For Your Birthday

Today is my "half birthday" (my actual birthday is April 22, six months from now).

In morning quiet time, I ran across this beautiful birthday blessing in John O'Donahue's To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings.

I wanted to share it on my blog this day, in hopes that is serves as a blessing to many of you on the "echoing-day of your birth."

For Your Birthday 

Blessed be the mind that dreamed the day 

The blueprint of your life 

Would begin to glow on earth, 

Illuminating all the faces and voices 

That would arrive to invite 

Your soul to growth. 

Praised be your father and mother, 

Who loved you before you were, 

And trusted to call you here 

With no idea who you would be. 

Blessed be those who have loved you 

Into becoming who you were meant to be, 

Blessed be those who have crossed your life 

With dark gifts of hurt and loss 

That have helped to school your mind 

In the art of disappointment. 

When desolation surrounded you, 

Blessed be those who looked for you 

And found you, their kind hands 

Urgent to open a blue window 

In the grey wall formed around you. 

Blessed be the gifts you never notice, 

Your health, eyes to behold the world, 

Thoughts to countenance the unknown, 

Memory to harvest vanished days, 

Your heart to feel the world’s waves, 

Your breath to breathe the nourishment 

Of distance made intimate by earth. 

On this echoing-day of your birth, 

May you open the gift of solitude 

In order to receive your soul; 

Enter the generosity of silence 

To hear your hidden heart, 

Know the serenity of stillness 

To be enfolded anew 

By the miracle of your being. 

 — John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

A Few Basic Facts for North Alabama Laity

Are you confused about all this? 

1. The “New Methodist Movement” is curated by a few clergy in the North Alabama Conference of the UMC that plan to leave our denomination and start a new one.

2. The post-separation UMC will not force or compel pastors or churches to change any policies concerning wedding ceremonies.

3. Forcing all clergy, churches, and parishioners of our Conference to leave our own denomination with a 57% vote would be an injustice. Those who wish to leave will be able to do so without requiring others to leave against their will.

4. A proposed new traditionalist denomination has not yet formed, so the Conference would be voting to become part of something that doesn’t exist. The uncertainties are endless.

5. If we leave our own denomination, we will no longer receive any benefits that come from it.

6. Churches in a proposed new denomination may or may not have a pastor at a given time, because there will no longer be an appointment system.

To learn more, see www.stayumc.com.

Stay UMC

Dear Methodist friends,

These are difficult times, and there are many more pressing things on our plate.

However, a group of North Alabama Methodists are advocating that the North Alabama Conference "Stay UMC," should there be a vote called for on the Annual Conference level to secede from the United Methodist Church and form a new "traditionalist" denomination. This vote could take place in 2021 or 2022 if the Protocol passes at General Conference in 2021, as many expect. There are some clergy and laity in the North Alabama Conference who are actively working toward the goal of leaving the UMC.

"Stay UMC" released www.stayumc.com today. This was to be unrolled in early March and the pandemic caused a heavy pause. General Conference has now been postponed to August/September of 2021, so it is still something in front of us.

I wholeheartedly support “Stay UMC!” I invite you to explore www.stayumc.com and join the movement.

I hope that discussions around the “Stay UMC” movement will lead to greater transparency so we can be a better Church.

I have nothing against clergy and churches who wish to leave the UMC in the present impasse. They are brothers and sisters in Christ. Some are very traditionalist, others are very progressive, but on both edges there are those that would choose to no longer stay in communion with the traditionalists, centrists, and progressives that believe we are called to be one diverse Church. The denomination is making withdrawal possible now, and churches may keep church properties if they follow the appropriate requirements. I just don't believe those who wish to form a new denomination should attempt to force the entire Annual Conference to go with them.

Please check out www.stayumc.com to understand what the Protocol is, why we wish to "Stay UMC," and what's at stake if we don't.

Invocation for JSU Commencement

It was an honor to lead the invocation for Commencement Exercises at Jacksonville State University, held outdoors on August 1, 2020 at the JSU Gamecock Stadium. This was spring graduation that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I carefully wrote my invocation as a gift to the JSU community, and I thought I'd share it here as well.

Let us pray.

God of Solomon and Sophia, God of Divine Wisdom and Grace,

We pause this day to pray. We pause as outstanding scholars are honored here, and we pause to honor the One that merits our greatest respect. We pause to point to the Source and Sustainer of all that is true and all that is good. It is with deep gratitude that we pause, and it is with deep gratitude that we pray.

We pray for these candidates, that the academic degrees awarded today might be more than accolades. May these degrees serve as seeds. May they be seeds that are nourished by the soil of real-life experience, and may they be watered by the rain of struggle. May they be seeds that are fed by the sun of enlightenment, so that they blossom and make the world a more beautiful place.

May these degrees, these seeds, represent not only the accomplishment of knowledge but the continued quest to become.

Fill these candidates with a faith in what the future brings. May they have soundness of mind in a world that can’t seem to agree on what constitutes truth. May they have abundance of hope, no matter if their graduation was delayed due to disease and unease.

May the memories of this day not be overshadowed by a pandemic. May they unleash the power of the academic so that the seeds planted today spread like an epidemic.  

May these commencement exercises be exactly that, commencement exercises. May they be a commencement, a kickoff, a fresh start … not only the ending of a helpful chapter in life but the beginning of a hopeful chapter in life.

