From The Pastor's Desk

April 2020

God’s Love for the Last, the Least, and the Vulnerable

 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.”  (Matthew 20:1)

Peace and grace of God be with you. I give thanks to our God always for you and our churches because God gives you and our church grace and peace in Jesus Christ and because we could keep one another in our prayers to stay healthy, especially in this challenging situation. We are facing a severe medical war with COVID 19 all over the world. Perhaps, we face a kind of spiritual battle because it impacts the church ministry of God. The daily news updates us about how many people are dying with helplessness. Many people are going to lose their jobs, their shelter, and their beloved families. Most of them are the weak, the least, and the vulnerable in society. We do not know how long it could be like this. These anxieties, in an uncertain situation, take out our hidden and unsolved social mindset. One of the unsolved social mindsets is “elitism” that “I AM THE CHOSEN PERSON.”

It goes back to Israelites. However, “the chosen people by God” were always the weak, the least, and the powerless in society. God says to Israelites, who had a consciousness of “elitism,” as the chosen people, “It was not because you were more numbers than any other people that the Lord set his hearts on you and chose you for you were the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7).

The Bible is full of stories about God, who advocates for the weak, the least, and the powerless in various contexts. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, Jesus, who was a friend of the poor and the weak, tells a parable about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who has a vineyard, and who needs laborers for his vineyard. The landowner went out to look for laborers at about 9 o’clock, around noon, and again at three o’clock. Whenever he found those who were idle at the marketplace, he sent them to his vineyard.

The landowner did not ask them: “What is your capacity? What is your background? Or bring me your resume.” Instead, he said, “you also go into the vineyard, and I pay you whatever is right.” They must have been so happy to get a job. The landowner seems like a very generous CEO. He hired whomever he found and whoever was idle. If we had a CEO like this landowner in our society, we would have resolved the unemployment issue a long time ago! It could have been the end of the story—many found their work, and they were all happy.

However, the real surprise of the story comes next. We hear that the landowner went out again at five o’clock! It was almost the end of the day, yet he still found more people standing around. He asked this last group of laborers, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “no one has hired us.” He said to them, “you also go into the vineyard.” At first, it does not seem to make much sense. By the time they arrived at the vineyard, they probably did not have much time to work. However, why would this landowner send them to the vineyard?

Well, let's imagine a bit which these people might have been. They were the last ones who were left in the job market. Perhaps they were not physically active. Perhaps they were older in age. Perhaps they lacked experience. Perhaps they did not have any work permit. Perhaps, they might not have legal status. Whatever the reason was, one thing was clear: they were not wanted! That’s why they were left to be the last ones. It seems, though, that this landowner did not seem to care about any of the qualifications. He merely invited everyone and paid everyone the same wage. It was just impractical, countercultural, and anticapitalistic — no wonders why those who worked from 9 a.m. complained.

However, that’s how it is in the Kingdom of God, Jesus says. No one has privileges or individual honors. All contribute to the work according to their capabilities; all share the wages according to their needs. What a radical idea! The last, the least, and the vulnerable are treated the same with the best, the first, and the most productive.

This story has at times been used to explain God’s grace: God’s love does not depend on our merits. No matter how many hours, how many days, or how many years we have given to the work of God, ultimately, God's love does not know any boundaries. The unconditional love of God for all people is a powerful message.

I am wondering, though, if this story adds another layer—that God has a special heart for the most vulnerable because they need God's love and care more. Latin American Liberation Theologians insightfully named this aspect of God’s love as the “preferential option for the poor”—that God loves all. However, God persistently advocates for the poorest and the most vulnerable. “The last” in the perspective of liberation theology is perhaps poor. “The last” in the view of black theology is perhaps those who have been racially discriminated against. “The last” in the perspective of feminist theology might be women.

My experiences and backgrounds have led me to proclaim that “the last” are the weakest of our world: those who suffer from physical, emotional, and mental pains without knowing whether healing might happen; those who suffer without adequate resources for basic needs of food, shelter, and education; or those who suffer under the unjust systems of discrimination and inequality.

When have you felt most vulnerable in your life? Perhaps it was when your loved one died. Or, perhaps it was when you felt like you were a failure. As such, no one can always be strong. We all go through some weak moments in life. It means that no one has the privilege under the grace of God. God gives us grace and loves freely.

The more we share the love of God, the more the grace of God increases, 30 times, 60 times, or 100 times. Even though we have a small gift like a tiny mustard seed, when we share with others, the seed grows and becomes a big tree that birds may have shelter on. May God’s Holy Spirit empowers us to share the love of God with the last, the least, and the vulnerable, and guide us to experience the Kingdom of God even though we are experiencing a pandemic of COVID 19! Everyone has the equal right to receive the grace of God. Let us be the channel of God’s grace for all God’s people.

Blessings,

Pastor Jenny

 

 

March 2020

"A Safe Zone for Our Lovely Kids"

"13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them" (Mark 10:13-16).

Since I was appointed at Upper St. Croix Parish United Methodist Church, I was impressed with the church buildings, long histories of each church, the passionate interest in ministry, compassion for the mission, and authentic love to God’s ministry. Our parish might be a great model for the church of God. However, I felt that there is a lack of something for the next generation.

For the first two months, I encouraged the congregation to bring children and grandchildren to the church for the future. One day, after service, one member came to my office, and then she talked to me, "I know we have to bring our kids, but I don’t know how to bring our kids." I smiled at her and said to her, "tell your kids, ‘let us go to the church and have fun.’ Your goal is to bring them to the church. And then, our task is to make them have a fun time at church. If they think of the church as a fun place, it is good enough. Teachers make them enjoy their time at church. Just bring them to have fun." She left my office without any comments at that time.

A few days later, our parish hired a youth director and began leading the GoFish program. The GoFish program is a Wednesday program of 1st grade to 6th grade. They learn to praise God, Bible lessons, do fun crafts, and play games through the program. The goal of the GoFish program is to guide kids to learn about God through fun times and make them the disciples of Jesus Christ smoothly. The member, who has come to my office, brought her grandkid to the GoFish program every time we they met, except once when her grandchild had the flu.

Whenever we had the GoFish program, I observe how much they enjoy, and how often they laugh out loudly, instead of what they do. Our parish youth director leads them well. They run here and there at the church and play a game of hiding and finding during break time. Looking at them, I give thanks to God for our church and that we have space for our lovely kids. Furthermore, I think of our church as a safe zone for them.

Therefore, we made "safe sanctuary policies," receiving support from the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church. Youth director Shayna Schmid and I have discussed with a recommendation of the Wisconsin Conference and adjusted the policies to fix to our parish. The safe sanctuary policies have approved by each church’s administrative council committee and Staff/Parish Related Committee (SPRC) and emailed them out to all congregation and announced to congregation in Sunday Service as well. We are on processing to receive agreements and signature to make a safe zone for our lovely kids from parents of the kids and congregation.

We experience dynamics and vitalizing in the church through our kids. One day, Youth Group leads the Wednesday service, and adults support them through the fundraising spaghetti dinner and prayers. Youth group is growing in faith through the confirmation class and activities. We have a dream for the church, in which all generations would be together.

We should bring children to the church so that the church is blessed, and they also are blessed by God. In the Gospel of Mark, people would bring their children to the Lord Jesus Christ so that the Lord’s touch might bless them. However, the disciples did not like children to come to the Lord because they thought that children bothered the Lord for his mission. So, the disciples rebuked the people who brought their children to the Lord. When Jesus saw them, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them," be-cause the kin(g)dom of God belongs to them. In other words, no children mean that there would not be the kin(g)dom of God.

Today, some people may think like the disciples of Jesus that children cannot help the church. Instead, it just costs a lot for children's ministry. However, do not forget that children are the church’s future. Without children, our church does not have a future. The mission for children is the most important in the church. If we cannot have children in the church, the church may disappear because of the children who grew up without knowing the church.

Now, it is time to bring our lovely kids to the church, where it is the safe zone in our Lord Jesus Christ. Let them blessed by our

Lord Jesus Christ and learn Jesus’ love through us in the safe zone.

Blessings,

Pastor Jenny

 

February 2020

The People Who the Lord Needs

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” (Mark 11:1-3)

We have a new beginning in a new year, 2020. We nominated or elected the new leadership teams in each church. Some of them have already served the roles for several years, and they are willing to serve them continually. Some of them are newly nominated or elected for the positions. I appreciate them for their services and contributions. Praise to the Lord!

At Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we see that Jesus chose what he needs. When they were approaching Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it.” And then Jesus gives them additions, “If anyone says to you, ‘why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘Lord needs it.” I wonder if the owner of the colt might know who Jesus is. How could he give his colt with just hearing, ‘Lord needs it”?

We may guess there are implications. At first, “Lord needs it” implies authority, which one could not resist. The owner of the colt must be a humble and obedient person to the Lord. The other implication we may guess is whatever the Lord needs our Lord Jesus may take for his ministry. Like this, today, the Lord seeks the people who he needs for his ministry. They might be our leaders in the church, and also they might be those who serve humbly without being named.

With gratitude for them, I think what do people pursue in their lives? Some people say they seek the glory and wealth of the world with power and authority. Many people might agree that they want to have the authority and the power of the world. In other words, most would be the master rather than being the servants. We find that even the disciples of Jesus also pursued the authority and the power of the world. They might assume that Jesus would be the king in the world, especially in Rome at that time. The Jewish suffered under the colony of Rome at that period, and they might wait for the Messiah to liberate them from oppression, exploitation and poverty. Finally, when they saw Jesus’ authority over the Jewish leaders, and his feeding people, they might expect that Jesus would be the mundane king who emancipates them from all their oppression, exploitation, and poverty. It seems that some of Jesus’ disciples used to have these ideas.

One day, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” The sons of Zebedee are John and James, who were much-closed disciples to Jesus. Jesus used to bring them closer to his ministry than others. They who knew Jesus’ special care toward them, requested Jesus. So, Jesus asked them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” and they said, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory”(Mark10:35-37). What did they expect of Jesus? What does “In your glory,” mean? They perhaps thought that they would have the positions which rule the authority and the power over the people when Jesus becomes the king of the world. However, they did not know what the “in your glory” really means. Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.” The other disciples heard that they requested Jesus to reserve their positions, and got angry with John and James. And then, Jesus said to them that Gentile would be the rulers it over people, but it is not so among you. Jesus added that “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45).

We are following Jesus as his disciples today. If among us whoever pursues to become great in the world, Jesus might say to us, “whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” Please remember, if our Lord needs it for his ministry, he uses even a colt. I wish we would be the people who our Lord seeks, and who our Lord needs. I hope that we all would be humbly walking with God like the colt and like the owner of the colt.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Jenny

 

 

 

 

 

January 2020

Account of Hope

“3 Then God said, "Let there be light,"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           (Genesis 1:3-4)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”  (John 1:1-5, NRSV).

We may see many lights at the stores and on the streets in the season of the holiday. The lights give us feeling warm and lovely mind. Most people in this season are more generous than other times. They would share their gifts and love with one another as if they would pay it forward for the gratitude of a year. Besides, they are generous to themselves. In this season, most people end up a year reviewing many things and begin with making new plans for a new year. I think that lots of lights lead us to be generous and to have new hope. Every year in this season, we are filled with hope, joy, and love. This hope is like a light, and it comes with the light. When we are filled with joy, we do not care about hope.

