September 21, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Today is the feast day of St. Matthew, the person traditionally credited as the author of the first gospel. Born into the Hebrew tribe of Levi, Matthew was a tax collector who met Jesus, became his disciple, and wrote an eye-witness account of his life, death, and resurrection.

Matthew’s gospel is similar in many ways to the others, especially Mark and Luke. But there are passages that are unique to his: the Sermon on the Mount, the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, and most especially, the Great Commission.

But one special passage that catches my attention today is in Matthew 11:18-20, about exchanging the burdens we are carrying for the lighter yoke of Jesus. I suspect it’s one that you need to read and reflect on today:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I invite you to read this scripture a few times, slowly and prayerfully. Note what is happening in your body to indicate the heavy burdens in your mind and heart. Envision accepting the invitation of Jesus, literally handing over those burdens and exchanging them for the lightness of God’s love and favor.

Remember that Jesus never promised us a life free from burdens. Jesus instead offers us a lighter one. Imagine the feeling of letting go of a 30-lb weight for a 5-lb one. Your muscles have been both fatigued and conditioned by the heavier weight, so picking up the lighter one feels so much freer, maybe even joyful.

This is the kind of life that God desires for you.

THIS SUNDAY: SACREDNESS OF LIFE

We continue our worship series on Christian ethical and moral formation called “Good and Faithful: Life Well Done.” This Sunday we will be focusing on the sacredness of life. We will again tie it into stories, illustrations, and songs from live theater, to help these ideas come to life.

We invite you to click here for additional weekly resources, including lectures by Dr. David Gushee, who wrote Introducing Christian Ethics, on which this series is partially based. The website will also have links to YouTube clips that feature songs from the musicals we are referencing.

Grace and Peace,

September 14, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

In case you missed worship last Sunday, we introduced our current fall series “Good and Faithful: Life Well Done.” It is a series that explores Christian character, based on a book by Dr. David Gushee titled: Introducing Christian Ethics: Core Convictions for Christians Today. Visit our website for resources that supplement the series each week, including a link to purchase this book.

I had not read a book on Christian Ethics since my seminary days, but I picked it up from a recommendation of a friend, and from the book’s reputation for addressing many controversial, polarizing topics of our day from a Christian perspective.

When I got to chapter 8 in the book, the part that explains five qualities that constitute the moral core for Christian people, I knew I had to explore these five ideas with you in this worship series:

1. Truthfulness. What does it mean to be a truthful person? And how do you hold on to truth in a time when there are such competing and contradictory notions of what is true? We will talk about that this week.

2. Sacredness. What does it mean to live as a sacred child of God, and see others as just as sacred? And how do we preserve the sacred dignity and worth of others, in a time we are just as prone to dehumanize each other? We will explore that theme on September 24.

3. Justice. What does it mean to be a just person? What do we mean by justice, in a world that has vastly different definitions of it, from retribution to redemption to reconciliation? We will explore that idea on World Communion Sunday, October 1.

4. Love. What does it mean to be a loving person? Given the wide spectrum of understandings of love, how can we agree on what it means to act in loving ways toward each other? That will be on October 8.

5. Forgiveness. We will round out our series on October 15 with maybe the hardest question of all: How can we be a forgiving people? Despite the harm that we have done to each other, how can we make forgiveness a central part of our character, and be agents of reconciliation in the world?

Truthfulness, Sacredness, Justice, Love, and Forgiveness. All five of these qualities are found throughout the teachings of Jesus, and together they form a composite sketch of how Jesus would define the virtues and the ethics of the Christian moral life.

And as I mentioned last week, each of the services will include stories, songs, and illustrations from famous musicals. (Last week’s in-person rendition of “Light of the World” from Godspell was a hoot!)

We look forward to what Broadway will bring us this Sunday! See you then!

Grace and Peace,

September 7, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts.”

(Shakespeare’s As You Like It)

One of the most joyful parts of living in a small town in Iowa from 2007 to 2015 was it gave me and my two daughters a chance to be involved in community theater. I’ll never forget how, within the first several months of our arrival, one of the directors stopped by my office and said:

“Magrey, we’ve always wanted to do a production of The King and I. Would you be interested in the role of King Mongkut? You wouldn’t even have to audition. And your daughters can play your children.”

