I welcome you to First United Methodist Church (FUMC). I pray that our worship leads you to an awareness of God’s presence in your life and among us.
If you are looking for a Church home, I hope you find First UMC to be that place. Our Church doors and communion table are open to you.
Sincerely in Christ’s love,
Rev. Mark B. McFadden
Pastor
(Litanies and Other Prayers)
Let us thank God our Father for his closeness to us: God, we tremble at the thought of the distance between you and us. Yet, you create us in your own image, so that we cannot fulfill our purpose in life until we first discover your purpose for all of humankind. Through the Holy Spirit, make us aware of your design for human life. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer is at the very heart of the ecumenical movement. Jesus prayed that we – his followers – may all be one. When we pray with and for one another, we can feel God’s gift of unity.
Romans 12:1-2
When greed, ambition, or politics have a greater influence on your thinking than Jesus Christ, your ability to judge spiritual matters will be impaired. When judgmentalism and harshness exceed God’s grace in shaping your mind, your capacity for spiritual discernment will be obstructed. When prejudice and hatred have a greater effect on you than God’s love, then your spiritual discernment will be restricted. When vengeance and revenge have a greater impact on your mind than God’s mercy, your ability to discern spiritual matters will be reduced.
May the Holy Spirit guide our thinking so that we may come to know what is good, acceptable, and complete. May our capacity to recognize God's gracious plan for the world and our place in it develop. Even though we are a long way from being perfect, we must not underestimate what God can achieve through us when God transforms us and renews our minds and lives. May our minds be open to the move of God's grace and kindness to others.
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