On the other hand, when we are in despair, we would be eager to find hope as if the light is shiny more in the darkness than in the brightness. The Apostle John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” If you find even a tiny light, do not disappoint for it. If you walk toward the light, someday you are among the light with joy.

We sometimes forget that a small light has great power, which gives us hope. I had the experience of a little light that gave me a big hope, and the light guided me in a way. It was a few years ago when I was a seminarian. I was writing my final paper. I was about almost to be done for my paper. My feeling was higher because after finishing my paper, I would be free during the whole summer. At that moment, however, the electronic power is suddenly gone. I felt panic because my computer was also gone. I felt the whole world are dark. The light was gone. I lost hope. I felt my paper on a computer was also gone. I could not see anything around me be-cause it was deeply dark.

I felt almost cry. I had no idea. Even I couldn’t cry out because my feeling was too much panic. So, I just kept silent until my emotion became fine from that happens. After I was calm down a little bit, I started to pray. After for a while, I opened my eyes. I recognized I can see around me in the darkness. And I could see my desk and my computer in darkness, even though it was dim.

I opened my drawer in the desk; I found a box of small candles for a birthday cake. I lit a candle. Till then, I did not know that a tiny candle makes it bright around me. When I saw the little candles, my disappointment disappeared. I tried to find hope through a tiny candle. Suddenly, I whispered by myself, “Let it be light.” I thought that if this small candle makes like this much bright around me, how bright the light of God is! I was looking at the light the candle made.

Eventually, I felt calm and peaceful. The candle was melting as if it is tearing. The tiny candle was melted shortly. I lit the other candle, and I went to the basement to find the box of power with the small candles. However, I had to light another candle on my way. These small candles could guide me to the basement where was the box of power. I used several candles until I got there. Finally, I got the power back. My paper was back to my computer also. I thought that the small candles were useless at first, but it was beneficial for me.

Each one may be weak, but they could work together to be strong. Each candle may sacrifice themselves for others. As like it, we may be weak, but our Lord is strong. If we light a fire of love continually, some days we may see the bright world filled with love and hope. We try to find hope because we have experienced disappointment as if a light is much more brilliant and shines in the darkness. I believe that people who are in despair and hopelessness may find a way to go for hope even though they could not find the way yet. Therefore, if you were in darkness or despair, do not panic. Stay there for a while, and you may see what you need. It may guide you toward a way to find the light. Hope begins from the reality of despair, which means where you are. At the moment you are out of the despair, you may find hope because “God separated the light from the darkness.”

We prayed to be the light in the world sharing candlelight at Christmas Eve service. I hope we make the world bright. We would be Christians like a road sign toward hope. Someday we may see the world filled with bright light. May 2020 be a blessed year that everyone who is looking for hope finds it out.
Blessings,
Pastor Jenny

 

 

 

December 2019

“Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?" He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:22-25a, NRSV)

I served as an intern Chaplain at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove, Illinois, from September of 2016 to February of 2017. There is a statue at the center of the main building in the Medical Center. The statue was made of wood and shows a man carrying a sick person on his shoulder, which is identified with Jesus the Healer in its powerful depiction of caring service. It shows us Jesus Christ, who draws all humankind into his mission of healing and benediction. All employees in the Medical Center, who come into the building through the employees’ entrance, may see the statue.

When I got there on the first day, I was very impressed. I wondered how one could design it like this: All employees pass by this statue whenever they come in and out of the building. I mean, all kinds of employees like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, case managers, cooks, cleaners, and even volunteers in the hospital, they all pass by the statue when they go to their workplaces if they come in through the employee’s entrance. Also though they may come in other entries, they pass by the statue at least once a day because it stands on the center of the circular hallway of the main building. The statue reminds all employees that the Healer is not the doctors, not the nurses, or not any medications, but only Jesus Christ. It also makes all employees humble before God, even though they are tremendous experts on some points. The statute is the symbol that Jesus Christ is in the center of our lives.

When I read the scripture, Exodus 15:22-25a, I recalled the statue of Jesus the Healer. In the scripture, Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites have finished singing just now, which praise God after they have crossed over the Red Sea. It is time to journey on the wilderness toward the promised land of God. Moses leads the Israelites into the desert, and they go for three days without finding water. Imagine traveling on foot in the desert, going for three days without water. This was a life-threatening situation. Finally, they found some water, and their hopes looked to like to come to the truth, but their dreams disappeared in very short because it was the bitter water. It was undrinkable. The Israelites named the place “Marah,” which means “bitterness.”

We may notice some kinds of implications are here. The message for us is clear: Whatever the bitter obstacles that we encounter in life's journey, we can count on God to transform them, to redeem them for good, as God leads us to Elim. When we cry our Marah out to God, God can “sweeten” them, that is, to make them drinkable, to turn them into a resource for the next step of our journey. God is big enough to deal with, redeem, and even transform whatever the problems we might face.

Who could judge the Israelites that they were lacking faith in God? Who may say that our faith is better than theirs if we might face that kind of situation? We all might be weak in the difficult circumstance like a life-threatening situation. We might be grumbling to God for thirsty, hungry, feeling sick, feeling cold, and all kinds of daily lives.

As Israelites had to be delivered from their grumbling, mumbling, bitter selves, we may need deliverance from our grumbling in our daily lives. We have to learn that God is set to bring about that deliverance and be patient, rather than grumbling. God brought the Israelites out of  a Pharaoh-centered mindset to a God-centered mindset for walking with God toward the promised land of God.

Let us think that as soon as Moses threw a branch of the tree into the center of Marah, the bitterness turned to sweetness. This text makes it clear that the emphasis is on the transformation of the Israelites. As if when God’s word came to be among us, so we may see the light in the darkness. Jesus came to us as a human being to heal our bitterness in the world. If we put anything other than our Lord Jesus Christ in the center of our lives, we may grumble in our daily lives. Remember how the bitter water became sweet.

As you know, water is a resource of our lives which means we cannot live without water.  This water heals us as well as it makes us live. The reason God transformed the water is to treat the Israelites. “I am the Lord who heals you.” God is the One who heals the heart, who can transform the bitter waters of the heart to waters of renewal. Again, notice that this internal transformation is the main point of the text, for God does not say, “I am the Lord, the One who heals the water,” but “I am the Lord who heals you.”

God transforms the heart through the words. The Gospel John says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. . ..” (John 1:14) Jesus is the source of our lives, the Living Words. As we receive and follow Jesus, as we become Jesus-centered, we discover a healing transformation being worked within our hearts. It is the internal journey from the bitter waters of Marah to the promised land.

As I mentioned about the statue Jesus the Healer in the Alexian Brothers Medical Center, we may put our Lord the Healer in the center of our lives. The statue is a symbol to remind all employees the Healer is only our Lord Jesus Christ, and you should put him in the center of your works. When we follow Jesus Christ as his disciples, we may transform our bitter situations in our lives, in our community, in our country, and in our world as God wants to heal us, to redeem us, and to restore us.

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church teaches us, “The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” To transform the world, we should put Jesus the Healer in the center of our lives because only our Lord Jesus Christ may change the bitter world to the sweet world. We hear much painful news about grumbling, shouting, fighting, and death.  But, we know without God’s grace we cannot do anything. Let us listen to God’s Words, and put our Lord Jesus Christ the Healer in the center of our lives so that God heals all humans, all creatures, all communities, and all the nations

 

Blessings!

Pastor Jenny

 

 

 

 

November 2019

It Bears Much Fruit
“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, God [the Father] will honor” (John 12:24-26, NRSV).
When I knew about God at first, I promised God. “If you heal me, I will do whatever you want of me, and I will go wherever you send me.” My spine was broken, God’s healing was desperately needed because my doctor gave up on my healing any further. As if God accepted my promise, I was treated, and I went a seminary for keeping my promise to God. After I graduated the seminary, I planted a new church and did ministry for six years there. But, when it was my sixth anniversary at the church, my mother passed away. I was really upset with God because I could not understand why God took my mother away at that time.

I went up a mountaintop, where there is a prayer place, to ask God why God took my mother away from me. I did not eat any food there, and I just blamed God as if Elijah did. After Elijah killed all the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, he ran away from Jezebel. He went into the wilderness, sat down under a solitary broom tree. And he said, “It is enough now, O Lord take away my life.” (1King 19:15-16)

As Elijah did, I prayed to God, “it is enough, take my life away. I went a seminary because of you, I planted a new church because of you, and I worked hard there because of you. I did everything whatever you wanted of me, but you took my mother away from me. So, it is enough to take my life away as well.” As God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” I felt God asks me, “What are you doing here?”

At that time, I wore eyeglasses because my eyesight was poor. But, I threw them away. I thought I do not need my eyeglasses anymore because God will take my life away. When I threw away my glasses, I told God, “I do not need my eyeglasses; you can take my life away. If you do not take my life away, you should tell me the reason why I should live.” I thought even though I would die, I am right with God. I felt as if I would die unless God tells me the reason why I should live. For the grief of the loss of my mother, I found nothing to help me. I would follow my mother, even if I died.

We often ask God, “God, how long should I wait for you?” If we wait for God's answer in urgency, the waiting, perhaps, may seem much longer than normal. However, God may ask us, “What are you doing here?”

Let me invite you to the Gospel of Matthew. The story goes that Jesus, Peter, James and his brother John went on a journey up a high mountain. When they arrived, suddenly, Jesus began shining like the sun so that his clothes looked a dazzling white color. And as if that were not enough, Moses and Elijah appeared alongside him. Before Jesus died on the cross, he took his disciples to the mountaintop and showed them his transfiguration. Peter said to Jesus. “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mathew 17). Did Jesus expect his disciples to build his dwelling there? Jesus might want his disciples to believe that even though he will die on the cross, he will resurrect again. Also though Jesus lifts up to God, Jesus would be with his disciples forever. That is, perhaps, what he showed his disciples as the living God.

In fact, before Jesus took his disciples to the mountaintop, Peter answered. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Following the answer, however, when Jesus talked about his great suffering and death on the cross, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord!”
When we lose a loved on or what we see that our loved one suffers, it leads us to lose our reason even though we are Christians. It is too painful to handle. We may not think of God's ministry because of our agony.

This shows how weak our faith is! Sometimes, we confess that God is good. Jesus is our savior, the living God. However, when we have anxieties, we blame God, “how long should I wait for you?” or, “why me?” If you would feel concerns or worries to wait for God's answer, pay attention to our Lord.

While Peter was speaking about dwellings to stay there on the mountaintop, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, from the cloud a voice said, “This is my son, the beloved; with him, I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard God’s voice, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. However, Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not afraid.” When they looked up, everything had disappeared. Only Jesus was there. Jesus wanted his disciples to be active even after he died on the cross. So, he showed them the living God. At the mountaintop, the disciples experienced ecstasy and fear. When they looked at Jesus, “everything had disappeared. Only Jesus was there.”