Over time, we had roles in many other productions. I was the Ghost of Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol: The Musical (they even flew me on and off stage, much to the grunting chagrin of the stagehands), part of the ensemble in Les Miserables, a pirate in Peter Pan, and Gary Lejeune in the riotous Noises Off! (which involved a nightly pratfall down a flight of stairs. I still have the elbow and knee pads.)

People talk about “getting bitten by the theater bug,” and that certainly happened to me, Grace, and Maddy. Over time, we’ve seen countless productions here in Tampa, up on Broadway, and over in London’s West End. There is something powerful, even magical, about seeing performers on stage, rendering beautiful music and telling powerful stories.

A SPIRITUAL SPECTACLE

Early in my ministry, I heard former Florida Bishop Timothy Whitaker give an ordination sermon at Annual Conference, in which he unpacked 1 Corinthians 4:9. In it, Paul uses a word he uses nowhere else in the epistles:

“I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all … because we have become a spectacle to the world.”

Bishop Whitaker said that word “spectacle” is the Greek word “theatron,” which comes from the world of live theater. To be a “theatron” is to be used by God to showcase for the world the subversive, counter-cultural characteristics of the Christian life. To be humble instead of

haughty, and self-sacrificial instead of self-aggrandizing. Basically, it is to follow the example of Jesus, who established the role that we are to play.

He quoted the first century Greek philosopher Epictetus: “Regard yourself as an actor in a play … Your task is only to play well the part you have been given; the choosing of it belongs to someone else.” Epictetus taught that God chooses the role we are to play, and it is our task to perform it well.

GOOD AND FAITHFUL: LIFE WELL DONE

These ideas will come together for our new fall worship series that starts this Sunday, called, “Good and Faithful: Life Well Done,” which explores aspects of Christian character, ethics, and moral formation that God expects us to showcase as a “theatron” for the world.

Each week, we will connect these themes with stories and illustrations from well-known theatrical productions, including musical numbers as part of the sermon. It will be a way for me to share some of my reflections on my renewal leave last summer; I am very excited to explore it with you.

To keep up with book recommendations and theatrical references throughout the series, you can visit our website.

“Break a leg,” and see you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,

August 24, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Well, here’s an opening to a Midweek Message that I never thought I’d write:

“Happy National Waffle Day!”

I normally overlook these kinds of special recognitions, likely manufactured by restaurant and food industries to promote their products. But for some reason, my email inbox this week was inundated with local breakfast eateries advertising today’s special day. (It may have something to do with the fact that I generally go out for breakfast on Wednesday mornings as part of my weekly sermon-writing routine.)

For what it’s worth, today is sandwiched (pun intended) between yesterday’s “National Cuban Sandwich Day” and tomorrow’s “National Banana Split Day.” Its historical roots are connected to an inventor named Cornelius Swartwout (Great name!), who received a patent for his new invention – the waffle iron – on August 24, 1869. For 154 years, Mr. Swartwout’s invention has graced countless kitchen counters, ubiquitous Waffle House franchises, and hotel breakfast stations.

So, what’s the religious connection? Well, I’m glad you asked!

There’s two. The first one is comical. National Waffle Day is apparently celebrated in different countries on different dates, including Sweden, who observes it on March 25. Why? Well, March 25 is the Christian church’s Feast Day of the Annunciation, which in Swedish is pronounced “Varfrudagen.” (Try to say it; it’s fun.) Over time, many fast-talking Swedes began mispronouncing it as “Vaffeldagen,” which means – yep – “Waffle Day.”

So, in Sweden, the holy day of observing the grand visitation of Mary by the Angel Gabriel was transmuted into a day of honoring the crisp, crevassed doughiness of Cornelius Swartwout’s invention. (By the way, neither of these words should be confused with “Vaffeljern,” which is how you say “Waffle Iron” in IKEA.)

Anyway, here’s the other religious connection. In Medieval Europe, churches began tinkering with the wafers used to celebrate the sacrament of holy communion. (You can see where this is heading. Wafer and Waffle have the same root word, Weben, which means, “to weave.”) Over time, they modified the irons they used to press the wafers into flat discs, inscribing into the metal images of crosses, biblical scenes, and other religious symbols.

These “religious waffles” were often enjoyed at the end of meals, not only as a final treat, but also as a kind of prayerful reminder of the divine source of the meal itself.

Regardless of whether or not you enjoy waffles, and even if you don’t observe National Waffle Day, I hope each of us can take a moment to give thanks to God, who gives us both the food on our plates and the capacity to delight in it. And just as we often say a prayer of thanks before we eat, it may not be a bad idea to take a page from Medieval waffle practice, and also give thanks to God after the meal is over.

