February 8, 2010 January was a very busy month for the church. As mentioned in my last blog, building a budget took alot of time last month.  The last week of January was our Mission Impact Celebration. We recognized twentysix missions that we serve thru, both here and abroad. The scope and diversity of these missions are amazing. It was nice to see all of our missionaries, and hear reports of their work. Mission pledges are now approaching $200,000 for 2010. Many people made commitments to serve in missions this year. God has certainly blessed us in this ministry. February marks the beginning on the season of Lent. We'll have an Ash Wednesday service next week on February 17. There will be a day of prayer on Saturday, February 20. The Feast of Worship and Prayer will be from 9AM until 4PM. We begin now a season of fasting, prayer, and reflextion. This time of Spiritual self discovery will empower us to serve and direct our service throughout 2010. God's Peace for the new season! Ed

January 20, 2010. I see I have neglected my blog, but  I think it was for the sake of things more urgent. We have being preparing the 2010 budget. It is a cumbersome task. First we estimate what giving we will receive this year. We do this by totaling the Estimates of Giving, and then add in unpledged giving and loose plate offerings (we estimate these by comparing to 2009). Then we add in interest income, rentals, and other misc. sources of income. We arrived at  a total of !.3 million. This compares to a budget of 1.49 last year, and acutal giving of 1.37 in 2009. We then cut back the 2009 budget to match 2010 estimated income. The proposed budget goes to the Board of Stewards this Sunday for  approval. To reach this number, we cut 50% of the program budget, $94,000 out of staffing, and about the same amount from operations and maintenance. To do this all the staff took a 10% pay cut. One person was also layed off. I believe this will be a balanced budget for 2010. The Great Recession has taken its toll on all of our families and on the church they support. I can't predict if the worst is over yet. If income doesn't match projections, then there will be more cuts. I am thankful for your prayers and for your faithful giving. We leave the rest in God's hands, and trust He will provide.  

December 9,2009 Last week, I missed going to the gymn. I usually go Tuesday and Thursday. I was very busy, so I put it off. Yesterday, I was tempted to miss going again, but I made time and worked out. It was much harder because of missing a week. Afterward, I was glad I had gone and felt great. Isn't church like that. We get busy and miss church, it gets easier to miss, before we know it, it's been a month.

We know we feel better when we go, and we lose ground spiritualy when we miss worship. Other temptations grow bigger when we miss church. Let's promise to be faithful in worship in 2010. See you in church. Ed

November 17,2009 I've been asked to repeat something I said Sunday, so here it is: Many of you are out of work or are working part-time instead of your regular full time job. If you can't give a pledge of money this Sunday, come anyway, take a card and pledge to pray for the church and to attend worship. You will be supporting your church by doing this two important things. When God blesses you with a job, then give as much as He guides you. God honors every bit of faithfulness, not just giving of money. I hope no one misses church because they can not give or pledge. We're here for you. You need us more than ever, AND we need you (not just your money). As we pray for the Stewardship campaign this week, don't just pray for $$$, pray for people to be blessed. This being Thanksgiving weekend, come and thank God for what you have, instead of focusing on what you don't have or can't give. Thanks for being the church. Ed

November 11, 2009 Most of us struggle to plan out our lives, to anticipate what God wants us to do. Spiritual maturity calls for us to wait on God, not to run ahead of God. I like this quote " To shape the whole Future is not our problem; but only to shape faithfully a small part of it, according to rules already known."  As the hymn says " While life's dark maze I tread, And griefs around me spread, Be Thou our guide;Bid darkness turn to day, Wipe sorrow's tears away, Nor let me ever stray, From Thee aside"  If we're walking daily close to God, we can leave our future to HIm.

November 2, 2009. This Sunday at 11 AM is our annual Church Conference. This year the conference is during our 11 AM service, so it will be much abreviated ( probably about 10 minutes). We will elect officers, approve the pastors' salaries, and affirm candidates for ministry. We are doing well in almost every measurement of the church. We are steadily gaining members, both by transfer and profession of faith. We're paying our bills, giving generously to missions. One area is still challenges us, our apportionments. These are the monies that every UMC gives to support the whole United Methodist Church. It pays the Bishops and District Superintendents, and our missionaries. It also helps support our Methodist colleges and hospitals. The amount is approximately our tithe of our church's income. I like the rhyme that says apportionment means a portion meant for others. We're running a little behind on this and I really want to see this item paid in full by the end of the year. If you can, please write a check to the church to help with this ministry. Thanks, Ed