When we blame God at the mountaintop for our worries and pain, God may ask us, “What are you doing here?” When I was at a mountaintop to pray to God, I said, “God, I am waiting for you taking my life away. Otherwise, you should tell me the reason why I should live.”

When it became the 25th day of my fast, my siblings came to the mountain to see me. When they saw me, they asked me, “What happened to you? Are you okay without eyeglasses?” I recognized that I did not wear my eyeglasses. I also realized that God was with me even though I was blaming Him all the time. It is enough for me to live with the only reason, that God will always be with me.

When I was done fasting for 40 days, I felt God say to me again, “how long should I wait for you? Let’s go down from the mountain to my people.” I found the reason why I should live. That is why God is in me. I did not get any eyeglasses after that because God cured my eyesight. I have overcome my grief of the loss of my mother and came down with my Lord into the world.
However, I lost my American mother a couple weeks ago. I think that the grief of the loss may not be trained. My pain of the loss of my American mother came to me, bringing back my biological mother’s loss. On the way to go to my American mother's funeral, it was snowing. It was the first snow this year. It was still in October. I drove for seven hours to see my American mother’s funeral and drove back home for nine hours. The way I went back to my ministerial field was much longer than the way I went to see my American mother. On the way toward the church, I saw the field of sunflowers. The sunflowers were gorgeous in summer, but they seem to die. Suddenly, an idea like a flash of light came to my mind, and I could see the sunflowers again. They did not die, but they bear a lot of seeds. “Oh, my God!” I shouted unconsciously.

My biological mother and my American mother, perhaps, did not die but bear many fruits of their faith. Their fruits of faith remain here, my life empowering my ministerial journey. I felt God tell me, “Let's go to the world, where there are many sufferings, anxieties, and agony. However, do not be afraid at all. I will be with you. That is why I send you to the world for my people.”
Jesus went to the way of the cross. I will follow Jesus Christ without any fear because God is with me. The living God is in me as if my mothers’ fruits dwell in me.

Blessings!

Pastor Jenny

 

October 2019

Let Us go TOGETHER!

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).

Do you know what a yoke is? According to a dictionary, a yoke is “a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals, and that attached to the plow or the cart that they are to pull.” I have seen the yoke in Korea in my childhood. I grew up in farmland, and I could see oxen with the yoke that were cultivating farms or that were carrying heavy burdens. The York is shown below in these pictures.

Pictures from Google pic.1(left) https://theidolbabbler.com/2015/07/25/yoke-and-purpose/

Pic2(middle) https://homesteadontherange.com/2017/01/31/ox-yokes-and-collars-withers-yokes-and-ox-collars/

pic. 3(right)(http://www.lewis-clark.org/article/3105)

 

In the picture of the right side, you may see two big holes. The two big holes are for necks of a pair oxen (or a pair of the other animals). As we see the yoke in these pictures, a pair of oxen carry a yoke. Therefore, if two oxen are under the same yoke, they cannot move independently. If one of them does not make sincere to work, the other would feel a more of a heavy burden. However, in contrast, if one does sincerely to work, the other feels easier to work.

In the tradition of Israel, when people chose one pair of oxen for a yoke, they decided that one of them is weaker; the other is stronger. When they make the oxen carry burdens, they give the stronger ox the heavy burden and provide the weaker ox a smaller charge, which is lighter. The reason they do it this way, which is not equal, is that it makes the stronger ox work sincere. That means, the weaker does not work just by walking with the stronger. What’s interesting is that if one makes the stronger work alone, the stronger would not work or not to carry burdens because they feel awkward to carry duties alone. Therefore, even though the weaker would not work or carry a smaller load walking beside the stronger, the stronger works hard and carries the heavy burdens easily.

Through the Gospel of Matthew 11:29-30, the Lord invites us to take the yoke together. The Lord says, “come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” We have burdens in life such as taking care of family, handling our living, working hard every day, concerning health cares, and so on . We also have burdens of sins, which we cannot be saved from by ourselves. Sometimes, we would share our responsibilities with our families or with friends. However, sometimes our families or our friends would share their burdens more with us. That’s life, which we have to live with in this world.

What about social burdens? Poverty, racism, sexual harassment, economic classism, immigrant issues, and even natural disasters. We watch the news every day. Through the report, we know global disasters, poverty, lack of water, so on, and so on. Do you think we could find any solution for the social burdens by ourselves? The Lord, who knows us very well with our duties of life in the world, invites us. he says, “Take my yoke upon you.” You may know, the yoke of the Lord is not for the Lord, but that is ours. Our Savior, the Lord, who knows our weakness, would work for us as did the stronger oxen because our Lord is “gentle and humble in heart.” If we learn “gentle and humble” from the Lord, we will find rest for our souls.          

To be under the yoke of Jesus, we should be gentle and humble as was he. “Gentleness” is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Greek, praotes means gentle, mild, meek, and to be an inwrought grace of the soul. Gentleness is not weakness. The truly meek person is one whose life has been empowered by the Holy Spirit, which comes from faith that has been energized by the Words of God. The word, “gentle” has been used for wild horses which are trained to behave in a particular acceptable manner. The wild horses could not be handled at all by people. They are active and energetic in the wild. After they are trained, they become meek enough so that a child could ride them. However, they do not lose their power to run, to carry a rider, or to work cattle. The gentle horses submit to their owners, but they are still fierce and wild for others.

“Gentleness” and “meekness” are not down putting of ones self with an affected, false sense of humility; rather, it is a robust, free, confident kind of characteristic. “Gentleness” is very desirable and compassionate inner mind. Gentleness is, first of all, our attitude toward God and not people. The person who has been “gentled” by God is in the image of God in meekness. She/he is also the person who is directed by God. “Meekness” tends to be emotional. It deals with how we feel within, while outwardly, we may be acting gently. Meekness has mostly to do with our spirit within. In other words, for the character of gentleness, the inner mind is still fierce, desirable, compassionate, wild, and durable. However, the style brings out gentle acts while respecting and admiring others. That's why it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

We know some of the gentle and humble figures in the Scriptures. In Number, “the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Number 12:3). Moses challenged his leadership by his siblings, Aaron and Miriam because he married the Cushite woman. However, Moses was not angry with them. How could Moses get this kind of recognition as being gentle and meek? He could be gentle and humble for God because he has walked with God at the wilderness for 40 years.

As you know, Moses killed a person in Egypt because he could not control his anger by himself, and he escaped from Egypt. When he became a shepherd in Midian wilderness, he met God in the burning bush. After that, he walked with God throughout the desert. That Moses became gentle and humble towards God is only by the grace of God.

Let us walk with our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus promises to carry our burdens so that we can rest. Jesus took our heavy loads out already through the Cross. We need to walk beside Jesus as a pair of oxen walk together. When we are under the yoke of Jesus, we can be rest because Jesus carries the heavy yoke for us.

We learned that when a pair of oxen carry a yoke, most of the heavy parts are put on the taller and stronger ox while the shorter and weaker ox follows the track-they walk together. That's how Jesus carries most of the weight on his shoulder, and we follow him. Living life under the same yoke with Jesus is to live life with Jesus walking tightly together. We can rest only by being together with those who are meek. We can take a rest from our burdens by being together with those who are humble.

Who is humble and meek? Jesus says, “I am gentle and humble in heart.” You will enjoy the excellent rest when you follow Jesus, who is gentle and humble. The rest is not about getting rid of the problems. It is about having a feeling of peace while we are in the storm. It is like the scripture says, “when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you (Isaiah 43:2).” God does not say; I will remove your burdens in your life. Instead, God says, “I will be with you.” Jesus gives us all the peace that endures forever and that overcomes all the burdens of life. That’s the grace of God.

How God loves us! John Wesley says in his famous sermon, "Free Grace,"

“How freely does God love the world! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. While we were dead in sin, God spared not his own Son but delivered Him up for us all.

Moreover, how freely with him does he give us all things! Verily, free grace is all in all! (John Wesley, “ Free Grace”)

That’s the amazing grace of God! In our life, sometimes we feel a burden too much, and we feel lonely. However, remember that God never leaves us alone. Let us go together to the Lord with our neighbors who are weaker as our Lord walks with us gently and humbly!

Blessings!

Pastor Jenny

 

 

 

September 2019

“God of Ebenezer, Thus far has the Lord helped me."

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.” (1Samuel 7:12)

I am happy to serve God in the Upper St. Croix Parish United Methodist Church (UMC). Serving God in the Upper St. Croix Parish UMC is not an accidental event in my life. I believe that it is one of God’s plans. I hope that God will use me freely in God’s will through the Upper St. Croix Parish UMC.

I am from Chicago, but originally from South Korea. Since 2007, I have been in the United States studying theology and serving God. I have received a Master of Arts (M.A., 2009), a Master of Theology (Th.M., 2011), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Social Ethics (Ph.D., 2016) from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Also, I have received a Master of Divinity from the Garrett Evangelical-Theological Seminary (2018). While I was studying, I have joined to plant a new church, and served the church as a director of young adult’s ministry for 11 years. I have also served a hospital as a chaplain for 1 year. I want to introduce how God works for me and how God came to me, rather than whom I am.

When I cried, no one was around me. It was dark, cold, and horrible. No, honestly, it was too horrific for me to cry. I gave up all hope in my life because my entire situation pushed me to hell. I knew that many people who were around me, including my friends, my family, and my medical doctors were trying to help me. However, everything felt useless to me at that time because my doctor said, “You do not have any hope of walking again properly.” In the middle of this depression, I saw a light which was shining. A hand approached me from the center of the shining light. Suddenly, the hand lifted me to heaven from hell. God gave me God’s hand to walk again. God said to me, “Little girl! Talitha koum, I say to you get up! (Mark 5:41)”

I remember that I first met God at that time. When I had a terrible traffic accident in 1990, my life changed drastically. It was when I was 25 years old. My spine was broken. I couldn't walk or sit. My right leg was paralyzed for almost two years. I had to stay at the hospital for three years. The doctors told me that there was little hope of complete recovery. I was hopeless. There were times that I felt very depressed. In the middle of this depression, I met a pastor.

He had come to visit a girl with whom I was sharing the hospital room. The pastor prayed for her. The girl had also been involved in an accident. Her condition was even worse than mine. She had several broken bones, and her facial skin was ripped off. She looked horrible. However, she always had a smile on her face. First I couldn't understand her. However, then I realized that she was a firm believer. I asked the pastor if he could pray for me, too. He prayed for me, putting his hand on my head. He prayed for the healing of my body and soul. He visited me several times during my stay in the hospital, preaching, and counseling me.

Meanwhile, my doctor suggested surgery, but he said, “Do not think that you can recover one hundred percent.” However, I had confidence that I would recover totally. I believed that God would heal me through my doctor’s hands. I had surgery on my spine in February in 1992. However, after the surgery, I did not wake up from the anesthesia for a while.

I met God in the coma. I shouted to God in the shining light, “Please help me. If you save me, whatever you ask me I will do it, and wherever you send me, I will go there.” As soon as I finished my words, a big hand approached me and lifted me. Physically, I stayed in the ICU for about one month. After one month, I woke up and recovered totally.

