Dear Hyde Park Family,

This Sunday I’ll be preaching on the fourth day of creation, when God created the planets, stars, sun, and moon. Prior to Sunday, I would love for you to take 30-minutes to watch a short documentary film titled Cosmic Voyage. I originally saw it on an IMAX screen 25 years ago and immediately fell in love with it. Since then, the film has been made available on YouTube,  and I recommend it highly.

In essence, the film takes us on two voyages, the first on a macro journey into outer space. It travels a mere forty-two steps from a courtyard in Venice, Italy, to the outermost edge of the visible universe, with each step a power of ten in greater distance.

Then, the film takes us on a corresponding journey inward. Again, within a matter of steps, we travel into the micro world, past the smallest objects visible to the naked eye, into the world of cells, atoms, nuclei, and the edge of the unknown world: quarks and quantum energy.

From Galileo, who first fashioned lenses into the telescope and looked upward, to Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, who first fashioned lenses into the microscope and looked downward, we can see the awesome mystery and majesty of creation, along with the limits of human understanding.

This all reminds me of the words of Psalm 8, which I often think about as the “telescope and microscope psalm.” It first takes us on a macro journey outward:

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth! You made your glory higher than heaven! When I look up at your skies, at what your fingers made, the moon and the stars, that you set firmly in place, what are human beings that you think about them; what are human beings that you pay attention to them? (vss. 1, 3,4)

Then, the psalmist takes us on a micro journey downward into the beauty and mysteries of the earth:

You’ve made them only slightly less than divine, crowning them with glory and grandeur. You’ve let them rule over your handiwork, putting everything under their feet—all sheep and all cattle, the wild animals too, the birds in the sky, the fish of the ocean, everything that travels the pathways of the sea. (vss. 5-8)

And the psalm concludes with these beautiful words:

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!

 I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we discover the splendor of the heavens and the mysteries of creation. I’ll be referencing the amazing discoveries by the James Webb telescope and the writings of Nobel Prize winning astrophysicist Frank Wilczek.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS ON FEBRUARY 5

And join us a week from Sunday, February 5, for our first ever blessing of the animals at 3pm on the Magnolia parking lot of the Hyde Park campus! We will be observing it in conjunction with Day 5 of our creation series, when God created the plants and animals. You are welcome to bring your pets to a fun, casual, and informal time, where clergy will offer a word of blessing for your pet. This would be a great occasion to bring your human friends (and their furry friends)

We cannot wait to see the beautiful zoo of creatures on that day!

See you Sunday!

Magrey

BUDGET APPROVED LAST SUNDAY (AND THANK YOU!!)

We give thanks for the work of the Finance Committee, Generosity Team, the Church Conference, and the faithful stewardship of this congregation in approving the 2023 Ministry and Missions Budget last Sunday afternoon. The Finance Committee always feels most comfortable proposing a budget that is 80% underwritten by estimates of giving. Last year, we reached a high-water mark, with a budget that was 85% underwritten by pledges.

This year, thanks to an amazing generosity campaign and your faithfulness, we are moving forward with a budget that is 87% underwritten, with a higher number of total pledges, higher average pledge amount, and higher overall dollar total than last year. We are so grateful to you, and to the Spirit who is moving us into the bright future ahead. Thank you!

Dear Hyde Park Family,

In Celtic spirituality there is a term called “thin places,” where a person experiences the God’s presence more readily than in any other place. Travel writer Eric Weiner describes them as “those rare locales where the distance between heaven and Earth collapses.” These places range from religious venues to outdoor scenery to childhood settings and everywhere in between.

Do you have such a “thin place,” where you sense the presence of God most closely to you?

I have a few. There is a prayer labyrinth at the United Methodist Life Enrichment in Leesburg, Florida. There is the backyard of my parents’ home in St. Petersburg, where memories of my childhood seem vivid and real.

By far, the most sacred thin place for me is on Pass-a-Grille Beach, a few steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. It was there that I first sensed God calling me to ministry in 1995, where I heard the closest thing to an audible voice from God that I’ve ever heard. “Magrey, I want you to be a preacher.” When I want to remember my calling, I return to that beach.

