Rob Hamilton

One of the many favorite advent decorations in our church is the Chrismon Tree. That’s right — it is a Chrismon Tree, not a Christmas Tree. What is the difference you might ask? I recently discovered a delightful guide to our Chrismon written from 1975, when our Chrismon tree was dedicated. Here is what our dedication booklet says: “The word “Chrismon” is a combination of the Greek letters, Chi and Rho, the monogram for Christ. These monograms were discovered in many places—some on jewelry or utensils, others on doors or buildings, and still more on the walls of the catacombs in Rome. Early Christians usedRead More →

When we started our Moving Forward Process a year and a half ago, I was cognizant that there had been many efforts at revitalizing our church prior to this one. I spent some time talking with leaders of past efforts trying to learn from the past. One thing I took from those conversations was that our church had a pattern of evaluating the current state, identifying problems, and then going full throttle trying to address those problems–only to discover that after about a twelve to fourteen months of exerting all that energy the church was in roughly the same spot, just more worn out fromRead More →

Once common phrase that didn’t make this sermon series is, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” And like ‘Everything Happens For A Reason’ and the other colloquialisms in this sermon series, “Cleanliness is next to godliness’ is at best, only half true. We can thank our very own John Wesley, who delivered a 1791 sermon titled “On Dress” in which he says: “But, before we enter on the subject, let it be observed, that slovenliness is no part of religion; that neither this, nor any text of Scripture, condemns neatness of apparel. Certainly, this is a duty, not a sin. Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness.”Read More →

Several years ago,Rolland Lang did some research down at the Geneva History Museum about our church and unearthed this photo. It is the earliest photo we have of Methodists in Geneva dating to around 1839, when the first Methodist class started in Geneva with two women and one man. Next week, on Sept 27th, we will mark 149 years of Methodism at the corner of 2nd and Hamilton Streets and 184 years of Methodists in Geneva, and I keep thinking about the faith, perseverance, sacrifice, and leadership of these women (and surely some men too), who by faithfulness gave the Methodist movement roots in Geneva.Read More →

As this is being published, I’ll be packing the car with gear, books, my favorite Bible, good old paper and pen and my laptop to spend a week in the southern Rocky Mountains, for my worship planning retreat. I’ll be praying and studying over the info many have shared while talking it over with one of my best friends, Matt, who is a UMC Pastor in Nebraska. He is joining me on this retreat and engaged in the same process of planning for his church in 2024. Being a 15-minute drive from reliable cell phone service and 25-minutes from the internet at an 8,000 feetRead More →