This week at Common Table, Jim Phillips, chair of the church’s Finance committee, explained the extent of our budget shortfalls. For our current fiscal year, we anticipate that our expenses will exceed our income. For the coming six-month period from July 1-December 31, 2019, we foresee another deficit. To make ends meet, we have borrowed from our…

This week, we'll celebrate the end of our mini-Stewardship campaign. We'll celebrate the ways we have been able to support our staff and our mission in this place through giving of our time and treasure and talents. Mostly though, we'll work with the connection between stewardship and love. For those who have been reading McLaren, we have…

This Sunday we continue the Easter theme of "Uprising." We continue to read Brian McLaren's book, "We Make a Road by Walking," and we continue to examine our role in that potential uprising. This Sunday is Mother's Day; a day set aside to celebrate our moms. Yet over time this Sunday has shifted from simply a day…

Our God is the God of liberation. We are partners in the work of the God of liberation! From the time of the Israelites in Egypt, to the time of Paul and Silas in prison in Phillipi, God has been liberating and setting free God's people. As we move forward together in this partnership with God, we…

It's been a little more than two weeks since our vote to join the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN). Those two weeks have been action-packed, with Easter and so much more. However that doesn't mean that nothing's happened since the vote. The committee that has been called the Considering Reconciling Committee (CRC) began work almost immediately on filling…

It's now the middle of Holy Week. Tonight is the Maundy Thursday service; a service that reminds us of that Last Supper that Jesus spent with his closest friends. Tomorrow is Good Friday and with it comes another service; a service that helps us remember the darkness that filled the hearts of those who loved him the…

It was 182 in favor and 12 opposed. That was the count of the vote last Sunday regarding whether or not to become a Reconciling Congregation. At almost 94%, it was pretty overwhelming statement by almost 200 people who consider Aldersgate their church. Over these past few days I’ve looked back over the events of last Sunday.…

It's Wednesday and I've spent today traveling around visiting many of our more home bound folks. Within each of those visits I've given opportunities for each individual to vote about whether or not they feel we should become a part of the Reconciling Ministry Network. What has touched me is how deeply each cares about this decision.…

Frequently when the worship leaders gather just before worship begins at Aldersgate, we pray to be surprised by the Holy Spirit in worship that morning. It might seem like an odd thing for a pastor to pray for. It might seem counter-intuitive that once we've established an order of worship and a plan for the day, that…

This week is Mission Sunday! We will gather at 9:00 am to worship, sing, and praise God. We will then move into mission projects throughout the community. We do mission to be of service to others, but also because we are transformed in the process by meeting Christ in others. We are like lumps of clay, still…