Heather Connor (Page 2)

I’ve always been someone who connects deeply to music—the beat, the lyrics, the feeling a song carries. I tend to find myself in songs, relating to them in ways that surprise me. At the same time, I also love the kind of music that simply fills the background while I’m driving, cooking, walking, or just trying to reset after a long day. I don’t know about you, but music is woven into my spiritual life. Sometimes it gives me words I couldn’t find or brings comfort I didn’t know I needed. Sometimes music can help us feel something we’ve been avoiding. And sometimes…it just makesRead More →

Our 2026 Confirmation journey is officially underway, and already our time together is being shaped by patient community-building, exploration, and service. This year’s class includes twelve students from across our Fox Valley United Methodist connection, with four of those confirmands coming from UMCG (Cameron, Ella, Katie, & Nate). Students bring with them different churches, schools, experiences, and perspectives and while that variety doesn’t instantly turn into easy conversation, it is becoming opportunity to learn one another’s names, stories, and begin building community. Part of our early work together is simply helping students feel comfortable enough to talk (sometimes with a little encouragement), listen well, laugh together, and begin toRead More →

This week’s holiday called us to remember the life and witness of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and yet, if we’re honest, for many of us it often passes as little more than a day off work or school. Remembering Dr. King in ways that truly engage his faith, courage, and challenge to the church takes more intention than simply marking a date on the calendar or sharing a quote. And at the same time, our church continues in our sermon series The Courage to Follow. Now, I must be honest, the holiday overlap was not part of the plan. And yet, as I reflected on writing thisRead More →

As we step into a new year together, we are beginning a six-week journey exploring what it means to live with Gospel-shaped courage.  Not the kind of courage rooted in bravado or swagger, but the quiet, faithful bravery of living day by day in and with God’s love. This is courage that rarely announces itself. It grows slowly. It takes shape over time as we learn who we are and as we help one another live from that truth.  Throughout this series, The Courage to Follow: From Baptism to the Cross, we’ll explore courage not as fearlessness or control, but as faithful resilience. Each week will invite usRead More →

As December progresses and daylight grows scarce, many of us feel the need to follow the rhythms of nature and slow down. This slowing allows us to listen more closely and tend the quiet places within ourselves. As we approach the longest night of the year, we invite you into an ancient, storied practice of reflection and hope: the Advent Spiral. On Sunday, December 21, our Advent Spiral will be open open-house style from 2:00–7:00 pm, offering space to come when you are able and linger as long as you wish. You are invited to engage with three reflection stations: Waiting, Releasing, and Lifting, eachRead More →

If you haven’t walked down the Children’s Hall lately, Advent is the perfect time to take a stroll after worship. Each week of the season, our kids are journeying through Waiting for Wonder, a four-week experience that invites them into Mary’s song, the Magnificat. This ancient hymn of hope, courage, and justice becomes our guiding light as children explore what it means for God to lift up the lowly, fill the hungry with good things, and scatter light in surprising places. The hallway itself has become a kind of pilgrimage path where each candle and each step of the path help them enter the wonder ofRead More →

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be in Austin, Texas, gathered with ministry colleagues for the Progressive Youth Ministry (PYM) Conference; a few days of worship, learning, and conversation with people who care deeply about young people and the future of the Church. This year’s theme, “Resistance Is Love,” is so aptly timed. The conference organizers describe it this way: “In a world reeling from political and cultural upheaval, where cruelty is celebrated as strength, love can feel fragile or even futile. But love remains (1 Corinthians 13:13) and we believe it is the most powerful form of resistance we have.” That phrase, loveRead More →

My journey with Children’s Sabbath began in 2021, when I led my former congregation’s first observance. That initial experience was simple but helped begin a powerful shift. Children and youth stepped into new roles in worship, from reading scripture to offering prayers. Over time, they moved from “helping out” to truly leading, and I watched intergenerational connections take root. The spirit of Children’s Sabbath began to shape how children were seen and heard throughout the entire year.   In 2023, I had the opportunity through seminary to attend the Hall-Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry at Haley Farm in Clinton, TN. It was worship like neverRead More →

This time of year, gardens and farmers’ markets (and even our own fellowship hall) are often overflowing with tomatoes. Not just the neat, red, uniform kind lined up in grocery store bins, but heirloom tomatoes in all their wild unique beauty. Some are striped and spotted, others are lumpy and uneven. They come in every shade you can imagine, from deep purple to golden yellow. And there’s nothing quite like a tomato warmed and ripened by the sun, sliced open and sprinkled with a little salt. Or that perfect, simple southern classic, a tomato and mayo sandwich. The flavor is unlike anything that traveled milesRead More →