It is there that I walked on countless occasions to pray about whatever burden I was carrying and sense God’s direction in my life. It is there that I have sat with a computer to write some of the most important sermons I’ve ever preached, including my Large Church Initiative sermon in 2013 and my installation sermon in 2015. It is there that God has inspired me to write important pieces for this church and for the wider Conference and denomination.

GOD’S GIFT OF THE LAND

Thousands of years before the Celts, the Hebrew people also had a strong connection between God and the land. The Bible is filled with instances where they experienced the sacred in thin places, connecting them to the promise, presence, and provision of God.

In our worship series on the seven days of creation, this Sunday we will explore day three, when God created the land and the seas. We will remember what a gift the land, the seas, and the environment is to us, and discover ways to be proper stewards and caretakers of it.

Join this Sunday, as you think about those special places where “the distance between Earth and heaven collapses.”

I would love to hear what your thin places are.

See you Sunday!

Magrey

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Are there certain fragrances that evoke strong memories for you? 

I was surprised to learn recently that the same part of our brain that processes our sense of smell is the same as where we store our memories. Your olfactory bulb is connected to both the amygdala (which processes emotion) and the hippocampus (which is linked to memories). 

It is why, when I smell a particular musty, stuffy kind of odor, I am immediately transported back to my aging dormitory hallway in seminary. It’s also why the scent of a certain cleaning agent brings me back to my kindergarten classroom in the 1970s. And it’s why the smell of chicken adobo puts me right back at my childhood dining room table. The list could go on and on for me. 

What fragrances conjure those kinds of memories for you? I’d love to know. 

THE AROMA OF CHRIST

It’s interesting that our other four senses seem to get more play in the scriptures. We read a lot about sight (blind people being healed, Jesus as the “light of the world”) and touch (the Word made “Flesh,” and the touch of his scars to prove his resurrection). The command to hear (“Shema”) is one of the most prevalent words in the Old Testament, as are the numerous stories about eating, drinking, and tasting. 

But the power of smell is not showcased nearly as often. There was the odor of Lazarus as he emerged from the grave, and the fragrant perfume that was poured on Jesus’ feet at the anointing of Bethany. But there’s not much else.

In fact, Paul uses the Greek word for aroma (“euodia”) only three times in his letters, and one of them happens to be in 2 Corinthians 2:15-17, which is our scripture text for this Sunday: 

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: to the one group a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

So, here’s what I’m wondering: How might your life and this church be a sweet fragrance for others? What impact can we make in the name of Jesus, such that others will have enduring memories of God’s love for them? 

THE IMPACT OF YOUR GIVING

One answer comes in part from our 2022 Impact Report, which shares the amazing ways that you have been a part of reaching others in our community and around the world. Read it and give thanks for how God has been at work through the people of Hyde Park United Methodist!

Together, let us offer ourselves to God, that others may experience the transformative, memorable aroma of Christ. 

Grace and Peace, 

Magrey

Dear Hyde Park Family,

This Sunday we begin a new worship series titled “Living with Gratitude.” It is a continuation of the leadership theme with which we started the year, based on Diana Butler Bass’ book Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks.

Each week, we will explore a different aspect of gratitude, encouraging us to make it a way of life and a central aspect to our faith. So, as we enter this new series, here are two specific, practical aspects of gratitude you can begin practicing each day:

1. Be as Specific as You Can.

There have been seasons of my life when I have maintained a gratitude journal, in which I intentionally write down two or three things I am grateful for every day.

The best advice I have ever received about keeping a gratitude journal is “the more specific, the better.” It is easier (and important) to be grateful for broad, general things, like your family, your health, your job, and other basic necessities. But research has shown that the more details you can give about specific experiences of gratitude, the more aware you will be of such blessings in the future.

For example, in my own gratitude journals, I have noted the following:

• The feeling of my bare feet on a newly cleaned floor, or the feeling of waking up in freshly cleaned bedsheets.
• Walking in the front door and seeing both my dogs wagging their tails in perfect sync.
• The rays of sunshine that poked through the trees as I was walking around my neighborhood, just as I was listening to a beautiful rendition of a favorite praise song.