October 28,2009. I'm back from Africa, and what a wonderful trip we had! I'll be sharing about the trip, this week and next, at Wednesday night study (6:30PM), and at Thursday morning study (10AM). I am also available to speak to groups about my trip. I am very excited about what God is doing in Liberia and at what God has called us to do there. Ed

October 6,2009. Our Liberian Mission Team, headed by Paul Norris, is leaving Sunday to visit Liberia in West Africa. Please pray for the eight of us as we spread God's Word in that great country. Pray for safe travel, fellowship of the group, safe families at home, and effective witness.

Thanks for being the Church. Ed

Sept 21,2009. Life and ministry seems to have impeded blogging lately. I do have two thoughts to share today. First, a quote I read: "He fills the great earth, and all upon it, with this unseen force of His love, that never forgets or exhausts itself" (from an old Methodist devotion).

Secondly, today's rainstorm reminds us we are not in control. We were to have staff retreat in Blue Ridge beginning today. All of the staff looked forward to the time away and the fun we would have together. Alas, it was not to be! The rain closed so many roads that the trip became unwise. So we are retreated here at McKendree. We make plans, but God has veto power. We saw in the loss of homes and even lives here in Gwinnett, that life is so uncertain. September 11 taught us not to take life or the people in our lives for granted. Thank God for each day, and live out that day with joy and gratitude.  

Aug 31, 2009. This has been a very quiet and pleasant weekend. A rainy weekend prevented me from doing outside work and forced a Sabbath upon me. A quiet weekend for reading, naps, and between showers, walks. It's good that God sometimes enforces rest upon us. Sometimes illness is a method of enforced rest. One of my favorite Methodist quotes from another century says "Poor soul, she had no time to think or pray". We sometimes don't recognize our own simular poverty. We are often too full of ourselves and our urgent activities to know what our sould really needs: quiet and rest. Let it rain!

Aug 24, 2009 Yesterday, I was pleased to announce that Devon Patrick is our new worship leader for the 9:30 service. Devon will lead the service, and the practice. He will be supported by a team of four other leaders that will help him with choosing songs, scheduling band members and singers and other logistics. Devon is a humble leader, a very talented musician and singer. His music is always passionate for God. I really enjoyed what he and Psalm 151 did in worship yesterday. This service was also my first sermon to use video. I hope you enjoyed it. I will be introducing more video and drama in the sermons in the weeks to come. Yesterday also concluded our sermon series on the "Face of Jesus". Our next series starts on September 13. This series is about how we worship. I  am very excited about the energy I see in the church. Pray for us as we dream together God's dream for this church.  

Aug 12, 2009 I like this definition of the church" The Church is not an institution forcing us to follow its rules.  It is a community of people inviting us to still our hunger and thirst at its tables" Henri Nouwen.

Aug 5, 2009 My last blog was wonderfu except for one thing: I didn't save it, and it was lost. We all need Jesus to hit save so we won't be lost too! 

Our new Wednesday night schedule begins next week, Aug 12. We begin serving supper at 5:45 and will continue until 6:45. My Bible study starts at 6:30, while we are at our tables. People can continue eat while we're doing the study. This will be a FAMILY study, so the children will be with us and will have a craft or object that relates to the study. It will be somewhat interactive. The study will let out at 7 so people can go to choir or other activities. I will also repeat the study in an adult format at 10 AM on Thursday in Room 311. Please join me. Ed 

July 20,2009 I like this thought from Albert Day "Sometimes we have days when our dearest friends say, "you are not yourself today".That fact gives them a hard time and sends them away deprived of what they should  have from us. BUT GOD IS ALWAYS GOD.'

July 13, 2009 I saw two quotes in my devotions today, that I thought might be a blessing to you. The first is a quote from Thomas Hawkins: "When we are willing to abandon ourselves and fling ourselves outward in compassion and in service, we find  that we have made room not just  for others in our lives but also for God in our hearts." McKendree is a great mission church. Mission is not just about serving others, it is also that in doing so, we find more of God in our hearts. You can't out -give God. When you give yourself in service, God will widen your heart to be big enough to receive more of Him.

