From the Pastor
A Little Love Note
The 2026 Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference gathered on June 4-6 at the Peoria Civic Center. We were led in worship by a music collective known as The Many. One of the thread songs, weaving through each worship service was their song, “All Belong Here.” We joined together in the chorus singing:
Come and remember who you are here
Do this to remember who I am
Come and remember you belong here
All belong here
Something so beautiful about our United Methodist tradition is our theology that aligns with the vastness of God’s grace and love. At least once a month, we celebrate one of our two sacraments together, the Lord’s Supper, and we practice an “open table.” We don’t ask questions. We don’t put barriers in place. We just say, “Come,” because it is God’s table. It is the place where we remember who our Triune God is and remember who we are as the Body of Christ. All belong to God and all are included in God’s wide open love.
As Christians, when we leave the worship service, our mission begins: to worship God out there in our neighborhood by loving God and our neighbors, by nurturing relationships and spaces where all are welcome and belong, and by seeking ways to make accessible the Table where all belong. At the July 12 Town Hall meeting, we are aiming to bring to fruition our mission statement: to experience and share the love and power of Jesus Christ through our goals of community engagement and the nurturing of disciples. We will dive more deeply into our strategies to make it happen.
I look forward to living into the words of the song that touched my heart at annual conference and the beauty of Communion, not just in worship but out in our neighborhood with all of you. On another note, my goal is to read a book a month that is on my office shelf. July’s book is Joyful Anyway by Kate Bowler (2026). Let me know if you would like to read it with me and then we can discuss! And share coffee/tea/ice cream while we do it! August’s book will be:
A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community by John Pavlovitz (2017).
Blessings this summer and always! With love, Pastor Melissa
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