2. Try the Daily Examen Prayer.

Many Christian communities observe the Daily Offices, a rhythm of daily prayer that aligns with different moments of the day. One of the evening prayers is called the Daily Examen, which is a structured way to end the day, reviewing it with prayer and gratitude. The following uses the pattern prescribed by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Begin with a pause and a slow, deep breath or two; become aware that you are in the presence of the Holy.

Thanksgiving:

What am I especially grateful for in the past day:

• The gift of another day…
• The love and support I have received…
• The courage I have mustered…
• An event that took place today…

Petition and Review:

I am about to review my day; I ask for the light to know God and to know myself as God sees me.

• Where have I felt true joy today?
• What has troubled me today?
• What has challenged me today?
• Where and when did I pause today?
• Have I noticed God’s presence in any of this?

Response and Look Ahead:

• In light of my review, what is my response to the God of my life?
• As I look ahead, what comes to mind?
• With what spirit do I want to enter tomorrow?

I would love to hear what practices and rhythms you have developed to incorporate more gratitude into your life. May your days ahead be filled with awareness of God’s blessings and enable you to live with a grateful heart.

See you Sunday!

Magrey

CELEBRATION OF IMPACT 2022

Be sure to check out our website for our exciting 2022 Impact Report, celebrating the amazing ways your generosity has made a profound difference in our community and around the world. You can also turn in your estimate of giving for next year, before our annual Commitment Sunday on November 20.

JURISDICTIONAL CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK

Next week, United Methodist delegates from around the southeastern United States will be gathering in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, to elect new bishops for our Southeastern Jurisdiction. Pastors Vicki, Justin, and I are serving as delegates, along with Pastor Sally’s husband Clarke Campbell-Evans. Please keep all the delegates in your prayers as we do this important work. There will be no Midweek Message next week and will resume the second week in November.

Thirty years ago, I was in a small group Bible study in college, in which the leader was talking about Matthew 28:18-20, our scripture reading for this Sunday’s Missions Celebration. Jesus utters these iconic words to his disciples:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

My Bible study leader pointed out an insight on the first word in that sentence that I have never forgotten. He said that in the Greek, the tense of the word “go” is better translated “as you are going,” rather than simply, “go.”

This nuance makes all the difference in, well, the world. Jesus was not telling his disciples that engaging in missions is solely relegated to programs at a distance. Missional engagement is primarily a way of being,an orientation of one’s life in alignment with God’s love for the whole world.

It means that we are called to make disciples as we go about the everydayness of life, not just in our support of mission partners and agencies working around the world.

THIS SUNDAY: MISSIONS CELEBRATION

To give us even greater insight into this text and to inspire us with the work of the worldwide connection of the United Methodist Church, we are eager to welcome the Rev. Dr. Martyn Atkins as our guest preacher this Sunday.

Dr. Atkins has 40 years of experience in British Methodism, as President of the Methodist Church in Britain, as well as professor and President of Cliff College, a Methodist institution. He was Superintendent of Methodist Central hall, Westminster, working closely with Westminster Abbey and Parliament. He is also a leader in the Fresh Expressions movement and the World Methodist Council.

He is currently serving here in Florida, as the interim pastor of Lighthouse UMC in Boca Grande, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Ian. We pray for his congregation and his community, as we welcome him this Sunday to offer his insights and wisdom.

See you Sunday!

Magrey

Dear Hyde Park Family,

It is a condition that affects about one in 1 in 5 adults in the United States each year. One in 6 American youth experience this challenge, and it is the most common cause of hospitalizations of people under the age of 45. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide and costs an estimated 1 trillion dollars of lost productivity around the world. (click here for more stats)

Yet, it carries a significant social stigma that allows it to remain unacknowledged for countless individuals and families.

Chances are, someone you know and care for is affected by some form of mental illness. It shows no preference for any one demographic or life stage, and casts a long shadow in the homes, schools, and workplaces throughout our communities. You may even be struggling yourself. 

In 1990, Congress assigned the first week in October as an annual observance of issues related to mental health. So, last week, October 2-8 was National Mental Illness Awareness Week, and this past Monday was National Mental Health Day. 

