By Sandy Devoid
Since my husband and I are from New England and have visited Plymouth many times, we pride ourselves in doing Thanksgiving 'right'. At our table you will not find anything fried nothing with cream of mushroom soup or marshmallows. Our pies are made from real fruit, never from a can, our crusts are homemade and the whipped cream is exactly that, heavy cream whipped in a cold bowl with sugar. To us, it is heavenly.

We realized a few years ago when we celebreated this great holiday with a friend from Miami, that what was 'really Thanksgiving' for us was not so for everyone. We were Thanksgiving Snobs. Our friend put ingredients where they did not belong. Sausage was in just about everything and thyme was replaced with hot sauce and cayenne pepper. I was freaking out. This was not a 'real' Thanksgiving.

But yet it was. We sat around the table and ate the food. His food creations were kind of yucky to me and mine were yucky to him. (Except for the whipped cream. I mean, how can real whipped cream ever be yucky?) Yet, that Thanksgiving has stayed with me. My food anxiety has become a longstanding joke.

My friend grew up in a household with too much drinking. As we cooked he made jokes about his childhood. He told me that he remembers watching the parades on TV as the adults around him drank themselves silly.

"How did you make it?" I asked him as we cooked. See, statistically he shouldn't have finished High School. His parents managed to hold down their jobs, but because of their drinking, they couldn't pay much attention to him. Now here he was an adult with a Master's Degree and a job.

His answer was simple. "The Church," he said. After school he would go to his United Methodist Church and hang out. He did his homework and read books from his Pastor's library. He kept his small youth group going and helped out around the church whenever it was needed. You name it, he did it.

Life is mixed up. Things that we think don't go together, often do, when we open our minds to God's love. Just because I don't think sausage goes into every Thanksgiving dish, doesn't mean it won't work. Just because a kid grows up in adversity doesn't mean he or she won't make it.....especially if we, the church are really following Jesus.

Kids show up at church. My twenty-something years of experience prove this and yet it always surprises me. What are they looking for? Probably hope, acceptance, a kind listening ear and maybe a snack. That's what an inner city church in Miami gave my friend many, many years ago.

We can do the same here in our neighborhood. We can show kids another way. We can give them Jesus' hope and kindness. We can help them make it. Right now we are looking for adults who want to reach out to kids and help them know they are special. Pray about this and talk with our Youth Director, Kevin Ward or me. Who knows what will happen!

Oh, my friend from Miami? He's a Pastor now. A really, really good one.

You can come see him in action at our Church Christmas Party on Sunday, December 9 at 5pm. He'll perform, "Bubba the Shepherd'. Yes, that's right, Bubba. How can you stay away? It will be hilarious. Bring your friends!

By Dan Hester

A couple of Wednesdays ago we had our open Halloween party for the community. If you weren’t there you can see pictures from the event now posted in the hallway outside the sanctuary and opposite the history wall. Looking at those pictures again reminds me of what a miracle that event was.

Through experience and through contact with colleagues I know that most United Methodist Churches are largely culturally homogenous. Most of the ministers I know would fall over backwards in happy disbelief if they opened their gym for Halloween and saw the variety of people that showed up in our FLC.

Just in terms of establishing rapport with people, our Halloween party was a howling success. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) People hear our actions louder than our words. I think the message was loud and clear: You are welcome here. We like having you here.

I want people to know that our welcome is a reflection of God’s welcome of us in Jesus Christ. To that end we gave away free Bibles. We gave Bibles away to whites, to Asian Indians, to African Americans, and to Latinos. Not many churches can say that on any day of the year, much less Halloween.

I also want the people who visited to know God’s grace and love for them in Jesus Christ. I hope that they profess faith in Christ, join our congregation and grow in their discipleship. I know that the Church does not have the instant trust of our society in general that it once had. So building relationships from scratch is the order of the day.

I think of open community events such as the Halloween party and the upcoming Christmas Tree Lighting on December 2nd in two ways. One way I see them is in creating a kingdom moment; a moment where we see a gathering of people that reflects the way heaven will look. (Isa. 40:5) I think creating such a moment is an end in and of itself. It expands our imagination, our understanding of God, and the appreciation of our mission. One other way I see such events is scattering seed. Some won’t sprout at all. But other seeds will fall on good soil and bring forth a hundredfold. (Matthew 13:8)

Thanks to all who helped make the party happen. Let’s do it again!

By Sandy Devoid
I spent the weekend in Savannah, Georgia. I was the support person for my family members who ran the marathon and half marathon. It’s a pretty good job. You hold a bag of their stuff, find places on the course that you can walk to and cheer like
crazy when they run past. Afterwards, you get to eat a lot with them, like you ran the race, too. 

On Friday my husband and I wandered around Savannah and took in the sights. We found our way to Reynolds Square where there is a very large statue of John Wesley. Wesley is the guy who got the Methodist Church started. While some visitors to Savannah
have to go to Paula Dean’s restaurant or take a riverboat cruise, since we are a couple of church nerds, the Wesley statue was our planned destination.

As we walked up to the statue, I was surprised by the awe I felt. Here was the big guy of our church, well…..so big. I looked up at Wesley and found myself talking to him. “We’re trying.” I said, “We’re trying.”

We walked around the statue and read the plaques. One titled, “John Wesley’s American Parish” gave a brief history of Wesley, Anglican minister, served as religious leader of the colony of Georgia from 1736-1737. The next sentence caught my attention.“His inclusive ministry sought to embrace both Native Americans and colonists.”

From before the beginning of our great church, the people called Methodists strived to include when it would have been easier to stay apart. Obviously this was an important part of Wesley’s ministry; after all it made it onto a plaque at a public park all these years later. 

Why was it important to Wesley? Because it was important to Jesus.

Jesus ate with sinners, told stories about people reaching out of their traditional circles to help those around them and shared God’s love for all. Shouldn’t we do the same?

So, who do we embrace? 

The young family that recently moved into the neighborhood? Teenagers searching for their place in this world? The children at Montclaire School who need something to help them grow in the summer? The teachers who spend hours planning creative lessons so kids will reach their potential? The Spanish speaking Moms who are
hungry for Bible Study and Christian Fellowship?  Kids, some of whom live around us, rarely leaving the neighborhood, who are looking for ways to make a difference in the world? The older couple that have lived close by for years and years and now need some help getting around? 

As Hebrews 12 reminds us,  “Let us run with endurance the race set before us” and include and embrace those who are different from us. After all, isn’t that just about everyone?

I’m looking forward to Sunday, December 2nd when we open our arms wide, welcome our neighbors and celebrate the Advent Season with the first annual St. Andrew’s Christmas Tree Lighting. The event is from 3:30-5:30pm and will be packed with activities for all ages including a live nativity, Christmas music by our choirs, Christmas Treats and much more! Invite your family and friends. Bring the kids. Find a way to help out.

We’ll tap into our great church history to include and embrace all God’s children and cheer for everyone.