Sunday, June 29, 2025

Phil Amerson, who is preaching at St. Mark's this week, writes the following:

Perhaps, like me, you have heard the words “These are the end-times” recently. I understand. We are in a season of emotional, spiritual and institutional vertigo. For too many, fear has become an everyday expectation. Something seems out of balance: record immigrant detentions, research cancelled, university funding cuts, a sudden air strike, civil rights abridged, withering heatwaves, the almost-champs-Pacers, and the Cubs leading the MLB Central Division. Vertigo indeed! Amid this confusion, perhaps accelerating it and benefitting from it, are a widely dispersed group of “Christian Nationalists.” They claim a common religious ancestry to ours; yet they seek to return our nation to Christian supremacy and dominion in society that differs.

How then shall we live? As people of faith, as Christians with a differing understanding of our nation’s history and what it means to follow Jesus, how?” In Sunday’s Gospel lesson (Luke 9:57-62) Jesus has begun the journey to Jerusalem and the cross. It is a journey of terror. Luke was an itinerant journalist, also known as a physician. So, this Gospel offers 'traveling' and ‘healing’ practices along a troubled way. Jesus’ call is focused, poignant: “follow me.” One younger friend reflecting on our time said, “I think I’ll just stay seated.” Another said, “I’ll watch from the balcony.” Fortunately, St. Marks doesn’t have a balcony.

We’ll talk about this on Sunday, as the sermon to be delivered by Rev. Dr. Phil Amerson is titled, “The Chairs Upon Which we sit.” The Lesson from the Epistles, Galatians 5:1, 13-16, will be read by Claire Tafoya, and the Gospel Lesson, Luke 9:57-62, will be read by Maria Schmidt. There will be a moment for mission brought by United Women in Faith, and will promote the Art-Cycled Showcase and Tea. We will be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. The Children’s Moment will present a review of what has happened this week in Vacation Bible School. We do hope you join us.

To connect to our livestream worship Sunday morning,

click the link on our website www.smumc.church.

The service starts at 10:30am.

Livestream starts 10:25am.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

It’s a wonderful thing to be able to read. When I was a freshman in high school, one of my football coaches encouraged me to read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. He knew that I loved to fish, and no doubt, suspected I would be hooked by this book. He was right. I connected deeply with Santiago, the aging fisherman, both with his love of baseball and his struggle to land a giant marlin in his tiny boat. I also deeply empathized with his attempts to keep the sharks from his catch. While I identified with Santiago’s young friend, Manolin, who did his best to help his older mentor, I remember thinking I wished the story had ended differently. In my reading, this story came alive, and so did I.

As I approach my last Sunday as a pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, I am impressed by the sense that faith is, in a way, a matter of learning to read. We learn to read the Scriptures in a thoughtful way. We are learning how to read that is going on within ourselves, our faith community and our culture. We are learning how to read, or discern, how we are being led in our own time and place. This is at the heart of what Jesus meant when, in Luke 12, he tells the disciples to not “worry” about what they are to say when they are brought before the authorities. There would be no need for them to be calculating or clever, because the Holy Spirit would teach them what to say in those very moments. They would be able, by the grace given to them, to “read the room”, and to say and do what was true.

We’ll chat about this in the service on Sunday. The sermon, “Reflections on Learning to Read”, arises from Psalm 19, to be read by Mary Beth Hannah-Hansen, and Luke 12: 1-12, to be read by Kristen Hess. We will be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa, and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. They will present the anthem, “How Can I Keep From Singing.” There will also be a liturgy of farewell for a retiring pastor, led by Lay Leaders Dian Ludlow and Jonathan Michaelsen. We’ll sing, have a moment for children, and pray. We hope you can join us.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

As I approach formal retirement from fulltime ministry, memory and reflection are my frequent companions. In one such remembering, I was a young ministerial student at Mississippi College. My daughter, now seasoned enough to have two children of her own launching into adulthood, was only months old. One evening, she developed a very high fever, and the doctor urged her mother and me to take her to the emergency room. As we drove through the dark southern night, she was hot to the touch. On the radio, as her mother held her, a fiery preacher was holding forth. At one point, he reached what I’m sure he imagined was his “mike drop”, and said, “You don’t have any problems! All you need is faith in God!” A moment later, he shifted into a different tone, and said, “Friends, we are in a crisis time in our ministry.” He proceeded to make an appeal for funds, without which he would lose his spot on the radio station. As a very young preacher worried about his sick kid, I imagined yelling back at him, “You don’t have any problems! All you need is faith in God!”

