Made For Gratitude

Martin Luther, the great church reformer of the 16th century was asked once what is worship, what is the nature of true worship, and he said one line: the tenth leper turning back. 

Worship is the tenth leper turning back and shouting his gratitude, glorifying God, kneeling at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. I didn’t like worship today, the message didn’t speak to me and the music was boring and the sound system messed up again and…

Look I have said each of these things before and I hope this isn’t your experience, but what is worship? The tenth leper turning back. Worship is when you’ve been running and running and you stop. You pause. You look at everything you have been given and go: thank you. Thank you for this breath. Thank you for this day.

Thank you for this community, for the car I drive, for the coffee I drink, thank you. It is recognizing that there is a giver and a gift, and we are the recipients of the gift…the breath we are given, we didn’t earn it, the sunshine, the taste of fresh bread, the smell of the air after a rain, the sound of a baby laughing…gift, it is all gift. 

When you stop and pause and take a breath and look around you, you can’t help but say: thanks. Thank you for this.

Remember Me

We remember that those who have passed on as holy, and filled with grace. And we remember that they lived out this grace in so many ways – in worship, in service, with compassion for those who hurt, seeking justice for those who are oppressed. And in remembering them, remembering those saints, we remember how they influenced us, and our lives, to share spiritual wisdom and love and light while they were here, physically, with us.

But hear me on this. Those that we remember as saints did not ‘become saints’ when they died. They were saints – they were holy – even when they lived.

Which means, then, that as we remember the saints in our lives on All Saints Sunday – we remember the duality of how we think of saints – those who have already passed, and also those who are still living. 

Including each one of us. Including you.

Beyond Racial Reconciliation

We have to go outside of the boundaries of our normal path to find people who are our neighbors.

This message from Jesus could not be more relevant today…the world is becoming more and more diverse…by 2045 America will no longer be a majority white nation…learning to see those who are different than us as our neighbors is critical… 

If we do not go outside of the boundaries of our own normal path and discover our true neighbors whom Jesus defines as neighbor, it is to our own peril, our own detriment as a society, as a planet, and certainly as people who claim to follow Jesus.

Podcast: Beyond The Border

Pastor Blair Thompson-White along with Arapaho UMC members Rick Miller, Jill Curtis and Cliff Clark recently returned from a “Courts and Ports” trip at the US/Mexico Border where there were able to observe first-hand some of the daily activities that are happening. They sat down today to discuss it together and share some stories with us.

Beyond Education

Beyond Education

Advocating for the education of all children is a discipline because the idea that every child regardless of sex or race or income level or the neighborhood they live in deserves an excellent education—is a concept at the very heart of our Christian faith and Methodist tradition.

Let me start with our Christian faith—in the beginning, you remember that line from Genesis, chapter 1…God makes it clear that every human being is made in God’s image. Let’s look at the verse:

 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ 

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them.

So why should we care about the educational journey of all children and not just our own? Because every child is created in the image of God. Every child is worthy of an excellent education. And what’s more is—according to the text—our human purpose is to care for our planet and the people in our planet.

Beyond The US/Mexico Border

Beyond The US/Mexico Border

You are citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Your citizenship, your membership, is ultimately in the house of God, that’s where you reside—and the laws in the house of God are: everybody is welcome. Everybody is invited in. Everybody is treated as a child of God. 

Any law that contradicts this, any law that contradicts the greatest commandment, any law that contradicts the law of the sermon on the mount for us who claim to follow Jesus the Christ is not acceptable and it is up to us to speak out and say so.

You Can't Stop The Beat

You can’t stop the beat. You can’t stop the Spirit sweeping over the waters. You can’t stop the new thing God is doing making all things new. What is to prevent the beat? Absolutely nothing.

What I know for sure is this: there is this dance party of grace and justice and joy going on all the time and you are invited to come and dance. Yes, you. 

You who have been to the dance party before and you who have never been or never thought you couldn’t come, come and join in the party, you who think you are too old to dance, or too out of shape to dance, come to the party…

You who have been watching everyone from the sidelines, come to the dance floor, come all you saints and all you sinners, come all you who don’t know a thing about dancing and you who thought you knew but are learning new steps, come: the lord of the dance invites all to this dance party of grace and justice and joy and I don’t want you to miss it.

What is to prevent you from being a part of the movement of the spirit in the world making all things new, including you?

Absolutely nothing. 

Feed The Birds

George Banks can see there is an alternative reality, if only he can see he doesn’t have to live the bank values. If only we can see there is a better way to live, too.

We can see there is a better way. Because of Jesus the Christ we see there is an alternative vision of reality, a vision of generosity over greed, kindness over arrogance, compassion over consumerism, the question is no longer do we see the difference between the bank values and the cathedral values, the question is will we choose the cathedral values, will we choose to live our lives according to the teachings of Jesus Christ?

