State of the Church 2021 Below is the report I gave to our charge conference about the events of this past year as we head into the New Year. Some of you have already read it, but for those who haven’t, I hope it will give you encouragement as we move forward. We’ve gone through a lot this year, but you all have been so faithful in maintaining our strong bond together. Thank you for your support as we adapt to our ever-changing circumstances and stay safe in 2021! Peace in Christ, Rev. Craig The journey of faith goes on… When the pandemic hit us in March, life in the church was rolling along. Our worship team had big plans for Easter! We had just had our Day of Remembrance Spam Musubi Cook-Off where Jill Israels’ Green Eggs and Spam was … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 December
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. – Luke 2:9-11 Merry Christmas! I love the Christmas season. It’s filled with wonder unlike any other time of the year. Decorations come out of their boxes to adorn our homes for just this one month. Spirits soar as people get into the Christmas mood and dash away all of those “bah humbug” moments. Special food and drink come out of the woodwork. Peppermint sticks, gingerbread, and more turkey than you can shake a stick at! … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 November
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. – Colossians 3:15 May the peace of Christ be with you. By the time you read this, the election will be near or just completed. Either way, we likely won’t know yet who the President will be for at least a short while. Still, no matter which way you voted or who is elected, I hope we remember these two lessons from Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae – peace and thankfulness. As human beings, we are prone to sin – however you want to categorize that in your brain. And this sinful nature has been brought out in force (on both sides mind you) as some have become irreconcilable in their attitudes toward their fellow Children … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 October
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:33-34 This may be the most important election of our lifetime. This coming November we will have the opportunity to vote for who we believe best represents our country. I will be in prayer over this and I hope you will, too. Our elected leaders should represent the values and ideals we hold as a country. They should reflect what we hope to achieve. And hopefully, that person will understand that the United States is one among many nations and we are dependent on one another to make the world a better place. … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 September
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. – Psalm 24:1-2 What does giving mean to God? I hope you’ve been following along with us this past month (August) as we have been exploring what giving if all about (Hint: It’s NOT about money). We realize that it already all belongs to God anyway and nothing is permanent in this world. The hope we have for the future lies in Jesus Christ and his promise for us of a life beyond this one. Giving is just one way to bring us closer to the life God wants for us. Giving is a discipline that helps us to let go of the material so we can focus on the spiritual. We’ve been talking about it for the past few … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 August
What does giving mean to you? Giving is a central tenet of our faith. Not because “the church needs money” but because giving is part of our faith and trust in God. More than the amount we give (re: The Widow’s Mite), it’s really about our heart for giving. As Paul wrote to the church in his letter to Corinth, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).” We’re going to explore that during the month of August as we challenge ourselves what it means to give. I hope we truly will embrace the challenge, not only in our personal giving to BMUC but more importantly to our heart for giving and letting go of the fear of not having enough. Back in … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 July
Online giving is coming… FINALLY! I am so happy to announce that online giving is coming to BMUC. In our digital age it makes sense for us to have more and more digital options and this is one of them. People are familiar and comfortable with using their phones and other mobile devices for everyday transactions, it only made sense for us to go in that direction, too. Especially with the transition to online worship. To be able to give online is a much-needed step in the right direction. But we didn’t want to go with just any online provider. We wanted one that was safe, trusted, used by many, with good testimonials and a good reputation. We wanted a provider that would give us a positive online experience and one that offered options … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 June
When are we coming back to worship? People are starting to wonder about when we will open the doors to the church building and welcome people in person once again. The short answer is…probably not for a long time. We all WANT to come and worship live and in person. We want to hug and shake hands with friends and family. We want to welcome new people into our church family. But sometimes our needs outweigh our wants. In this case, the need to love our neighbor by NOT meeting in person, the need to love our church family by NOT gathering together, the need to NOT be a viral hotspot outweighs our wants. By a lot. I know we will come back to worship live and in person one day. But it won’t be soon. When we do, there will be … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner – May 2020
We can get through this together. It’s been a tough six weeks since we were asked to “shelter in place.” Thousands have died. Families are grieving. To make matters worse, we can’t even congregate to share our grief. The economy is in free fall. Millions of people have lost their jobs or been furloughed. Some who have kept their jobs were asked to take a pay cut. And for the rest of us lucky enough not to be in those categories have been worn down by the anxiety, stress, and adjustments to a new way of life. But we are fortunate in so many ways. It’s just not easy to see when you’re in the midst of it all. But most of us are healthy. We have enough food. Either someone is helping to take care of our needs or we are able to go out and get essentials … [Read more...]
Craig’s Corner 2020 April
What is Easter without an Easter Egg Hunt? Still the most significant day in the Christian calendar. As I write this, we are in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and “sheltering in place” for the time being. While I am confident we will emerge from this time in greater need of God than ever before and stronger as a church community for having endured this, it still leaves us for the time being feeling helpless, anxiety-filled, and uncertain. Already, our church council voted to cancel the Bazaar and the Fall Church Retreat. With so much time, effort, and planning that needs to go into both of those events, it just didn’t seem possible to do either of those justice or to have people commit to the event with so much going on in their own lives. We … [Read more...]