This Sunday, the first one after Pentecost, is often called Trinity Sunday. It invites us to think deeply about the ways God works in the world. The lesson from the Epistles comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans, in which he gives his most thorough understanding of the Gospel. In the fifth chapter, the apostle notes that we exult both in the peace that faith brings to us, but also in the ironic awareness that we can also exult when we experience “tribulation.” If my ministry has taught me anything, it is this: in the same way that ancient theologians said that the members of the trinity “danced” together, God also moves dynamically with us, individually and collectively, even in our most difficult and messy moments.

We’ll discuss this on Sunday, as this sermon is titled, “The God Who Embraces Our Mess.” The sermon arises from Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, to be ready by Glenda Murray, and Romans 5: 1-5, to be ready by Tom Shafer. Tom and Glenda, as Lay Members of the Annual Conference representing St. Mark’s, will also bring a report from the recently held Annual Conference. There will be a baptism of Emma Starr, daughter of Jillian and Austin Starr. We’ll be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. We hope you are able to join us.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

I wonder if you can recall if you had a “teddy bear”, or a blanket, or something that you hung onto when you were little. Perhaps you don’t remember it, but others have told you that you did have something like that. British pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, decades ago, named these items “transitional objects”. They are things chosen by the child that helped the little one navigate the transition from being in the constant care of a primary adult, to a place of being able to manage the absence of that adult. When one reaches the point that the love and presence offered by that caregiver has been successfully internalized, then that one has achieved “object constancy”.

The Biblical account of the ascension of Christ, which we will reflect on Sunday at St. Mark’s, tells the story of the earliest church in transition. The disciples had come to rely on the real time presence of Jesus, mentoring and guiding them. But the ascension, as odd of a story as it is to us, marks a very clear sense that the time of physical presence of their dear Rabbi had come to an end.

Faith, for us, is indeed a transitional experience, in which we measure what it means for us to find divine presence in the midst of absence. The sermon is titled, “Weaving and Waiting: A Sermon for Ascension Sunday.” The sermon arises from Acts 1: 1-11, which will be read by Lisa Kurz. We’ll be led musically by the Chancel Choir, under the direction of Gerry Sousa, and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. Beckie Jones will offer a mission moment about the work of Caring Ministries at St. Mark’s. We’ll celebrate Holy Communion, sing, and have a moment for children.

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas once described a conversation that took place at a VFW Hall. Someone was challenging a Viet Nam veteran named Roger, saying that World War II was the “real war”,and that Viet Nam veterans should stop complaining about their plight. Roger looked at his critic and said, “Have you ever had to kill someone to stay alive?” The person said, “Well, no.” Roger responded, “Then you really don’t have any thing to say to me.” Later in the evening, Hauerwas engaged the veteran. ““Roger, when you got pushed just now, you came back with the fact that you had to kill in Vietnam. Was that the worst of it for you?” “Yah,” he said. “That’s half of it.” Hauerwas said, “I waited for a very long time, but he didn’t go on. He only stared into his beer. Finally I had to ask, “What was the other half?” “The other half was that when we got home, nobody understood.”

Sunday marks a holiday weekend in America when the country is asked to remember those who have fallen in combat. Ironically, one of the proscribed biblical passages for Sunday is a story of Jesus’ last night with his disciples. In that discourse, Jesus says to them, “Peace I live with you; My peace I leave with you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, this “peace” is the word “Shalom”, and refers to much more than a cessation of hostilities. Shalom describes a wholeness and sense of communal and personal wellbeing that flows from justice and mutual love. It is at the heart of the Aaronic blessing, which includes the line, “May the very face of God shine upon you, and give you peace.”

We’ll talk about this in service on Sunday at St. Mark’s as the sermon is titled, “Peace: A Graceful Flourishing into the Purposes of God.” The Aaron Blessing found in Numbers 6: 24-26 will be ready by Glenda Murray, and Liz McDaniel, will read the Gospel Lesson, which is John 14: 23-29. Mary Wheeler will lead the Call to Worship. We will be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. We’ll have a moment for children, and pray and sing together.

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Sometimes, they call it Mosey Monday. It usually happens the first day of the week that a building crew from an Appalachian Project Service Team meets up with the family whose home they will be working in. It is a casual time of beginning to build relational bridges, not just to get a sense of the construction tasks, but of getting to know what this family loves and how they dream. They mosey. As the week rolls along, it becomes clear that the task is not simply to improve a house, but to build community. As one quote from family who received a team from New York has it, “I would never have believed that people would take off a week of their time, travel all the way down here to West Virginia, and do all this wonderful work. Y’all have restored my faith in humanity.’ And the team leader said, “And they have restored ours.”

