Epworth Echoes Spring 2021

 Joy, Grief, Prayers, “Slum Songs”  The Adult Sunday Class continues to meet via email with teacher Mary Ellen Reetz-Pegues delivering or mailing reading material and posting comments and questions over email. Her students are invited to respond through email as well. Below are summaries of some of selected lessons since the last publication of the Echoes.   By Mary Ellen Reetz-Pegues The Upper Room   reading for February 26, “Joy Amidst Grief,” addresses the grieving of young people, maybe easy for us to dismiss since everyone in our group is past 30.Kristen Phipps speaks of her mother’s death from ALS and the unbearable pain, watching her mother die, and “painfully continuing life without my mom… .”  The verses Psalm 139: 7-10 is one of my favorite passages:   “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of

Responses to Hope in the Wilderness   This year’s devotional,  Hope in the Wilderness,  was put together with input from members of the congregation. Some submitted photos, pictures they drew, coloring pages, essays and poetry they or someone else wrote, and quotes. Then everyone was invited to join in conversations with friends and family or on Facebook.  Below are some of the responses received on Epworth Facebook pages. Responses were sparse and far apart timewise. Clearly we missed the fellowship of in-person Lenten Study.   February 19 I decided to color today’s Lenten Devotion. I was praying for people I’ve had the privilege to teach, coach, and train. I recognized the things I learned from those same folks. Who are you nourishing? Or what are you nourishing that will grow and bloom?   March 5 Today’s entry has me meditating on change, constancy, time, and perspective. What does this devotion raise in you? My earliest childhood memories include our garden roses and the song of th

Pastor Steve appointed to new congregation By Nancy Meisel Youngman, SPRC Chair   On March 14, Pastor Steve Reiser announced that Bishop David Bard has appointed him to a different congregation in the Twin Cities.  After five years of serving at Epworth, Pastor Steve and his family will begin a ministry at, ‘Silver Lake UMC Fresh Expression.” The Resiers will begin this new ministry as of July 1, 2021.  Twin Cities District Superintendent Dan Johnson is working with Epworth’s Staff Pastor Parish Relations Committee to appoint a new pastor for our church.  As Pastor Steve Reiser said in his letter to the congregation, “Our church’s profile, past consultations, our current ministries and God’s direction will inform the new appointment.”  As a congregation, we have journeyed together through the Year of Love and the Year of Action. Now our focus is on a Year of Justice. We extend our gratitude to Pastor Steve and Berri Reiser for guiding and accompanying us on this journey. We were also b

  God’s timing, God’s plans Fellow Epworthians - As I sit here in my dad’s hospice room on the cusp of Holy Week, many things are rolling around in my head and in my heart. Obviously, I have a basic overlay of grief and sorrow. Infused into that are unsurprisingly disappointment, frustration, and perhaps some anger. Additionally, there are some warm feelings brought about by precious memories. Perhaps finally, for me, there is a both intellectual and spiritual curiosity – the desire to understand, especially to understand why. I’m sure you’ve all felt these very same feelings, perhaps recently. Over the last couple of weeks, my mother has regularly said an oft spoken idea, “God’s timing is perfect.” I’ve heard this same brought into conversation in challenging moments, especially when patience is required. Let’s think about God’s timing together. First, there is no Scripture that states unequivocally this understanding of God’s timing. Ecclesiastes 3:1 does say, “For everything there i

Circle of individual voices  on anti-racist journey The journey began with the first Zoom session on January 12 by meeting the facilitator, Crixell Shell, Assistant Executive Director of the Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute, where she is a Peacebuilding Trainer and Coming to the Table Racial Talking Circle Facilitator.   Book clubbers also met others who joined the circle and discussed the touchstones that will guide discussion. Some circle members are from Epworth and others from the wider community with more joining the circle at later sessions.    As they introduced themselves to each other, circle members shared their personal intentions in joining this Book Club. They also shared their reflections on how the introduction to Ibram X. Kendi’s  How to be an Anti-racist   impacts the way they view our past racist thoughts, feelings and behaviors towards themselves and others.    The Book Club was established as a place for contributing individual voices and stories. “It wa

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. - Matthew 5:4 By Nancy Meisel Youngman Would you like a safe place to pause, reflect, grieve, meditate, pray?  A space has been created for that purpose.  Our Epworth nursery has been cleaned, recarpeted, and transformed into a meditation room. Although we may well have need for a nursery in the future, we are using this space as a quiet meditation room for now. We have also started a grief support library. The books are available to read or browse through while in this quiet space. There will be prayer request cards in the room if you choose to fill one out. Our hope is that this space will help you feel surrounded by God’s love and God’s peace which passes all understanding.

