Jim McDonald's blog

Thanks to Osvaldo Vena, and the members of the Still a Dream band, for a truly remarkable music performance last Sunday in Fishel Park. The words of children all hoping for a better place, to grow up and thrive in a world where peace has a chance; their words and the bands musical setting were haunting.

Of course if you brought a backpack last Sunday you got blessed, come to think we all are blessed to be a blessing for others.

If you stopped by church this week you no doubt noticed the rumblings and patter of feet going from one spot to another as Vacation Bible School ran through each morning.

It was fun to watch the excitement on the faces of the kids and the energy carrying them from one learning station to the next as they took bible stories and mixed them up with life, and summer; discovering in deeper and deeper ways the ways in which their lives are captured by wonder and held by a love we know as God.

The scripture this Sunday is John 5:2-18 and tells the story of Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath who had waited 38 years to be healed as he lay by a pool of water. I hope to tease some meanings from it for today as we listen to Jesus ask the guy, "what do you want?"

Thank you to everyone who came out Monday evening to hear the Pure Sound Youth Choir from Bethany United Methodist Church in Austin, TX, a small, but powerful ensemble of singers.

Father's Day is an opportunity for each of us to show our love and appreciation to those men in our lives who have nurtured and cared for us; a moment to honor our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers and husbands who have guided us through sunny days and stormy nights. This Father's Day my sermon will focus on Luke 8:22-25, which tells the story of Jesus calming a storm. I will reflect on my experience of watching my dad set sail into some stormy weather and focus on how faith, hope and trust help us to negotiate the storms we all face along life's journey.

This week as the temperatures rose, we were giving a reminder of what summers in Chicago are really like; a surprising reminder after a cool spring.

With the warmer weather, comes the job of dusting off the winter debris. I want to thank the 20 plus volunteers from DGFUMC who joined in cleaning up a stretch of the St. Joseph Creek as part of the annual DuPage River Sweep last Saturday.

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.  - John 10:27-28

These are the words Jesus spoke when the Jews rejected him at the festival of the Dedication. Jesus tells them that those who believe in him will never perish. "No one can snatch you out of my hand." The question becomes, if God is catching us all the time, what are we holding on to? Let's explore this question together at the 8:15 a.m. service this Sunday.

This week I am preaching on the Prodigal Son story, or if you are a positive person, it is really a story about the compassionate father and two sons. I uncovered some surprising insights while reading about life in a Palestinian village during the time of Christ that I will share in my sermon.

For insight into life and friendships old and new with music to lift your spirits to a new place, come and join us this Sunday as we bring a bit of Easter into the last week of February.

This Sunday I will continue my sermon series on Dreams. I will reflect on how dreams can be born amid the dusty moments that sometimes cause us to sneeze. I am using the scripture Genesis 1 where God used Chaos, or dust, to create life and how we too can use a word, a gesture or action to bring life again to the dust, or create a new order amid chaos. This is where God began and sometimes it's where we find ourselves.

Advent is the hoping and waiting for the coming of Christ. Jesus has carved our names beside his into the trunk of a tree. Jesus is kneeling beside us, whispering into our memory and imagination to a life that he has searched us out for and made possible for us to enter.

This Sunday at all three services, we will welcome Deacon Wes Dorr and lay leader Sabrina Bermingham from the United Church of Rogers Park, our sister church in Chicago with which we have an on-going connection of supportive giving and annual mission trips. We have an additional connection in that former DGFUMC member Rev. Catiana McKay has been the pastor at Rogers Park since 2007.