Hello dearest church family,

I listened in on Sunday to Max’s sermon, not knowing that it was written to me! I am grateful for his honesty and for his compassion. And I am more than grateful for the reminders of what Paul said, “we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2Cor4:8-9) and “for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2Cor4:18).

I will write here, for all the world to see, what happened in my ordination interview. Please understand that I do not need or want to discuss any of this. I only want you to know what happened. I walked into the interview on March 4^th expecting it to be like my District Committee on Ministry interviews, collegial and supportive. The trouble with that expectation is that the Board of Ordained Ministry interview is not designed for that purpose. The BOM interview is an examination of the quality and character of the individual applying for ordination. It is an intense review of one’s understanding of theology, of United Methodist doctrine and polity, and of the sacred sacraments of baptism and communion. There are other questions as well, but I will admit to you that these are the areas where I struggled. To be completely transparent with you, they asked the questions, and I gave answers that did not meet the standards of a person seeking ordination. I did not adequately prepare myself for the situation. I have been out of school for 6 years and even though I have spent much time preparing for this single interview, I was not ready for it. No excuses either. I had many folks offering to help me, and I did not ask for help from any of them. 

My journey to ordination is complicated. It is taking longer than I wanted and, at times, seems like torture. My dear friend and colleague Cantrice Robinson asked me that very evening, “is it fair to put a time limit on God?” She did not know at that moment of the outcome of my ordination interview. But she knows that heart of God. She knows that God’s time is not our time. She knows that God’s steps are not measured in human understanding. Reverend Cantrice Robinson reminded me that I am not called to the UMC, I am called to share the gospel of the risen Christ to a world that is dying. Today I have hope. Tomorrow is another day, and I will try to have this same hope again tomorrow.

When you see me Sunday, do not feel pity for me. I actually would like to forget this entire thing, except for the part where I work harder to be ready for whatever God has in store for me. I do not want to discuss any of it. I want you to know that my commitment to St. Matthew has not wavered in the least. We will wait together for that time when General Conference makes their decisions about the service of LGBTQ persons within the UMC framework. Until then, we do not have anything to do except love God, love our neighbors and love each other. 

I look forward to seeing you this weekend. I missed you, Mary

It appears that Spring Break from school has taken our kids out of town! We missed you this Sunday as we were studying the Passover meal.

The Passover meal is celebrated each year to mark the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. The Passover meal with Jesus would be different, but they did not know that. During the meal, Jesus gave thanks for the bread and broke it and then took the cup and blessed it. Jesus used the bread and the cup, everyday items, to remind the disciples of His Body (the bread) and His Blood (the cup) given for them and for us. They have become symbols in our church today. Symbols of God’s love in Christian churches.

During Communion, we recite the familiar words, “Do this in remembrance of Me”, and share the bread and cup to remember the life and death of Jesus. We all might practice and participate communion differently; however, we can remember Jesus and His example by simply sharing a meal. Whether we share a meal with friends and family or come forward to receive the elements in worship, we have the opportunity to remember.

On Easter Sunday, we have a big celebration in the way of an Easter egg hunt right before church! Be sure to remind Dad and Mom to get you to church early!! When I arrived home from church last
Sunday, I found a big box filled with eggs that contained monster trucks, dinosaurs, puppies, army men, teddy bears, puppies, bugs, bubbles and Mom’s favorite, slime!! Of course these will also be filled with candy for your hunt!! Last year, the kids took the plastic eggs home, so we need donations of plastic eggs and small individually wrapped candy to fill all our eggs with sweets!

Can you help us by donating plastic eggs or candy we can use for our kids? Just drop it off in our room any time before Easter!

Thanks for your help… Blessings!

One More Year

Mary has been asked by the Ordination Board to wait one more year for her commissioning. I think they are afraid to do anything before getting beyond the vote at the upcoming General Conference. They know it will not make a difference in Mary’s ministry—which continues as it is. Which is, of course, a continual blessing to us.

After that vote, there may be no commissioning.

I would hope Mary would go straight to ordination and this long journey of preparation would be over for her. But she is as much “in ministry” now as she will ever be. We can all wait.

No Breakfast This Sunday

It is Winston’s birthday and he will be away celebrating. We do still need someone to take over breakfast preparation one Sunday a month. Winston can’t continue to do it every week.

This Sunday

Sermon: “The Cross Is an X-Ray”

We will open this Sunday with an old hymn that is fun to sing but which has some bad theology in it.

We will be talking about the Atonement.

How does the Cross of Christ save us?

If I asked you that question—how would you answer it?

Expect great music this Sunday.

Why? Because we always have great music.

Two Sundays Till Palm Sunday

And Palm Sunday dinner and then Holy Week. And then—you guessed it—Easter.

See you in worship.

God bless—MB

Good Wednesday to you!

Anna is holding her own in the ICU at Fort Worth Harris Methodist Hospital. I am overwhelmed by the love and support shown to us. You are all angels on earth and I am grateful for those of you who sit in the sacred space of healing with Anna, and for those of you who hold us in prayer. I cannot imagine being anywhere else but with you at this moment.

I will admit to you that I have not ever had to write a newsletter article as difficult as this one is to write.

The Central Texas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry decided that I needed another year of “learning and training” before I could be commissioned as a provisional elder. I was in shock when I heard their verdict and I am still in shock as I update you. “I am profoundly disappointed” is about all that I can muster right now in the way of communication about the entire thing. I was not prepared that this might be the outcome. I am so sorry.

I am taking some time away from ordination work to discern what God has next for me. General Conference is in April and the issues of human sexuality are being discussed. The conference will then vote on the worthiness of the lives of LGBTQ persons as they relate to ordained ministry in a United Methodist context. I will not make any decisions until after that vote. I have not yet spoken to the District Superintendent so I do not know what is next for me. I am appointed to serve this church and will continue in my current role as Associate Pastor at Saint Matthew. As I said previously, I cannot imagine being anywhere else but with all of you.

This Sunday, we explored the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. This is something typically done by a servant, so the disciples were surprised. Peter said to Jesus, “No! You will not wash my feet!” That was a strong response. But Jesus, who would soon be led to His death, had a purpose behind His actions.

By washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus wanted to make it clear that in God’s world, all are created equal. The servant and the master are all loved equally by God and treated the same.

Many churches use this story during Holy Week and hold a foot washing service. Children might see this practice as a yucky job, not something we want to do today. Try comparing this practice with other acts of service, such as helping a neighbor take out their trash, caring for a sick friend, or helping them clean up a spill. Through this story, we can see that serving others, like Jesus did, is an unexpected act of love.

Easter will be here before we know it, so we must prepare for our annual Easter egg hunt. Last year we had lots and lots of eggs filled with candy and prizes brought to church for all our kids to find. This year we could use donations of individually-wrapped candy to fill our eggs.

The Easter Bunny has always been nice to us, but we also need your kids and grandkids to join the hunt. During church on Easter, we will have a movie and popcorn for the kids.

See you all in church!