Have You Heard?

By Conference Minister Diane Weible “My congregation thinks I walk on water because I taught them to use Zoom.” A colleague said this to me today and it made me laugh. As her words continued to echo in my mind, I asked her if I could share this in my newsletter article for this week. Jesus walking on water is a story we know well. And when we think of this story we can’t help but think about Peter. Peter, who wanted desperately to join Jesus out on the waves but lacked the faith he needed to be able to…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible And, Jesus wept. In John 11 we read the familiar story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is a miracle, no doubt. It is a foreshadowing of his own resurrection. And, it is a deep and poignant reminder of his humanity. Jesus said Lazarus would be raised and he was completely confident that Lazarus’ death was not the end of the story. And, yet, he wept. Scripture said he was deeply move and his spirit was troubled. Even with all he knew and his confidence that his friend would be resurrected, he still…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible This is a good time to bring back one of my favorite topics: Abundance. If ever there was a time for us to be reminded (and to remind one another) about the importance of living from a place of abundance, this is it. God’s abundance does not wane, even if the store shelves are empty. The Spirit’s abundance is not diminished even if we are feeling pulled in so many directions (yes, that can happen even when we spend 24 hours inside our homes) that we fall exhausted into bed each night. When Jesus’ reminds…

By: Conference Minister Diane Weible Deep breaths. Everywhere I go that seems to be the anchor for many of us. Take a moment to breathe. Deep. Breathe in God’s love; breathe out the anxiety and concern. Now that we have all had a moment to ground ourselves, I wish I could say I will now offer solutions. I can’t. Like me, I’m sure you all are inundated with emails, news stories, suggestions and advice as to how to address the COVID-19 pandemic in our communities. The consistent and, I think, best advice I have seen is to follow your county’s…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible In John 20, we read the familiar story of what happened to the Disciples after Jesus was crucified. They were terrified and locked themselves up in a room, trying to keep out those they believed were seeking to do them harm. And, Jesus entered the room anyway. He brought with him words of peace and calm. He reminded the Disciples that locking themselves away from community was not what would take away the panic and the fear. He gave the Disciples the gift of peace and invited them to embrace that peace and focus on…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible Yesterday was Ash Wednesday so I’ve been thinking a lot about the intention with which I will approach Lent this year The older I get the more I understand the importance of Ash Wednesday for my spiritual journey. It is not just the first day of Lent but an invitation to enter into the next six weeks in a different way. I meant it when I say that it really is a journey. Lent is a time to take a moment and look at my life in a different way. Meditation, Lenten devotionals (see two…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible Growing up I was always intrigued by the “Jesus” plaque in my grandma’s house. It was one of those pictures that when you first look at it, it just looks like nothing more than a bunch of lines. You have to learn to look at it in a new way in order to understand its meaning. Once you are able to do that, almost like magic, the word “Jesus” becomes clear and visible. The thing that was so cool about it was that once you have seen it, you cannot un-see it. After the first…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible In Response to the "Lets Talk" article last week detailing our small group conversations initiative, I have received an email about the urgency of action. I interpreted the author to be saying that we are beyond conversation and it’s time to act. While I do not agree with that statement, I would argue that the urgency of our world today compels us to do both. We need to talk AND we need to act. As for talking, it’s not too late to sign up for our small group conversations (see article below). We will begin this…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible We are trying to do something new in our Conference. We want to create opportunities for deep and important conversations around the topic of race. This is leading up to a resolution that will be brought to Annual Gathering inviting us to consider a commitment to continuing these conversations and changing a culture that has allowed racism to continue. I listen to a lot of podcasts and lately it feels the topic of our habits is one that is talked about a lot. Our habits become so ingrained in us that we don’t even realize…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible This is the fifth part in a series about impressions and thoughts from the trip I took to Alabama with the other Conference Ministers in November. We visited Civil Rights sites in Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham. At one of the museums in Birmingham, in a glass case, was the pocketbook and shoes from 11-year-old Denise McNair, one of the victims of the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. I stood looking at that glass case for a long time. I was picturing Denise arriving at church that morning and carrying her purse,…