Monday, October 21, 2013

United Methodist News ~ Monday, 21 October 2013


United Methodist News ~ Monday, 21 October 2013
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“Have faith the size of a mustard seed and then step back and prepare to be amazed. What God’s able to do through us is not based on or limited by what we’re able to do on our own.”(The Rev. Adam Weber, pastor of Embrace, one of top 50 fastest-growing U.S. churches.)
Why S.D. church among 50 fastest growing in U.S. by Sam Hodges
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (UMNS) — Asked to explain the remarkable growth of Embrace, the Rev. Adam Weber, the church’s 31-year-old pastor, points to a focus on helping people start and strengthen a relationship with Jesus. Embrace is the only United Methodist church on Outreach magazine’s recently released list of the top 50 fastest-growing U.S. churches in 2013. Embrace ranked 40th overall, and fourth in growth rate, having seen a 65 percent attendance rise. 
Oh for the problem of where to fit in a fifth Sunday worship service.
Such happy headaches face Embrace Church in Sioux Falls, S.D., and its 31-year-old pastor, the Rev. Adam Weber.
Embrace is the sole United Methodist church on Outreach magazine’s recently released list of the top 50 fastest-growing U.S. churches in 2013.
Though the denomination is absent from the name, Weber emphasized that the church’s identity is decidedly United Methodist.
“We may not have it by label, but I hope and pray we’re the most United Methodist by heart,” said Weber. “John Wesley did anything to reach the next person for Jesus. That is our heart to the `t.’”
LifeWay Research compiled both “fastest growing” and “largest” lists for Outreach, using self-reported data from evangelical Protestant churches as defined by the American Religious Data Archive. (Some 27,000 churches were contacted, though not all responded.)
Only churches that averaged more than 1,000 in worship were eligible for the list of fastest-growing churches. Rankings were determined by a formula that averages percentage and numerical gain.
Seeing new faces each week
Embrace ranked 40th overall, and fourth in growth rate, having seen a 65 percent attendance rise. When the survey was done in February and March (but excluding Easter Sunday), the church averaged 1,112 in worship. Since then, Embrace has spurted to 1,300 for four services.
“Every week we look out and we’re seeing new faces,” Weber said.
Embrace Church began in 2007, an initiative of Cornerstone (United Methodist) Church in Watertown, S.D.
“Many of our young adults from Cornerstone end up moving to Sioux Falls,” said the Rev. Roger Spahr, Cornerstone’s pastor. “Two of those were my own kids and many of their friends who loved the Lord but didn't seem to be connecting in any church very naturally.”
Weber had come to faith as a youth at Cornerstone. In 2007, he was finishing a master of divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.
Spahr had identified Weber as having what it took to lead a church plant. “So I went to the (Dakotas regional Annual) conference leadership with a proposal,” he said.
Weber was chosen to lead the new church and flew back monthly for services until finishing at Asbury.
Prodigal son story inspired name
Weber took the name “Embrace” from translations of Luke 15:20 that use “embraced’ in describing the father-son reunion in the prodigal son story. The themes of compassion and forgiveness remain a focus for the church, Weber said, noting that a copy of Rembrandt’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son” hangs in its sanctuary.
The decision to leave “United Methodist” out of the title and de-emphasize denominational ties generally was, according to Weber, hard but necessary, given the church’s goal of reaching people wary of denominational churches.
But he sees the decision as consistent with the “Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors” message of The United Methodist Church.
“What we wanted to do was lower the bar for people to come in the front door,” Weber said. “We tried to open the door as wide as we possibly could.”
Finding focus
Embrace is in its third home in seven years, a former Lutheran church building that it rented first, then bought last year. Embrace offers four contemporary worship services on Sunday. A fifth is under consideration, said Weber, an ordained elder since 2010 and the youngest lead pastor on Outreach’s 50 fastest-growing churches list.
Asked to explain the church’s growth, Weber points to a focus on helping people start and strengthen a relationship with Jesus. The church buys bulk copies of the Gospel of John and hands them out free to visitors, figuring that will give them entrée to the core of Jesus’ message and start them reading the Bible.