Before this time, I rejected God. However, God came to me as a God of healing and as a God of hope. I was even against my family and friends who believed in God already. I believe that God revealed Godself to me and invited me to confess my sin and ask God for forgiveness. God just embraced me.

After this, I believed that God was and continues to be with me whenever I am joyful or sad. God lifted me from hell, where there was no hope and only horrible suffering to heaven, where there is hope, joy, and I am with God always. I believe that God wants to heal the world, which is suffering in horrible affliction and gives hope to all people in the world who are the oppressed without any hope as God did for me. God sent me to the world as God sent the pastor to me as a testifier, who knows God as the healer of love.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

God gave us the good news, which is to free the prisoners, to recover the sight of the blind, and to release the oppressed. The good news is Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of liberation, the Lord of Healing. Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was resurrected, lifted to heaven, and sent us the Holy Spirit. It is good news. God sent me “to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed” and to proclaim the kingdom of God.

It is impossible to measure and calculate how much God loves me and the world because of the impossibility of measuring love, but I trust that God loves me and the world. I understand that the love of God should be spread everywhere through the people who know it. I learned that the glory of God is revealed by how I live. Therefore, God is always at the center of my life. I pray that God brings healing to everyone who is suffering or feeling hopeless through me, just as God brought healing to me through a pastor. I hope that I could to be a channel of God’s grace for the Upper St. Croix Parish United Methodist Church.

Blessings,

Pastor Jenny

 

 

August 2019

Servant of God’s church. -Colossians 1:24-29-

The day before Independence Day, my family visited a very special place during our family vacation. It was Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which is centered on a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota. The sculpture features the 60-foot (18 m) heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

 

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture’s design and oversaw the project’s execution and he died in March 1941, so his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941. From this short history, we can’t even imagine how difficult this project was. Although Gutzon did not see the result of his project before his death, his mission was continued and finally ended up by his son. And, now Mount Rushmore not only attracts more than two million visitors annually, but also inspires strong national identity and pride to many people.

 

Through the New Testament, we see apostle Paul whom had a very difficult mission to complete, which is spreading the gospel. In Colossians 1:23, Paul said that “God’s plan was to make me a servant of his church and to send me to preach his complete message to you.” And I think that this call to be a servant of God’s church is not only for Paul, but also for all of us. Then, what should we do as servants of God’s church?

First, let us rejoice even in suffering (v.24). Because of the unexpected pastoral change and how the new future of our three point charge with one pastor will go, we all are confused, frustrated, concerned and a bit angry. However, we need to remember that this situation will never change the great mission that we have. Although this came to us in a sudden and unexpected way, this rather strongly reminds us what we need to do in the here and now. We must continue to live our call in the place where God calls us.

Secondly, let us serve the church according to the commission of God (v.25). For the past 3 years, I witnessed the wonderful gifts that each one of you have shared as one body of Christ. God gave each one of us a very special gift. As the servants of the church, let us find it and use it as much as we can for the church and for the world until the kingdom of God is fully realized in here.

Thirdly, let us warn and teach everyone, so that they will grow and become mature in faith (v.28). When we are trying to fulfill our mission as God’s servants even in difficult environments, God helps us to fulfill God’s great mission. Christ our Lord never leaves his beloved followers alone. As he promised to be with us to the end of the age in Matthew 28:20, he always walks with us and works in us and in our lives during our journey of faith. In addition, if we are willing to do the work that God has called us to do, our Lord enables us to take on any hard and rough things that are set before us. No matter how difficult a situation we are in, God will continue His great mission with His faithful people.

Let me go back to the story of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. I think Gutzon Borglum did not really know how big its impact would be. I bet there were countless moments that he wanted to give up. But he never gave up, even though his project was finished by his son’s hands. Also, in the case of Paul, although he was a very faithful evangelist, he did not complete his mission in his time. He was struggling with a lot of trials, but he never gave up. So, now we are continuing his work in our time. Likewise, we may not see the fruits of the seeds that we were sowing in our time, but if we sow them in faith, love, and hope, they will bear lots of fruits in God’s time. God will empower us to be faithful servants for God’s mission. My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. God calls each one of us to be the servant of God’s church. Let us respond to this call by serving where God calls us to be and doing what God calls us to do.

 

Blessings,  Pastor Ran Yoo

 

 

July 2019

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.                                                                                                                                                                                     (Ephesians 6:4)

 

Parish Youth Summer Retreat in Green Bay

I went to the Summer Retreat with three boys in Green Bay, WI. This retreat is one of the annual events for our joint youth programs in the NW District, which is hosted by Faith UMC in Superior. I really want to say “Thank You” to Rev. Joel (pastor in Superior UMC) and his congregation who gave us a great opportunity to join this event.

I was a little nervous and afraid before going to this retreat. My worry was that I needed to spend one night and two days with three energetic and active boys, which included 9 hours riding in the car with them. I know our youth were worried about spending all that time together with the pastor, too. I understand that it is not an easy job for them.

This retreat had a challenging schedule. There were four hours and thirty-five minutes of driving one way from St. Croix Falls to Green Bay, and I needed to drive on unfamiliar roads during the evening. Also, I needed to go back to Green Bay again to participate in the 2019 Wisconsin Annual Conference, after dropping the boys off at SCF.

However, God worked perfectly and prepared everything beyond our human concerns and thoughts. Our youth and I had a good time in the car during our 9-hour trip with peace, fun and joy. We grew closer in our relationships through the playing of games, programs and sleeping during the night as the same group.

In addition, our youth had a great opportunity to meet new Methodist friends from other UM churches. We met 28+ new friends there and finally, we learned and studied about worship, mission, hymns, and UM connectionism as the body of Christ.

Some people asked me why only 3 youths participated in this event and why the pastors put lots of energy and passion into the youth group. The major reason that only three of our youths could go is because our youths are so busy and have lots going on in their schedules, not only during school time but also during the vacation. Also, it is so hard to gather together as a group because of our geographical issue.

However, pastor Ran and I believe that “There is a time for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and our current role in regards to our next generation in the parish is as the people who spread seeds to the field. Even though, we may not have a chance of a tremendous planting from our youth during our ministry term, we are convinced that God will work and allow it to have a good harvest in God’s time.

I want to ask you to pray every day, specifically for our next generation in the parish. Ephesians 6:4 encourages us to bring our children up in training and instruction of the Lord. What is our Christian duty and what do we hand over as an inheritance for our next generation? The clear answer is to nurture them with love in the body of Christ and hand down a faithful legacy like our parents did.

Praying for our children every day will be a meaningful step towards the nurturing of our next generation in faith. Again, thanks for the prayers and support for our parish youths. Your prayers and support made our trip overflow with the grace of God.  ~ Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

 

June 2019

And Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. (Luke 7:14b-15)

Rise and Be Bold! Jesus Is Calling Your Name.

I prepared this article specifically for our church graduates (Linda Harmon, Mikala Hammer, Rachel Tooze, Olivia Brock [High school] & Zach Manley [College]), but especially the high school graduates . I want to share it with not only with them but also all of congregation. Please, bless their new journey and keep supporting them spiritually and physically.

I think I am still young. I am just 35 years old and got married 4 years ago. Also, I did not have much experience with public life, but I have felt and agreed it was a great time when I was a student at middle school, high school, college, and graduate school.

Of course, I totally agree that it is a difficult thing to go to a school every day. Also, sometimes you can think you don't have much freedom because of your parents and regular school life, however, it is also true that it is a great thing to live with your parents and family.

Living with family means that you can share not only your joys but also your concerns, sadness, and difficulties with close relational people.

However, it is time that as a high school graduate you may leave your parents and family. It means you need to get up yourself and go to college and also take on a lot of responsibilities yourself.

Finally, almost all of you will take more than tens of thousands dollars in student loans automatically. One of my colleagues is 62 years old but he still has to pay off his student loans over the course of 30 years. This loan will be your soul mate unconditionally well into your future.

The actor Robert De Niro’s speech at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts four years ago was "Yay! Congratulations! You made it, but you are xxxx". Yes. Robert De Niro used F-word for emphasizing lots of hardships, difficulties, and some problems to face in the real world to graduates. (It is a fun and meaningful speech, so I recommend you watch a full version of his speech on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y1hyAf8xy0)

However, remember this Gospel message. Jesus clearly said to you, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" It is 100% true that you will have a happy church and worldly life after graduation.  You will also definitely face difficulties, despair, and problems, and it will sometimes have made you hopeless and frustrated in your future life, not only in the secular world but also at church. But don't worry about it. As your pastor, I will give you only one perfect method to solve your upcoming problems.

Do not depend on wrong methods to solve your problems. Lean on Christ Jesus. Read the Bible and remember Jesus' teaching and pray for solutions to your problems.

You may think that I am just saying this because I am the pastor. Yes. I know these are traditional and classic Christian methods, but they clearly work and may help you.

Remember, the Holy Spirit is to be with you wherever you are, whatever you do, even when you are having a hard time. Your parents are praying for you with love. Your pastors are also praying for you every day. Your church family is praying for you and your new journey. You are not alone, because even when you leave our city we are still with you spiritually. Our Lord, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit is always with you.

The church was here. The church is currently here. The church will be here as your home church with the Holy Spirit.

Bless your new journey and love you in Christ Jesus.

 

 

May 2019

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” - Romans 8:28

As you know, on April 7th we had a parish-wide fundraising event, the Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction, to support the Upper St. Croix Parish Youth Group’s summer retreat and mission trip. Many of our youth group members will graduate this year, and this is the very first parish-wide fundraising event. Because of this, when I was first planning this event, I was a little bit concerned about whether or not our younger kids could really run this big event.

However, while I was working with our youth and their parents, I was just amazed by all their leadership, hard work, service, dedication, commitment and other various talents. From planning meetings for this event to the day of the event, and even after, they were awesome!! Through them, I witnessed how much of a bright future our churches hold! They are great young leaders of our churches!

The Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction helped us raise $1,398, with the final total being $1,271.56 after reimbursements. Although it was a rainy and chilly day, more than 70 people joined in our event. Without your prayers and support, it wouldn’t have been possible. Therefore, I am deeply grateful for God who led all of us throughout this event, and for all the people who worked, helped and supported us.

During this summer, our Youth group will be going on a summer retreat to Green Bay and a mission trip to Superior. And now, we dream big again for next year. We can’t wait to see what kind of future will lead our youth! Again, I would like to say thank you for all your prayers and supports, and I hope you will continue to pray and support our amazing young leaders for the future of the Upper St. Croix Parish!

Blessings,

 

Pastor Ran

 

 

April 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

As many of you know the 2019 Special Session of General Conference has completed its work. Eight hundred and sixty-four United Methodist delegates from across the United States, Africa, Europe and Philippines met in St. Louis from Feb. 24-26 to consider paragraphs of The Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and ministry to LGBTQIA+ persons.

The General Conference voted against the One Church Plan recommended by the majority of our church’s bishops. The General Conference instead passed the Traditional Plan, which maintains the denomination’s ban on same-sex marriage and prohibition on the ordination of self-avowed practicing homosexuals with additional accountability for enforcing those policies. The constitutionality of key points within the Traditional Plan has been called into question and will be reviewed by the Judicial Council in April.

