Prayer for Summer

Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer!

Thank you for the warmth of the sun

and the increased daylight.

Thank You for the beauty I see all around me

and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.

Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,

and for the more casual pace of the summer season.

Draw me closer to You this summer.

Teach me how I can pray

no matter where I am or what I am doing.

Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence

and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.

As I enjoy Your creation, create in me

a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.

- Author Unknown

United Methodists celebrate Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, federal troops under the command of Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas. They brought a life-changing message for the estimated quarter-of-a-million slaves in the state: “All slaves are free” and entitled to payment for their labor. This important day in history became known as Freedom Day, or Juneteenth, now a U.S. federal holiday.

Read more at this link.

United Methodist ministries named in House probe

Four United Methodist ministries — including the Council of Bishops — are among 215 nonprofits facing demands from a U.S. congressional committee about their work with immigrants.

Two leading members of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security last week sent letters to the nongovernmental organizations seeking to know by June 24 how they used U.S. taxpayer dollars in their work during former President Biden’s administration.

The letter states the committee “is conducting oversight of the potential use of federal resources to facilitate illegal immigration.”

The Council of Bishops, the bishops’ Immigration Task Force, United Methodist Board of Church and Society, and the Immigration Law and Justice Network all confirmed receiving the letter.

Neither the bishops and its task force nor the board of Church and Society receive any federal funding.

“The Council of Bishops does not receive any resources from the federal government,” Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, the Council of Bishops executive secretary, told United Methodist News. “We have responded to the inquiry stating the same.”

Church and Society, the denomination’s social witness agency, plans to respond the same way.

Read more at this link.

Father’s Day has Methodist ties

Note: This story was originally published in 2010, the year often referenced as the centennial of the first celebration of Father's Day. Information regarding the centennial has been updated to reflect this.

To all you dads out there: While you're relaxing in your recliner and watching sports on June 21, and your kids are on their best behavior to honor Father's Day, don't forget to thank a United Methodist.

That's right. Not one, but two United Methodist churches with the same name, oddly enough, can lay claim to originating the celebration of all things paternal.

In 1909 in Spokane, Wash., Sonora Smart Dodd listened to a Mother's Day sermon at Central Methodist Episcopal Church. Dodd's own mother had died 11 years earlier, and her father had raised their six children alone. Dodd felt moved to honor her father, and fathers everywhere, with a special day as well.

She proposed her idea to local religious leaders, and gained wide acceptance. June 19, 1910, was designated as the first Father's Day, and sermons honoring fathers were presented throughout the city.

When newspapers across the country carried the story about Spokane's observance, the popularity of Father's Day spread. Several presidents declared it a holiday, and in 1972, Richard Nixon established it as the third Sunday in June.

Dodd's pivotal role in the creation of a national Father's Day celebration was recognized in 1943 with a luncheon in her honor in New York City. Central Methodist Episcopal is now known as Central United Methodist and holds a Father's Day service every year.

Read more at this link.

Litany for Trinity Sunday

A Trinity painting by Pastor Charles

Worthy of praise from every mouth,

worthy of confession from every tongue,

worthy of worship from every creature,

is Your glorious name, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

For You created the world in Your grace,

and by Your compassion You saved the world.

To Your majesty, O God,

ten thousand times ten thousand bow down and adore,

singing and praising without ceasing, and saying:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts;

heaven and earth are full of Your praises.

Hosanna in the highest.