“What we’re hearing is almost everybody in the church grew up in a family with 10 Bibles, but nobody had ever read them,” Weber said. “It’s so cool, discipleship-wise, to hear people say, `Yesterday, I read the Gospel of John.’”
Embrace also stresses small group participation. The church has ongoing mission work in Haiti, but at home has what it calls “The One Thing” — a single mission initiative lasting just a month, but done with intensity.
One month the church rounded up gift cards for families who had a child in the hospital or a loved one in hospice care. Another month, the church asked families at local soup kitchens if they’d like a portrait photo.
“We took hundreds of family pictures,” Weber said. “It was so crazy to realize what a luxury a family picture is for most people.”
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Making the List
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., ranked 43rd on Outreach magazine’s list of the largest Protestant evangelical churches in the United States, with average worship attendance of 10,137.
White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, Texas, ranked 76th on the extended Outreach list of fastest-growing churches and 97th on the list of largest churches, with average worship attendance of 6,149.
Nearly half of the largest churches identify as nondenominational. The state with the most fastest-growing churches was Texas (17) followed by California and North Carolina (7 each).
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Important support from Path1
Weber credits the United Methodist Board of Discipleship’s Path1 new church starts initiative, particularly new church strategist the Rev. Paul Nixon, with giving him and the church important support.
“We’re very excited about what Embrace Church is doing for the kingdom of God,” said the Rev. Candace Lewis, Path1 executive director. “We are pleased that Path1 has been able to play a part, especially through the ministry of Paul Nixon.”
Among Embrace’s regular visitors now are representatives from other United Methodist churches, who want to learn from its approach.
While eager to help, Weber has his hands full steering Embrace’s growth.
“We’re very close to starting a second campus. Lord willing, that will come together.”
*Hodges is a Dallas-based writer for United Methodist News Service. Contact him at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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5 things I’ve learned 5 years out’ by Adam Weber
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (UMNS) — “As the saying goes ‘time flies when you’re having crazy’… or something like that, right?” asks the Rev. Adam Weber, pastor of Embrace. He goes on to list five things he has learned in his first few years at the fast-growing Embrace.
Well, as of this July, it’ll be 5 years since I somehow managed to graduate from seminary and start the craziness known as “full-time ministry”. As the saying goes “time flies when you’re having crazy”… or something like that, right? And here are a few of the things (5 to be exact) that I’ve learned in these 5 years (in no particular order).
1. I can remember thinking the day I graduated that I somehow knew less then… than I did before I started. 5 years out… I feel that same exact way about today compared to my graduation day. On the bright side, I’m learning something new each and every day. As with life as a whole, ministry can be described as a bunch of different things, but “boring” isn’t one of them. Never stop going to seminary, by which I really mean never stop learning. Always be reading something. Even better, learn from someone 5 years further down the road than you.
2. When it comes to burnout, wanting to leave ministry, and possibly even wanting to burn down a church for fun some days, my professors weren’t lying. Taking care of self physically, emotionally, and spiritually is harder than I would have ever imagined. Work hard (we should be anything, but lazy) and then learn to say no, learn to hand things off, and learn how to go home. (Your cell and computer are both able to be turned off. It is possible. I know only because I’ve done it before). There’s only one Jesus and you’re not going to replace Him anytime soon. Love God. Love your family. Love your soul. You are a limited resource.
3. The temptation to “climb the corporate ladder”, be “career driven”, or attempt to become a rock star is just as strong and real in ministry as it is any place else.  We’re human, which means we love attention, we desire to be recognized, and more than anything we want to be “successful.” News flash: Our job is to point people to Jesus, not ourselves. After your church grows by 100 people on a Sunday you’ll want to see the next 100 and the next and the next. All of this is great, except when it’s the center of your universe. Tied closely to this is the week to week emotional rollercoaster based on “how you did” on Sunday. Let me just say this is a miserable way to live. Finding your worth, value, and identity in Christ is something we ministry people say a lot… to everyone else, but are terrible at living out ourselves.