Pastor Ran and I are grateful for the prayers of all of you for our churches and our delegates. Some of you may be pleased or relieved by the decisions made by the conference while others are in deep pain and anguish. Pastor Ran and I particularly want to acknowledge the pain this has caused our LGBTQIA+ communities along with their families and loved ones. Please know that all of us including LGBTQIA+ communities are beloved children of God and members of our church community. You are both invited and welcomed to participate in our ministries.

United Methodists are members of a global and diverse denomination and are clearly not of one mind on questions around human sexuality. In spite of our differences, we are all children of God. At a time in which our society is becoming increasing polarized, my hope is still that the church can be a place where people of different backgrounds, cultures and opinions will come together.

The effects of the General Conference’s decisions on the denomination are still being determined. None of the legislation will become church law until Jan. 1, 2020. I encourage each of you to give yourselves time to process and heal and continue to offer love to each other. We will continue our vital ministry and seek to be a community that welcomes and loves all people. As we learn more, we will discuss next steps together.

Pastor Ran and I encourage everyone to be

in prayer over the next few months for our church, our denomination and for all those who are scared or hurting. Our doors are always open if you need to talk or pray with someone. May we all continue to love one another as Christ loves us.

Grace and Peace

Revs. Kook Ho Kim and Ran Yoo

 

 

March 2019

I want to share part of my sermon from Jan 20, 2019 with you as we wait for the results from the upcoming 2019 Special General Conference being held February 23 - 26, 2019.  I Hope and pray that this sermon will help you (the congregation) with how we solve this issue in the love of God as children of the same God and the same church family.

Let Us Stay United. -1 Corinthians 12:1-11-

In all ages, it is not easy to recognize and respect the diversity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. People usually tend to reject or feel threatened by something different or something new. However, obviously, each one of us is given different gifts of the Holy Spirit. If we all received the same gift, with no difference at all, it would be rather strange. The Message records 1 Corinthians 12:7 this way: “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful.” The Corinthians misunderstood something different as something wrong. But, different is different. How can we say you are wrong because you are different?

Although we all have received various gifts of the Holy Spirit abundantly, we do not use them wisely in the church. We do not use them to be one with Christ and one with each other and to work together, united in Spirit. Instead we continue to disunite and to judge each other. However, we need to remember that in spite of all the differences, we are one, united with Christ and with one another in the Spirit of God.

For a long time, the United Methodist Church could not be truly united in one Spirit because many people have different understandings of Human Sexuality. Even though we believed that the Bible is definitively the primary source of our faith and theological reflection for United Methodists, each party – fundamentalist and progressivist- have different ways to interpret the scripture. They fight each other with completely different interpretations on the same scriptures. They interpret them to strengthen their voice. However, for all Christians, the focal point of the Bible should always be Jesus Christ. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus gave us the great commandment: love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbors as yourself. All the Laws and the Prophets depend on these two commands.

Until now, we spent so much time and energy trying to define who is right and who is wrong, but from this effort, the only thing that we have found out is just how different we are from each other. Now it is the time to sincerely pray and think about how we speak together about all the differences. Since we are different, we need each other. Argument, conflict, judgement, and division are not the way forward. We need to focus on how we walk together for the kingdom of God and go altogether for it beyond our differences.

Remember, whether you support the fundamentalist or progressivist viewpoint or just stay in the middle, each one of us is a neighbor to each other whom Jesus taught us to love. As we have always been, by the Spirit of God we are one in Christ and one with each other in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Let us stay united. Praise God. Amen.

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

February 2019

The reason why I love our church children

 "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:43).

In Christ I love all men and women, but I especially love the sweetness of children. There are three main reasons why children inspire me. First, children have very pure hearts. Second, they do not lie to people on purpose. The last reason is that they are good teachers to me.

Here is one example of how I learned about some English culture and language from children.

When I served at St. James UMC in East Troy, WI, in 2015, I was one of the Sunday School teachers. One day, we shared our thoughts about our favorite candies and chocolates. The kids said that their favorites were Snickers, KitKat, Hershey, and Skittles. One cute girl named Gracy said to me, "Pastor Kook Ho,. I love candy corn!".

Unfortunately, I did not know what candy corn was, so I guessed that she meant she loved both candy and corn. So I answered her, "Yes. I also love candy and corn. I love sweet corn especially. There are a lot of corn fields here in Wisconsin, so I like to live here."

After I finished my reply, the kids smiled a lot. And then, one of them explained to me why they laughed. Candy corn, of course, is a kernel style sweet candy. In addition, they gave me one more piece of information kindly: that I could buy it in any grocery store in the U.S.

Through this situation, I learned two things from the children. First, that it is better to say "Sorry" or "Pardon" than guessing, when I do not understand perfectly. Second, that candy corn is a kernel style of candy and there are two kinds of corn. One is a kernel, and the other is taffy.

Jesus said that "whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:43). As Christians, to be servants and serving other people is our mandatory duty.

We generally think that as parents, we take care and serve our children very well and try to do our best every time. Yes, this is true. You are good parents and try to do your best any time not only for your children, but also our Sunday School children. However, we often forget that our children also serve their parents very well with their smiles, love, dedication, pure hearts, and by showing us God’s spirit through their actions.

I think that the first step of servant leadership is to express your thankful heart to other people, and I believe that it will be one of key points to deal with once the upcoming result from 2019 Special General Conference is announced at our church.

Anyway, how could you better say, "Thank you for your service at church and home" to your children and our faithful little people at church this upcoming Sunday?

Blessings,  Pastor Kook Ho

 

January 2019

“The best of all is, God is with us!”

 

 

 

- The Journal of John Wesley, ed., Percy Livingstone Parker, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press), 419
During this winter season, what is your favorite thing to do? Mine is having a cup of “Peppermint Mocha.” You can easily find it as a seasonal drink at any café. The reason why I really like Peppermint Mocha is that it is not only delicious, but it also reminds me of the one who is my center of life – Jesus Christ.

Let’s think about the main ingredients of a Peppermint Mocha. Espresso, chocolate, milk, peppermint. First of all, like Espresso, Jesus always wakes me up. When my Spirit is sleeping and I’m not able to find God’s presence or his love around me, Jesus always wakes my Spirit up. Also when I struggle with some problems, he always wakes me up. Then I can come back to the right path on which God leads me.

Secondly, like Chocolate, his love is so sweet. Since Jesus Christ loved us so much, he came to us. And his love has already prevailed in our midst. Also, we need to remember that as we spread his love by sharing what we have, serving others, and caring for one another, the sweetness of his love spreads out more and more to every corner of the world. Indeed, Jesus is love itself. So, once you taste his love, no one can make you stop.

Thirdly, like milk, Jesus nourishes us. As a mom feeds her baby, through his love, wisdom, guidance, teaching and words, Jesus nourishes us. We grow by his love in his grace and we grow up through faith in him.

Lastly, like peppermint, Jesus refreshes us. God created human beings from the dust of the ground, and he breathed life into each one of us, so we started breathing. Because of Jesus, you can be who you really are. When you have become weary, tired, or thirsty, his love makes you feel renewed or more energetic.

Likewise, Jesus reveals himself through every situation you encounter, every person you meet, and through everything that you can’t even imagine. I hope and pray this new year, you will find and experience Jesus in your midst in new and different ways. Happy New Year!

Pastor Ran

 

December 2018

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There is a novel, Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe. It is a story about a man shipwrecked on a desert island. After that, he had to lead a solitary life. Then he realized that he became a "thrown being" regardless of his will. All the other colleagues were all drowned, and only he was alive. He had no clothes to wear, but the climate was so hot that he did not need any clothes at all. And he had no weapon to defend himself, but there were no wild beasts attacking him like he saw when he went to Africa in the past.

Robinson had no one to talk to so he taught a parrot to talk. Even though he did not have the necessary materials and tools, he believed that God supplied the most basic things that he needed to live through a broken ship. Therefore, he finally learned a very valuable lesson, that he could find at least something to be thankful for even in the midst of a miserable situation.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a, Paul said, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” Actually, when he was writing this letter to the church at Thessalonica, he was struggling with great suffering. Then, what made him to be thankful in the midst of hardship?
First, Paul was not thankful for the richness associated with ‘material possessions.’ Secondly, he was not thankful for an easy life, rather he was thankful for having ‘a thorn in the flesh.’ Thirdly, he was not thankful for ‘being exalted.’ However, he was only thankful for knowing Christ in his life. He regarded everything as loss except gaining Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:8) Therefore, he could rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.

We may not able to live just like Robinson Crusoe or Paul, but at least we could learn something from their attitude of being thankful. As we wait for the coming of Jesus, I sincerely hope and pray that we remember the most important reason to be thankful that we have. It is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Since he came to us, we are able to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.

Blessings,
Pastor Ran Yoo

 

November 2018

Title: It is that time again to ask God for help for our Parish and The United Methodist Church

Matthew 7:8-Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Pastor Ran and I want to say "Thanks" to you. Thanks for fully supporting us and baby Caleb. We really thank you for your love, kindness, generosity, help and everything you do for our ministry. Thanks for your faithful decision to maintain our parish ministry continually with us.

Even though we have only been here 2 years and 5 months, we have done and maintained many things for the parish and will have a fruitful ministry plan.

Things we have done:

Maintained the Parish Youth Group Meeting. Regularly, 5-15 youth have joined our program.

Maintained a monthly childrens program, Children Fun Sunday at Atlas UMC & Go Fish Program at Central UMC.

Maintained the Invitation & Homecoming Sunday to focus on inviting new people to SCF UMC and still have a plan to apply this event parish-wide as the church evangelical event.

Continued to introduce ourselves to the community and have participated in local church events.

Maintained many other mission projects in the community and the Wisconsin Annual Conference.

Maintained regular visitations to church & non-church members, once per month. Also, we are covering several emergency pastoral visitations. Anytime, the pastors are ready to visit our church members when they need our help.

Next year, our continuing priority is to be united among the three churches as one parish beyond financial obligations. For that, we will have planned 3-4 joint parish worship services, parish fundraising events for our next generation, parish missional work, parish bible study, parish youth retreat & mission trip and parish childrens ministry.

Our second priority is our revival, not only spiritually, but also increasing attendance numbers. Finding our lost sheep at each church and inviting new people to our church will increase our attendance. We have a plan to launch a Homecoming & Invitation Sunday at Central UMC next year for that purpose. I am so glad to share that we gotten more people and some increase of regular attendance last and this year in the churches.

Financially, we know we will definitely have financial problems next year too. We have a 2% increase in the parish budget, almost $3,000 compared with last year. This is not a tremendous jump compared with last year, but we are having a hard time solving this problem ourselves. If we don't receive a Conference Financial Supportive Grant ($7,650) and Central's apportionment deduction ($6,774), we will struggle to solve it.

However, remember that we are still surviving and also have some positive signals to solve this financial issue, specifically that SCF UMC decided to keep their commitment, even though we were changed from 4 to 3 churches in the parish and to extend it to us until next December and prepare a $1,200 emergency fund again to help the other churches, if they still struggle financially.

