PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS Thanksgiving is a time to remember REMEMBERING OUR PAST ALLOWS US TO GIVE THANKS FOR WHAT WE HAVE AS WE REMEMBER WHEN WE DID NOT HAVE My maternal grandmother,
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Nov. 27 is a day designated for donations to favorite causes. If you like to support church ministries around the world, like disaster relief, student scholarships or feeding programs, we offer a quick list to help you choose.
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Let Us Give Thanks: A Photo Prayer
While it’s Thanksgiving time in the U.S., thanking God should be part of our daily discipline as United Methodists. This video meditation features a prayer of thanksgiving you can use at any time or share with others.
While November marks a celebration of thanksgiving in the U.S., finding time to thank God is part of our daily discipline as United Methodists. This video meditation features a shortened version of a prayer of thanksgiving. You are encouraged to share or download this video to use in Sunday School classes, before or during worship, or with your friends and family.
It is also available in Spanish.
View more at umc.org/videos
Read the Terms of Use
A Thanksgiving Prayer (by Rev. Linda McDermott, First United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas)
God who loves us, who deserves our gratitude for so much that is good,
We offer our prayers of thanksgiving to you:
For the beauty of the earth — bright orange leaves mixed with green, a gentle rain, a spider’s delicate web.
For friends, for family, even acquaintances who offer us kindness, who bring us laughter, who hold us to a higher standard.
Lord of all that is good and nourishing to our well being, we give you thanks.
How we must try your patience with our pettiness!
All of life is a wonder. The very breath we take, the ability to rouse ourselves each new day, a single blade of grass that holds such miracles of symmetry, a tiny distant star whose real size boggles our minds.
We take our lives for granted — as if it were our right, and not our gift.
We take our days and our loves and our passions for granted — as if tomorrow will verify their importance and our present moments have other things to occupy us.
Gracious God, who lavishes goodness upon us even in some of our darkest moments, help us to see your goodness, remind us to have grateful hearts, give us receptive minds, and grant us ever-gracious ways of living in harmony with each other.
And in our gratitude, make us to be instruments of your peace.
Amen.
The images in the video meditation were taken by photographers from various United Methodist agencies and conferences.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN.
Media contact is Fran Walsh, 615-742-5458.
This video was first posted in October, 2015.
View prayer ⇨ Share more gratitude ⇨ While November marks a celebration of thanksgiving in the U.S., finding time to thank God is part of our daily discipline as United Methodists. This video meditation features a shortened version of a prayer of thanksgiving. You are encouraged to share or download this video to use in Sunday School classes, before or during worship, or with your friends and family.
It is also available in Spanish.
View more at umc.org/videos
Read the Terms of Use
A Thanksgiving Prayer (by Rev. Linda McDermott, First United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas)
God who loves us, who deserves our gratitude for so much that is good,
We offer our prayers of thanksgiving to you:
For the beauty of the earth — bright orange leaves mixed with green, a gentle rain, a spider’s delicate web.
For friends, for family, even acquaintances who offer us kindness, who bring us laughter, who hold us to a higher standard.
Lord of all that is good and nourishing to our well being, we give you thanks.
How we must try your patience with our pettiness!
All of life is a wonder. The very breath we take, the ability to rouse ourselves each new day, a single blade of grass that holds such miracles of symmetry, a tiny distant star whose real size boggles our minds.
We take our lives for granted — as if it were our right, and not our gift.
We take our days and our loves and our passions for granted — as if tomorrow will verify their importance and our present moments have other things to occupy us.
Gracious God, who lavishes goodness upon us even in some of our darkest moments, help us to see your goodness, remind us to have grateful hearts, give us receptive minds, and grant us ever-gracious ways of living in harmony with each other.
And in our gratitude, make us to be instruments of your peace.
Amen.
The images in the video meditation were taken by photographers from various United Methodist agencies and conferences.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN.
Media contact is Fran Walsh, 615-742-5458.
This video was first posted in October, 2015.
As part of the Baptismal Covenant, United Methodists vow to share their gifts. While the term often brings to mind money, there’s much more to it. “Everything we’ve received from anybody, we offer all of that to God.”
Photo by Melissa Lauber, Baltimore-Washington Conference
Each confirmation candidate, like this one in Ocean City, Md., has his or her own special gift. As part of our United Methodist vow, we pledge to share our gifts with others.
Share your gifts: Honoring our United Methodist vow by Julie DwyerAs part of The United Methodist Church’s Baptismal Covenant, new members promise to faithfully participate in a local congregation through their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. But, how can they go beyond the words they profess to actually living into these vows? In a special five-part series, we look at each aspect of this membership vow and how United Methodists can answer the call to serve Christ through the local church.
Before their confirmation at Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, candidates receive their gifts from family, friends and clergy. But it’s not presents they are accepting.
At a special meal in their honor, each young person’s spiritual gifts are revealed.
At Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, confirmation candidates are honored at special meals in which family and friends share the gifts they see in each young person. Here, Montez Martinez, right, is celebrated, alongside brother Michael, left, and family friend David Gulley. Photo courtesy the Rev. Mike Mather.