4. “Don’t be a lone ranger.” I can still hear my professor saying it. What I didn’t know then is just how lonely ministry can be. Make time for relationships, not as the pastor, but as yourself.  Have friends that you can call to share with, to confess with, to vent with (Can I get an “Amen!”?), to be your fully 100% wretched self with, and then be prayed for. As all of us are saying these days “Do life together with others.” This is true for us ministry people as well. Don’t be a lone ranger.
5. Don’t… ever… limit… God.  Dream big. Have faith the size of a mustard seed and then step back and prepare to be amazed. What God’s able to do through us is not based on or limited by what we’re able to do on our own. Enjoy the ride!
That’s my 5… what’s yours? 
Bio:
Adam Weber lives in Sioux Falls (that’s in South Dakota) where he’s the lead pastor of a United Methodist Church called Embrace.
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California church rising once more from the ashes by Joe Rodriguez
SAN JOSE, Calif. (UMNS) — After 22 years, First United Methodist Church in downtown San Jose is about to return from a 1991 fire that gutted the church. But, as Joe Rodriguez explains in the San Jose Mercury News, adversity doesn’t stop this church that has faced fires, earthquakes and the wrath of people who did not respect its stands for social justice.
SAN JOSE -- Jim Crawford's back was killing him Monday morning, but the cross he has carried for 22 years would soon lift. Or so he thought.
Painted eternal white, the hefty, steel symbol of Christianity would be the final touch on his long, spiritual mission -- the rebuilding of downtown's San Jose First United Methodist Church, which burned down in a huge, tragic fire in 1991.
As he waited, Crawford remembered the call from First United the day after the fire. Would he leave a comfortable Methodist post in Auburn, a pretty town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, to lead an urban church with an aging, shrinking, white congregation and a habit of burning down every century?
"Yes!"
Finally, this week, the tortuous saga ends, the legal and bureaucratic battles have been won. The new church is almost ready to open. But Crawford was lucky to see it this far. During the long ordeal, he lost his wife to cancer, his ability to walk to a crippling disease, and he gave up leadership of First United last year to go on medical retirement.
"I felt like Moses," he says, "at the edge of the Promised Land."
According to the Bible, Moses never made it. But Crawford did. He got his new church. Now he wanted to finally see its cross installed on top.
On Monday, men in hard hats began to bolt the cross to the spire. The former pastor kept his camera focused on them. And then the hard hats suddenly stopped. They signaled to the crane operator, who lifted the cross away and then set it gently down onto a dirt lot.
"What happened?" Crawford asked no one in particular.
Word came down about a rookie mistake: some of the holes drilled in the brackets connecting the cross to the spire did not line up.
"There will be lots of yelling and lots of screaming," he said, "and money changing hands."
But when it comes to this determined, hardworking church, there are always tribulations to deal with and to overcome.
STAYING DOWNTOWN
In 1889, a few years after Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in one of its recurring fits of anti-immigrant hysteria, San Jose First United Methodist admitted Chinese kids into its Sunday school. For this act, a mob burned down the whole church.
The stubborn congregation built another one on South Second Street, but it was largely destroyed by the great earthquake of 1906. Only a few years later, in 1911, a third First United went up on Fifth and Santa Clara streets.
With a grand dome and stunning stained-glass windows, the Spanish revival church graced a proud downtown even as its members defied the law and stood up for justice. When its Japanese-American members were sent to internment camps during World War II, the church stored their belongings in the basement and tended to their land and homes.
As San Jose grew outward, suburban and rich off the technological revolution, the church stayed downtown and hosted soup kitchens, housing and immigrant services, neighborhood advocacy groups and many more who tended to be the less fortunate.
"This congregation had the opportunity to move to the suburbs many times, but it decided to stay home and serve its community," Crawford said.
On March 25, 1991, the electricity went haywire, setting the whole building on fire.
"It was a spectacular fire," said Cindy Manley, now operations director for First United. "I stood on the corner and watched the whole building go down."