— 5^th century Nestorian Liturgy

Bishop's Pastoral Letter: A Call to Mourn, Pray, and Live with Love

 

Beloved in Christ,  This is a moment of unspeakable sorrow and sacred reckoning.  Today, we mourn the deaths of Minnesota Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, taken from this world by targeted violence in their home. We hold vigil for Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who remain in critical condition, wounded in the same cruel pattern.  We cry out with the prophets, with the psalmists, with all who have ever stood at the edge of injustice and asked: "How long, O Lord?"  This was political violence. This was an assassination. This was terror clothed in false authority. This was evil that struck at the heart of public service and family love.  And we do not look away.  We lament: We lament, not as those who are powerless, but as those who know the power of naming what is broken.  We lament the loss of two lives created in the image of God.  We lament for children who will wake to absence.  We lament the slow erosion of public trust, where leaders now lead at the risk of their lives.  And we confess:  We confess the ways we have grown accustomed to violence.  We confess the silence we’ve kept when political rhetoric turned to poison.  We confess the times we have chosen safety over solidarity, and comfort over courage.  We confess that, even in the Church, we have sometimes spoken more about loyalty to social and political ideologies than the life, teaching, and witness of Jesus, our Christ. We've leaned into worldly powers and authorities that distort Jesus, who alone is King of kings and Lord of lords.  There is fear among us—real and reasonable fear. Fear for those who lead and serve in public life. Fear for clergy, laity, and community leaders who stand visibly and speak up for justice.  As your Bishop, I do not deny this fear. I feel it with you. And I also know this: fear, while human, must not have the final word. Even in the ache and the fear, we remember who we are: We are people of the gospel. We are people who still choose love. We are people who still proclaim truth. We are people who follow the One who says to every storm: “Peace be still.”  We are people who live into what Jesus has taught us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” To love God is to resist every force that tells us to hate our neighbor. To love God is to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. To follow Jesus is to stand, even now, in the valley of death and say: “This is not the way God intends it to be.” So, I call on every United Methodist congregation, every clergy leader, every follower of Christ in this episcopal area: Mourn what has been lost—honestly and fully.  Name what is broken—clearly and bravely.  And live what we profess—boldly and tenderly.  Let your pulpits and ministries speak of sorrow and of truth. Let your prayers rise from a place deeper than despair. Let your witness be a living sermon of peace, justice, and unrelenting grace.  This moment aches with grief and fear; but, it is not beyond    redemption. For even now, the tomb is empty. Even now, love is    stronger than hate. Even now, the Spirit is moving—through tears, through courage, through the gospel that still calls us to love God, and love our neighbor, with everything we are. With you in the ache.  With you in the gospel.  In Christ’s unshakable love,  Bishop Lanette Plambeck Resident Bishop Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church

Annual Conference recap

Highlights to share with your church Wondering how to condense worship, learning, discerning, and celebrating into a succinct report you can bring back to members of your congregation? Here are three great resources: • Annual Conference Recap Video • Written Highlights Summary / Accompanying PowerPoint Slide Deck (we recommend using these together) • 2024-2025 Year in Review Video: What We've Accomplished Together Access a web page of all Annual Conference resources Video: Bishop's Episcopal Address In a powerful and prophetic Episcopal Address, Bishop Lanette Plambeck called Minnesota United Methodists to embody unrelenting grace in a world desperate for hope. With bold clarity and pastoral conviction, she named the false gospels of our time, redefined “hallelujah” as an act of sacred resistance, and cast a vision for a Church that loves boldly, serves joyfully, and leads courageously. All are invited to join the Spirit-led movement God is stirring in our midst. You are welcome and encouraged to share this with your church.  Watch or download Episcopal Address  Photos and articles Photos: You can view and even download high-resolution versions of all photographs that photographer David Haines took throughout our three days together. In any of the albums listed below, click on the photo you want, then hit the down arrow in the lower-right corner of the page. June 11, Day 1: Laity Session, opening worship, Episcopal Address, workshops June 12, Day 2: First teaching session with Rev. Dr. Tim Eberhart, Honoring the Saints worship service, business session Celebration of Life in Ministry worship service June 13, Day 3: Worship with conference preacher, Rev. Matt Sipe, and Love Offering; second teaching session with Rev. Dr. Tim Eberhart, legislation, business session Articles: Click here to read online articles about key news and sessions during annual conference.