Come to think of it, “Medieval waffle practice” is also not a phrase I thought I’d ever use to conclude a Midweek Message.

I think I’ll go celebrate with a waffle.

Grace and Peace,

Dear Hyde Park Family,

It is with a sad, but grateful heart that I share the bittersweet news that Rev. Vicki Walker has announced her departure from serving on staff here at Hyde Park United Methodist. As she shares below, she has discerned a new way to live out her ministerial calling. I am glad to note that she will continue to be a part of our congregation as a fellow worshipper and disciple among us.

Her last Sunday will be on Sunday, September 24, when we can look forward to a joyous, albeit emotional, celebration of her ministry among us.

It is impossible to capture in words the impact she has made as a pastor, director of adult discipleship, and leader of our missions and outreach efforts. Her twenty-four years of ministerial service make her the longest-serving clergy in the history of Hyde Park United Methodist.

I hope you’ll join me in thanking Vicki and celebrating all she means to us.

Grace and Peace,

June 22, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

I am extending an invitation for you to join me on a very special trip next year. I have been asked by Educational Opportunities to be the guest lecturer on a 10-day cruise exploring the Journeys of the Apostle Paul, from September 21 to October 1, 2024. (Note, that is next fall, not this fall.)

As one who has never been on a cruise ship, let alone traced many of the cities of Paul’s missionary journeys, I am excited to be asked to offer this program, and even more thrilled at the prospect of having people from Hyde Park join me. Our Primetimers senior adult ministry has already agreed to make this their major trip for 2024.

We will be aboard the Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship with Royal Caribbean International and travel to cities in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. Along the way, I will offer three lectures about the life, ministry, and travels of the Apostle Paul as he shared the gospel and planted Christian communities throughout the first century Greco-Roman world.

Here are some details on our itinerary:

September 21-22: Depart from the U.S. and arrive in Rome

September 23: Naples (Pompeii)

September 24: At Sea

September 25: Mykonos

September 26: Athens and Corinth

September 27: Ephesus

September 28: Santorini

September 29: Chania and Crete

September 30: At Sea

October 1: Return to the U.S.

For further details on what we will see in each of these cities, and for information about the optional pre- or post-tour time in Rome, visit the Educational Opportunities website. The cost starts at $3,999 per person, which is an all-inclusive cost for the cruise as well as international airfare.

We will have an information session including a representative of Educational Opportunities on Sunday afternoon, August 27, at 2pm at the Hyde Park campus.

If you are interested in finding out more or would like to be on our contact list to receive updates along the way, send us your information here.

Or, contact me or our Pastoral Administrative Assistant Kim Harcrow (kharcrow@hydeparkumc.org) with any questions you may have.

Grace and Peace,

June 15, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Thank you for your prayers for last week’s gathering of the Florida Annual Conference, themed “Abound in Hope.” It was the 26th one I have attended in my ministry, and, by far, it was the most hope-filled, energizing, and forward looking of them all. Videos for all the plenary sessions and worship services are available on the Conference website.

Here were the highlights for me:

• Our new Bishop, Tom Berlin, offered a stirring and inspiring opening address, and our opening worship service included a powerful act of blessing on those who have chosen to disaffiliate from our denomination. It enabled us to step out of the past and begin claiming the future together.

• Our clergy session approved all the candidates recommended by the Board of Ordained Ministry, which I chair. This included all those who were denied commissioning last year, as well as the first openly gay persons to serve as ministers in Florida United Methodism. To read about what happened, here is an article from The Lakeland Ledger. You can also read my opening remarks to the clergy session here.

• We were blessed with Bible studies by Dr. Carla Works, professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. She explored the biblical foundation for our theme “Abound in Hope” in the writings of the Apostle Paul. I encourage you to watch her two brief presentations online.

• We affirmed a resolution that will comprehensively change the organizational structure of the United Methodist Church worldwide, enabling different countries to tailor their ministries and social positions according to what is most effective in their contexts. If this is approved at next year’s General Conference and later ratified by Annual Conferences, this could finally move us past the painful debate over LGBTQIA+ inclusion.

All throughout the week, there was a spirit of lightness, joy, and expectation, culminating in what was the most celebrative worship service of licensing, commissioning, and ordination I’ve ever attended.