About 400 drop-jawed spectators, including me, looked on as 85 firefighters pumped 9,000 gallons of water per minute onto the blaze. Before the roof collapsed, firefighters managed to rescue two brass candle holders, a crucifix and a Bible. Church members picked up shards of the stained-glass windows and stored them.
The salvaged candelabras and crucifix were later stolen.
MANY MORE BATTLES
Rebuilding would not be as simple as putting up a new church on the same spot.
Dejected, about 30 percent of the congregation left within a year after the fire.
"They didn't want to be in downtown anymore," said Crawford.
Then the church's insurance company rejected their claim, sparking a grueling six-year legal fight that cost the congregation $1.8 million.
"At one point they had 21 lawyers and we had seven," said the former pastor who still has a spark, despite his infirmities. "Holy crap!"
Even after settlement landed in church coffers, it then ran into starry-eyed redevelopment officials bent on turning downtown San Jose into another Manhattan or San Francisco.
"They didn't see a need for a church on this corner," Crawford said. His congregation kept telling the church leadership to 'Hold the corner!'
An unhappy city hall wanted something big, tall and complicated. Eventually, the state abolished redevelopment agencies, freeing First United to finish the rebuild according to its own ideas.
Traditionalists will not be pleased. The new church looks more like a small office building adorned with religious symbols -- art glass windows and the cross. But it has tall windows and glass doors that invite people off the street to come in. Interior rooms are designed for community meetings, social service programs, wedding receptions and even indoor volleyball for the kids.
In another key change, perhaps the biggest, the church will now deliver these services directly as opposed to inviting outside groups to operate them.
"Those were all difficult conversations we had," Manley said. "We wanted to build for the future and not put up a tall church with closed doors. Jim led all of those conversations."
The congregation has changed, too. Latinos and Asians now make up three-quarters of the membership. On Sunday mornings, middle-class college professors sit next to working class and even homeless people.
With construction nearly done, First United Methodist expects to celebrate its first service in mid-December, hopefully with the cross installed. The congregation can take heart that Pastor Emeritus Jim Crawford is still on the job.
"Every ounce of me is still with this church," he said, despite the cross snafu. "I'm patient. It'll go up. It's just a glitch."
Do you have a story for Eastside/Westside? Contact Joe Rodriguez at 408-920-5767 or jrodriguez@mercurynews.com.
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How To Protect Your Church
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Faithful Filibuster ends, goal remains
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — The “Faithful Filibuster” ended Oct. 17 after House and Senate votes to end the government shutdown but with a note that the task remains unfinished. The filibuster was a religious effort to read the more than 2,000 verses of Scripture in the Bible to remind Congress that their dysfunction hurts the most vulnerable Americans and that we are charged with caring for the least among us. “We are grateful to God for ending these crises, but we cannot simply exchange one deadline for another,” said the Rev. David Beckman, president of Bread for the World. “We need to address the looming threat of automatic budget cuts or sequestration. We have to stop sequestration, but not on the backs of the working poor and struggling families.” 
LATEST STATEMENT:
Clergy, Religious Leaders Celebrate End of Shutdown, Look Ahead to Protect Most Vulnerable Americans in Future Budget Negotiations
Faithful Filibuster for most vulnerable Americans ends with prayer, psalms of praise
OCTOBER 17, 2013 | WASHINGTON – Following last night’s late votes by the Senate and House, the “Faithful Filibuster” concluded this morning with prayer and psalms of praise.
“The shutdown has had a widespread impact on many people, especially the poor, who suffered for lack of basic services during the period,” said Catholic Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California, Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “With the government now open, beneficiaries of government services, particularly the elderly and children, can hope to resume a normal life with a safety net securely in place.”
While celebrating the short-term deal to avoid default and to end the shutdown, the clergy and religious leaders behind the filibuster turned their focus to the future budget negotiations.
“We are grateful to God for ending these crises, but we cannot simply exchange one deadline for another,” said the Rev. David Beckman, president of Bread for the World. “We need to address the looming threat of automatic budget cuts or sequestration. We have to stop sequestration, but not on the backs of the working poor and struggling families.”