Far more than meets the eye   Although Mission u was canceled last year due to the pandemic, some Minnesota United Methodist Women attended virtual Mission u’s offered by other Conferences. This year, MN Conference UMW is offering the following virtual Mission u sessions with Amanda Harris as the new Mission u Dean. Everyone is invited. June 11 -13:  Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools with  Study Leaders Emily Jones (UMW Executive for Racial Justice) and Dr. Lorraine Mayfield-Brown from Seminole FL June 16 -18:  Bearing Witness in the Kin-dom:  Living Into the Church’s Moral Witness through Radical Discipleshi p  with Study Leader Amanda Meisenheimer (Minister of Children and Families at Riverside Church, NY)  August 6-8:  Finding Peace in an Anxious World with  Study Leader: Marion Hansen (North Star District President)     Click here to go to  the MN Conference UMW website for more information.

By Nan Rice The Toy Library at Epworth is starting to be a place where we start the Epworth Garden. The families that came in the last week of March planted marigolds, sunflowers, and tomatoes to take home. Plants for the garden will go under the grow lights for the next two months and then outside.  In the meantime, we will continue the Toy Library until June 3. Look for notices to come out about Weed and Water Wednesdays which will start June 9. Will we be able to meet in the church yard with masks and distancing? We still need to figure out the details.    

Meals and smiles needed during pandemic South Minneapolis Meals on Wheels (SMMOW) remains a big part of Epworth’s mission and life through this pandemic. The clients are grateful to have a hot meal hung on the door knob and to get a wave and smile from the sidewalk. SMMOW has worked diligently to design safety protocols for both clients and drivers. The number of clients we serve has increased during the pandemic but we don’t yet know if that number will remain once the pandemic eases. Whether the number remains or decreases, Epworth is still in need of volunteer drivers and donations for this mission.    If you can drive or if you would like to be a client, contact Nan Rice, Epworth’s Driver Coordinator and a member of the SMMOW Board of Directors.

MN UMW, TC UMW carry on virtually By Shirley Durr Although Epworth’s UMW, like many units throughout the Minnesota Conference, has not met during this pandemic because of social distancing and lack of access to technology for many members of our local unit, Minnesota Conference United Methodist Women and Twin Cities District UMW have continued with Committee Meetings, Team Meetings, Leadership Training, and even Gatherings. Conference, District UMW still in mission field   Twin Cities UMW has kept active with business meetings, planning meetings, and gatherings on Zoom. Gatherings took place in Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 with a shift in plans and adaptations of what a Gathering looks like.    Just before social distancing was mandated by the State of Minnesota as well as by the Minnesota Annual Conference, Patty Wetterling was scheduled as a guest speaker for the 2020 Twin Cities Fall Gathering. Instead, TC UMW had worship, a business meeting with installation of new officer, and even a

We bid you goodnight Like most of the nation and the world, people of Epworth have lost loved ones -- from COVID and some other causes. There may be more we don’t know about but these are the ones we know about.   Gabriel "Gabe" Nguyen London ,   age 10, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly but peacefully in his sleep during the early morning of Saturday, January 23, 2021. Survived by his parents Ruby Nguyen and Hunter London, Jr.; grandparents  Robert Berg and Bich Ngoc Nguyen; his grandparents Hunter London, Sr. and Mary Darlene Gregory London.     Jerome "Jerry" Flatgard , age 69, passed March 6 after fighting prostate cancer for many years.  Survived by the love of his life, Nancy Flatgard (daughter of Gene and Mary Ann Davis); sons Scott Lindberg (Rachel) and Ross Flatgard (Carly Heise), granddaughters, siblings, etc .  Robert E. Corgan , age 70, died March 1 of complications from COVID-19. Preceded in death by his parents  Robert W. and Verna Corgan. brother