Jesus was once speaking with his disciples, and he told them, “Once when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat.” He followed up by saying that when he did not have appropriate clothing, they took care of him. He continued by saying that when he was in prison, that they came to see him. But the disciples did not remember any of this. So Jesus told them that when they did these things to others, they were doing it to Jesus. This is how we build the beloved community. This is how the beloved community weaves us all in together.

We’ll talk about this in worship on Sunday. Our Appalachian Service Project team will tell us about their work in Johnson City, Tennessee back in April. Mary Beth Morgan will preach a sermon titled, “To Bless and Be Blest.” The sermon will arise from Matthew 25: 31-40, which will be read by Sue Sgambelluri. Maria Schmidt will lead the call to worship. We’ll be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Gabriel Fanelli. We’ll have a moment for children, and sing and pray together.

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Jesus told stories…he called them and we still call them “parables.” Depending on what actually counts as a parable, Jesus offered up between just over 30 and just under 50 of them.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks his listeners to understand the Kingdom of God…a reality they couldn't see with their physical eyes. So his stories were meant to appeal to the sensitivities of his hearers’ hearts, o a place within them where they would have eyes that see and ears that hear this new reality.

In his stories, Jesus is inviting us to see with new eyes, and hear with new ears, and understand with new hearts…Inviting us not so much to make a difference in the world, but to make a different world.

Maybe a story about ducks will clear this all up.

Let’s see on Sunday. The sermon, delivered by Rev. Ned Steele, is titled “Eyes That See and Eyes that Hear”. It arises from Matthew 13: 1-17, which will be read by Courtney and Kyle Degener and family. We will be led musically by the Chancel Choir, accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. Stephanie Conklin will offer a mission moment in support of “Sing for Joy: All That Jazz 2025”, a concert in memory of Janis Stockhouse, longtime music educator and band director at Bloomington High School North. We’ll sing, pray and have a moment for children.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Have you ever found yourself in a circumstance that you would never have chosen on your own? How did that feel? What harm did that circumstance cause to your fundamental sense of who you are. How you address it? Do you sense that now? If you have ever known that, or if you are experiencing it now, does faith make a difference.

In the Gospel of John’s accounting of the risen Christ, there is a story in which Jesus’ disciples have returned to fishing. To their surprise, the risen One appears to them, telling them how and where to catch fish. After they are joyously reunited, they share a breakfast on the beach. During the meal, Jesus asks Peter three times very directly, “Do you love me?” Peter affirms three times that he indeed does love Jesus. Many surmise that the threefold question and response allows Peter a chance to repent of his three denials on the night before Jesus’ death. After this series of questions, Jesus says to Peter, “When you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” Even in resurrection faith, we learn, Peter and we must address this stark reality: we don’t always get to choose many aspects of our path. But we do get to choose how we embrace them, who we invite along with us, what we choose to nurture as our centering orientation.

Let’s chat about this Sunday at St. Mark’s, as the sermon is titled, “Grace for Traveling On a Path You Did Not Choose.” The Biblical text for the day, John 21: 1-19, which will be read by Lisa Kurz. The Chancel Choir, under the direction of Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Lois Leong will lead us in music. The Chancel Ringers under the direction of Lois Leong will play for their final service of the spring season, and we'll say a grateful goodbye to Lois as she leaves for her new job in Abington, PA. We will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, sing, and have a moment for children. We hope you will join us.

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Barbara Brown Taylor suggests that the disciple, known to many of us as “Doubting Thomas,” was likely not any less trusting than others. When Mary Magdalene ran to tell Peter and another disciple that Jesus wasn’t in his tomb, they didn’t believe her. They ran to see for themselves.

When Jesus came back to the house where the disciples were hiding, they believed because they saw him for themselves. Thomas was singled out because he wasn’t there. He didn’t get to see anything. He wasn’t trying to decide whether or not he believed Jesus had risen from the dead. He was trying to decide whether or not he believed what the other disciples told him. His trust issue wasn’t with Jesus. It was with his brothers.

Taylor says that in preparing a sermon, she asked some folks, who knew the Thomas story, what they thought about him. They said the same thing: they know they’re supposed to disapprove of Thomas, but they don’t. They like his honesty. They know where he’s coming from. Where might each of us imagine ourselves in this story, and what grounds our belief?

The scripture passages for this Sunday invite us to reflect on this. The first lesson arises from a Psalm 150 and will be read by Kathy Scheid. The second lesson, from the Gospels (based on John 20:19-31) will be read by Nicholas and Suzanne Ingalsbe.