The “Faithful Filibuster” began last week, continuing through the rain and the weekend. Organizations that took part in the Faithful Filibuster included the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Sojourners, the National Association of Evangelicals, Bread for the World, the National Council of Churches and the Salvation Army.
“We thank God that our leaders came together on a short-term deal to avert disaster,” said Galen Carey, vice president of Government Relations for the National Association of Evangelicals. “Now we pray they have wisdom and courage to conduct our country’s business responsibly in a way that promotes long-term prosperity for all our citizens.”
The clergy and religious leaders gathered yesterday on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol for a sunrise service of prayer and Scripture ahead of the votes on the deal to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Kelly Ayotte also joined the group of clergy and religious leaders for a prayer.
“First, I want to thank the women of the Senate, both Republican and Democrat, who became the real ‘elders’ on Capitol Hill this week – leading us to choose the common good over ideological agendas,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners. “Second, I want to acknowledge the mysterious influence and power of prayer that spread across the nation to help re-open our broken political process and protect the nation from more catastrophe. And finally, I am grateful for the spiritual discipline we engaged in this past week of reading all 2000 verses in the Bible about poverty and justice every day the Congress was in session—which has become our best preparation for the upcoming budget battles in which the lives of the poor and vulnerable will be most at stake.”
The filibuster was a religious effort, organized by the Circle of Protection, to read the more than 2000 verses of Scripture in the Bible to remind Congress that their dysfunction hurts the most vulnerable Americans and that we are charged with caring for the least among us.
“The Faithful Filibuster was not just an exercise in reading empty words from scripture. We were listening to scripture; listening to God, and listening to our neighbor,” said the Rev. Ann Tiemeyer, interim associate general secretary for Joint Action and Advocacy of the National Council of Churches. “Yesterday morning at the Faithful Filibuster, I read from Exodus 22:27, ‘If your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.’ This is what God calls us to do – to listen with compassion. As our government representatives now begin a process of negotiating a budget, we ask them to continue to listen, to listen to the neighbors who cry out, and create a budget that protects vital programs for people in or near poverty in the United States and around the world.”
About the Circle of Protection
The Circle of Protection is composed of more than 65 heads of denominations, relief and development agencies, and other Christian organizations.
We protect vital programs for people in or near poverty in the United States and around the world. We are committed to resisting budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people.
We call on our nation’s leaders to help us reduce hunger and poverty by expanding opportunity and justice, promoting economic growth and good paying jobs, stabilizing family life, and protecting the well-being of children.
Assuring government’s obligation to advance the common good, ensure fairness, and defend the most vulnerable is good religion and good politics. We must protect the poor and help create the opportunities that make them poor no more.
Statements by the Circle of Protection
Contact Us
Kristen Youngblood Archer, Bread for the World
202-688-1118 / karcher@bread.org
Fito Moreno, Bread for the World
202-688-1138 / amoreno@bread.org
Tim King, Sojourners
202-631-7763 / tking@sojo.net
Brian Duss, Sojourners
202-745-4615 / brian@sojo.net
Sarah Kropp, National Association of Evangelicals
202-789-1011 / skropp@nae.net
Shannon Craig Straw, West End Strategy Team
202-776-7700 / shannon@westendstrategy.com
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Looking ahead
Here are some of the activities ahead for United Methodists across the connection. If you have an item to share with others, email newsdesk@umcom.org and put Digest in the subject line.
Free webinar “Intergenerational Activities for Children and Older Adults,” Wednesday, Oct. 23 — 10 a.m. CT, focuses on children in intergenerational ministry and activities that can be replicated. To register.
Webinar “Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Pastoring Large Churches,” Thursday, Oct. 24 — 7 p.m. EDT, editors of a new book that offers a glimpse into the daily lives and spiritual journeys of clergywomen who lead large churches will discuss the Lead Women Pastors Project of The United Methodist Church, $9.99. Details.