HOPE ABOUNDS AT HYDE PARK

The next day, last Sunday, I returned exhausted and exhilarated for a morning of worship. But everywhere I turned, there was evidence that the same Spirit that was re-energizing Florida United Methodism was doing the same in and through our church:

• In worship, the staff and I once again met several new families, who expressed their joy in worshipping with us. Some had come from recently disaffiliated churches in our area. Others had been worshipping with us online, then visited in person for the first time. Others came from the invitation of a friend. All of them said they would be back.

• We welcomed another new member class of people committed to following Jesus and fulfilling the mission, vision, and core values of our church.

• After worship, I participated in “Leadership Door,” an event sponsored by our Committee on Lay Leadership that invites people to explore volunteer leadership opportunities in the church. The fifteen people in attendance are deeply faithful, high-capacity persons who have demonstrated leadership in other churches, in their civic and business world, and even on the Conference level. They have recently come to Hyde Park and believe in our mission and core values. It is exciting to have this richness of leadership in the church.

• This week, our Children’s Ministries are abuzz with excitement and preparations for our “Stellar” Vacation Bible School in a little over a week, with all the donation items claimed and all our volunteer slots filled. Thanks be to God!

• Our Merge Youth Ministries program is spending this week in their annual “Missions Week,” where every day a huge crew of teens and adults is volunteering in area agencies that are our missions partners: Hillsborough House of Hope, Quantum Leap Farm, Rosa Valdez, and ECHO Ministries. It is thrilling to see them serving others, having fun, and growing closer to each other. To follow them on Facebook, click here.

Whew. I cannot describe the relief, joy, and hope I feel for who we are becoming as Florida United Methodists, and the broad, wide-open future we have as Hyde Park United Methodist.

ALL ABOARD!

Monday morning, one of our newest church members who attended Leadership Door shared the lyrics of “Land of Hope and Dreams” by Bruce Springsteen, of whom he and I have a

mutual appreciation. I listened to it to start the week, and its refrain beautifully captures the hope and anticipation of where God is leading us:

I said, this train carries broken-hearted

This train, thieves and sweet souls departed

This train carries fools and kings

This train, all aboard

I said, now, this train, dreams will not be thwarted

This train, faith will be rewarded

This train, hear the steel wheels singin’

This train, bells of freedom ringin’

Come on this train

People get ready

You just get on board (people get ready)

You just thank the Lord (people get ready)

All aboard!

June 8, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

By the time you read today’s Midweek Message, I will be in Lakeland, Florida for the yearly gathering of the Florida Annual Conference, made up of clergy and lay delegates from every United Methodist congregation in the state. All four of our clergy team will be there, along with lay representatives from our church.

I appreciate your prayers for our work, as we organize, vision, and plan the work of the Conference over the upcoming year. Pray for our new bishop, Tom Berlin, who presides over the proceedings. And please pray for me and the Board of Ordained Ministry, which I chair, as we present ministerial candidates for approval at tonight’s clergy session at 6pm. I would appreciate prayers for clarity and courage as I make my presentation and answer questions, as we navigate the tensions that exist within the denomination at large.

Most of all, pray that these next several days be times of joy, connection, and hope for the future.

On March 3, 1785, John Wesley wrote a brief essay titled “Thoughts Upon Some Late Occurrences,” which included reflections on the first time he gathered clergy together for what would become an annual time of conferencing:

“In June 1744, I desired my brother and a few other clergymen to meet me in London, to consider how we should proceed to save our own souls and those who heard us. After some time, I invited the lay preachers that were in the house to meet with us. We conferred together for several days and were much comforted and strengthened thereby.”

Over time, Wesley realized that the long-term viability of the Methodist movement depended on all the preachers coming together for a time of holy conferencing, to conduct the important work of maintaining “doctrine, experience, right conduct, and discipline as essential to the permanency of Methodism.”

279 years later, United Methodist clergy and lay delegates still gather every year for those same purposes, along with celebrating ministries, worshipping together, establishing leadership teams, approving budgets, and deciding missional and strategic goals for the work of the church. The core purpose of the annual conference gathering, however, is still the same as it was for John Wesley and the first delegates: to be “much comforted and strengthened thereby.”

Thank you for the prayers!