A GIFT FOR OTHERS AND YOURSELF

I invite you to take a moment to pray for those affected by some form of mental illness. Work to overcome your own prejudice against people who are suffering, and help stem society’s stigma. Take a moment to reach out in love and concern to loved ones you know who deal with this on a daily basis. Offer them a note of understanding, a compassionate ear, or simply a kind word. 

And if you are one of the millions dealing with mental illness, you need not take this journey alone. Seek out the trusted counsel of a friend or professional and feel the presence of God’s peace in your life. 

I have mentioned numerous times that seeking professional therapy has been the best gift I have given myself for over twenty years. We have some members in our congregation who are wonderful therapists, and you can reach out to one of us clergy to find out more. Or, you may be able to find a therapist the way I found my current one: through the recommendation of a primary care physician and consulting my health insurance provider. 

Together, let’s do the work of the church, and be a beacon of light for those who walk along dark paths.  

Grace and Peace,

Magrey  

AN AMAZING RESPONSE FOR HURRICANE RELIEF!

Two weeks ago, you all responded to a desperate plea for water for the people across Florida by donating over 1,200 gallons of water! This past week, we shared with you a request by our Conference Disaster Response Office to help underwrite the purchase of roof quality tarps for residents, at a cost of $75 per tarp. They asked us to meet a goal of 100 tarps, and your response has been amazing.

You have donated over $28,000, enough to purchase 386 tarps!

Added to the contributions you have made to both the United Methodist Committee on Relief and the Hurricane Ian Fund, you have contributed over $51,000! 

As we await word from the Conference on the next urgent need that we can help meet, you can still give to these funds if you would like. And if you would like to volunteer for a possible work team in the future, contact Vicki Walker.

THANK YOU!

THIS WEEK: DOES GOD SPEAK THROUGH DREAMS? 

Join us this Sunday as we continue in our worship series “The Art of Hearing God’s Voice,” when we will explore this interesting and intriguing question: “Does God Speak Through Dreams?” As always, invite a friend to join you, or share the sermon with them on our YouTube page.

Dear Hyde Park Family,

At the outset of a meeting last Tuesday of the Committee on Lay Leadership, I read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which contains the iconic “For everything there is a season” passage. Then I read a lovely poem by Laura Grace Weldon titled, “Compost Happens.” It’s from a wonderful collection of poems I read over the weekend titled How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which you can purchase through our church’s Amazon page. 

I think you’ll see the connections between these two readings, along with whatever you might be carrying today. Blessings to us all as we watch, with patience, the transformative love of God in our lives and in the world.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NRSV)

For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill and a time to heal;

a time to break down and a time to build up;

a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek and a time to lose;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

“Compost Happens”

Laura Grace Weldon

Nature teaches nothing is lost.

It’s transmuted.

Spread between rows of beans,

last year’s rusty leaves tamp down weeds.

Coffee grounds and banana peels

foster rose blooms. Bread crumbs

scattered for birds become song.

Leftovers offered to chickens come back

as eggs, yolks sunrise orange.

Broccoli stems and bruised apples

fed to cows return as milk steaming in the pail,

as patties steaming in the pasture.

Surely our shame and sorrow

also return, composted by years

into something generative as wisdom.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

THIS SUNDAY: HOW TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE

Join us in person or online as we continue our worship series, “The Art of Hearing God’s Voice.” I’ll be sharing three principles through the acronym “S.O.S.” that will help you sense God’s presence in the midst of life’s challenges. Be sure to invite a friend, or share our service with others through our YouTube channel. 

Dear Hyde Park Family,

“Can you hear me now?”

You may remember that famous line from the advertising campaign for Verizon Wireless. It began on January 14, 2002, when nearly half of all Americans owned a cell phone. The ad assured Verizon subscribers that their cell coverage was so comprehensive that they could hear the other person’s voice from virtually anywhere in the country, at any time.

Think about the first time you ever owned and used a portable phone. Remember the remarkable feeling of being able to hear someone’s voice on the other end, wherever you happened to be? Remember the freedom and awe it was to feel connected at any time?