Reformation Day at Emory: “Reformation Women,” Thursday, Oct. 24 — 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, event at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta celebrates the contributions of women to the Reformation of the 16th century. $10 for optional lunch. Details.
Great Day of Service, Saturday, Oct. 26 — United Methodists and community partners, along with United Methodist Communications’ Rethink Church, will work with the town of Wildomar, Calif., to restore and reopen Wildomar Parks. Volunteers welcome. Details.
“Catechesis: Why United Methodists Must Recover Their Doctrinal Heritage,” Saturday, Oct. 26 — 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET, William J. Abraham and David F. Watson will speak about what some see as the collapse of doctrine in The United Methodist Church at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Evangelical Fellowship of West Ohio is a sponsor. Details.
Deadline to register for online course “Tools for Increasing Your Church’s Vitality,” Wednesday, Oct. 30 — Nov. 6-Dec. 18, featuring “Vital Churches: Changing Communities and the World” by the Rev. Jorge Acevedo, from United Methodist Communications, $49.99. Details.
Deadline to register for online course “Communicating Faith in the 21st Century,” Wednesday, Oct. 30 — Nov. 6-Dec. 18, designed to help Christians reclaim their voice to speak the good news using today’s communications tools, from United Methodist Communications, $29.99. Details.
Deadline to register for online course “Web Ministry 100: What is Web Ministry?” Wednesday, Oct. 30 — Nov. 6-Dec. 18, foundational information and theological basis for creating and maintaining Web ministry, from United Methodist Communications, $49.99. Details.
Deadline to register for online course “Welcoming Ministry 100,” Wednesday, Oct. 30 — Nov. 6-Dec. 18, leading local churches to practice radical hospitality, from United Methodist Communications, $29.99. Details.
Deadline to register for online course “Moodle Basic Training 100,” Wednesday, Oct. 30 — Nov. 6-Dec. 18, learn how to design online Bible studies and other online courses, from United Methodist Communications, $89.99. Details.
Welcome Table at Wesley Theological Seminary, Monday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Nov. 21 — 4 to 7:30 p.m. ET, prospective students can join a meal and attend a class at the seminary. Details.
“JustPeace101,” Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 2 — Event in the theory, theology, principles and practices of conflict transformation led by JustPeace, The United Methodist Church’s Center for Conflict Transformation, in Nashville, Tenn. Details.
Free webinar “Exploring the Bible through Multiple Intelligences,” Tuesday, Nov. 5 — 6:30 p.m. CT, applying work of Harvard University’s Howard Gardner to Bible study. To register.
In Mission Together, Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 7-9 — The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries will hold 50/50 Partnership Roundtable for United Methodists in the U.S., Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The gathering is at Cheviot United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Details.
Red Bird Mission Appalachian Craft Fair, Saturday, November 9 — 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Bethel United Methodist Church-Chewsville, 21006 Twin Springs Dr., Smithsburg, Md. Details.
Spirituality of Advent Retreat, Saturday, Nov. 9 — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT, Scarritt-Bennett Center, Nashville, Tenn. $25. Details.
“Day1,” Sundays, Nov. 17 and 24 — The Rev. Amy L. Gearhart, senior pastor of Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, will be the featured speaker on the nationally syndicated radio program “Day1.” To listen.
Online course “Behold! Cultivating Attentiveness in the Season of Advent,” Dec. 1-25 — eRetreat featuring Pamela Hawkins’s Advent resource “Behold! Cultivating Attentiveness in the Season of Advent," presented by Upper Room eLearning and BeADisciple, $40. Details.
Online course “The Uncluttered Heart: Making Room for God during Advent and Christmas,” Dec. 1– Jan. 5, 2014 — eRetreat offers guided reflection through the weeks of Advent on through Epiphany. Each day provides a quotation, Scripture passage, reflection, prayer. This online retreat is presented by Upper Room eLearning and BeADisciple, $40. Details.
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United Methodist News Service
United Methodist Communications
810 12th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203 United States
Phone: (615)742~5400
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