Grace and Peace, 

June 1, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Among my leadership roles beyond the local church is that I serve as the chairperson of the Florida Conference Board of Ordained Ministry for the United Methodist Church. We evaluate and recommend persons to serve as clergy in our Conference. Our work culminates every year with our Annual Conference gathering in Lakeland, set for next Thursday through Saturday. I certainly appreciate your prayers for our work.

Last year, our Board invited consultants from the Forum for Theological Exploration to help us improve the way we do our work, including identifying implicit biases in our perceptions and processes, improving communication, and navigating through change. Those two consultants, Stephen Lewis and Dori Baker, presented insights based on their book “Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose.”

Their wisdom was not only helpful to the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Conference; I think they are applicable to all of us, in whatever vocation, life stage, or walk of life we find ourselves in that requires courageous, adaptive leadership.

Here are seven of their most powerful insights. I hope you find them meaningful:

· Dialogue is an essential leadership practice and a core process for change.

· Leadership is a communal practice that builds the capacity of a team, community, or organization to envision and enact a future informed by the past and the diverse people around us.

· Strengthen your capacity to embrace mystery by thinking about, playing with, and adapting to uncertainty, because it, like death, is inevitable.

· Leadership is more about public listening than public speaking.

· The wisdom of our ancestors and descendants is always present and available to us, so remember to welcome them as we face the most difficult tasks of our lives.

· Learn from multiplicity. Most of us are more than any one thing simultaneously. Appreciate the complexity of other stories and perspectives.

· There is a future that mourns if you and I do not step into our purpose.

As people of Pentecost, let us open ourselves to the ongoing, innovative work of the Holy Spirit in and through us. May we each step into our purpose, and claim the leadership voice that God summons of us.

Happy Pentecost!

May 18, 2023

Dear Hyde Park Family,

This Sunday is the convergence of two observances, one civic and one liturgical. First, it is Graduation Sunday, in which we will honor the high school seniors in our worship services with a video and a prayer of blessing. It is also Ascension Sunday, in which Christians around the world remember Jesus’ final moments with the disciples before ascending into heaven.

It’s not often that graduation and ascension occur on the same Sunday, but there is some connection between commencement addresses typically heard at graduations and the speech that Jesus gave to the disciples.

Commencement speakers often seize the significance of the moment and challenge the listeners to rise to the occasion. They widen the graduates’ gaze beyond their own social circle, and summon them to be part of something greater than themselves.

Here are some of the more notable commencement speeches offered in recent history. Listen for those common elements:

From Vaclav Havel:

Whether our world is to be saved from everything that threatens it today depends above all on whether human beings come to their senses, whether they understand the degree of their responsibility and discover a new relationship to the very miracle of being. The world is in the hands of us all. (Harvard University, May, 1995)

From Elie Wiesel:

My good friends, we are all waiting. We are waiting, if not for the Messiah, as such, we are waiting for the messianic moment. And the messianic moment is what each and every one of us tries to build, meaning a certain area of humanity that links us to all those who are human and, therefore, desperately trying to fight despair as humanly as possible and–I hope–with some measure of success. (DePaul University, June 15, 1997)

From Bono:

This is the straight truth. The righteous truth. It’s not a theory; it’s a fact. The fact is that this generation — yours, my generation — we’re the first generation that can look at poverty and disease, look across the ocean to Africa and say with a straight face, we can be the first to end this stupid extreme poverty, where, in a world of plenty, a child can die for lack of food in its belly. (University of Pennsylvania, May 17, 2004)

Then there is this speech, offered 2,000 years ago, during a commencement ceremony on a mountain top. Assembled were students of Jesus’ traveling seminary, who had spent more than

three years learning, practicing, attempting, failing, and trying again. For this simple band of commoners, the world had changed. They were no longer fishermen and tax collectors, they were world-changers-in-the-making.

And their time had come. When Jesus stood before them, before he took off into the clouds, he gave his address:

This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:4-8)

Like all great commencement speeches, Jesus seized the moment. He told the disciples that there were challenges ahead, but that they were to carry the gospel of God’s love to the furthest reaches of the earth, beyond their small social circles. Along the way, they would not be alone, for the Spirit would come upon them. They would receive the Spirit’s power and comfort to achieve great things for the Kingdom, and participate in God’s ongoing project: the healing of the world and redemption of all creation.

Congratulations to all of our graduates, from preschool, high school, college, and beyond. More importantly, let us hear Christ’s commencement address for ourselves, calling us to a deeper commitment and a greater love.

See you Sunday!