The United Methodist Church in Osterville has hired a new Director of Music, Daniel Shinabarger! He’ll start working with us in January 2022, and his first Sunday will be January 9. Daniel Shinabarger is 31 years old, and has lived in the Boston area on and off since 2014, where he attended Berklee College of…
September 25, 2021 Beautiful Beloveds, Pre-COVID, I confess I almost enjoyed sneezing in public. Now, people back away and quickly, but then, complete strangers would reply, “Bless you!” My favorite was in a dressing room. Unseen voices would come from nearby stalls, a shower of blessings. Some would do so without thought, but others would…
Our church has the opportunity to provide bandanas for the children and staff of The Paul School for the Blind in Bo, Sierra Leone, West Africa. The Paul School for the Blind serves 51 students ages 4 to 22, both boys and girls, and has a staff of 17 including resident staff, teachers, and administrators. …
September 11, 2021 Beautiful Beloveds, As United Methodists, we often celebrate Holy Communion once a month. Do you know why? There’s also a push to celebrate every Sunday. Any idea why? As we gather for communion, all are welcome to receive, without exception. We welcome children, people who are not United Methodist, people who do…
September 5, 2021 Beautiful Beloveds, What a week! The first day of school, followed by a night of tornado warnings and flash floods. As I talked to many of you on Thursday, over and over again, I heard the refrain, “I’m so tired. I didn’t sleep at all last night.” Sometimes, we wear our exhaustion…
August 21, 2021 Beautiful Beloveds, This Sunday, we’re having a baptism. We will joyfully welcome William Crawford into the family of God during our 8:30 worship. The question is, why? As our “Word to the Whys” series continues, we ask ourselves, “Why do we baptize?” It’s not about pleasing parents or beautiful photos for the…
The United Methodist Church in Osterville is certainly not stagnant during COVID-19! The church continues to be active and hard at work. Last Friday, we cleaned 400 pounds of food at the Stop and Shop in Marstons Mills nearing its expiration date. We delivered that food to the Faith Family Kitchen in Hyannis! Check out…
August 7, 2021 Beautiful Beloveds, It’s an old, old joke. A newly wed witnesses their spouse preparing a roast by cutting the ends off. “Why did you do that?” “I don’t know,” they respond, “my parents always did.” A call is made to the parents, “Why did you cut the ends off the roast?” “I…
July 18, 2021 Beautiful Beloveds, I have been meaning to ask…where does it hurt? This week, our worship series moves to deeper connection as we acknowledge we all hurt sometimes. Certainly, the last year has made that painfully apparent. In times of grief, sickness, or suffering, our bodies ache, our hearts hurt, our souls suffer. …