Weekly Blog
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Building the Future Together: Investing in Ministry Today
Discipleship: Deepening Our Roots At UMCG, we believe that discipleship is a lifelong journey—one that begins in childhood and continues through every stage of life. From our children’s Sunday school to adult small groups, we strive to provide opportunities for everyone to deepen their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Discipleship is about…
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Building the Future Together: Investing in Ministry Today
Missions: Extending Our Reach At UMCG, our commitment to missions has always been about more than just meeting immediate needs—it’s about transforming lives, both within our congregation and beyond. Whether it’s through local outreach programs or global initiatives, our mission efforts reflect the heart of our church: loving our neighbors as ourselves and sharing God’s…
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The Next 185 Years, Part 3
Over the past two weeks, we’ve explored four of the six core strategies from Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church that will help us reflect, transform, and grow younger as we celebrate 185 years as a church. We’ve looked at the importance of prioritizing young people, practicing…
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The Next 185 Years
As we approach the milestone of our 185th anniversary as a church, we find ourselves at a crossroads. It’s a time to look back and celebrate the faithfulness of generations past, but it’s also a time to look forward—toward a future that calls us to reflect and transform. While we honor our rich history, we…
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What is it about mountains?
First, I want to express my deep gratitude to each of you for your prayers and support during my recent mountain retreat. The time away was both productive and renewing, and I returned Thursday feeling refreshed and eager to share what’s on the horizon for our church in 2025. I spent a lot of time…
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Praying and Planning for 2025
As you read this, I’m just beginning my worship planning retreat. Having arrived Thursday night in the Wet Mountain Valley of Colorado, at an elevation of 8,000 feet, in an international dark sky community, I’m now immersed in an environment perfect for deep discernment. Being 15 minutes from reliable cell phone service and 25 minutes…
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A Dangerous Intersection of Faith and Politics
I recently received a meme—a digital image with a funny or poignant caption. I don’t have the rights to share the original meme here, but I found the central image of the meme that I can publish. The meme revolved around a billboard just like this, except that the roadside billboard had a common campaign…
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Finding God amid unsettled routines
As many of you know, my family and I recently returned from a much-needed vacation, a time of rest and rejuvenation that was truly a blessing. In returning as soon as we walked through the door of our home, we were greeted not by the peace we had left behind but by the organized chaos…
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Reflecting on Ancient Wisdom: Lessons from the pueblo dwellings and wildfires in Colorado
As my family and I continued our Colorado camping adventure, we found ourselves drawn to the ancient Pueblo dwellings scattered throughout the region. Sites like Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde and Painted Hand in the Four Corners region offered us a glimpse into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans, whose ingenuity and resilience left an…
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Embracing the Dog Days of Summer: Reflections from the Rockies
As the summer sun blazes its hottest, we find ourselves in what many call the “dog days of summer.” This period, traditionally marked by oppressive heat and lethargy, often evokes images of lazy afternoons and a collective sigh as we seek respite from the sweltering temperatures. For my family, this year’s dog days took on…
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UMCG Family Celebration, by Chuck Howlett
Summertime growing up in rural Iowa usually meant family reunions to see relatives, playing the annual softball game, hearing stories of past gatherings and “where the kids are now”, showcasing vintage photos and scrapbooks along with an endless buffet of family favorite casseroles, salads, hot-pepper jelly, as well as a counter-top full of other “not-on-my-diet”…
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Five Questions to Shape 2025
Many of you know that I take a week at the end of summer with a preacher friend or two and head off to the Wet Mountain Valley. We use a cabin that is off-the-grid and in the trees where I can quietly pray and prepare for the coming year. Bringing other preacher friends helps…
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The Hamilton Family Cookbook
Every once in a while, our staff have to remind me that I’ve been digging into tough topics in my blog and perhaps readers would benefit from something lighter. They’ve been right so far. I’m sure that this is true in this season of blogging as well. This week, I want to tell you about…
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Embracing True Patriotism: A Reflection on Independence Day and the Risks of Christian Nationalism
I share our Bishop’s concern about the rise of White Christian Nationalism and so I am continuing my writing on this topic that started on Memorial Day weekend, finding Independence Day to be apropos. Beyond the fireworks, parades, and social gatherings that marked our observance of this important day it’s important to consider how we…
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Beating the Heat: It’s our responsibility
As we have felt firsthand, last week brought record-setting heat waves to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions, even more than “Swedish Days is always hot” kind of heat. Those relentlessly high temperatures have been more than just a topic for conversation—they pose serious risks to our health and well-being. But beyond immediate health…
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Continuing Our Sacred Journey: Year Four
This past week at our Northern Illinois Annual Conference, Bishop Schwerin appointed me to serve as your pastor at the United Methodist Church of Geneva for the fourth consecutive year. It is with joy and gratitude that I share this news with you. Each year, our bishops and their cabinets review the appointments of every…
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When Online Meets In-Person: Building Bridges Within Our UMCG Family
We are past the COVID protections that forced the church into the digital age, but we are experiencing the beautiful convergence of online and in-person ways of being a church. I think this blend of virtual and physical gatherings enriches our congregation and strengthens the bonds that unite us in faith and fellowship and could…
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Could We Be Entertaining Angels?
