Posts by Pastor

February 16, 2023 ~ Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ COURAGEOUS   You’ve heard some of these remarkable stories: A mother changes the way she views the boy who shot and killed her little girl.  Parents ask for a lesser sentence for the two men who beat their son and left him for dead.  A man spends years trying to save the life of the man who shot him point blank with a shotgun.  These stories illustrate the point...

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/3/#inbox/FMfcgzQZTCpNxfNvgtHlGfLCpNNMBjGW?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 St Paul’s UMC Ithaca NY Mission Volunteers 2025 MV UpDate #1 14 jan – 10 feb Agua Viva Serves, Los Chiles Alajuela, Costa Rica Weeks 1-3+…wow! Can’t believe it’s been a month since we dove into the flow of Agua Viva Serves (AVS) activities he Los Chiles. The local team was just returning from their holiday/ vacation...

February 9, 2025 ~ Fifth Sunday after Epiphany COURAGEOUS Rev. Beckie Sweet   Someone asked me once why I “hang out” by the doors on Sunday mornings, because not all pastors do that.  I mentioned that I love experiencing the ways people greet one another upon their arrival, and I enjoy offering greetings, as well.  It is interesting to observe how we greet one another, and how, for some that is different from week to week.  We...

January 26, 2025 ~ Third Sunday after Epiphany Rev. Beckie Sweet   There’s a story about an elderly couple that was walking out of church one Sunday.  The wife said to the husband, “Did you see the strange hat Mrs. O’Hearne was wearing?”  “No, I didn’t,” replied her spouse.  “Joe Smith badly needs a haircut, doesn’t he?” commented the wife.  “Sorry, I didn’t notice,” replied the husband.  Then she said impatiently, “You know...

January 19, 2025 ~ Human Relations Day Rev. Beckie Sweet   Pastor David Clark tells the story of the most recent visit he had with his parishioner, “Old Al Lunde.”  Al was a long-time member of the congregation, who loved to talk about any subject under the sun.  There were some apples sitting on the kitchen table, and so the conversation turned to apples and apple cider.  David had heard that Al made his own cider, and so he...