FROM THE PASTOR CONT

Central UMC has kept the inancial stewardship program and Atlas has started a new fundraising event and all churches accepted the budget and have tried to overcome this difficulty with faith. Also, the D.S. and the conference may try to help us this year, not only spiritually, but also physically too.

In addition, as a leader of the church and as the pastors in the Upper St. Croix Parish, we have lots of holy responsibility regarding our financial situation so we decided to keep our general offering equally to the church to help cover next years parish budget increase, even though pastor Ran is now half time and we currently still have committed a lot to the churches. We would never shift this hardship to our congregation. We want to lead by example as the pastors of the parish.

Each church will have a Commitment & Celebration Sunday on November 11th. (The letter with the pledge card will be sent at the end of October)

Commitment and Stewardship is not merely about money. It is also about how we offer our whole lives to God and to the service of the church. We promise to serve the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. All five of these things are marks of discipleship. Your promise will help the church in managing and maintaining the 2019 church plans, which we have worked hard to budget for this coming year. However, if you are uncomfortable with giving after your prayer, please skip it until the next year. We honor and respect all your decisions.

Let's go the next step with a humble and faithful heart. I definitely promise that we are going to share and celebrate many fruitful ministerial joys with faithful friends and God here. Thanks be to God and thanks to all of you.

Blessings, Rev. Kook Ho Kim & Rev. Ran Yoo

 

 

October 2018

The Special General Conference meeting in February of 2019, will be offered three options (The One Church Plan, The Connectional Conference Plan, The Traditional Plan) submitted by the Commission on A Way Forward to help direct the church in the coming years.

Many of the bishops in the U.S. and our Wisconsin Annual Conference bishop, Hee-Soo Jung. have asked local churches in WI to support the "One Church Plan" because many of us believe and think it is the best plan among all three of them to go forward together as one body of Christ in The United Methodist Church.

Here are short summaries of the three plans. Please, read them carefully and pray for our denomination, our 6 Wisconsin delegates (3 Clergy & 3 Lay delegates) and 2 alternates who are going to vote as representatives of the Wisconsin Annual Conference at the 2019 Special General Conference, and our local churches, which will follow up on the decision from General Conference.

1. The One Church Plan

Reverse the churchs historic teaching in regard to human sexuality. Remove all references to homosexuality and to marriage as between a man and a woman. Let individuals, churches, and conferences decide for themselves what standards they wish to follow. Build in assurances that the convictions of traditionalists will be honored.

2. The Connectional Conference Plan

Divide into three separate branches of United Methodism and let each

Branch adopt their own Discipline, select their own bishops, adopt their own criteria for ordination and set its own standards for human sexuality. This option would necessitate several constitutional amendments.

3. The Traditional Plan

Keep the same Discipline statements regarding human sexuality as are in the Discipline currently. However, since bishops, conferences, boards of ministry and churches are presently in open defiance of the Discipline as it now stands, close the loopholes and tighten the accountability sections of the Discipline.

The 93 page booklet (https://unitingmethodists.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/finalreport_commissiononwayforward.pdf) that shows the entire decision procession of the Commission On A Way Forward is on the information desk and I put 4 links at the bottom that explain each plan in more detail.

If you have more questions about it, please feel free to contact your pastors.

1. https://www.facebook.com/dave.nuckols.1/posts/10212202355790214

(Summarize and Compare with 3 Plans)

2. https://goodnewsmag.org/2018/07/whats-in-the-one-church-plan/

(Explain about the One Church Plan)

3. https://goodnewsmag.org/2018/07/whats-in-the-connectional-conference-plan/

(Explain about the Connectional Conference Plan)

4. https://goodnewsmag.org/2018/07/whats-in-the-traditional-plan/

(Explain about the Traditional Plan)

 

 

 

September 2018

I have written a series of easily understandable articles for many months, continuing in the September newsletter, to explain Methodism through my ministerial experiences and theologies.

This month, I wrote a short article about Holy Communion based on Methodist theology. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism as it pertains to Holy Communion and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist.

Any questions and thoughts for the pastors about Methodism and the article are welcome!

Q) What Is the Meaning of Holy Communion in the United Methodist Church?

The second sacrament is Holy Communion. Where baptism represents the outward sign of an inward cleansing and initiates us into the body of Christ, Holy Communion is the continuous sacramental relationship with Christ through the table. Holy Communion, like baptism, is an "act of worship" and a means of grace. Through Holy Communion, we "open ourselves to the divine love that’s already there." It is an experience of God’s love, and for us, it is thanksgiving to God for what God has done for us. It is an act of worship, an act of participation, and an act of remembrance.

Through Holy Communion, we worship God with thanksgiving and participate in God’s family meal, across the ages and the world, as we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection. Through the breaking of the bread, we remember Jesus’ body that was broken for us. Through the wine, we remember Jesus’ blood that was shed for us. In all, we remember Jesus’ death on the cross as the atonement of humankind.

Holy Communion is not only remembering that Jesus died for us, it is also remembering Christ died, was raised, and then ascended into heaven. We celebrate the victory of Jesus’ resurrection within the presence of Jesus. Finally, Holy Communion is the time to remember that Jesus will come again. The promise of Jesus’ coming gives us assurance and hope that sin and death will be defeated. Through Holy Communion, we have a foretaste of the final victory.

United Methodists consider the sacraments to be holy. Baptism and Holy Communion have great importance in terms of United Methodist theology and also in practical ministry.

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

 

August 2018

In continuation of the series of easily understandable articles I began in February to explain about Methodism through my ministerial experiences, below is August’s article. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist. I look forward to hearing any questions and thoughts about Methodism and the article!

Q) What Is the Meaning of Baptism in the United Methodist Church?

Baptism is not the end of our faith journey. It is the beginning of our commitment to a faithful life, to live out our faith in the world, and to build up the body of Christ in the community of faith. Baptism is our response with faith, dying of ourselves and rising with Jesus Christ in our hearts. Through baptism our sins are cleansed and we begin to live "in grace and holiness through which God brings us into closer relationship with Jesus Christ." Baptism is not sanctification: it is the beginning of sanctification.

We, as United Methodists, perform infant baptism. Infant baptism is based on the firm belief of United Methodists that in grace, "God prepares the way before we request, or even know that we need help." Through this "gracious covenant" sign, infants also enter into a new life in Christ, as children of God and members of the "body" of Christ. At the moment of baptism, the presence of the congregation is this "body" of Christ that takes the responsibility to nurture the infant with her or his parents [sponsor]. Infant baptism often causes the misunderstanding that they must be re-baptized. Baptism cannot be repeated. Although we are disobedient and defiant to God, God is always faithful and remains faithful when we are disobedient and defiant.

John Wesley (the Founder of United Methodism) believed in original sin and he believed that it is important to perform infant baptism to get rid of this original sin. Though infant baptism is not about the faith of the infant, but about the faith of the parents and community, it is still an initiation of new birth and acceptance of Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

 

July 2018

In February I began writing a series of articles in the monthly newsletter to help explain and make Methodism easier to understand through my ministerial experiences. July’s article is below. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist. Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about Methodism and/or this article. All feedback is welcome!

  1. Q) What Is Our Understanding (as Methodists) of the Kingdom of God; the Resurrection; Eternal life?

When I arrived at O’Hare International Airport in September 2011, I was amazed and surprised to see lots of various people and ethnic groups. I knew that O’Hare was a famous international airport, so there would be a lot of foreigners, but this situation continued outside of the airport. Asian, African-American, Anglo-American and Hispanic people all live together in the Chicago area. There are a lot of people living here and trying to pursue living together peacefully. In my nation of South Korea there is only one ethnic group: only Koreans. The vast melting pot in America is so amazing to me. I imagine that the Kingdom of God is like this, in that everyone, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity will be rejoicing together.

Jesus showed us what it meant to live in the Kingdom of God in this world. When Jesus wanted to bring his Kingdom into the corrupted tax system of Jerusalem, the first thing Jesus did was recruit Matthew, the tax collector, to invest his efforts to clean up the corruption of that society. The Kingdom of heaven is economically and socially egalitarian within man’s world (Matthew 20:1-16). The Kingdom of heaven is the mirror of justice. There is no classism, racism, or sexism.

The Kingdom of God is where God’s love, grace, and justice are fulfilled. Methodists believe that God’s reign will be fulfilled not only after our deaths, but also on this earth. The Kingdom of God has already come. The coming of Jesus Christ stands for the beginning of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ showed the hope of the Kingdom of God. Not only is Jesus Christ equal to God, he came to earth in the form of a perfect human. He was crucified on the cross to resolve the sins of humans. Also, the Kingdom of God is hope. We can receive hope through Jesus’ cross.

Personally, I had many chances to witness to patients before their death during my time as an intern chaplain. There were many different appearances before death, however I clearly remember one patient. The patient was in the last stage of cancer. Her doctor said to me that she did not have any hope of recovery. She never lost her smile, even though she was dying and in so much pain. She said to me, "I believe in heaven, so I have hope and I am not afraid of my physical death. My life was so good with Jesus." At that time, I recognized that death applied equally to all people, but people had such different experiences of death depending on their situation.

As Christians, we need to think about our death. It may be a time of fear and pain, but Jesus Christ overcame death and was resurrected. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can believe in eternal life.

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

 

 

June 2018

For June I am continuing the series of articles trying to explain Methodism in an easily understandable way, through my ministerial experiences. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist.

Q) What Is Our Understanding (as Methodists) of Evil as It Exists in the World?

We believe God is perfectly good and all-powerful. God created the best of all possible universes (Genesis 1:31). However, humans fell down to sin and evil because they used their free will, given by God. Human disobedience to God leads to evil. The immoral human nature brings evil.

First, systematic evil causes social problems like unemployment, homelessness, crime, and the gap between the rich and poor. It is not only a personal problem, but also a national and global problem. When I was a missionary, I witnessed this systematic evil in the Chechen Republic in the south of Russia. The nation of Chechen had some wars with Russia. Even though the war was finished, many people still lived in poverty and suffering. Yet there were many millionaires who were oil tycoons and had political power in Russia. Their houses looked like palaces. They had security through terrorism. Many Chechen people called them the Modern Tsars. Due to this broken system, the majority of the Chechen people live in poverty. Also, many children, youth and young adults follow and fall down to extremist Islam ideas. One of the main reasons for this is the economic hardship and injustice experienced by so many in the Chechen republic. Clearly, systematic evil causes human suffering and misery in the Chechen republic and all over the world.

Second, evil is both an individual and collective action. According to Genesis, humans were created in the image of God. However, the image of God in humans was broken because of the disobedience of humankind. This means individual evil is rooted in human disobedience towards God. Human corruption causes selfishness, greed and maliciousness. Violence, murder, racism, and discrimination came from human corruption. Beyond human evil, there is collective evil like Islamic State (ISIS), the extremist Islamic terrorist group in the Middle East. This is news to us. Several years ago, they captured some American and Western European journalists and cut off their heads. They even uploaded a video of it on to YouTube. Many people could not repress their astonishment. Of course, the Islamic State is only a small minority of Islam, so we should never make the mistake of hasty generalizations about the religion of Islam, but it shows how extreme theology and groups can be evil in the world.

