Hello Friends,

May is a month of emergence. We walk around the garden looking to see what is coming up and what isn’t. We look at our lawns and make plans on what we will do to improve them, nurture the plants that return, and replace the ones we loved and lost. May is the month when the young appear. A tiny squirrel, a fluffle of rabbits or a robin’s nest in the tree. Have you noticed the kittens safely tucked under the front stoop while the mother is out hunting? May is renewal in full force.

 “A time to plant and a time to uproot” Ecclesiastes 3:2

May is when we look into the future. What is possible; what dreams we have of what we can be; what we need to uproot; and what needs a little patience to come into its own. Wesley looked at the church as a society functioning in the real world as opposed to holy huddles of exclusiveness that the church had become in his time. The early Methodist societies called on the sick, helped the poor and applied God’s principles to lift those on the margins to a better life.

 "Already by 1746 Wesley saw the essence of the church and its ministry as functional rather than institutional.” - Howard Snyder

It is our duty to remember that the aroma of the flower, the peace of a babbling stream, the coolness of shade were all given by God to everyone. His gift of grace is for all.

Jesus tells us, “14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”  Luke 8:14-15 

Notice that the seeds are cast. It is the soil that determines what happens next in the parable. We need to see which type of soil we want to be and what community we can grow into.

While we are looking at the future we must remain mindful of the past but we cannot stay there.  We must be diligent to care for those in the present while we seek new ground in the Methodist tradition to sustain the future.

  Blessings,

   Pastor Mark