The other quote is from H.A. Williams: "Laughter is the purest form of our response to God's acceptance of us." I am glad that our church is one with a great sense of humor. Worship has many componets, but most services here have a chance to laugh. God showed His sense of humor when He made us, with all our weakness. To know Him is to be able to laugh at ourselves. When you can laugh at yourself, you become immune to pride, and embrace grace. Blessings, Ed

Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

Today, I want to give an update on my earlier blog. The worship study team has met four times. In the first two sessions, we shared our joys and concerns about the service, and discussed the survey that was done last year. In the survey, everyone had preferences, many of which were mutually exclusive. There were however, several large themes that resonated with the vast majority. People want a joyous, energetic service, where they can feel the Spirit moving in them. They want variety and they want to participate in the music. These themes resonated with the members of our group and with those visitors we have interviewed thus far. Most of our visitors have attended the service for years. They are people deeply committed to this service. We will continue to meet during July with three guests each night. In August, we hope to begin working on conclusions and a recommendation to the Board of Stewards. We welcome input from anyone. If you wish to share your hopes and joys for this service, you may email me or any member of the study group. Your comments will be kept confidential and will be appreciated. Everyone can help us by praying for the service, those who lead it, and for our study group. Our primary goal at this stage is to listen to you and to listen to God. You can email me at erwadsworth@hotmail.com. Anytime you need me, you can email me, and my phone immediately notifies me that I have a new email. I want to be available to you whenever you need me. Thanks for being the church. Ed

May 26, 2009

CHANGE! Do you like change? Before you say no, what changes would cause celebration? A pay raise, graduation, marriage, a birth, a new house or car, all of these would be happy changes. Even little changes are frustrating . The AJC drops your favorite comic, Kroger no longer carries your shampoo or frozen Chinese dish, a new stop sign to slow your way to work, these are all little things, but they all irritate us.

Change is coming to our church. You’ve now had almost one year of a new preacher. This year we will also change associate pastors. Kathy has served here for seven years, and before that, was a member for several years. She has worked hard and brought many wonderful programs. We will all certainly miss her. She goes on to be the new Senior Pastor at Lawrenceville Road UMC in Tucker. Diego Orsini comes to McKendree as our Minister of Discipleship. He is a wonderful pastor and will bring much to this congregation.

There will also be changes in our worship services. We will begin a new weekly worship service at 8 AM on December 6. In preparation, we will have four trial services. These services will be on the second Sunday of August, September, October, and November. I would like volunteers for those trial services. I could use 70 persons to commit to one or all of these four services. You would then give us feedback in how to improve the service before we begin to advertise it to the public. You can volunteer to attend the service, by either signing up at the music office or calling the church. The service will be a weekly communion service held at Lockridge Chapel. I think you will find it a blessing.

This month the Board of Stewards approved a study committee for the 930 AM service.

Last year we did a on-line survey about this service, we received many recommendations on how to improve the service. Let me be clear on why we are doing this. First of all, I love this service. I don’t need to change it. We won’t change it because I’m the new pastor. I think the bands and singers are fabulous. I know many dedicated people have worked hard for the last ten years to make this service the dynamic worship that it is.

So why fix what aint broke? Attendance at this service has been declining for at least the last three years. At the same time, the 11 o’clock service has been growing. Most new members have come from the traditional service. I can guess several reasons for this: there is a shortage of  quality traditional worship in Gwinnett, and many big contemporary ones; We have two mega churches in our neighborhood, who run five or six thousand in worship; and our service has not changed much in ten years and may be a little dated (to be called contemporary). We can’t ignore the numbers. We want to make this service grow and be a blessing to more people. If you love this service as much as I do, please don’t take this study as not valuing your ministry or threatening your worship. We have one goal: to worship God and make disciples for Jesus Christ. We will seek to honor God in all we do. Please pray for this service with us and give us any input about improving it.

Our study committee members are: Scott Lomas, Ginny Sternberg, Robert Neal, Tom Balog, Shannon Freeney, and I. Please feel free to call or email any of us with your concerns and dreams for worship. We will also be bringing in an outside consultant to give us ideas. Change is always difficult, but it can be a good thing.

May 13, 2009

This Sunday we will be honoring our graduates. It’s an exciting time that contains both endings and new beginnings. Tomorrow the preschool children will graduate. On Friday, my daughter, Elizabeth will graduate from Kennesaw State (anybody need a new teacher?). Our emotions this time of year run from pride, tearful shock at how quickly they have grown up, and anxiety about jobs or college. The hymn running through my head now is “This is the day of new beginnings, time to remember and then move on”.

