Office Hours for Pastor Marti Swords-Horrell : 

8:30 - 11:30 Monday and Tuesday, and 11 – 1:00 on Friday

Pastor Marti's day off is Wednesday.   Please note that at times Pastor Marti is called away from her scheduled office hours because of conference meetings, pastoral care needs on the part of the congregation, and other unforeseen events.  Anyone wishing a conference with the pastor is welcome to call her on her cell phone (315-569-9156) or contact her by email (mswordshorrell@gmail.com) at any time.                                                                                                               Thanks very much!

“Seek First to Understand…”

“O Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand…”
Prayer of St. Francis, adapt. by Sebastian Temple
“Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”The Faith We Sing, #2171

  This fall our lectionary cycle of readings from the Bible has taken us deep into the Book of Job.  What a rich treasure of poetry and profundity!  Beginning and ending with a quaint folk tale, the faithful reader of this treasure of Old Testament Wisdom literature must be prepared to wade through chapter upon chapter of Job pelting the heavens with his complaint.  After all he has been through with losses piled upon losses, the loss of his family, his wealth, his health, we want to ask, “What does Job want”?

Job wants what every human being wants:  he wants to be heard.  He wants to know that even if he can’t push a “rewind” button and reverse time back to before his string of bad luck, that at least his lament does not go out into an endless void.  He wants to know that the Creator of the heavens and the earth has heard him.  And that’s exactly what he gets in the end:  he gets to see the face of God and live.

All of us want to be heard.  Even if things don’t always go the way we want in our significant relationships, we want to be heard and understood by those we love. That’s what good relationships are built on:  respect for others even when we disagree.

On September 29^th and 30^th this congregation held two Conversations on Worship to which any and all who were interested were invited to give input on our music and worship life as we face a change in our music leadership this fall.  These two conversations were jointly sponsored by the Worship Team and the Staff Parish Relations Committee.  On Tuesday the 29^th we were blessed to be led by facilitators Rev. Marilyn Wolfe, most recently pastor of University United Methodist Church and now a fulltime student in the Masters of Social Work program at SU, and Rosey Oaks-Lee, coach and Christian educator coming to us from First Baptist Church in Manlius where her spouse Leon is the pastor.  On Wednesday Marilyn continued her able facilitation with Nelson Price, whose last job was as President and CEO of the Odyssey Network, a coalition of 68 denominations and faith groups programming a cable channel that featured spiritual, faith and ethical issues, now the Hallmark Channel; prior to that Nelson was director of public media activities for the UMC-- radio, TV, press and a frequent group facilitator. 

A total of 50 persons attended these conversations.  Thank you all for your input.  Please be sure to read the related article in this issue, “What We Heard”:  a summary of most of what was said.  I hope you indeed feel heard…

Yours in Christ’s love,

“What We Heard”*

  All members and friends of FUMC were invited to join in two identical Worship Conversations September 29^th  and 30^th, each beginning with a brief time of centering in song and prayer led by facilitators Rev. Marilyn Wolfe and Rosey Oaks-Lee Tuesday, Marilyn joined by Nelson Price on Wednesday.  In the opening exercise, participants were invited to reflect on “what we celebrate about worship at FUMC” and “what we pray for in worship at FUMC”.   These two lists of responses can be summed up as “what we’d like to keep” in our worship life and, on the other hand, “new directions we’d like to explore.”

Relationships were mentioned first and most often in the “celebrate and keep” list.  Many participants appreciate our worship life as an expression of caring Christian community.  Words like “family”, “extended family”, “love”, “never feel lonely”, “close community”, “good friends”, “good people”, “togetherness:,  “caring”, and “gathering” were used.  Related but slightly different was the value placed on the diversity of the community: “intergenerational”; “different ages”; “babies” and baptisms (with warm feedback for Rev. Marti).  Rick Pickert was lauded for his cheerful greeting at the door, and Tina Haines as “wonderful” downstairs at Sunday School.

The second set of celebrations were more specifically faith-based.  Participants lifted up thanksgiving for worship that is “full of wisdom, praiseful, prayerful.”  Our worship is “based in Jesus’ love”; there is a “focus on God and God’s Word”. There is a “sense of shared faith” that “leads people to relationship with Christ”.  Within the more theological concerns there was also an appreciation for the diversity in our music and worship.  Our worship is valued as “diverse, intellectually stimulating, musically exciting, creative”. “Challenging ideas”; “spiritual enrichment” and “variety in music” were words used.  We want to continue sharing our prayer concerns with the body:  some appreciated being able to write them down to share and others enjoy listening to individual’s voice their concerns. Kudos were given for lay participation in worship, dramatic monologues and readings. Both the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal and the 2000 The Faith We Sing songbook were mentioned as resources that under gird our faith. 

A third set of “aspects of worship to keep” related specifically to music.  We celebrated using an organ in worship; as well as the variety of music made by other instruments including the Joyful Noise jazz band.  It is exciting to have a larger choir: especially with the addition of so many men. “High quality” in music was a value lifted by several participants.  We prize the contributions of the non-professional musicians in our congregation.

After lifting up our celebrations, our facilitators invited us to think prayerfully about where God is leading us in worship:  what is it we pray our worship will become; what kind of community we are being led to become because of our worship.  Some responses sought to build on the strengths we’d already lifted:  becoming “more intergenerational”; “continuing to be a gathering of friends”; “family focus, that addresses a practical set of lessons based on the Bible”; “continue family atmosphere”.  Hopes were raised that our worship be more God-centered, more genuine and Biblical, more dynamic and diversified, more upbeat music, bringing persons to Christ.  Several raised concerns that our worship reach out to younger people. Others miss the old hymns. Our worship should be “always reverent”, yet convicting, moving people to act.

