The Midweek Message
from Senior Pastor Magrey deVega
A Word for Graduates
Dear Hyde Park Family, We are now in graduation season here in the Tampa Bay area, as we celebrate high school seniors embarking on an exciting and unfolding future. We will be honoring our seniors this Sunday in worship, as well as praying for graduating students at...
There Once was a Journey
Dear Hyde Park Family, Happy National Limerick Day! I know; today’s observance was likely not on your calendar. It wasn’t on mine, either, until I randomly checked this website yesterday. In case you’re wondering, today is also International Nurses Day,...
A Mother’s Day Prayer
Dear Hyde Park Family, In preparation for this Sunday, when we celebrate and honor the mothers and mother figures in our lives, here is a reprise of a prayer for Mother’s Day that I first offered years ago. May it guide us into a deeper appreciation for these special...
The Original Six-Word Story
Dear Easter People, There is a legend that someone once asked Ernest Hemingway to write a story using only six words. His response? “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” Since then, the idea of a “Six-Word Story” has grown in popularity. One article defines it as “a...
One Continual Act
Dear Lenten Pilgrims, Epiphany By John Donne, 1572-1631 The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha, where he was crucified, even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness...
See You at the Starting Line!
Dear Hyde Park Pilgrims, Don’t finish what you can’t start. That’s a twist on the classic cliché, but it is sage advice for our tendency to jump quickly to Easter without moving through the Passion. Our stores are stocked with plastic grass and chocolate bunnies, yet...
A Safe Place for Questions
Dear Hyde Park Family, Last Sunday morning, I spent the 9:30 hour with about thirty of our seventh-grade confirmation students, to walk them through a rehearsal for our Confirmation Service on April 24. I also spent time with the entire youth group, for a special...
Praying as the Prodigal
Dear Lenten Pilgrims, In March 2010, during a family trip to Paris, we visited the Rodin Museum, featuring the work of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. We saw his most famous sculpture, The Thinker, along with many other amazing works. In contrast to the smooth...
Grace in Every Moment
Dear Hyde Park Family, Last week, I returned from spending a few days in San Diego, where my older daughter Grace is a junior at San Diego State. My younger daughter Madelyn flew over from Washington, D.C., giving the three of us a fun time to reconnect....
Three More Things You Might Give Up for Lent
Dear Lenten Pilgrims, Five years ago, I wrote a Midweek Message titled “Ten Other Things You Might Give Up for Lent,” which was subsequently picked up and published by Ministry Matters, our denomination’s online publication. You may wish to refer back to it as a guide...
Prayer for Ukraine
Dear Hyde Park Family, As we begin this Lenten journey, we join our hearts and spirits in prayer for the devastation occurring in the country of Ukraine and the trauma experienced by its people around the world. We pray for an end to violence, comfort for the mourning...
If the Transfiguration Happened Today
Dear Hyde Park Family, For today’s Midweek Message, I’m resurrecting (pun intended) a message from 2018, in which I playfully contemplate what the transfiguration of Jesus, observed by Christians this Sunday, might look like in today’s social media world. ...
A Big Hyde Park Welcome
Dear Hyde Park Family, Those who have been around the church for a while know that two of the great blessings in this congregation are its faithful laity and amazing staff. Because so many of you offer your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, we make God’s...
The Two Questions
Dear Hyde Park Family, I love sessions with my therapist. They have been an important key to maintaining emotional wellness during this long, difficult season of life and ministry. Those of you with such a relationship with a therapist know these benefits; I’m...
You’re Invited! (To Gratitude)
Dear Hyde Park Family, I’ll start with the special invitation: Mark your calendar for Sunday, February 27, when we will have the great privilege of hosting renowned author and speaker Diana Butler Bass for morning worship and an evening lecture (4-6pm). Diana is the...
10 Reasons to Celebrate
Dear Hyde Park Family, As we start a new year together, I want to share some words of celebration with you about the church, including some opportunities for you to make God’s love real. 1. Amazing Year-End Giving Because of your financial generosity, and the...