Now, let’s take it to a spiritual level. Wouldn’t it be nice if God’s voice worked that way, too? To hear a clear, audible voice from God telling us what we are to do, who we are to be, and what we are to say? Let’s admit that we are a bit jealous of some of our biblical ancestors, who apparently were able to hear God’s voice, clear as day.

• Abraham heard God say, “Pick up your family and move.” And he did.
• Moses heard God say in a burning bush, “Deliver my people.” So, he did, too.
• Elijah heard God say in a still, small voice, “You’re not alone.” And he wasn’t.

Wouldn’t picking a job, selecting a mate, deciding on house, even choosing what outfit to wear be a whole lot easier if we could hear God say to us, audibly,

• “Pursue this degree instead of that one. I have plans for you.”
• Or, “Go to the coffee shop at 5pm. The person I want you to marry is there.”
• Or, “I want you to live in that townhouse. The one by the water. Put in an offer.”

The truth is, the spiritual life is not at all like picking up a cell phone and hearing God pick up on the other side. Instead, following Jesus is built on faith, and the practices that help us stretch, grow, and mature. In that way, learning how to listen for God’s voice is just as important as what we hear God say. It is that regular flexing and developing of those spiritual muscles that help us grow in our faith, and live life as God intends.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

Dear Hyde Park Family,

As we conclude our worship series “The Meaning of Methodist” this Sunday, here are ten reasons I love being United Methodist. I pray they resonate with you, too.

1. I love how United Methodists view God. We believe that first and foremost, God is love. God also exists as the trinity, though John Wesley did not require any one exclusive way to understand it. Like his openness to the varieties atonement theories, Wesley’s primary concern was that any theological claim would lead a person to greater love and holiness. I love how being a United Methodist is so theologically grounded in Christian tradition, while also very practical. This is generous orthodoxy.

2. I love the way United Methodists understand God’s grace. We cannot earn or deserve our salvation, yet we still must accept Jesus as our Savior. John Wesley navigated the tension between God’s power and human free will through the idea of prevenient grace, in which our very ability to choose to accept Jesus is itself a gift from God, at work long before we realized it.

3. I love how United Methodist means being a work in progress. Prevenient grace is just the first step toward a lifelong work of grace in our lives (prevenient, justifying, sanctifying). We remember that God loves us enough to meet us where we are, and loves us too much to leave us there. And I love the idea that God offers us means of grace (including prayer, communion, fasting, and scripture reading) that enable us to renew our sense of God’s love and reaffirm our commitment to Jesus.

4. I love the way United Methodists embrace both faith and reason. John Wesley believed in the Bible as our primary authority for matters of faith, and he encouraged reason as a lens for interpreting it, in light of the scientific wisdom of the time. He encouraged his preachers to learn reason and logic, and he sent them the latest philosophies of his day. I love how being United Methodist enables me to embrace both religion and science, as a kind of stereoscopic way to view and appreciate and understand the splendor of creation. 

5. I love the way United Methodists read the Bible. We focus on the whole of the Bible’s message, which conveys the ongoing and enduring love of God for the world. John Wesley was less interested in more minor details regarding the Bible’s contradictions and anachronisms, concentrating instead on how the Bible’s overarching narratives can lead us to a greater love. I love how Wesley’s approach freed me from my earlier fundamentalist, literalist days, and encourages us to ask reasonable, thoughtful questions that deepen our faith.

6. I love how United Methodists understand shared governance and holy conferencing. We have a unique polity and structure in our denomination that reminds us that no one person ever has sole authority to make all the decisions on any level. The local church has shared governance between the clergy and laity, and among the various elected leadership committees. The denomination has no pope or president, but is guided by a gathering of delegates in holy conversation. The Annual Conference is given spiritual direction by the bishop, who presides over the decisions made by elected delegates from all its churches. I love that in the United Methodist Church, we discern God’s best future together. 

7. I love how United Methodists live in the center, in the way of love. We are a people of the via media, the way of the middle, the center. We take the best of two ideological opposites and forge a third way that allows us to be unified in the essentials of our faith while allowing latitude on lesser matters of interpretation. When we are at our healthiest and best as a church, we model the kind of non-binary, non-dualistic thinking that guided John Wesley’s belief and practice.