In Hebrews 13:2, we are reminded to “not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” This powerful verse captures the essence of what it means to extend grace through hospitality, a theme that resonates deeply with our recent experiences at UMCG. As we reflect on these…
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“Spilling the tea” on what I heard at the Pancake Breakfast
‘Thank you’ a lot. ‘I think it’s so great the church does this.’ ‘Can I get more?’ ‘I really like your sermons.’ ‘Your church does so much for our community.’ Then after flipping pancakes, I visited with the other stations and volunteers before I greeted folks, sat with some diners and heard their stories.…
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A Cautious Warning Against White Christian Nationalism
On this Memorial Day weekend, we gather not only to flip pancakes, sell plants and serve coffee, we gather to remember and honor the brave persons who have sacrificed their lives for our country. It is a solemn occasion that allows us to reflect on the values of freedom, justice, and peace that these individuals…
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The Loneliness of Modern Parenthood
This guest blog features the introductory and first edition of a new monthly newsletter written by our Director of NextGen Ministry, Dr. Greg Coates. We hope the information is helpful and invite anyone to “Opt-in/Sign-up” to receive these monthly e-newsletters moving forward. May 2024 – Since joining the staff of the United Methodist Church of…
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She Wanted Seconds
This past Sunday we celebrated confirmation. In keeping with the series on Making a Methodist, I preached about the means of grace, the outward and tangible signs of God’s inward love in our lives. These means of grace are conduits in which we can experience and share in God’s unconditional love for us. Confirmation is…
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Please Confirm Your Upcoming Appointment
About the time that this is published on Friday, I’ll be in the dentist’s chair getting my regular cleaning. About a month ago, I got an email that kind of looked like the graphic above asking me to click to confirm or call to reschedule. Then last Friday, I got another one. I appreciate these…
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Not Afraid to Say “Yes!”
Being part of a church that says “yes” and doesn’t shy away from doing difficult things energizes me. Who doesn’t want to be around that kind of positive energy? You might not expect to feel that excitement at a Church Council meeting, but you would be wrong. Church Council, made up of chairs from each…
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What’s so ‘good’ about Good Friday?
That was the question around our dinner table earlier this month. No pun intended… that is a good question. Sometimes as Christians we think of what Jesus went through on that fateful Friday – the mockery, flagellation, the carrying of the cross, the crown of thorns and the nails in his wrists and feet –…
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2024 State of the Church Address, March 2024
To see a video of Pastor Rob sharing this information, click here. Friends of the United Methodist Church of Geneva, It is an honor to be your pastor and to share the good news about what God is doing in and through us as a church, alongside some data that sometimes interrupts my sleep.…
- Building the Future Together: Investing in Ministry Today
- Building the Future Together: Investing in Ministry Today
- The Next 185 Years, Part 3
- Our Church and The Next 185 Years: Part 2
- The Next 185 Years
- What is it about mountains?
- Praying and Planning for 2025
- A Dangerous Intersection of Faith and Politics
- Finding God amid unsettled routines
- Reflecting on Ancient Wisdom: Lessons from the pueblo dwellings and wildfires in Colorado
- Embracing the Dog Days of Summer: Reflections from the Rockies