In worship, we will first gather and greet one another. All children are invited to ring us into worship with the bells. Reverend Chuck Foster will deliver the pastoral prayer. The Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Lois Leong, will lead us in music. There will also be a Children’s Moment and a moment of sharing about our upcoming Vacation Bible School. We will pray and reflect. The sermon title is “Believing, Seeing and Nurturing Hope and Possibility.”

Friday, April 18, 2025

On Good Friday, we will gather in the sanctuary for the reading of the seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross. For each of those movements, we will have someone from our congregation offer brief reflections. We will be hearing from Charlie Nelms, Maria Schmidt, Tom Shafer, Liz McDaniel, Lisa Miller Maidi, and Jimmy Moore. The Choir will offer “A Wind Blew Over Calvary,” by Gregg Sewell, and Patrick Conklin will sing “Mother, Behold Your Son,” by Brendan Dowd and Gerry Green. Lois Leong will present a handbell solo titled, “Compassion” by Jason Krug. We hope to see you for this powerful service.

Thursday, April 17, 2025

On Maundy Thursday, we seek to enter the story of the last night Jesus spent with the disciples before his death. The word “maundy” means “commandment”, as it was on this night of that first Holy Week that Jesus commanded his disciples to love each other by washing their feet. Join us in the sanctuary as we worship through word, reflection, music and the ritual of handwashing. Mary Wheeler will read the Biblical passages for the evening, and Mary Beth Morgan will offer a reflection. Lisa Kurz will sing the solo, “Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters,” and the pastors will guide us through the ritual of handwashing. We hope to see you on Thursday!

To connect to our livestream worship Thursday evening,

click the link on our website www.smumc.church.

The service starts at 7:00pm. Livestream starts at 6:55pm.

Sunday, April 6, 2025

A number of years ago, a young man named Shane Claiborne was invited to speak at a gathering of Indiana United Methodists. He shared a story that went back to his college days. He, and his roommate, wanted to make a difference in the world and chose nor to take the easy route. Instead, they decided that they would find a way to get in contact with Mother Teresa, and then go to Calcutta, India and volunteer to work with her. Believe it or not, they did just that.

Shane said, when they were volunteering there, children would sometimes come up to them and ask them for gifts. However, volunteers, like Shane, were told, sternly, by the leadership, not to give the children anything. There are so manychildren in need, and there was concern that opening that door could cause a small riot. But Shane said that there was one child who just took his heart. So, he found an ice cream cone, tracked down the little guy, and gave it to him. The boy held the cone, staring at it, and was mesmerized by it.

Then, in an act of care and generosity, the boy called out to his friends, “Hey, everyone, Shane found ice cream! We ‘re going to form a line, and everyone can have one lick.” And, each of them did. Then, the boy said to Shane, “Now you can have a turn, and take a lick.” While Shane knew he was likely risking getting sick, he also realized that there was no way he could reject this act of utter kindness, generosity and sacred hospitality.

In worship, on this fifth Sunday of Lent, we will enter into the story of Jesus coming to share a meal with his friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. While Martha served those at table, Mary took a pound of expensive perfume, broke it open and anointed Jesus’ feet. Judas, who was also present, challenged Mary, saying the perfume should have been sold, with the money given to the poor. However, Jesus responds “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial”.

This week, we are each invited to reflect upon what it might mean for us to “come alive through sacred hospitality”, as individuals and as a community of faith. The scripture passages for this Sunday invite us to reflect on this, The first lesson arises from the Hebrew Scriptures (based on Psalm 126: 1-6), and will be read by Kristen Hess. The second lesson, from the Gospels (based on John12:1-8), will be read by Jonathan Michaelsen.

In worship, we will first gather and greet one another. All children are invited to ring us into worship, with the bells. The Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs, will lead us in music. There will be a Children’s Moment. We will pray and reflect. Leana McClain will share a Mission Moment. We will also celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion. If you are joining worship by livestream, you are invited to have some bread/crackers and juice available. The sermon title is “Coming Alive through Sacred Hospitality.

Sunday, March 30, 2025

The season of Lent raises directly the question of repentance. What does it mean? What does it look like? On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit a wide swath of the Gulf Coast of the United States, causing unprecedented havoc. In particular, the devastation in New Orleans was horrific, largely because the system of levies and flood walls failed. Over 1000 died as nearly eighty percent of the city was underwater. Many responded in courageous and helpful ways to this calamity, but there was a collection of voices that came from the Christian community that suggested that this damage and loss of life occurred because of God’s punishment of sinfulness in the New Orleans community. This damaging false narrative failed to acknowledge or explain that destruction occurred in other communities. Instead, it relied on a centuries old tactic of suggesting that the cause of harm is divine retribution on human refusal to repent.