Amazing Peace
Dear Hyde Park Family, Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem By Maya Angelou Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses. Flood waters await us in our avenues. Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche Over...
Simple Gifts with Significant Impact
Dear Advent Pilgrims, God has a history of making a big deal out of seemingly small acts of generosity. Think about what God did with five smooth stones lying in a creek between David and Goliath. Or what Elijah did with the generosity of a widow and her last morsels...
Hannah and Mary
Dear Advent Pilgrims, This Sunday our journey through Advent takes a familiar stop in the iconic story of Mary, whose visitation by the angel Gabriel changed her life and the trajectory of the world. It also evoked from her lips the most famous song in the entire...
Four Tips for a Blessed Advent
Dear Advent Pilgrims, In last Sunday’s sermon I shared some of the best guidance I’ve ever received about having a blessed Advent. It came from a book I read years ago titled, “Unplug the Christmas Machine.” It offers people practical advice on how to keeps your eyes...
On Being Grateful for Everything
Dear Hyde Park Family, On Being Grateful for Everything By Henri Nouwen (from Bread for the Journey) To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, But to be grateful for all of our lives— the good as well as the bad, the moments...
3 Tips for Giving Thanks
Dear Hyde Park Family, We are a week away from Thanksgiving, and I pray your days ahead will be filled with moments of joy, reflection, and connecting with loved ones. As the season suggests, may there also be occasions for you to give deep thanks to God and to...
Wires Crossed
Dear Hyde Park Family, “AHHHH-LEX-AHHHHH … STOP!” I have discovered the joys of teaching my elderly parents how to use the Alexa app on their Amazon Echo. I purchased it for them a few weeks ago to give them a way of playing Filipino music by their favorite artists....
Doing Thanks
Dear Hyde Park Family, With Halloween behind us and the month of November ahead, we enter a season of gratitude that culminates with the observance of Thanksgiving. I hope you will take time to acknowledge the many blessings of God that we might otherwise overlook....
In Appreciation
First, here’s a reminder that if you have not already, please subscribe to receive the daily prayer emails that will guide us on our 22-Day Prayer Journey. Each message includes a powerful testimonial of life change from someone in our church or community because of...
We’re all in This Together
At the start of every year, Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan publishes its annual list of “Ten Banished Words for Misuse, Overuse, and Uselessness.” In their estimation, these are the words and phrases that have become insincere, useless,...
Two Pockets: Healthy, Faithful Perspective
Most of the time, I have to figure out what to write for my Midweek Message. This week’s message practically fell into my lap. Last Tuesday, during our staff chapel, as we were preparing to pray for the joys and concerns submitted by the congregation last Sunday, our...
Growing Deeper
Dear Hyde Park Family, It’s harvest season in the fields and farms across the country, and a time of year I gained an appreciation for during my eight years serving in Iowa. Farmers are in their combines, reaping the benefits of their risk: planting last spring,...
A Little House in Hyde Park
Dear Hyde Park Family, One of the joys of offering our online service every Sunday is the new sense of connection we have with people around the country. For the last several months, a couple from Virginia named Claudette and David Collins have not only been joining...
The Beauty of Being a United Methodist
Tomorrow, laity and clergy from across Florida United Methodism will gather virtually for Annual Conference, to engage in the tradition of holy conferencing that is as old as Methodism itself. It will be a time of renewed connection, prayer, and inspiration, as we...
To Madelyn, on Your Graduation
Dear Hyde Park Family, By the time you read this message, my younger daughter Madelyn will have graduated at noon today from the International Baccalaureate program at Robinson High School. This fall, she will be attending American University in Washington, D.C.,...
Three Words to Pray
Dear Hyde Park Family, “Prayer means that, in some unique way, we believe we’re invited into a relationship with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.” I recently re-read the book “Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers” by Anne Lamott, whose writing...
In Relationship with Others
I’m not sure who decides such things, but on the National Day Calendar website, this past week contained several unusual observances: Monday was National Clean Your Room Day, followed by National Eat What You Want Day. Who knew that yesterday was National Odometer...
Are You Successful or Fruitful?
