Have you caught up on the latest Laity Space podcast? Jessica Scott talks all things Creation Care Ministries with FLUMC Co-Directors Cara Fleischer and Sarah Flint. Learn how caring for the plant is a justice ministry and how you can serve right where you are.
Note from Jessica Scott Associate Conference Lay Leader
Friends,
The week between Palm/Passion Sunday and Easter is FULL of activity - celebrations, community egg hunts, and spring festivities. As with other holidays, it’s easy to get caught up in the shiny excitement.
During this week, I find myself thinking about those closest to Jesus. In the lead up to the Passover, he gave them all the information he could. But it was as if they couldn’t process it. So, they began the week anticipating the feast and celebration, while living with the knowledge that these events would lead to the death of their friend and teacher. What a juxtaposition of joy and grief.
So often, we rush from Palm Sunday straight to the elation of Easter, without pausing to reflect and sit in the grief of Good Friday. While we needn’t dwell only in the sorrow, it’s important that we acknowledge that the grief of Christ’s crucifixion is part of what makes the hope in Christ’s resurrection so impactful.
Like the disciples, we can find ourselves wondering what that grief and hope means for each of us. Who will we be in the aftermath of what is coming toward us? And what will it all mean, considering that Jesus was supposed to be the answer to all our grief, not the cause?
Theologian Kate Bowler poses it this way:
“As Christians, we live two realities at all times. The reality of Christ’s resurrection and Kingdom on Earth, and the reality of earth’s kingdom. How do we learn to mourn and grieve what is? How do we live in the hope of what is to come?”
Friends, as we navigate the duality of hope and grief this week, I invite you to consider how you live authentically in that tension. How will you share the hope while also honoring the grief?
In hope,
Jessica Scott Associate Conference Lay Leader
Get ready to participate in the Buckets of Hope Challenge sponsored by the FLUMC Creation Care Team that kicks off at AC25. For more information on the work of creation care and how your local church can connect to the Creation Care Team, click here.
Around the FLUMC and UMC Connection
Pre-Annual Conference Regional Gatherings Bishop Berlin is hosting pre-Annual Conference regional gatherings May 4–7. All are welcome. Register and submit questions for the bishop at this link.
Local Church Training Conference-wide local church training is still available here.
Candler School of Theology Lectures Candler School of Theology is offering two free lectures from Rev. Dr. Brian K. Blount. See details for the April 16th and April 23rd events here. Titles of each lecture are “Before He Was White: Jesus, Mark and the Politics of Inclusion” and “The Narrative Color of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.”
UM News: United Methodist Peace Conference A United Methodist Peace Conference drew more than 200 clergy and laity to Lake Junaluska to discuss breaking down national divides. Check out the story here.
FLUMC Commentary: Laity Involvement is Vital Now more than ever, laity involvement is vital in the work of the local church. Read Joe Henderson’s commentary to learn how The Conference Board of Laity is working to develop and support the laity throughout the Florida Conference.
Laity Space is the online information hub for the laity of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
