Click below to read weekly messages from Rev. Jeannie Himes, senior minister of St. Stephen's United Methodist church.
from jeannie's desk
Pastor's Blog
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The bent-over woman
May 21, 2020 - This week I listened to a sermon by Rev. Traci Blackmon, a leader in the UCC denomination, and African-American. Speaking on the story of the “Bent-Over Woman” from Luke 13, she noted that “Jesus saw her”. And, being unlike Jesus to look down on someone, he would have bent over like her, in order to see her. Bent over to her level, where he could really see her, contorting his own body to be able to face her.
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Words of encouragement
May 14, 2020 - “I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” —Og Mandino
We continue to endure being separated from one another. You all are doing many kinds of things to connect with one another, which does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
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Next Steps to re-opening
May 7, 2020 - We've now been 2 months without in-person worship at St Stephen's. Now we are at a crossroads where we try to figure out how to proceed. We have some direction from our Conference leadership, including the Bishop. We've been instructed that there is to be no in-person worship or classes until after May 17 – and we've been told there will be weekly updates.
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Don't let trauma define you
April 30, 2020 - Recently I listened to the "On Being" podcast in which Rachel Yehuda, the director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was interviewed. She spoke of how trauma changes us, having spent years studying survivors of large collective traumas like the Holocaust and 9/11.