Really, most of our life is a string of endings and new beginnings. In fact, every day has that element. The only constant in our life is God’s love. Begin again in faith!

May 5,2009

Yesterday Pastor Kathy and I went to the Atlanta Emory District Ministers meeting. One of the items under discussion is our church’s stance on clergy sexual abuse. Our conference is very committed to a strict policy on abuse prevention. If you or a friend has been sexually abused by clergy, we encourage you to call the clergy sexual abuse response line. The number is 866-612-2770. A team of trained professionals will listen to your story and give information on how to report abuse. Sexual abuse by clergy will not be tolerated in the United Methodist Church. McKendree is also a Safe Sanctuary church. We have very strict guidelines about adults working with children. Every paid or volunteer worker is trained in our Safe Sanctuary guidelines and must submit to a background check. A church should always be a safe place, and with God’s help, we will make it so.

April 29,2009

This Sunday’s text is I John 3:16. I was struck by how much it is like John 3:16, the verse we all know and love. I began to be curious about how many 3:16 verses might be alike.

I know there is nothing magical about chapter and verse division. They were man made inventions about 300 years ago. But it is interesting how many powerful verses happen to be 3:16. For your fun and inspiration, you might want to read the other 3:16 s in the New Testament. They are: Luke, John, Acts, I and II Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, and I John. Let me know if this was fun for you too.

This is my year for technology. I began my first blog this year, and now I’m on facebook. I’m listed by my full name Edwin Robert Wadsworth. It’s nice to already have a high friend count, even though I may not have time to read all of my friends responses.

I do want to be available to you. Feel free to call or email me at anytime.Thanks, Friends

April 20,2009

Tomorrow I will be preaching the funeral of  a dear friend. I became Sadie’s pastor 13 years ago, when she was 80. I was immediately attracted to her as a friend. I don’t know why some people you pastor become instant friends, but it happens, now and then. You love all of your members, but you may not like them all the time. But some people quickly form a bond. One thing that attracted me to Sadie was her sense of humor.

We all want to be friends with someone who is fun to be with, Sadie was always fun.

Because I loved Sadie, her family became mine. I always felt like her daughter,  Nancy ,was a big sister to me. What a privilege it is for us as pastors to share in the lives of the families in our congregation. Sadie had a long blest life. Her last year was a difficult one. I thank God that in His mercy, he knows when are body has had enough. Last week Sadie reached that point, and God took her home. What a wonderful God that watches over us from our infancy to our old age. His love and care are constant. We are blest!

APRIL 1, 2009

I saw an editorial today in the AJC by a UGA student who was burnt out with the church. I was especially interested because he was a United Methodist. He refers to problems at his home church, Stockbride First UMC . When he was 16, they were going thru a relocating issue,and he felt too much time in worship was spent on budgets, proposals, and divisiveness. He said ultimately the church split. Actually, those who wanted to relocate moved to the location, and those who did not want to relocate stayed in the church’s historic location. It was an amicable division, that led to reaching more people for Christ. It was the right decision, not an either/or decision, but both/and. But to his teenage eyes, it was a disappointment in the church. Several points come to mind here: 1. We must protect worship from business. 2. Decision making should be slow, transparent, and inclusive 3. We must attend to people’s spiritual needs in the midst of business decision making. 4. I’m thankful for the Christian way our Board of Stewards makes decisions.

The rest of his story is about his time at UGA. He said occasionally, when he feels distressed or sad, he goes to First UMC in Athens to pray. He’s frustrated that the Sanctuary doors are locked, and he must “sneak in” thru the office entrance. Athens First, like most larger churches, controls access to the building during the week, by limiting one door open to the public. We follow that same safety practice. We, like they, have a preschool, so we must monitor who comes into the church for the safety of the children.We are also concerned for the safety of the staff and membership. There have been situations where dangerous people have come into back doors of churches, hidden in dark places to prey on women or children . The recent incident of a pastor being shot in church is another example of how mentally disturbed people can act out their violence against people who only want to help them. We hope you know what this young man does not. The church is open for you! You can always pray in the Sanctuary or the prayer chapel. We are open most days from 730 AM until 9 PM. The church is always here to help and to serve you.