Jesus dealt with such theology head on. When discussing people who suffered under persecution by the Roman Governor Pilate, or who died when a tower fell on them, he asks directly if people thought this happened because the victims were “worse sinners”. Rather, Jesus levels the playing field by noting that unless his hearers repent, they will all likewise perish. What could Jesus mean by that? He answers this implied question by telling a parable of a fig tree. If it bears fruit, leave it. If it has not, give it a greater opportunity. In other words, Jesus says that repentance is not a guilt and fear ridden change of behavior, but instead, an arrangement of life to become more fruitful. So, if repentance is not simply being regret, or changing behavior to avoid consequences, what does a fruitful repentance look like.

That is the question of the morning on Sunday at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, as we consider the sermon, titled, “Coming Alive Through a Deeper Understanding of Repentance.” It arises from Isaiah 55: 1-9, to be read by Mary Beth Hannah-Hansen, and Luke 13: 1-9, to be read by Cheryl Crouch. We’ll be led musically by the Chancel Choir, led by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. We’ll have a moment for children and pray and sing together. There will also be a moment by James Thomas, representing our Appalachia Service Project Team. We hope to see you this Sunday!

Sunday, March 23, 2025

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is likely familiar to many. Barbara Brown Taylor suggests that “one reason the parable remains lively, after some two thousand years of interpretation, is because it is so amoral.” A man has two sons. After squandering his father’s money, the younger son returns home, not because of missing his family, but because he was dying of hunger. Yet, his father welcomes him back with open arms, and forgives him before he ever gets out a word of apology.

However, the older brother is made out to be ungrateful, “when the fact is that his baby brother has come to live on his (the elder brother’s) share of what’s left of the family fortune.” This may challenge some of our feelings of “fairness,” and perhaps some of our own experiences with family dynamics and sibling rivalry.

On this third Sunday of Lent, the scripture passages invite us to reflect on what this might mean for us in our context today: in our relationships with one another, in our families, in our communities and our world. In what ways is God calling us to live, as people of faith, hope, love and grace in this Lenten season? To help guide us, our first scripture reading will be read by Liz McDaniel, and arises from Psalm 32. The Gospel reading arises from Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, and will be read by Lisa Miller Maidi.

In our time of worship, we will first greet one another. All children are invited to ring us into worship, with the bells. The Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Lois Leong, will lead us in music. We will pray and reflect, and sing together. The sermon is titled "Coming Alive by Embracing the Dance of Confession, Repentance and Reconciliation."

Sunday, March 16, 2025

In 1958, David Mech was a graduate student studying wildlife ecology at Purdue University. He became deeply curious about relational behavior within the social culture of wolves. Following earlier research, in a book Mech wrote in 1980, he postulated the existence of the “alpha male” who would dominate and determine relationships in the pack, and prey upon the more vulnerable members of the group. But something did not sit well with Mech, as he observed that the behavior of the pack was much more like that of a family of guiding parents and children. Mech tried to persuade publishers to stop printing the book, a request they finally agreed to in 2022. But the phrase “alpha male” had already become engrained in human discourse. Some dominance-oriented dog trainers use the “alpha” concept to argue that the dog’s owner must become alpha in the pack. We also see influencers and others currently seek to promote the notion that healthy masculinity must be based on dominant leadership, rather than affiliative connection.

The same value laden tension exists in the Christian communities, with some arguing for alpha-like leadership, while others support a more emphatically oriented approach. So what do we see in Jesus? In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus’ disciples warn him that Herod the ruler wants to kill him. Jesus refuses to submit to the dominance behavior that would seek to frighten and intimidate him. Rather, he likens himself to a mother hen, who would gather her chicks under her wings for shelter and protection. Jesus would rather gather them all, oppressor and oppressed, under the loving wings of his care. But this power has no weaponry or political power, just empathic compassion and strong love.

During this Lenten season, we are asking how we “come alive” in our spiritual journey. In this service, we’ll note that that enlivening comes, in part, from resisting the fearful assault, and remaining true in love. The sermon is titled “Coming Alive in Resisting Evil in All Its Forms”. It arises from Psalm 121, which will be read by Marcia Lloyd, and Luke 13: 31-35, which will be read by Malcolm Webb. Stephanie Conklin will offer a Mission Moment in support of Chords for Care, a musical program on the afternoon of March 30 in support of the Cancer Support Community of South Central Indiana. Patrick Conklin will sing “A Simple Song” from Bernstein as a prelude. The Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs, will sing “The Weeping Tree.” We’ll have a moment for children, and Mary Beth Morgan will offer the pastoral prayer. We’d love for you to join us.