May they be commencement indeed. May they also be exercises, knowing that you are not finished with us yet. You are never finished with us yet.

God of both enlightenment and love, we pray (in the words of the Apostle Paul) that these candidates be transformed by the renewal of their minds. In that spirit, we offer these exercises to you.

And now with deep respect for all faiths that might be represented here, I pray in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whom scripture calls the “Wisdom of God.”

Amen and amen.

 

Invocation for School Board

I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to offer the invocation at the Jacksonville City Schools Board of Education meeting recently. Some important decisions were discussed regarding entering the school year in the midst of this pandemic.

Here is my prayer. I am sharing it here in hopes that you will join me in praying it.

---

BOARD OF EDUCATION INVOCATION

Steve West – July 22, 2020

God of our wisdom’s years, God of our children’s tears, God who transforms us by the renewal of our minds,

Our hearts are grateful for the gift of this day and the opportunity to share in this way. We thank you for the grand history of the Jacksonville City School System, and for the opportunity to gather tonight because we are concerned about its future. Remind us, oh Lord, that regardless of what disagreements we have or what common ground we discover, we are all on the same team. We are here because we care.

We pray for the precious children and strapping young men and women served by our school system. We pray for their health and safety, and for their vitality and growth. We pray that during these uncertain times, when questions fly faster than answers, we might find a way through the night of this pandemic to the dawning of a better day. For both the safety and sanity of our children, walk us through this wilderness, Lord. Give us a wisdom beyond our natural abilities and a strength that comes from you.

We pray for our teachers and staff, that they might have the courage to make the right decisions for the greater good, and the stamina to lead during strange and uncomfortable times. Fill them with insight as they make the difficult decisions of each day. Give them a peace that passes all understanding to guard their hearts and minds. Help them be graceful and patient with themselves as they manage the multiple expectations of the present situation.

We pray for our community, that they might come around this school system with both patience and perseverance, understanding that none of us have a crystal ball and all of us are doing our best to navigate unchartered waters due to COVID-19. 

We offer this school year to you, oh God, as a humble offering, and commit our lives to strengthening character in our community one child, one youth at a time.

Bless the schools in this system with security along with safety. Bring sanity along with all the sanitizing. Bring a sense of connection along with all the social distancing. Help us be intuitive leaders when forced to use all these new and necessary procedures.

In short, be with us, oh God. Free us for joyful obedience to the task before us, and shape our minds and hearts tonight.

And now, with respect for the many faiths that might be represented in this gathering here, I offer this prayer in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Technology and Tough Times

Here is my mid-week devotional for July 21, 2020.

We are using the technology of our time to share the gospel in tough times ... and it’s not the first time. My Grandpa West did it during the Spanish Flu epidemic.

A Word for Jacksonville First United Methodist Church

Jax First UMC has a new YouTube Channel! Join us there for livestreaming on Sundays at 9:00 am. Or you can catch it afterward on YouTube or Facebook! Subscribe at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxsqwHW4D7Ln9Li4ipO2QOg?fbclid=IwAR1DlO-NkqUHo4POUYuvzYlCQ4p75_iHYrTLpIYzj5yCeYC-jI3hBmb85j4

Today was a really good day. I feel like one of the early American Methodist preachers, who preached and visited during the week from house to house. It doesn't feel sad because of COVID-19. It feels exciting, like we are "back to the basics" of what it means to be the church.

Because of Stacie's brainstorm on how Sandy and I could meet the children of our church during these weird times of pandemic, we joined her this morning for my very first "Popsicle Parade." We showed up with Stacie and her cooler of frozen treats, meeting the first set of families with kids in our children's program and visiting at their doorstep or driveway. And yes, one of the popsicles tasted really good when it started getting warm outside.

It was a delightful morning, and I can't wait to meet the rest of our families with kids. Watch for the Popsicle Parade coming to your neighborhood!

Starting out in a new ministry setting is strange due to COVID, and yet I'm realizing how wonderful it will be. After we finish parading with popsicles over the next few days, I plan to make the rounds to visit our homebound members (socially distanced, with masks, and on the porch steps or through the glass door ... whatever is safe). We will also jump into our "Socially Distanced Socials with Steve and Sandy" in neighborhoods or out under the big tree by the Garden of Eatin.'

This afternoon, I heard some news from the congregation I just came from. Their new pastor's wife tested positive for COVID-19, and they've had to shut down and go back to online-only worship for a few weeks. I'm sad for them, but I feel truly blessed. I'm also aware that we simply have to watch and pray, and be flexible along the way.

So, let's enjoy the strange and wonderful adventure of figuring out the next few weeks and months together. I met with program staff and then trustees yesterday to begin laying out plans to communicate to you about reopening things one step at a time, after meeting with the leaders of Thrive last week to put together a timeline for rebooting. Then today our governor announced an ordinance that requires masks in most public situations, so it all feels like aiming for a moving target. But the God we serve is the rock, the firm foundation of our unwavering faith. We will publish our plans in the next few days so you know what to expect, but they are indeed flexible plans and I personally appreciate everyone's patience.

Thanks for such a warm welcome into the continuing adventure of trusting in the Lord with all your heart, and leaning not on your own understanding. In all our ways, let's submit to God, and he will make our paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)