That is our baptismal covenant, we say the words, we make the promise, we actually reaffirm this commitment to live according to Christ every time we do a baptism, but words are just words until they are supported with actions.

Will we actually take actions and make decisions and live in a way that shows the reality we are living in - the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life and we live like him, we live with his values and his way of seeing, which means we live generously.

Changed For Good (Wicked)

What is the pain and hurt you’ve experienced? Now I have learned that you can’t put an institution in the box, you can’t put the church in the box, you can’t put a business in the box or the government in the box. You’ve got to get specific here, who hurt you. People hurt other people-who has hurt you? 

Name the hurt, get your mind around what is in the box. It’s very freeing to be honest about the hurt you’ve experienced and how you were made to feel. So put it in the box and then you put the box down and you send it away. You could even do this for real, like you could do a ritual around this.

You could write it down and put it in an actual box and drive to a shredding company, watch them shred the paper and recycle the box, leave it there-you get the point: whatever you need to do whether literally or metaphorically with the box, send it away, leave it somewhere so you don’t have to carry it anymore. You can be set free from it, so this hurt is no longer in circulation.

When forgiveness happens, we no longer carry this burden around with us. We are changed for good and so is the world.

Podcast: The Arts And Faith

Pastor Blair Thompson-White sits down with Dana Effler, who is the Director of Music & Arts at First United Methodist Church in Dallas, to talk about music, the arts and how Broadway Musicals can be spiritual.

About Dana Effler:

Dana Effler is the Director of Music and Arts Ministries at First United Methodist Church of Dallas where she oversees the graded choir and handbell program, the Rotunda Theatre series, and Goodrich Gallery series. She conducts the Chancel Choir, First Men’s Chorus, First Women’s Chorus, Vox Nova and the Variations Youth Choir. Under her direction the Chancel Choir has toured to Canada, England, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, France, Scotland and Switzerland and has sung for both Southwestern division and National ACDA conventions. Beyond the church, Dana enjoys her work as a singer, guest conductor and clinician for organizations including ACDA, TCDA, Choristers Guild, AGO and The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Furman University and master’s degrees in choral conducting and in vocal performance from Southern Methodist University. Dana is inspired and energized by the wealth and diversity of talent represented in the FirstChurch family and is continually amazed at the beauty of God’s creation in and through it.

We Refuse To Wear Masks (Phantom Of The Opera)

If there are no sick or sad or sinful or silly people in your church, I’m not sure you are preaching the gospel…because the gospel is not just everyone is welcome, the gospel is also: you don’t have to put on a mask here. You are accepted.

The reality is that God’s love and grace is available to you, take off your mask. Accept that you are accepted. 

And when we do that, then our work together is to unmask the injustices outside of these walls—

To unmask the racism and the sexism and the homophobia in our culture—to unmask the atrocities going on at the border—to unmask the culture of guns and violence in our country—we are the ones to unmask the cruelty and carelessness and unchristian actions, because we follow a God who refuses to wear masks.

And so a group of us are going to the Texas-Mexico border in October to see for ourselves the situation there; A group of 80 clergy recently returned from the border and they said that what you hear on the news and from the White House is not what you see: they unmasked the poor conditions migrants are facing and they are telling the story and organizing to work to end policies that are causing harm.

We refuse to wear masks and play games.

When we go and serve breakfast to our homeless neighbors in downtown Dallas, we look them in the eye and we see the reality they face in their faces, and we make this human connection—the homeless are no longer other than us, they are our brothers, our sisters, our friends…

We refuse to wear masks and play games.

When we listen to the stories of our LGBTQ+ siblings, when we hear how the church has excluded and pushed them out and made them feel less than, when we hear how they have in some cases been forced to wear masks to hide their true selves…

we as the church proclaim what is God’s truth that they are loved and accepted for who they are, and God blesses them and their relationships—

We refuse to wear masks and play games. 

 So may you take off whatever mask you have been wearing, may you be real and know that you are loved and accepted for who you really are—and may we work together to unmask what needs to be seen in this world for what it is: 

so that we can right wrongs, so that we can work for a world where there is not just the appearance of peace but true peace, the kind of peace rooted in justice and respect and understanding.

Be The Beloved

When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us, love has the run of the house. Sometimes we are more like renters in a life of love instead of permanent residents...sometimes we are just AirBNB’ing love. 

We stay there for a few days and we fulfill the contractual terms but we really only care about what we can get out of it, there is no real sense of responsibility, we enjoy the benefits and the beauty of the place without having to do the work of upkeep.

Have I lost you in the metaphor, how’s this: taking up permanent residence in love is work and it is sacrifice--and it is in our nature--it is our Adam 2, and yes you can live like Adam 1 and be a renter instead of a permanent resident in love but you are fooling yourself if you think that’s the best option.

