrate the ministries and outreach of Stonebridge UMC. Invite friends and family to join us for the special worship and ministries planned for the coming month. 

There are some things in life that happen only once (or at least seldom) – these we do not want to miss. Graduations. Weddings. Births. Retirement. To name just a few special occasions. These all include a celebration of the way life has been and the beginning of the way life will be.

Bounds continues with this challenge, “What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better organizations, or more novel methods. The Church needs people whom the Holy Spirit can use – people of prayer, people mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through people. God does not anoint plans, but people of prayer.”

As I read this powerful book, I was struck by the truth of the tension between methods and the power of prayer and the anointing of God’s Spirit. Please join Amy and me to strive for God’s anointing through our connection in prayer. Prayer makes the difference. 

Molly wrote this earlier in the week, “I have to share a “God Sighting” with you all because it really moved me. At closing today, there was a little girl in the front row who was singing ‘’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus’ with so much passion that I could tell… she was feeling every word that left her mouth. This is why! Why we make the last-minute pivots, smile when we feel like raising an eyebrow, hug when we want to run!!!” 

This Sunday, July 6th, there will be one service in the RAC at 11:00 am. Breakfast will be available starting at 10:15 am. We will have both the Celebration Choir and the full worship team leading us in song. I am excited about what we have planned for this July 4th weekend as we celebrate the freedom to express our faith in Christ. Let’s use this special service to get to know each other better. It’s going to be a great time to share the love of Christ and meet someone new. 

An elderly Christian lady with arthritis struggled to attend church services on crutches. Despite the pain, she attended every service. When asked how she managed, she replied, "My heart gets there first, and my legs follow."

Over the last five weeks, members of Stonebridge UMC have hosted seven home meetings for our IMAGINE Listening Tour. The spirit of this listening tour was amazing. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a wonderful heart for Jesus that beats within the work we are doing. The passion you have for our ministries is inspiring.

During the week, when I arrive at the church, I will often walk the hallways. This week I have witnessed an amazing transformation. Molly Gardner, our children’s ministry director, and her volunteers have been decorating the upstairs rooms for Vacation Bible School. Each day, I find something new. Upstairs is turning into an amazing Alaskan wonderland.

All of us carry the scars of the past. These scars are the results of wounds with many names - inflicted by failures, humiliations, or bad conscience. Perhaps, caused at a time when we needed understanding or compassion, and nobody was there to give it. Perhaps it was the result of the unthinking actions of others. Sometimes, the result is of our own doing. For me, I have come to understand these times as “the dark night of the soul.” In these desperate moments, God’s love and assurance have come as a starburst of light. 

The Stonebridge UMC June/July calendar is full of opportunities for serving and making a difference for Christ. I am excited about the potential that this month has for our church. Please pray for each of these events and opportunities. I also want to thank you in advance for your service to Stonebridge and its efforts to reach people for Christ. 

On Tuesday, we had our first gathering for our IMAGINE Listening Tour. Thanks to Roger and Amy Dankel for hosting and Doug and Andrea Darby for co-hosting. It was amazing. We had a full group for this first meeting. We celebrated the great things happening in our church ministries, discussed future priorities, and brainstormed ways to engage every member in ministry. The energy and enthusiasm were outstanding.