Dear Hyde Park Family, This Sunday we focus on Jesus’ famous image of the vine and the branches in John 15, in which he calls us to abide in him and bear fruit. It is important to remember that the standard by which we measure our faithfulness to God is faithfulness,...
A Few Lessons from Sheep
This Sunday our services focus on Jesus as our Good Shepherd from John 10. And in an odd bit of comedic timing, this video popped up in my social media feed. You’ll want to watch it. I bet you can relate to that sheep as much as I can. And here are a few other timely...
God’s New Creation
Dear Hyde Park Family, So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Last Sunday we kicked off our new worship series “A New Creation,” and I concluded...
You’ve Gotta See This!
Dear Easter People, Back in 1993, while walking through Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, I saw my first Magic Eye 3D image. Or at least I tried to see it. In case you’d never heard of them, Magic Eye 3D images are computer-generated pictures that on the surface,...
Mary’s Boy
The Midweek Message is the weekly newsletter of our Senior Pastor, the Rev. Magrey deVega.
A Personal Word About Race
Dear Hyde Park Family, In the aftermath of the tragic shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, I offered a pastoral word and prayer earlier this week with which we can join in prayer and concern. A PERSONAL WORD ABOUT RACE A few people have reached out to me to offer their...
CPR for Your Spirit
Dear Lenten Pilgrims, We’ve all heard of CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Many of us have been trained to administer it in an emergency. Some of us may have even needed to receive it in the past. If you’re like me, we often need a different kind of CPR, one to...
The Meaning of Scars
Dear Hyde Park Family, First, an important announcement: We are eager to announce that on Sunday, April 11, we will be resuming indoor worship and onsite children’s activities. For now, we will offer a single service at 9:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary, with 30 minutes of...
The Ultimate Chess Match
In Walter Isaacson’s bestselling book titled Steve Jobs, chronicling the life of the famous founder of the Apple Corporation, he relays a story of when Jobs was a teenager. He had grown up with parents who always desired Jobs to be raised in the Christian faith. So,...
Ships into Submarines
Dear Hyde Park Family, Today’s Midweek Message contains a final update and word of celebration about our visioning process, a link to an important announcement video sharing some exciting news, the latest update on resuming indoor ministries on campus, and finally, a...
“Letting Go for Lent”
Dear Lenten Pilgrims, Our Lenten worship series is titled “Cultivating and Letting Go,” in which we will explore each week how to cultivate a different aspect of holy character, and how to let go of characteristics that get in the way. In the spirit of that Lenten...
“A Valentine’s Day Prayer”
Dear Hyde Park Family, With Valentine’s Day this Sunday, I wrote this prayer that you might join me in offering to God, seeking blessing on ourselves and those whom we love. Happy Valentine’s Day! A VALENTINE’S DAY PRAYER Eternal and Loving God, In your very being we...
Go Bucs!
Dear Hyde Park Family, With minimal apology to any Chiefs fans out there, what an exciting time for us Buccaneer fans, and for Tampa Bay sports in general! I’ve lived in this area for most of my life and never thought I would see the day when four – FOUR! –...
As Jesus Taught Us to Pray
Dear Hyde Park Family, This Sunday, our journey through the Sermon on the Mount takes us to Matthew 6:9-18, and the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. Matthew’s version of the Lord’s prayer is longer than Luke’s version, and in my sermon we will discover why the...
Faith and Politics … Again
Dear Hyde Park Family, At noon today, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as our 46th president. To mark this occasion and to invite you into a spirit of prayerful reflection, the rest of today’s Midweek Message is a near-exact reprint of my message four years ago,...
A Community of Love and Forgiveness
Dear Hyde Park Family, The last time this church did an in-depth worship series on the Sermon on the Mount was February 2002, in the wake of 9/11. Reading through the Beatitudes during that time took on unique meaning in the context of the greatest act of foreign...
Three Things to Remember
Dear Hyde Park Family, A PASTORAL WORD Before I get to the heart of today’s Midweek Message, I offer a pastoral word in response to the violence we witnessed in the United States Capitol Building yesterday. It was deeply disturbing to our ideals as Americans. It was a...