Mid-Week Dinner & Discussion Groups

Wednesdays, 6:00 pm | Green Room

An essential part of a faithful life is reflection, study, and discussion with others in community. We will meet this fall on Wednesday nights beginning September 30th for dinner at 6:00 pm and discussion groups at 6:30 pm. We have two adult classes to choose from while Pastor Tanya teaches youth confirmation and Mrs. Becky will lead a class for our Kids Club.

Come make new friends, practice your discipleship, find hope, and be nourished in body and spirit by God’s community!

Conversations that Build Bridges

Wednesdays, 6:30pm | Green room

When a community or nation feels divided, how can the church help bring people together? Can we help people hear each other, and find common values of inclusion, grace, and community? MUMC member Melinda Moats-Mulvaney, a licensed therapist, has developed a class that will help us have conversations across differences, emphasizing working together for the benefit of all in the community. Areas of discussion include:

• Parameters for calm, clear, courteous, and curious conversations

• How to clarify the values that inform the discussion

• Practicing conversations and role playing to move beyond road blocks.

This class is not a discussion of issues, but an exercise in understanding the person across from you. It might get into political issues, but they are not the main focus.

Pastor Meredith will assist Melinda, bringing in stories from the Bible to add perspective to the conversation. Jesus responded to people from a variety of circumstances and backgrounds, and found a way to build bridges around things that mattered. She will also lead a session of the class about Christian Nationalism: what it is, why it divides us, and how to have conversations about it.

Melinda believes that what people need is a good listening to. We all need to remember that we are better off with each other than without each other. Can we follow Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors when the conversations are difficult? Melinda says yes, and will help us do just that.

John, The Shakespeare of the New Testament

Wednesdays, 6:30pm | Room 143

What if the Gospel of John is not only a gospel we read, but one we are meant to envision? In this six-session study, Pastor Tom Albright will help us explore John as a master storyteller whose Gospel unfolds through dramatic scenes, memorable characters, vivid dialogue, irony, misunderstanding, suspense, and surprising reversals. We will look closely and experience the wedding at Cana, Nicodemus and Jesus, the Samaritan woman, the healing of the man born blind, Lazarus, the trial before Pilate, and the encounters with the risen Christ. We will ask not only, “What is John telling us about Jesus?” but also, “What is John wanting us to experience?” No special background is required—only a willingness to see one of the New Testament’s most familiar gospels with fresh eyes.

Give, Serve, Grow Fall Sermon Series, October4

Fall is a natural time to look back and reflect on what we’ve been able to do over the last year. As we give thanks, we also prepare for the year to come. In this congregation, everything we do, we do together.

During October, we will focus on how we respond to God’s call to build a community of love together. We give money to make sure the church continues. We serve by rolling up our sleeves and doing tasks that make life better. We grow, always looking for the next right thing to do. Together, when each of us do what we can do, we build a community of love together. Finally, we will celebrate on October 25, bringing our 2027 pledges and rejoicing and what we are able to do together.

Coffee with the Pastors

Are you new to our congregation? Come get to know the congregation and Pastor Meredith a bit better. We'll meet after second service worship in the Green room. Pastor Meredith can get to know you, and you'll be able to ask questions about the church in a casual environment. Everyone is welcome! Sign up on the back of the blue Connection Card in bulletin or with the church office.