THE CONNECTION

February 2023 Connection
Posted on Feb 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter |

“This Is One Boring Article”
matter…caring for others!
churches to the district! Oh, and I’ll still be serving as your pastor here at GBUMC.
ministry in our own backyards. And so, as disciple-makers and disciples ourselves, we keep serving, loving, and being the church!
Pastor Brian
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January 2023 Connection
Posted on Jan 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

“For Auld Lang Syne and Days to Come”
In May of 2013, the American adaptation of the television series, The Office, aired its series finale which was cleverly titled, “Finale.” During that heart-string-pulling episode, the character Andy Bernard, played by actor, Ed Helms, reflected on the many memories of his years at the Scranton, PA branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (true fans would demand that I mention the fictional Sabre Electronics division to that title). In that moment of sentimentality, Andy says: “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
I was thinking about those words the other day as I was surrendering to the speed at which the 2023 new year seems to be approaching (though, it will have arrived by the time you read this). Andy’s reflection actually got me thinking a bit about how we can approach the new year, specifically this time around the sun. What if, instead of approaching this year as if it is just another year – a year of our lives, a year of our careers, a year of our relationships…perhaps a year of our ministries? – what if we approached it as THEE year of our ministry as church? THEE year of our lives as family people, relational people, even working people. In other words, what might happen if we approach 2023 as if it was already a year that we’d remember with excitement for all our lives to come?
To do this, we have to first accept a few nuances:
- It is safe to say that 2023 will not be perfect! We need to anticipate that there will be moments of disappointment and dissatisfaction during the year. There will also be moments of heartbreak and seemingly failure. This is part of life and is unavoidable. That said, how we approach those inevitable challenges makes all the difference! If we go into January 1st expecting 2023 to be a fruitful and special year in our lives, then we can approach difficulties with a reminder within ourselves that God has already overcome anything that seems insurmountable. The grief we’ll face, the loss we’ll experience – it doesn’t get to define us! Perhaps we can reflect on these words from the Gospel of John,
“In the world you have distress.
But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.”
-John 16:33 (CEB)
- We have to put some energy into making it true! Like with planning our New Year’s resolutions, we sometimes forget that nothing magical happens as we hang our new calendars on the wall or as we watch the ball drop in New York City. If I resolve to eat better, I have to actually change my grocery shopping habits. The calendar won’t step in to start making me kale salads, much as I might want it to. And yet, we mark time by dates and years, and so we can certainly enter 2023 with a desire to make it special. But then we have to join forces with God to begin doing something to make 2023 special and memorable for all the right reasons. IF this is the year that we’re going to see ministry at GBUMC flourish, then we all have to, not only get excited about that, but we have to start making it happen!
- 2020-2022 weren’t all bad. Were they difficult years for a variety of reasons? Absolutely! Were there moments when we faced fear and uncertainty? Absolutely! Did we grow in areas during that time? We sure did! Did we learn as we experienced life in new ways? Of course! Like #1, we will face challenges in the year to come. We should expect that! But, we can’t forget that we’ve faced challenges in the years gone by.
I look forward to all that we will be as a church in 2023. I do believe it will be a year we will look back on with memories of growth, new beginnings, and fruitful ministries! Do you believe it? Will you help to make it so? If so, take a seat at God’s ever-growing table with me and all others, and lets begin to feast!!!
For auld lang syne and for days to come,
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December 2022 Connection
Posted on Dec 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

“A Nativity’s Purpose”
(we’ll leave the “it’s too soon for Christmas” argument for another time). We all know what we’ll find in a nativity scene: Mary, Joseph, some shepherds, an angel, 3 magi/kings/wisemen, perhaps some sheep and a camel, and of course Jesus.
the angel’s announcement to the shepherds in the nearby countryside, and then…well, that’s about it. Matthew is kind enough to include the visit of the magi, but says nothing about shepherds. So, how did we arrive at our favorite nativity scenes at Christmas time? We simply bring the two Gospels – Matthew
and Luke – together and provide a few embellishments. Anything wrong with this? Not at all! Is it accurate? Well…not really.
how they might ever sleep again. Coincidently, probably not the best time for shepherds and sheep to show up, but hey! It could always be worse, right!? But, how about Matthew’s magi. Speculation is that they (not necessarily three of them, by the way) probably arrived a good bit after Jesus birth. Herod’s order to kill all children in the region 2 years old and younger (Matthew 2:16) suggests that Jesus may have been as old as a toddler by the time the magi greeted him and the holy family. Frankincense, gold and myrrh – every toddler’s favorite gifts!
parents of Jesus because for the next 30 years or so, Mary and Joseph would be tasked with raising this
infant child to be the Son of God. They’d teach him how to pray, how to love, how to worship, and how to
care for neighbor. They’d model forgiveness for him, and remind him that he is loved. Could it be that
Mary and Joseph simply needed some encouragement, and so God sent these unlikely prophets to them
in order to confirm a divine truth? I suspect that’s the case!
rehearsed this journey for generations, and so we know what will be there. Though, don’t we still need
prophets of some sort to announce and witness to us what we’ve come across? To declare to us the full
divinity of the child born on Christmas? Don’t we need to, not only see Jesus, but hear the reminder that
he came to us as Emmanuel, God with us, that we might discover love, grace, and new life?
share that same confirmation with others who need to hear it. This Advent and Christmastime, consider
these questions: for whom can you be shepherd, magi, or angel? And who can be that for you?
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November 2022 Connection
Posted on Nov 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Bridging Divides and Setting Tables
righteous people, but sinners.”
-Matthew 9:10-13 (CEB)
that raised eyebrows! But what is Jesus doing? He’s making the table big enough to welcome those who don’t necessarily fit in at any other table.
side of the divisive canyons in our lives? No. That is possible – and it is the hope – but that takes a lot of
work! But, sitting at the table and pulling out the chair for someone else is a great place to start!
Pastor Brian
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October 2022 Connection
Posted on Oct 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter |

