Blessings Siblings in Christ,
Last week we began a 3-week series on the United Methodist Church and its founder, John Wesley along with his brother Charles, who was instrumental in the formation of the Methodist Societies.
A few people have asked for a copy of my sermon and suggested that I publish it on our church webpage. I am attaching a copy of the first sermon in the series for your convenience. The remainder will be posted on our webpage following the Sunday worship of its offering.
In conjunction with this series, we have begun a small group gathering using, studying and learning from the book This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer. You are welcome to join us in this 4-week gathering which is help via Zoom, Mondays from either 1-2 pm or 7-8 pm. The link is on our webpage under “Visit: Calendar and Events.” You can purchase the book we use on “Amazon” (“Amazon Smile” for charitable giving) in either Kindle or paper, or via our denomination’s bookstore “Cokesbury.”
I pray that this series will further aid or remind you of our formation and evolution over our two hundred plus years, the theology, doctrine, purpose and mission of the United Methodist Church and, of course, the passion and witness of John Wesley and his brother, Charles, along with the countless early leaders of our great denomination.
This series is not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination as both John and Charles were prolific writers and missionaries of profound and inspiring Methodist works. There are also many books and publications that followed further elucidating the details of our theology, doctrine, purpose and mission. Our denomination, like our faith is a living, breathing and vital existence that, lived out passionately truly transforms the lives of many, making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
God’s peace and blessings be with you now and always.
Shalom, Salaam,
Rev. Pamela L. Kurtz, Pastor
Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, Oakland, CA