8. I love how United Methodists are connectional and impact the world. From the small groups that meet in a local church to the missions and efforts that span the world, we are a connectional people. Our denominational structures ensure that our faithfulness on the local level can be amplified on a global level. We support hospitals, relief agencies, community service centers, schools, seminaries, and missionaries near and far. We recently raised $27 million dollars of relief for the people of Ukraine. We are making a difference.

9. I love how United Methodists sing their faith. John Wesley believed in the balance between heart and mind, something that the songs of Charles Wesley and other songwriters convey. Whether we sing in corporate worship or in the privacy of our own devotions, we put melody to our theology, and offer praise to God with our hearts and our minds. Methodists are a singing people.

10. I love how the United Methodist Church is itself a work in progress and moving on to perfection. God’s sanctifying grace is at work on the people called Methodist, just as it has been throughout our history. When we have gotten it wrong as a church, God has nudged us toward more perfection in love. We overcame our structural separation over slavery in 1939. We began ordaining women to be clergy in 1956. We allowed divorced pastors to remain as clergy in the 1960’s and 1970’s. We are navigating new challenges over LGBTQ inclusion, and we will get there. God loves the church enough to meet us where we are, and loves it too much to leave it there.   

Most of all, I love serving a congregation that will be part of the continuing United Methodist Church. For nearly 125 years, we have been part of the remarkable work of the Holy Spirit here in Tampa Bay and throughout the world. It is a joy to make God’s love real together.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

FLORIDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE UPDATE

Over recent months the Florida Annual Conference has been navigating challenges from some churches wishing to leave the United Methodist Church. Hyde Park United Methodist is not one of those churches, and we remain committed to being part of God’s bright future for the continuing United Methodist Church. The Conference website is a helpful place to read the most recent developments, including this statement from Bishop Ken Carter and this helpful FAQ giving additional details. 

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Today I am remembering some very special people in my life.

I remember the woman who worked in the church nursery when I was just a small child. I don’t remember her name, but I can still recollect her face and her smile. She welcomed me when my parents dropped me off prior to attending worship at Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg.

I remember a woman named Ruth, who told me a story about Jesus when I was in her classroom at just six years old. She asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus into their heart. I raised my hand. I said a prayer. She gave me a hug. I wrote the date in my Bible: January 7, 1979.

I remember two women named Jackie and Carol. They were volunteer youth leaders at Pasadena when I ventured enough courage to attend Sunday night youth group for the first time. They welcomed me, introduced me to the other kids, led in some games, and then threw a whipped cream pie in my face. I was hooked, and kept coming back to that youth group.

I remember a couple named Nancy and Mike Gilson. Nancy was the youth director at the church; Mike, her husband. Together they modeled Christ’s love and offered warm acceptance of all the teens, including me. They recruited, trained and encouraged youth volunteers. I eventually became a volunteer myself.

Now, I am serving in a church that is built on a legacy of faithful children and youth volunteers. I like to think that the same Spirit of God that called Ruth, Jackie, Carol, Nancy and Mike is still calling forth people to serve this most precious generation of Christians.

Perhaps that can include people like you.

Do you have such faithful people in your past who have shaped you? More importantly, would you consider volunteering in children or youth ministry? We have an amazing staff of people who would love to work with you, discover your interest and passions, and steer you toward making a profound difference in the life of a young person.

To sign up or to learn more, click here.

By volunteering for children and youth ministry, you can literally shape the future. Just like people did for you and me.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

THIS SUNDAY: THE MEANING OF METHODIST: ONE WHO IMPACTS THE WORLD

This Sunday we have the privilege of welcoming Rev. Gary Mason as our guest preacher. He is the director of Rethinking Conflict in Belfast, Northern Ireland, an internationally recognized advocate for peace and reconciliation in conflicts around the world. Gary played a central role in navigating the Good Friday Peace Accords that ended the 30-Year War in Belfast known as “The Troubles.” He will speak to us about the power and calling of United Methodists to impact the public sphere through mission and witness.