Dare To Dream

Everybody has the power of God within them and everybody can be a way through which God’s dreams are shared, everybody can be a way through which God’s dreams come true. Do you follow me: I’m talking about you and I’m telling you to dream dreams. You are a way through which God’s dreams are shared, you are a way through which God’s dreams come true. 

Do not let the state of our world prevent you from dreaming…do not let the negativity and the division and the tribalism and the racism and the poverty and the climate crisis cause you to throw your hands up and go, it is what it is…what can I do?

 No! No, this is not the way it is supposed to be and we are the ones whom God has called to remind people of God’s dreams and to challenge people to act in ways that are consistent with those dreams—

 To call people out who are causing harm and preventing God’s dreams from becoming a reality, we are the ones to keep dreaming dreams, so what are your dreams today, church?

Podcast: A Place At The Table w/ Eric Markinson

Pastor Blair Thompson-White sits down with Chaplain and Grace UMC Member Eric Markinson to talk about what it means to be LGBTQ+ and a Methodist.

Eco-Spirituality and Electric Vehicles with Aaron Manes

Pastor Blair sits down with Aaron Manes, Arapaho UMC’s Communications Director to talk Eco-spirituality, life experiments and what it is like to drive an electric car.

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How To Listen:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arapaho-umc/id1391205091

Google Play: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-GooglePlay

Spotify: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-Spotify

Women In The Bible with Rabbi Elana Zelony

Women In The Bible with Rabbi Elana Zelony

Go deeper into the Grace and Grit/Women In The Bible series as Pastor Blair Thompson-White sips tea with Rabbi Elana Zelony on a stormy morning and talks about the women of scripture.

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How To Listen:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arapaho-umc/id1391205091

Google Play: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-GooglePlay

Spotify: http://bit.ly/AUMC-On-Spotify

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About Rabbi Elana Zelony

Rabbi Zelony’s rabbinate emphasizes pluralism, inclusion, interfaith work, spirituality and involvement with the community.

She is a member of the Richardson Interfaith Alliance and an alumna of Leadership Richardson—a program that builds leaders for the city. She is a member of Rabbis Without Borders—a network that emphasizes pluralism, innovation and service in the rabbinate.

She is the first female rabbi in the Conservative Movement to lead a synagogue in the state of Texas. Prior to moving to Richardson, she worked as the Director of Congregational Learning at Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco. She also served as an Assistant Rabbi at Shearith Israel in Atlanta where she advocated for ending domestic abuse by working with the Faith Advisory Team of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Rabbi Zelony received ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2009. She also holds a Master’s Degree from American Jewish University’s Graduate Center for Jewish Education.

Rabbi Zelony was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She makes her home with her husband Adiv and their two children, Nesya and Magen. She is an avid reader of poetry and enjoys keeping healthy by running, practicing yoga, and creating healthy meals for her family and friends.

Tidying Up The Theology Of Holy Week

Have you ever asked the question of why did Jesus die on the cross? Maybe this is something that you have let go of in your deconstruction or maybe you haven’t ever given it much thought. Pastor Blair sits down with Dr. Gary Fox to talk through the differing atonement theologies and how they play out in our lives in this episode of “Practicing The Presence.”

Podcast: Bumping Up Against Grace

The Practicing The Presence Podcast

With Guest: Dr. Mark Stamm

Practicing The Presence is a podcast from Arapaho United Methodist Church. This episode (Episode 2) features Pastor Blair Thompson-White and Perkins’ School Of Theology Professor Dr. Mark Stamm as they talk about John Wesley feeling “strangely warmed” and the practices that we can use in our daily lives to get close to God or as he puts it, to “Bump up against Grace.”

About Dr. Stamm

Dr. Mark W. Stamm is a Professor of Christian Worship at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He is a graduate of Boston University (Th.D.) where he served as a research associate and consultant on the Boston University Worship, Music, and Religious Identity Project.

Dr. Stamm is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, he came to the Perkins faculty in July 2000 after serving seventeen years as a pastor of local congregations in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. At Perkins, he teaches courses in liturgical and sacramental history, theology, and practice. As Chapel Elder, he gives oversight to the school’s chapel program. He also served eight years as Abbot of the Order of Saint Luke.

He has written several books related to the theology and practice of the sacraments including Let Every Soul Be Jesus’ Guest, A Theology of the Open Table (Abingdon Press, 2006) and Devoting Ourselves to the Prayers, A Baptismal Theology for the Church’s Intercessory Work (Discipleship Resources, 2014).

He is married to Margie Stamm, a nurse in the Dallas Independent School District, and they are the parents of two adult children.

Practicing The Presence Podcast with Diane Bricker

Practicing The Presence is a podcast from Arapaho United Methodist Church. This episode (Episode 1!) features Pastor Blair Thompson-White and Spiritual Director Diane Bricker in a conversation about how to experience the presence of God through life and spiritual practice.