When traveling around to different parts of the world, I love to visit churches. I’ve been lucky to have seen all kinds, from tiny, unadorned chapels to massive, majestic basilicas. I always wonder about the people who worship in these spaces regularly. Do they see the amazing beauty and uniqueness of their home worship space?…
Considering Greetings
I’ll admit it…I tend to be an overthinker. One of my latest overthinking moments had to do with greetings. Over the past two weeks, I’ve really been wrestling with greetings. What is the typical greeting in certain situations and what is the most effective/best greeting? For many years, we have focused on radical welcoming at…
What’s Your Superpower?
Do you take flying leaps fearlessly? Have the ability to see through walls? Stop bullets with your amazing bracelets? Yeah, me neither. My superpowers tend to be much less exciting. Granted, I have quite a few, as I imagine you do, too. If we didn’t have some of these less-than-spectacular superpowers, then there likely wouldn’t…
Grief During Lent
“What kind of feelings come to mind when you think about Lent? Do you think of sunshine & rainbows? Or do you think more of clouds and gloom?” This was a conversation that took place a few Sundays ago with some of our students during Group Life. Many students described Lent as a time that…
Rooted Young Adult Ministry at FUMC Hurst
I wanted to share what God has been doing with the Rooted Young Adult ministries at First United Methodist Church of Hurst. But before we get to that, I thought it is worth talking about how it all started. Not long ago after I got appointed as one of the associate pastors at FUMC Hurst,…
New Connections
Several months ago, I listened to a Hidden brain podcast called Relationships 2.0: The Power of Tiny Interactions. In it they talk about how people benefit not just from interactions with what they call “strong ties” (think: close friends, co-workers and family members) but how an increased number of interactions with “weak ties”, people with…
I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet: The Joy of Missing Out and Other Lessons from this Week
In this age of social media, I am often aware of a Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO. If I’m not recognizing the feeling in others, I’m recognizing it in myself. Scrolling through social media can make me feel like I’d rather be there than here. So and so seems to be having so much…
Mary, Undoer of Knots
I am a long-time fan of Pope Francis. Several years ago, when I read that one of his favorite paintings was hanging in a church in Augsburg, Bavaria, I was curious. The painting is entitled Mary Undoer of Knots by Baroque painter Schmidtner (1625-1707). Now I’m not a huge fan of Baroque art, but I…
Jen’s 2023 Word of the Year
It’s January, so it’s time again to select a word of the year (if you like doing that sort of thing)! In case you have not read my past few December/January blogs, here is a recap of my past words of the year: 2018: NOW (practicing living in the present) 2019: NEW (making MANY things…
New Year, New Me, Same God
On New Year’s Day I had lunch with my parents after church. We caught up with what we had all been up to and how we spent our New Year’s Eve. My stepmom asked me what my goals were for 2023. I knew I would be asked this eventually. I’m not entirely sure why, but…
Peace Be With You
Through the busyness of this season and with all the challenges and uncertainties of the world, how can true peace be experienced? Without a doubt, we all wish for shalom. For some, shalom means physical and mental well-being; for others, it means the absence of war, disease, and injustice; and for others, it can be…
Mourning Tradition Among the Luba-Kasai Tribe in Democratic Republic of Congo
The Luba-Kasai people are an ethno-linguistic group to the central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of them live in this country, residing mainly in Kasai provinces. The Luba-Kasai tribe consist of many sub-groups or clans who speak various dialects. When somebody among the Luba-Kasai tribe passes away, the first thing the…
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