One by one, guests stand up and share the God-given gifts they see in the candidate’s life. They spotlight the attributes that make that person special.“Then, the young person is asked to say what they think the calling claim of God in their life is,” said Mike Mather, Broadway’s senior pastor.
The goal, he said, is to help these confirmation candidates understand how they might use God’s gifts in the local church and the community for the benefit of the world.
“Once we started with everybody else telling the young person what gifts they saw in their life, then, when it came to the young person, it became much richer and more interesting.”
Before a laying on of hands, Mather said, he turns back to the group and asks if anyone wants to join their own gifts to that of the young person’s to build on God’s blessings.
As part of the Baptismal Covenant, United Methodists vow to participate in a local congregation through their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. While the term “gifts” often brings to mind money, there’s much more to it.
“It’s not just about finances. It’s about our whole lives. That includes our spiritual gifts. That includes talents we have. That includes everything that we’ve received from anybody. We offer all of that to God,” said the Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, former director of worship resources for Discipleship Ministries. “How does your life become a channel of God’s overflowing gifts to you and through you to the world?”
Burton-Edwards said it’s important for church leaders to ask members what gifts they have to offer so that they can figure out how best to utilize their time and talents.
It’s not about slotting people into particular committees that the church already has set up, he said, but rather putting church members’ gifts to work in new ways.
DISCOVER YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Learn more about the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament.
Take an online assessment to help you discover and cultivate your gifts.
At Broadway UMC, that idea changed the church’s ministries. Mather said all of the church’s mission-related programming had been based on people being needy, not gifted.
“That isn’t what we actually believe. That isn’t what we say in our baptismal vows, so why are we treating people like that? So, we stopped asking people how poor they are, how needy they are, and started asking people how gifted they are.”
Now, he said, the church doesn’t “serve” people in its community, it “hangs out” with them. They share meals together and talk about their passions.
“We find out that people that we thought of as needing something were actually needed. They had something to offer. And so we not only receive those gifts but find other ways to celebrate them,” Mather said.
Connecting people with shared gifts and building on those talents can begin to make a real difference in the community, he said.
Making a difference is what led Ridge Pilcher to The United Methodist Church. The 78-year-old became a United Methodist six years ago at the urging of her late husband, a longtime member. He thought she would like the new pastor at Havre De Grace United Methodist Church in Hartford County, Maryland. He was right.
Pilcher also found herself drawn to John Wesley’s call to social action. While she had always been involved in social justice issues, she was eager to continue that work after retiring as a nurse with HealthCare for the Homeless in Baltimore.
She considers her gift to be healing and found several ministries at Havre De Grace that called to her heart. Having two sons who battled addiction problems helped her realize the importance of providing compassion and support to those who have hit rock bottom.
“It’s understanding, accepting the whole person and meeting that person where they need to be met, and loving them, and that makes all the difference. That’s how healing happens. When somebody has a devastating illness or a horrible experience, they’re homeless or they can’t get off drugs, they need the healing love that can be offered. If you really love God, you really love people. That’s how I’m living. That is the most important thing.”
For those exploring what gifts they have to offer, Burton-Edwards recommends taking a spiritual gifts assessment. Discipleship Ministries offers several resources to help, including two books by the Rev. Dan R. Dick, assistant to Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Conference. “Equipped for Every Good Work: Building a Gifts-Based Church,” co-written by Dick’s wife, Barbara, helps people discover and develop their spiritual gifts. The sequel, “Beyond Money,” looks at the things United Methodists can do beyond financial giving.
And while stewardship is about more than money, financial gifts are an important piece of the puzzle. Church leaders need to talk to members about being faithful stewards and the practice of giving. Don’t assume that people don’t want to hear stewardship sermons, Dick said.
“What research has shown is that two or three vocal people will say, ‘We don’t like hearing about money in the church.’ And many pastors and preachers will assume that that opinion is representative of a larger group, when, in fact, the majority of laity are saying, ‘We need to understand giving as a spiritual discipline. We need to understand giving as a way to grow in our faith.’”
Burton-Edwards said if United Methodists can look beyond “begrudgingly giving 1.8 percent of their income to the church budget every year,” they can experience that spiritual growth. Their gifts — of time, money and talents — can be deployed in ways they may not have imagined.
“As Jesus said, ‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ The greatest investments we make better be toward advancing the work of God’s Kingdom in the world.”
This feature was originally published November 9, 2017.
Julie Dwyer is a writer and editor for United Methodist Communications. Reach her at jdwyer@umcom.org.
Photo by Mark Maguire, courtesy of Creative Commons
Sculpture of Francis Asbury in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
United Methodist Circuit Rider QuizFrom the earliest years of the denomination, pastors were appointed to serve a large number of local churches and preaching places located within a large geographic area. These ministers traveled regularly throughout their assigned areas and came to be known as circuit riders.
We invite you to take a short quiz about the circuit riders who helped spread the gospel and build The United Methodist Church. We encourage you to share the link with others and compare your scores! After you take the quiz, review the complete answers and learn more about our history and the brave circuit riders.
Download, print and share this Circuit Rider Quiz with your church, family and friends!
Visit this page to try other quizzes, especially our United Methodist Church History Quiz.Where would the church be without those early preachers on horseback? We invite you to answer a few questions and learn more about the circuit riders who helped build The United Methodist Church.
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