Even though we have some problems in the world, I believe we will overcome our problems with God’s grace. One of the most important things in the good news of Jesus Christ is that God gives us the power to overcome evil through God’s grace (Romans 8). Also, we need to be self-controlled and alert to the evil power that is around us. Jesus taught us to pray "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." We should seek holiness and try to achieve Christian perfection as United Methodists and as Christians.

 

 

May 2018

Beginning in February I prepared a series of easily understandable articles to explain Methodism through my ministerial experiences. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist.

  1. Q) What is the nature and mission of the church? What are its primary tasks today?

The origin of the word church is from the Greek, Ecclesia, which means ‘call out.’ The church is the place where people gather to worship and give thanks to God. It is also the place where those who are gathered accomplish the work of fulfilling the will of God. Paul defines the church in 1 Corinthians 1:2, “To the Church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This means that the church is not about the building, but the people of God who are summoned in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Discipline offers an explanation of the mission and definition of the church: “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by proclaiming the good news of God’s grace and by exemplifying Jesus’ command to love God and neighbor, thus seeking the fulfillment of God’s reign and realm in the world. The fulfillment of God’s reign and realm in the world is the vision Scripture holds before us.”

The mission of the church has been entrusted to us to be carried out though worship, edification of believers, and redemption of the world. I strongly believe that these are not just roles. The church does this naturally in the world through believers. We never stay only in the church or our houses, but also go into the world with the Gospel. The church from its beginning has existed for the world, yet it remains separate from the world. It has proclaimed the Word of God and made disciples. The church not only proclaims the Word of God, but also serves as the place where disciples of Jesus grow in faith, witness God’s works in fellow believers’ lives, and learn God’s attributes.

There is an African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I think it shows very well the primary work of the church today. For raising a child, we not only need a good church but we also need a good community. We do not stay only at church, for beyond the church we need to connect and serve our community through God’s love. Likewise, we need to make an effort to improve social justice in our world.

 

 

April 2018

I prepared a series of easily understandable articles to continue February to explain about Methodism through my ministerial experiences. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist.

Q) What Is the Primary Characteristics of United Methodist Polity?

The superintendency of bishop and district superintendents is such a unique system in United Methodism and the United Methodist Church. The word "superintendency," derived from a Biblical word, episkopos, was applied by John Wesley.

General Superintendency and naturally the superintendency are used to indicate the district superintendent. In any case, "the term ‘superintendency’ indicates the oversight of the connection." The roles of bishop and district superintendent express very well the idea of superintendency. They have enormous responsibility during their term. As the administrator and the worker overseeing the connection with United Methodists, they have to seek an ideal balance between pressure from and asking from local churches and conferences.

The itinerancy is also a unique system in United Methodism. "Methodist began in England and America as a missionary cadre of preachers bound in connection with each other to spread the gospel and scriptural holiness over the lands." Method-ism’s starting point was missionary work at that time, so all preachers in United Methodism agreed to an itinerant system. Even though time has passed, still the presence of the itinerancy system is observed in the United Methodist Church. "Itinerancy is best suited to making sure the clergy leadership is available to as many local churches as possible." Through itinerancy, lots of small local churches receive stable clergy leadership. Not only small churches, but also many cross-cultural clergy persons receive merit from itinerancy. According to the Book of Discipline, the open itinerancy is defined that "means appointments are made with-out regard to race, ethnic origin, gender, color, disability, marital status, or age, except for the provisions of mandatory retirement."

This itinerancy shows strongly the connectionalism among three offices. The minister needs to agree to go to appointed places; the district superintendent has a duty to send each minister to local churches that ministers fit very well; and finally, the local church members have a duty to receive open itinerancy as their Sr. pastor. If they do not cooperate, the system of open itin-erancy will not exist and stay in United Methodism. The Book of Discipline explained connectionalism: "Integrally holding connec-tional unity and local freedom, we seek to proclaim and embody the gospel in ways responsible to our specific cultural and social context while maintaining." Going further, the Discipline says that worldwide connectionalism is our duty for mission working be-yond national and regional boundaries.

This connectionalism flows through all of United Methodism’s systems and workings. For example, the basic role of bishop as superintendent is to connect local churches and ministers. Beyond their local area, the Central Conference bishop’s role expands their works to mission locations. Likewise, open itinerancy shows very well United Methodist’s effort to overcome racial, ethnic, and gender minority problems in U.S. Going further, this open itinerancy helps the United Methodist Church to work together with various people in the world without prejudice. This connectionalism applies to United Methodist seminaries.

According to Wesley’s "Catholic Spirit" and the ecclesiola in ecclesia as one of UM’s character, they accepted various professors and students from different denominations. I think this policy can represent our denominational value, "Open hearts, open minds and open doors."

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

March 2018

In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us.– Romans 8:37

The 2018 Winter Olympics is now proceeding in my homeland, PyeongChang, South Korea. While I was watching the opening ceremony, I felt so sorry that I could not be there in person with my family. Anyway, whenever I watch the Olympic games, I feel so proud of all the athletes no matter the outcomes. I can’t imagine how hard they have trained for that moment!? Every moment, they might have fought with their limits in body, mind, and emotion for the game.

As I enjoy watching the Olympic games, I learned a lot of new things, especially from the Olympic Creed, Motto, and Symbol. First, The Olympic Creed is a quote by Baron de Coubertin: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part," just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well." Secondly, The Olympic Motto consists of the Latin words Citius, Altius, Fortius, which means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger." The motto, introduced in 1924, is meant to spur the athletes to embrace the Olympic spirit and perform to the best of their abilities. Thirdly, The Olympic Symbol is five colored rings linked together. These rings represent the continents of North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. They also symbolize the uniting of athletes from all over the world to compete at the Olympic Games.

These three things remind me of the Christian life. Although each person is different, we all are called by God to work and live together for the kingdom of God and to be united as one body of Christ. Also the goal of the Christian life is not to be in first place but to finish well according to the guidance of God. There is no life without struggle, but in the midst of suffering our faith leads us to be swifter, higher, and stronger so that we can fight well with courage and finally overcome it. Our final goal of life is not a victory on earth, but we go for the everlasting victory in Christ Jesus. I hope you remember this as we live the season of Lent.

Blessings,

Pastor Ran Yoo

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/athens_games/principles.htm

 

 

 

 

February 2018

I have gotten some questions from church members about the uniqueness of the United Methodist Church's rules, theology, history, doctrine, etc. compared with other Christian denominations. I think that we know and recognize very well our identification as Christians but sometimes we don't know clearly understand our identification as Methodists. For this reason, I prepared a series of easily understandable articles to explain about Methodism through my ministerial experiences. I hope these articles will help you better understand Methodism and confirm and develop your faithful identification as a Methodist.

Q: What is the Wesleyan Quadrilateral?

United Methodism follows a specific theological framework: Scripture, tradition, experience and reason. According to the Book of Discipline, which constitutes the law and doctrine of the United Methodist Church, "The living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience and confirmed by reason." The importance of these four guidelines is that belief is revealed, illuminated, vivified, and confirmed,which is the means of verifying and embracing our faith firmly.

For example, during my time of Clinical Pastoral Education, my supervisor asked me whether or not I would baptize a stillborn baby at the parentsrequest. I answered, "Yes," based on what has been revealed in Scripture, illuminated by tradition, vivified through my personal experience and confirmed by reason.

I remember Jesus visiting the house of Lazarus, who was dead. Jesus went to comfort the family of Lazarus and cried with them. According to these passages, love always came first over the law for Jesus Christ. In the disputes with the Pharisees and the Sadducees over the Sabbath, Jesus showed love first.

Following the example of Jesus, United Methodists provide baptism to stillborn babies. The tradition of United Methodism is to follow the love of Jesus instead of defining what is right or wrong based on the law. Love came first during my Clinical Pastoral Education experience.

I understand these four criteria to be a critical part of theological interpretation, each making significant contributions yet working together with Scripture as the primary way to witness in the United Methodist context. Through Scripture, tradition, reason and experience, we can maintain a healthy and creative tension between doctrine and reality.

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho

 

 

January 2018

“Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:38

 

“Let it be with me according to your word.” This was Mary’s response when the angel Gabriel came to her to foretell the birth of Jesus. Although being a mother of a child as a virgin was unexpected and unwelcome news to her, Mary obeyed God with this amazing confession of faith.

As we live our life, we always hope and dream of a perfect life without any frustration and challenges. Especially, as we face the new year, we may have many plans and goals hoping for a better year. However, as we already know, life does not go according to our will. Sometimes, we have to face unreasonable, unwelcome, unexpected, and unhappy situations. However, we could learn from Mary. For nothing will be impossible with God, Mary obeyed God with courage of faith, and she received the best blessing: being the mother of Jesus.

With this thought, a world-famous song, “Let it be” by the Beatles led me to have a great new insight. If you read the first verse of this song, it goes like this:

When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

 

And in my hour of darkness

She is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

 

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom

Let it be

Actually, this song was not written based on Mary’s story in Luke. While the Beatles were struggling with dissension, Paul McCartney dreamed about his mother, Mary McCartney saying “it will be all right, let it be” so he wrote about it in his music. But many fans tried to interpret “Mother Mary” as the virgin Mary. Anyway, considering the story of Mary in Luke, “Let it be” is good enough to remind us of Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel: “Let it be with me according to your word”

We are Christians – followers of Christ Jesus – when in times of trouble, we remember Mary’s words of wisdom: “Let it be with me according to your word” Then, our almighty God, for whom nothing is impossible, make it all right in God’s way and in God’s time. As we face the new year, I really want us to ask these questions to ourselves, “are we ready to say YES to God? Are we ready to follow and live according to God’s word?” I hope and pray that this year we are ready to say YES to God by remembering that nothing will be impossible with God.”

May God bless you and guide you in this new year! – Pastor Ran Yoo

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December 2017

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” - Romans 12:15 Dr. Richard C. Halverson (1916-1995), chaplain to the U.S. Senate, was credited in 1984 for a speech before the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church: “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next it moved to Europe where it became a culture, and, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise.” While I was reading a news article, this quote struck my mind. And it made me think about what does our church look like? Does it look like fellowship or philosophy or institution or culture or enterprise?

I think this not only shows the regional differences, but also shows different understandings of the church today. Some people think church is one of social meetings, so they come to church to meet many people. Some people think church is a place, helping people to experience some milestones in life, such as baptism, confirmation, wedding, and funeral, so they want church to provide some service according to their needs. Some people think church is a volunteer agency, so they ask for some help from the church. Some people think church is a family home, so they grow in church and live within the church.

As one of the people who loves church, my sincere hope for our churches is to restore the former image of the church, which is of a fellowship of people centering on the living Christ. When church lost its first image, it became just a building for a particular function. However, as we sing “I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world! Yes, we are the church together,” the church is not a building but a people.

Then how can we restore our church to its original image – a fellowship of people centering on the living Christ? “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” As we live together following the love of Christ Jesus by sharing our moments of life, yes! Surely we can restore our first image.