A Learning Church
pass on to you all as a church!
to learn, grow, and discover the goodness of God in all that we do. One thought that the class has been playing with for a couple of weeks now is this: The church does not have a Christian Education program. The Church is a Christian Education program
God’s grace. We grow every time we find ourselves breaking bread with neighbor, friend, and stranger. We educate ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ every time we dance to the rhythms of forgiveness and reconciliation.
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September 2022 Connection
Posted on Sep 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

An Obvious Miracle
Jesus found fish in a fishing village.
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August 2022 Connection
Posted on Aug 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

What’s Informing What?
Pastor Brian
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July 2022 Connection
Posted on Jul 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

“Preparing the Way”
presented with the possibility of buying a cottage in the historical campground. With the help of some friends, they purchased a small cottage at 4 Forest Circle for $1,800. The cottage which is now nicknamed, “Reunion,” was first built in the 1860’s and maintains the essence of that initial design today. Nearly 100 years after this cottage began making memories for families before us, it has, for the last
62 years, been a place for retreat and reunion for the West family.

Body of Christ) that will come after each of us. You see, ministry is rarely looking back at what was (or what we perceive to have been), but rather looking forward. At times, it requires us to take a leap of
Pastor Brian
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June 2022 Connection
Posted on Jun 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter |

“Strive for the A”
- Life happens to each one of us! And you know what I mean by “life.” And so, don’t put an unrealistic expectation on yourself to have perfect attendance. Would it be nice? Sure! Is it practical? Probably not. And so, don’t think that a church usher will show up on your porch if you miss a Sunday or anything like that. This is an encouragement – not a law.
- Don’t forget that you can still worship with us online. Now, I know that worshiping online just isn’t the same thing as being in-person. Of course it’s not! But it still counts! But gone are the days of having to feel fully disengaged from the church on Sundays when we’re sick or out of town. Remember that you can always worship with us live at 9am on Sundays on our YouTube channel, or throughout the week, any time after that!
- Even though you don’t have to actually track your worship attendance (in-person or online), I would encourage you to do so anyway. Whether it’s on the notes app on your phone, on a calendar, or even just a piece of paper or notebook, tracking it can help you realize the difference it makes in your life.
- First and foremost, community (or congregational) worship is an extremely important part of who we are as Christians and what we do. It is about celebrating our God who loves us more than we can ever fully understand. Worship isn’t something we should feel we have to do. Rather, the goal is that we come to experience worship as something we want to do. That said, building a routine around worship can be very helpful. Some days will require a bit more self-motivation than others, but I’ve never regretted going to worship.
- Worship is kind of like charging your phone at the end of the day. Sunday worship helps us feel recharged with God’s Spirit. Worship helps us to reconnect with God – plug-in, if you will. When you make worship a regular part of your weekly routine, you’ll start to notice, even more, when you miss a Sunday. It’s much like forgetting to charge your phone at night. The week just starts off…well, off!
- I (Pastor Brian) will be sad if you don’t strive for the A. Okay, I won’t be sad, per se, but I really do hope that you will make worship a regular part of your and your family’s weekly life. My job – my goal – is to help lead people on their faith journey with Christ. Worship is one of the ways that I can do that, and so I take worship very seriously. In planning worship, I typically plan about 6-12 months in advance, not so that I can brag about that, but so that I can create a big picture blueprint, if you will, for how we’re going to grow in our discipleship through worship. Each Sunday is carefully planned with a theme that builds on top of previous weeks, and lays the foundation for weeks and months to come. Now, let me be clear: don’t come for me! Come and worship because it is through worship that we come closer to God in Christ, and discover God’s call on our lives to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.
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May 2022 Connection
Posted on May 1, 2022 in BLOG, Uncategorized |

Church-and-Rescue
(Get it?!)
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