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From a place of privilege, it can be easy think of Christmas like this: Cozy. Rosy cheeks. Big smiles. Lots of laughs. Pure innocence. Sleeping babies and silent nights. For many of us, we have been truly fortunate to have Christmases like this to varying degrees. But what about those who have Christmas more like this? Above we see Christmas in Gaza back in 2015 and last year in the trenches of Ukraine. Do those same warm, cozy, idyllic images and feelings fill the heart in places of violence and war as in places of privilege? Or do fear, longing, PTSD, and devastation mark Christmas?Read More →

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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 →

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Open your newsfeed or newspaper or turn on your news channel and it’s nearly all bad. Like genuinely bad, too. Not just the typical fearmongering and clickbait used to push advertisements. As we approach Thanksgiving and come into Gratitude Sunday the practice of gratitude takes real effort. Gratitude, in our Christian context, goes beyond a mere expression of thanks; we work to make a profound acknowledgment of God’s grace, a recognition of blessings received, and use it as a transformative force that shapes how we see and then interact with the world. If we can find God’s grace amid the bad news, then we canRead More →

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I’m not making a political statement here. I’m not picking a fight in a culture war. I’m not referring to the Black Lives Matter movement – that that can be a conversation for another day. I’m trying to make a bold theological statement – that every single life matters to God. From the beginning of our faith story, God made Adam, sees that Adam is lonely and that matters to God, so God creates another, Eve. Cain and Abel have the worst kind of sibling squabble and God hears Abel’s blood cry out to God from the ground because his life mattered to God.[1] ThereRead More →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Sunday, Sept 10th is our Back to Church Sunday. Sunday School for all ages is back. The Chancel Choir is back. I’ll be back from my retreat. We’ll be launching an engaging worship series that invites us back titled, “Does the Bible Really Say That?” where we will explore five different phrases we often think come from the Bible: All we need to get back to church is YOU! But getting into a new routine is a challenge. In the Hamilton household our back-to-school routine is new. Meghan has a new schedule as she is in new buildings this year. Lily started high school withRead More →

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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 →

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This blog post isn’t a yellow pages ad for ghost removal services. Having had a change in our staff configuration, I think it’s time for an update and reminder on who does what on staff and who you can contact to assist in your ministry at UMCG. For our visual learners, I have put the UMCG org chart at the bottom of the post. Rob Hamilton, Senior Pastor – I am called to preaching, pastoral care, some teaching, committee work, head of staff, and administration. I am the only full-time staff person and my day off is Friday. Dr. Greg Coates, Director of NextGen Ministry,Read More →