Happy September!
Happy first of September, Gadsden Street UMC Friends!
We are fast approaching the end of the summer season and are looking ahead to fall. In the cycle of the world, this is a time for harvest, celebrating what we have with thanksgiving, and sharing in gratitude for the abundance of God's blessings in our lives. I invite you to look ahead to this season and consider how you will embrace a spirit of gratitude for all that has come your way this year. What spiritual practices can you lean into? What ways can we show God we are truly thankful for all that has come our way (or not come our way for that matter)? I would love to hear about your spiritual practice of gratitude as we prepare for the end of the summer season.
Wednesday, September 2:
Our Wednesday morning Zoom devotional will take place at the link provided at 10:00 am. We will be covering a devotional from the book The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer, specifically week 36, Day 2. If you have been unable to get your hands on a copy of the book just yet, not to worry! Join us for a morning of petition, reflection, devotion, gratitude, and prayer.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82422422907
Amazon book link: The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer
Following the devotional, while the office will be closed, I will be working from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm at:
Craft Gourmet Bakery and Cafe
615 Scenic Hwy
Feel free to come on in, grab a coffee, tea, and/or bakery item, pull up a chair, and we can fellowship together!
September: What does it mean to be a United Methodist? And Pledge Month!
This September, I am looking forward to diving deep into the roots of our faith and our denomination together as we examine what it means to be a United Methodist Christian in our world. There are a number of ways to get plugged in.
Sunday School
Sunday school meets every Sunday from 9:00 am to 9:45 am in the upstairs conference room in the administration building. We gather, read scripture, and discuss our thoughts and questions, and go down any rabbit hole (my favorite) that grabs our attention. We would love to see you there!
Sunday Service
Our worship services take place from 10:00 am to around 10:55 am in the Fellowship Hall for the time being. Our sanctuary is still undergoing repair for termite damage. We will be receiving communion every Sunday this month, reminding everyone that the table is open to all and is a chance to encounter Jesus every time.
Sunday UMC Class
Following our Sunday service, we will be back up in the conference room from 11:10 am to around 12:00 pm and will be diving deep into all things United Methodist. If the group agrees on a place to go for lunch, we can continue the fellowship out in our community for some good food together! The topics for each Sunday are as follows:
Week 1 - Our Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task
Week 2 - The Ministry of All Christians
Week 3 - The Social Principles - Led by our very own Chaplain Fred Zobel, USN(RET.)
Week 4 - Our Constitution and the General Book of Discipline
If you have any questions about this class, please email me at nysewander@gadsdenstreetmethodist.com. I look forward to seeing you there!
Wednesday Night Dinner
September 16 at 5:30 pm
Join us for Tacos! We will hear from the Rev. Dr. Jim White on his mission with Iberia as we gather and fellowship in the Fellowship Hall. For more information or questions, please reach out to Paula Kemmeling. See you there!
Singing Resistance
Sunday, September 20 at 4:00 pm in the Seekers Room
Join us for a time of worship where we sing songs of love, justice, peace, and hope and reflect on how we can bring these elements of our Christian faith while resisting injustice, hate, and destruction in our world. Join us as we gather to lift a joyful noise to the Lord with words that reflect God's promises!
Pledge Month
What does it mean to give? What does it mean to give to the Church? What does it mean to give to Gadsden Street United Methodist Church? You will find a different answer for these questions depending on who you ask, and yet, at the heart of each answer, I would imagine that a spirit of generosity is abundant. Together we will hear from a number of our members, their answers to these questions as we prepare to prayerfully consider what our giving might look like looking ahead to the next year.
As United Methodists, we vow to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believe in the Christian faith as contained in the Old and New Testaments, to support the United Methodist Church, and to uphold the local congregation with one's prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. With your pledge, we are able to better remain good stewards of the mission and ministry of Gadsden Street United Methodist Church and the 125-year history of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
For further questions or comments regarding our pledge cards, please reach out to the office or to me at office@gadsdenstreetmethodist.com, nysewander@gadsdenstreetmethodist.com, or by office phone at
850-433-0014.
Weekly Reflection:
I simply cannot resist taking time to absorb some poetry. Nikita Gill is an Irish-Indian poet, playwright, and illustrator. It seems that Mary Oliver has made an impression on her as well, as she wrote a poem in honor of Mary Oliver's poem "Wild Geese". This homage to Mary Oliver is found in a collection of poetry called ‘Where Hope Comes From: Poems of Resilience, Healing and Light’, Trapeze, part of The Orion Publishing Group, 2021.
I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I know I have since reading it this weekend.
The Fawn
(After Mary Oliver's 'Wild Geese')
You do not have to win at a crisis.
You do not have to push yourself
to learn a new language or write a book
or take up an instrument.
Nothing will come of forcing yourself
to compete your way out of trauma.
Take this time to look at the stars.
Take this time to look at how the sky
still holds clouds that are the shape of hope.
How the dawn begins at the tips of dewy grass,
for this is where the horizon begins.
Somewhere the dappled fawn raises
her soft neck to watch the sun rise
over her meadow.
Somewhere else monarch butterflies begin
their long migration, knowing many of them
will not make it home.
Remember that you do not need to earn
your right to the precious minutes you have
on this planet. They are already yours,
like the fawn and the butterflies.
The universe beckons you to enjoy this life
it has given you through a heart
that beats to the rhythm of
its very own cosmic song.
Until next time,
Rev. Heather Nysewander