March 25, 2009

This Sunday’s sermon is about Jesus cleansing the temple. This reminds us of our need to clean our hearts. Lent is a season of introspection. During this time of year we search our hearts, we confess our sins, and seek God’s power to renew us in the way of living that we know God wants us to live. The word “lent” is actually an old English word for spring. So as we do spring cleaning in our homes and in our yards, now is also a good time to clean our hearts. The ancient church knew the power of coming to Easter with renewed hearts, so as to experience the full power of Easter.

March 15, 2009

Yesterday was my birthday. In years, I am now 61. In days, I am now 22,279 days old.

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 90. Verse 12 of that Psalm says “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” . So for years now I have been keeping track of how many days old I am. The idea is that every day is a precious gift from God. Every morning before I get out of bed I thank God for letting me live another day. This is the blessing I received from my cancer experience in 2001. I hope you too will begin to count your days and make every day count.

March 4, 2009

I went to the doctor yesterday for a check-up. He poked and prodded me, and then reviewed my blood test results. He made suggestions on diet , exercise and medications. It all made me think of how the season of Lent is our spiritual check-up. During these 40 days, we fast and pray. God makes suggestions about our needs for repentance, reconciliation, and service to others. We call His suggestions- conviction. If you’re not hearing from Him about these things, maybe you’re not praying enough. Listen Up! Ed
 

February 24, 2009

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, a day we solemnly contemplate our mortality. It doesn’t sound like as much fun as Marti Gras does it? Marti Gras was a church/pagan celebration to make sure you had plenty to repent of on Ash Wednesday. (okay, an over-simplification, but you don’t want a whole history lesson here). Why do we need to contemplate our mortality, don’t we all know we’re going to die? Yes, but we try to deny it, and to live like there is no tomorrow. So we say “ We are dust, and to dust we shall return”. And, we make vows to pray, fast and meditate from now to Easter (the season of Lent). As fitting this time, the Prayer Force is having a prayer breakfast this Saturday at 9AM. Our theme of prayer will carry through the weekend with a prayer emphasis at morning worship and a healing service Sunday evening at 7PM.

So, Party On today, but come prepared to pray this weekend. Ed

FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Reading this, you know I survived my surgery! I had an excellent surgeon, Dr Wallace Martin. This was the easiest surgery I’ve ever had. I had no nausea, no post op pain. I went home the next day (with a side trip to Waffle House). I rested the remainder of the week. Now, I’m back at work, and eager for it. Thank you for all who prayed for me. I felt surrounded by your prayers. Thanks also for the nice cards, flowers, and food. I not only feel well, but loved.
One change is coming up. We are restoring the worship times to 9:30 AM and 11 AM. This will begin on time change Sunday, March 8. I hope the new times will strengthen the early service and early Sunday School. The eleven o’clock time will be more comfortable to visitors, as it meets the typical time they would expect.
Next week we begin the holy season of Lent. We begin on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25 with a service at 7 PM. Our spiritual life weekend follows with a prayer breakfast on Saturday, special emphasis on prayer in both Sunday morning services, concluding with a special healing service on Sunday evening. I hope you will join us for as many of these as your schedule allows.
Thanks for being God’s church. Ed 
 

FEBRUARY 2009

Welcome to the new McKendree Pastor’s Blog. I will use this site to share with you news of the congregation, my hopes and dreams for McKendree, and my personal prayer and praise concerns. Our big news is our just completed Mission Impact Celebration. In 2008, we gave $58,000 for missions. We have committed in 2009 to give $250,000 to missions!

An even more exciting celebration is our dedications to mission service. Seven of our members came to the altar Sunday night and responded to the call to full-time Christian ministry. Over a hundred others committed to mission trips and mission projects! What a wonderful blessing our Mission week was to all of us.

Our next big event is our Prayer Weekend. We are proclaiming our identity as a Bible-centered, Prayer focused, Mission church. We will celebrate our prayer focus with a prayer breakfast on Saturday, Feb 28, followed by a prayer emphasis on our Sunday morning services, concluding with a Sunday evening prayer service. I hope this event with be just as powerful as our mission event. I hope later this year to also have a Bible conference to celebrate that identity.

On a personal note, please pray for me as I have thyroid surgery on Feb 10 at Gwinnett Medical Center. I should be out of the office for a week. I appreciate all prayers for my quick recovery.

Thanks for being a faithful church. Ed Wadsworth

February 2009

This is our first Pastor's Blog.