One theme that came up several times in the “change” category was the way we’ve been doing communion. Concerns were raised about traffic pattern, congestion, reverence, losing a feeling of being close to God. Please see the action items below in response.

What did people take away from these sessions?  There were several “Ah –ha!” moments.  Some had never realized before that the black “slimnal” as the choir calls it, The Faith We Sing,  means as much as it does to some of our youth and young adults.  There was affirmation that we can disagree agreeably, that we can still love each other even though we may think radically differently on some things.  The meetings reinforced how diverse we are, and yet how we cannot meet everyone’s needs all the time.  We named out loud that there is some tension in the body.  There have been some losses this fall both of families and of our Director of Music that have been painful.  We hope that opening this conversation will bring healing and new life to our congregation, even as we grieve these losses. We hope to accept with gratitude and hope the gifts of our new music leadership, whomever that may be, as our SPRC makes decisions on our behalf.

Based on these two Worship Conversations, the following actions were taken at a subsequent meeting of the combined Staff Parish Relations and Worship Committees:

(At the same meeting it was joyfully reported that our organ has been repaired and is working fine now!)

1.  A sub-team was formed to write job descriptions and help wanted ads for Organist and Choir Director for which people can apply separately or as a combined position.

2.  We will change communion to be done two ways.  We will alternate each month between communion at the rail and communion by Intinction. 

3.  We will work with the Family Council to:

     A.  Reach out to young families in the community

     B.  Hold monthly family / youth events on Saturday nights open to all in the community

     C.  Establish a program for parents with young children to provide support and fun 

4.  The Worship Committee will work with Rev. Marti to address concerns noted:

     A.  Better prior planning and time management

B.     Messages on grace, Holy Spirit intended to provide assurance and hope in addition to calls for social action and outreach

C.      Drama used as appropriate

Thanks to one and all for sharing reflections and concerns. Gratitude goes especially to our facilitators, Rev. Marilyn Wolfe, Rosey Oaks-Lee, and Nelson Price for so generously giving of their time and expertise.  Thank you, Worship Team and Staff Parish Relations Committee, and especially chairs Randy Cooke and Pat Randall Meltzer for your leadership in sponsoring these conversations.

May the conversation continue, and as we join in holy conferencing may the Holy Spirit of God continue to lead and guide us toward an ever more faithful and inviting worship life together.

 __________________________________

* This article was written  by Rev. Marti Swords-Horrell from notes taken by Carolyn Doughty and by our three facilitators, Rev. Marilyn Wolfe, Rosey Oaks-Lee, and Nelson Price, and reviewed  by Staff Parish Relations Committee Co-Chairs Pat Randall Meltzer and Randy Cooke as well as by the facilitators.  Those who have reviewed this article believe it is a faithful summary of what was shared at the two Worship Conversations. If you feel that your views have not been represented, or not fairly or fully represented, please let Pastor Marti know and she will include an addendum in the next issue of the Messenger.    Thanks to all!

Recent Sermons

The Widow's Might
November 8, 2009

A New Heaven and a New Earth
November 1, 2009

For Such a Time as This - Esther 7
September 27, 2009

Baptism

The following is a link outside of this web site that might answer questions you have about Baptism in the United Methodist Church.  If you want to return to the Fayetteville United Methodist Church web site, use the Back button on your web browser.

Baptism in the United Methodist Church:  Frequently Asked Questions

What is “membership” in Fayetteville United Methodist Church …
and why is it important?

“A member is bound in sacred covenant to shoulder the burdens, share the risks,  
and celebrate the joys of fellow members…” UM Discipline, 2008, para.219ff.

When we think of “membership” in a church, what may come to mind is what it means to join a club, or a community organization, or a fraternal order.  There are similarities and differences between these experiences and church life.  The church, like every human organization, exists to provide community, friendship, and relationships of care and support with those outside our immediate family.  But with other organizations, “membership has its privileges”.  In the United Methodist Church , we join to serve others, not to arrogate privileges to ourselves.   For instance, a health club may reserve the closest parking places for members.  In the church, members who are physically able may consider taking the farthest parking space to make room for those who are new to the community or the faith.  “Membership” is in this sense roughly equivalent to “leadership”.

When we join a United Methodist Church , we are received in the context of a service in which we reaffirm and reclaim the baptismal promises that we made, or that were made for us, at our baptism.  We “acknowledge what God is doing for us.”  Joining the church is our response to the movement of God’s grace in our lives.  It is an act of profound gratitude, and a commitment to make growing in grace central to our daily lives.

Research has shown that if a new member does not join a small group (a Bible study, the choir, a prayer group, or a new group committed to ongoing discipleship) within six weeks of joining the church, the likelihood of that person “grafting” into the trunk of the tree diminishes greatly.  We are blessed with a new Membership and Hospitality Team that will be addressing the whole process of welcoming and assimilating new persons into the community of the church, following our new Vision (Jeannine Parks, chair.)

If you are interested in becoming a member of Fayetteville United Methodist Church (or an affiliate member, leaving undisturbed a prior membership in a “home church”), please contact Pastor Marti at mswordshorrell@gmail.com or 569-9156, or note this on the blue Celebration of Fellowship sheet in worship.

Online Course on United Methodism in Preparation for Membership

Updated on November 9, 2009