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Pastor’s Corner: September 2020

Beloved Friends, Thirty minutes into the clergy-only session of MN Annual Conference 2020, I found myself in my sun-porch home office with my computer, my note pad, and a take-out coffee, attempting to digest what had just happened. Two hundred (or so) MN UMC clergy had all completed 4 hours of preparation for this event, had Zoomed together to an opening announcement that included the strange celebration of being “together” as a body in these times of social distancing. Yes,…

Pastor’s Corner: August 2020

I begin to write this note listening to a recording of “Amazing Grace,” played on the sanctuary piano by Kathy Webb. I look up and out our front door and the snow-white squirrel that lives in our neighborhood pops up like a Jack-in-the-box in the lawn across the street.

Pastor’s Corner: July 2020

I have long been fascinated by what Jesus looked like at the time he walked the dusty paths of Nazareth. I noticed early and often that the images of Jesus I encountered in the painting in the Sunday School classroom, in the stained-glass window in the sanctuary (pictured), and the small one in a book in my grandmother’s house looked nothing at all like one another.

This Is the Time

It is difficult for me to speak these days. It is difficult to stand in a pulpit that has historically belonged primarily to white voices and raise up my own white experiences and sensibility, my own comparatively insignificant pain and suffering. And “difficult” doesn’t cut it. “Difficult” can’t stop us. I am so deeply humbled by these times, that I can barely assemble a coherent sentence. And yet. A friend told me about hearing James Corden of TV’s, “The Late…

The Book of Job

We are studying the book of Job. It is beautiful. It is a wonderful vehicle for considering many of the questions we have about how (and why) we suffer. It is profoundly challenging. We’ve just begun our study and will be at this for awhile! If you are interested, please help us suggest where we study next.

The PPUMC Choir Celebrates Advent!

The season of Advent is here, and the PPUMC Choir is preparing to celebrate this time of anticipation with an array of both familiar and new music to warm our spirits and light our path.   We begin on December 1 with a stirring arrangement of, “With A Voice of Singing” by Martin Shaw. This composition dates back nearly a century yet resonates with an energy that is as relevant and welcome as ever.  On December 8, we turn to the gospel stylings…

Giving Thanks

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Below are two passages to reflect on this holiday week. 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…

Happy Advent!

Today, we welcome in December, which means it’s the beginning of Advent! Our theme this year is “Light.” Join us for our Sunday Advent worship services (among other, non-Sunday services), over the next month to expand on that theme. All are welcome to attend. To see our full Advent & Christmas schedule, please visit the “Advent & Christmastide” page under the Calendar & Events drop-down menu at the top of the page. You may also click here to get there…

Thank You to All Who Enjoyed the PPUMC Bazaar & Art Fair on Saturday, November 4, at PPUMC

Our Bazaar & Art Fair is the place to start AND finish your holiday shopping. It happens on the first Saturday in November every year from 9 am – 3 pm. The Bazaar features wonderful baked goods, jams, jellies, and other goodies from the PPUMC Ovens. You are likely to find a gently-used treasure in the Twice Nice rummage sale area, and get your hands on some fabulous craft items in the Boutique. Shopping is hard work, so be sure…