Be There, or Be SquareDo you remember that injunction, “Be there, or be square”?It apparently has been in use since the 1940’s, and has several shades of meaning, from “if you are not ‘there’ you are not ‘cool’” to “if you are not there, you will be left out”, and as a “playful invitation to encourage someone to attend an event or participate in an activity”.And that is what this is, an invitation...  Read More

This week members and guests of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference will meet online and in person at Central Church in Richland, WA, June 13 to June 16 for its 151st regular session. A successful Clergy Session was held on May 29, and members gathered to discuss legislation this last weekend at Focus Sessions held online Friday and Saturday. Pastor Amanda will be attending the conference in-p...  Read More

Defining MomentsAn acquaintance of mine, for whom I have a measure of respect, posits that there is a “defining moment” for every generation.I suspect there is a nugget of truth in that idea. And with the corollary that institutions and individuals are further defined by events or “moments”.  Reflecting upon those ideas and the events of the last month, I thought about defining moments. Some are f...  Read More

Hello, Community UMC! The 2024 (postponed-2020) General Conference of The United Methodist Church has concluded its work. This was a historic conference for several reasons. Below are several links to view summaries of the overall conference, the major legislative actions taken, a pastoral message from our Western Jurisdiction bishops, and information about changes to our episcopal leadership in t...  Read More

This Sunday we begin a three-week series on living as Easter people based on the First Epistle of John. The season of Easter, or Eastertide, can be difficult to navigate. On the one hand, there is the ongoing unexplainable joy of resurrection and the hope of new life. On the other hand, there is the inevitable feeling of “So, what?” as we notice that the world seems pretty much unchanged or perhap...  Read More

I thought I had the topic for this month’s newsletter article figured out.I was going to write about dandelions. Seriously.But then a wealth of athletic events happening at the same time in Spokane created a shortage of hotel rooms. Consequently, some of the competing teams had to be housed in Coeur d’Alene. And then they had to walk to a restaurant.Most of the nation knows what happened then. Not...  Read More

Our Easter offering this year will 100% support the 2nd Harvest Mobile Market. Mobile Market brings healthy food directly to high-need communities throughout the Inland Northwest. Since 2006, the Mobile Market has provided fresh produce and other groceries at no cost to families, children, and seniors experiencing food insecurity. Last year Mobile Market served over 900 people at CUMC alone. Mobil...  Read More

Dear church,Last week, Fred Asher, Sherry Graham, and I spent three beautiful, wintry days at Clearwater Lodge in Newport, WA. We gathered there with five other churches for our second Resilient Church Retreat. The Resilient Church Project is a two-year program funded by the Whitworth Office of Church Engagement with the aim of helping churches explore the marks of resiliency as we navigate our ra...  Read More

Though we often avoid exploring the places in our lives marked by shadows anddarkness, these challenging moments can be ways through which God leads us out of dark times into the dawning of new opportunities and fresh starts. In his own journey from the wilderness to the cross, Jesus experienced moments of gathering shadows and distinct darkness. But for those of us who know how his story ends, we...  Read More

John Wesley listed "holy conferencing" as one of the means of grace, by which he meant believers gathering to worship and pursue the will of God together. 2024 is a big year of conferencing in The United Methodist Church!Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth has officially called the 151st session of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference for June 13-16 in Richland, WA at Central United Protestant Church. A...  Read More

He was an old hippie. At least, he appeared to be.My wife Florence and I had taken a trailer load of “green and clean” yard waste to the transfer station/recycling center—mostly tree branches from limbing pine trees. We’d backed the trailer in and started dragging and tossing the branches off it into the “green and clean piles.”I don’t recall the amount of material we had, but it likely was a half...  Read More

During Lent we are encouraged to:1. Give up something,2. Start something, and3. Do something for the community of God.If you are looking to start something, consider joining the Read a Chapter a Day Challenge! Across our connection United Methodists are being challenged to read a chapter a day from the Gospel of John during Lent.Reading the Bible is one of the essential spiritual practices of disc...  Read More