NEWTONVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
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Wilderness and Desert

4/30/2020

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“Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (CEB)
 
Now is the time. We, as people of God, have a tremendous opportunity to find new ways of being in ministry during this time apart. This is your moment, your chance to be a beacon of hope, the time for you to hear God’s voice, to see Gods’ vision, to be God’s light, to help God come alive in the midst of our isolation. “Do you not see it?” God asks, making a way in the wilderness of an unprecedented time, offering rivers in the desert of our isolation.
 
The Annual CROP Hunger Walk is coming up this Sunday, and has gone virtual (check the “News and Updates” page for more information). Our point person, Anne Sheffer, suggested that those of us who are walking in our own neighborhoods take a picture and share it to our Facebook group. The secretary of our church council, Holly Cheetham, organized a drive-by parade this week of church family and friends with police escort to help James Assimon celebrate his 10th birthday.
 
The church has left the building.
 
I started my first letter during this time by reminding you that Methodism has always been an outside-the-box faith. When John Wesley wasn’t welcomed in churches, he preached at mines and on street corners. He gathered people in classes for spiritual support. He authorized lay people, including women, to preach. And when he saw that people in the American colonies weren’t being cared for, he charged Thomas Coke to ordain Francis Asbury, setting them both apart as superintendents of a new form of Christian connexion.
 
John and Charles Wesley were men who lived into the opportunity their time presented, meeting the needs of those in their day who were hungry for spiritual meaning and longing for God’s justice and mercy. They saw that God was doing something new and followed God’s wilderness way, leading thirsty people to rivers of hope. This is your moment. This is your time, your opportunity to hear God’s call. This is your time, your opportunity to release God’s creativity into the world. This is your time. What are you going to do with it?
 
Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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