Trinity United Methodist Church Message - Reverend Dan's E-Message for Friday, 26 September 2014

Trinity United Methodist Church Message - Reverend Dan's E-Message for Friday, 26 September 2014
Dear Friends, 
Our theme for this Sunday's worship services is "Healing" from the last chapter of James (5:13 - 16), and we'll be anointing with oil, praying, and offering encouragement, so I invite you to come to worship expectantly, prayerfully, with (a) your own need for healing, (b) the names/needs of others for healing, physical, emotional, spiritual and (c) healing within our church,  community, country and world.  James concludes this section by saying that   "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful in what it can achieve."  Come praying, and we will marvel at what God will achieve.
Second, a few words about the music at the 9:40 service:  thank you for your many prayers and your thoughtful sharing.  While this is all still a "work in progress," I have these observations:
a.  If any church can figure this out, Trinity can!  I have great confidence in our leadership, lay and staff.
b.  Trinity has in its DNA an appreciation for both the traditional and the non-traditional, for both/and; look at the architecture of our worship center: it's both/and: traditional stained glass, vaulted, cathedral ceiling, yet floor to ceiling windows (so we can see God's beautiful creation as a part of our worship experience), chairs instead of pews (so we can use our facility 7 days a week as good stewards), you get the idea.  And Trinity has long combined the historic with the modern, the classic with the innovative (35 years
ago, Sonlight was singing "contemporary" songs before contemporary became known, but also hymns, and creeds, all in one service).
c.  I think that combination of some ancient and some modern will continue to be our guide.  For example, this Sunday we will sing the great, and familiar to many, Wesley hymn, the one that has had the "pride of place" as the first hymn in our hymnal for scores of years:  "O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing," (this song itself was innovative in that it was one of Wesley's first successes of putting great theology to the music of England's pubs; this is a "bar room" tune, innovative indeed!), followed by a new song we've recently learned and really liked:  "And All the People Said Amen." followed by the Apostles' Creed.
d.  Trinity has from its inception valued being rooted in the faith
and branching out in love to all; of holding solidly to the sacraments, the creeds, the special services like 3rd grade Bible presentation, All Saints Celebration, Confirmation, World Communion,
the liturgical calendar (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wed, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, those things that shape the rhythm of
our lives AND  finding new and creative ways to reach out in extravagant love to all.  While holding to the key traditional elements of our Faith, we have valued embracing the new methods of
communicating our Faith, although, truth be told, we haven't been
nearly as innovative as we should have been the past 10-15 years, which is why it's been hard to do this work we're doing.  But we're finding our way, thanks to God's guidance and your prayers.
e.  Focus:  It's important to keep our focus "out there" on the mission(s) God is calling us to do and fulfill.  I'm speaking in part of our new commitment to the Faith Mission in East Gainesville, but the mission possibilities/needs are huge, and my prayer is that we never lose sight of God's call upon ourselves to be a Church in
mission "out there."
Blessings, Dan
Trinity United Methodist Church
4000 NW 53rd Avenue
Gainesville, Florida 32653 United States
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