As I look back at this year, I am so grateful to God for our 4 churches. Especially, since we had many funerals this year. Losing a loved one is very difficult, bringing lots of tears, but as one body of Christ, all congregations took care of the deceased’s family and were committed to working together for the funeral service. Furthermore, this year we added 4 new babies in our parish. All congregations welcomed our new brothers and sisters in Christ with love and smiling faces. In addition, countless joys and concerns were shared in the church during the year. On all such occasions, we rejoiced together and we wept together, and most importantly we prayed altogether.

It is such an honor to serve God together with you. It is such a joy to be the church together with you. My best reason for Thanksgiving this year is you, our church! Thank you for being my church family and being church together with me. Let us keep trying to do our best to rebuild our church to be a true fellowship of people centering on the living Christ together.

Blessings, Pastor Ran Yoo

 

 

November 2017

It is the time to ask God for help for our Parish

Matthew 7:8-Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Pastor Ran and I want to say "Thanks" to you. Thanks for fully supporting us and baby Caleb. We really thank you for your love, kindness, generosity, help and everything you do for our ministry. Thanks for your faithful decision to maintain our parish ministry continually with us, even though we have some financial problems.

St. Croix folks, thanks for your dedication to sharing your benefit continually with our parish churches. Your continuing support has been a huge help to the Upper St. Croix Parish.

Even though, we have been here almost 1 year and 5 months, we have done many new things for the church and will have a fruitful ministry plan.

Things we have done:

We have started the Parish Youth Group. We are meeting regularly with 5-15 youth joining our program. We had the Parish Confirmation Class and have started a new monthly children’s program, Children’s Fun Sundays at Atlas UMC. We held the Invitation Sunday at SCF and have a plan to apply this event parish wide as the church evangelical event. We have started to introduce ourselves to the community and have participated in local church events. We have regular visitation to church & non-church members-regularly visiting 10 people, at a minimum of once a month and suggest pastoral visitation quarterly with some our church members who live in Minneapolis. Also, we are covering several emergency pastoral visitations. At any time, pastors are ready to visit our church members when they need our help.

Next year, our first priority is to be united among the four churches as the one parish beyond financial bondage. For that, we will have a new parish Ad Council meeting, 3-4 joint parish worship services, parish fundraising events for our next generation, parish missional work and parish children’s ministry.

Our second priority is our revival not only spiritually, but also increasing member’s attendance. Finding our lost sheep at each church and inviting new people to our church will increase our attendance. Through worship, Bible Study, and adult education programs, I hope we will grow our faith spiritually. We will have more visitation time to find the lost sheep, but the pastors’ work for the revival has a limit. Praying for and giving some information to the lost sheep, or those who are interested in our church and Christianity would be helpful. We also encourage you to try to give the good news to your family, friends, and neighbors yourselves. We will have a time to invite new church members next year.

We know we will definitely have financial problems next year. I do not say "Maybe," I am saying "Definitely". We have a 2% increase in the parish budget, almost $3,000 compared to last year. This is not a tremendous jump compared with last year, but we are having a hard time solving this problem ourselves. If we don't receive a Conference financial support grant ($9,881) and Central's apportionment deduction ($5,718), we can't solve it.

However, remember that we are still surviving and also have some positive signals to solve this financial issue, specifically that SCF UMC decided to maintain their commitment and to extend it to us until next December and they will prepare a $1,200 emergency fund to help the other churches, if they have still financial struggle. Central has started the financial stewardship program and Atlas & Wolf Creek accepted the budget and have tried to overcome this difficulty with faith. Also, our conference may try to help us this year as well.

As a leader of the church and as the pastors in the Upper St. Croix Parish, we have lots of holy responsibility about our financial situation so we decided to increase our general offering $1,000 to the church to help cover next year’s parish budget increase, even though we currently have committed a lot to the church. We want to lead by example as the pastors of the parish, even though we will eat only lentil and beans-don't worry that Caleb will eat his favorite milk continually without limits 🙂

Also, each church will have a Commitment & Celebration Sunday at the end of November or early December. (The letter with the pledge card will be sent in middle of November) Commitment and Stewardship is not merely about money. It is also about how we offer our whole lives to God and to the service of the church. We promise to serve the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. All five of these things are marks of discipleship. Your promise will help the church in managing and maintaining the 2018 church plans, which we have worked hard to budget for this coming year. However, if you are uncomfortable with giving after your prayer, please skip it until the next year. We honor and respect your decision.

Jesus said, (Matthew 7:8) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

It is the time to ask God for help for our Parish. It is the time to seek the vision of the church for our next generation. It is the time to knock on the door to find the lost sheep and invite new members to the Parish.

Let's go the next step with a humble and faithful heart like the tax collector in Luke 18. I definitely promise that we are going to share and celebrate many fruitful ministerial joys with faithful friends and God here. Thanks be to God and thanks be to all of you.

 

October 2017

Last week, we had a SPRC (The Staff/Pastor-Parish Relations Committee) meeting at the parsonage. This time, we gathered together to prepare for the 2017 Charge Conference of the Upper St. Croix Parish, so it was quite a serious and important meeting. At the end of the meeting, we took time to look back on our past year. Pastor Kook Ho and I were a little bit nervous, because it felt like our ministry was being officially evaluated by church leaders. Thankfully we shared a lot of positive feedback about what we have been doing since we started in July of last year. We have a more active youth group, childrens ministry, visitations, and we have found vitality in our worship service. Also, each church clearly sees their own mission to go forward, and at the same time we all know how we work together for Gods vision as one parish.

I think this is just the first inning! We still have further to go. St. Croix Falls UMC got off to a fine start with their Invitation & Homecoming Sunday last week. During the last 2 months, we had worked hard to invite and re-invite our family, friends, and neighbors to the church, and God might be pleased with our efforts. This will not end as a one-time event of SCF UMC, but will be the churcheslife time goal, because we have the great commandment of Jesus, which is "Go and make disciples of all nations." Central UMC will start a stewardship program soon! We will study about being Gods good stewards through the campaign including discussion on the book and a sermon series, following Gods call for each one of us to be Gods great steward! Furthermore, we are planning to have a membership class for those who want to join us as an official member. Already, there are some candidates from Wolf Creek UMC and Atlas UMC, and we are looking for more people from other churches too. In addition to this, some more plans for Gods vision lie ahead of us.

As we all know, church is not a building, but a community. Church is a community of Gods people. We will try to do our best to make our church not to be remembered as one of the tall buildings in town, but to be a loving community for all. For this work, we need you! You can support the church through prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness! Currently, many churches, not only in America, but also in many countries are struggling with decreasing membership. Surely, our hope is not in the number of members, but the more that people join in, the better we can make things, so we can change the world with Gods love. God gave us Gods vision, and God already began working in us. As a church, let us joyfully join in Gods great work.

Blessings,

Pastor Ran Yoo

September 2017

-Bible: And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. (Luke 3:40)

-Title: What can we leave to our next generation as an inheritance?

Upper St. Croix parish had the 2017 VBS Camp in Burnett County Lake from Aug 8th to 10th. 26 children and youths and 8 teachers and volunteers participated in this year’s parish VBS. There was lots of joy, activities, meaningful crafts, Christian messages and delicious food. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the teachers and volunteers including Kim Wheeler who is the director of VBS and the entire church family of Upper St. Croix Parish who supported this event through prayers and material.

You may remember that I had three important prayer requests, 1. safety, 2. spiritual growth 3 good weather for the VBS.

Because of your strong prayers, we never had any safety accidents during VBS. Also, many of our kids shared our worship with meaningful crafts, which connected to the main theme of giving some chance to grow their faith and think deeply about the Creation of God. I am convinced that they grew their faith spiritually in all parts of VBS. We had some heavy rain during the evening and night of the second day of VBS, but it didn't affect our evening programs and sleep so we finished very well our VBS following our original schedule.

As Christians, we have the duty to raise and nurture our next generation with faith like Jesus did in Luke 3. Unfortunately, almost all churches in America are losing some attendance of Sunday School kids, youths and young family in the church. Some church members may think that we don't have a hope for growing because we don't have many children and youths.

 

However, better late than never is also true. We still don't have many children and youths as compared with our past, but we have some positive signs last and this year like the parish youth group, Atlas Fun Sunday, parish VBS, Sunday School at each church, etc.

When I asked our confirmands on Confirmation Sunday this year in June, "Your role is to support the church not only spiritually but also physically, especially being presence continually," all of our confirmands promised that they would try to do it as continually as they can as official church members.

What is our role? What can we leave our next generation as their church family? Our role is to raise them to become strong, to nurture them to be filled with wisdom, and to lead them to the grace of God’s will upon them. Put Christian faith to them as the Christian inheritance.

In addition, we need to maintain and grow our church when they visit again with their children. It is our best Christian inheritance to our next generation. Keep maintaining their spiritual home as the Christian inheritance.

Again, thanks for your tremendous support and strong prayers for 2017 Parish VBS. Please, keep praying and supporting our next generation and let's work together to leave good Christian inheritances to them.

-Rev. Kookho Kim

August 2017

 

It’s been a year since I began serving the Upper St. Croix Parish. When I first came to Chicago from Seoul, South Korea in 2012 to study Theology, I never imagined that I would be a pastor in the States and serve in Wisconsin. Also, last year in July, when I started ministry here, I never imagined that I would be a mother. As I look back at my years past, not many things happened as I had planned. I just walked through the doors that God led me toward and opened for me. Some doors were very easy and exciting to go through, but some were very hard and tough. However, since I trust in God and God’s plan, I just walk through following God’s guidance.

When my bishop appointed me to serve the Upper St. Croix Parish, I was so worried because there was nothing familiar for me. I did not even know where St. Croix Falls was. But I followed and obeyed God faithfully. Now, one year later, I have fallen in love with my four churches - Central, Atlas, St. Croix Falls, and Wolf Creek - and all the nice people. This is the reason why I have no choice but to love God and trust in God’s plan. Although I took my step without knowing where I was going, eventually God led me to be in the best place. Therefore I am expecting God’s work every single day in hope.

Sometimes, you may feel like you are walking in a dark tunnel without knowing where are you going or where it ends. However, as you keep going, trust in God and you will see the brightest light in the end, which God prepares for you. Don’t lose your hope and stay in faith. And remember, God never has given you up. God’s steadfast love is forever!

Blessings,

Pastor Ran Yoo

 

 

 

 

July 2017

Pastor Ran and I sincerely want to say thank you to the congregation. Pastor Ran delivered "Caleb Yeonjun Kim" on Thursday, June 1, 2017. We went to the hospital for induced delivery because my baby's valley was small compared to other normal babies, so the doctor said that it was the best way to deliver the baby early and nurture the baby outside of the womb with dry milk and breast feeding. That's why we went to the hospital Wednesday evening. Ran had almost 24 hours of the painful process of natural delivery, but the baby was too large for Ran's small hip-bones to be delivered naturally. For this reason, the doctor decided to perform an emergency C-section.

We were both very scared and afraid because we never expected a C-section and heard from the doctor that Ran and the baby would be in danger during the surgery. Due to some medical issues there were some small dangerous situations for both of them during the surgery. However, they are doing well now and are becoming better and better.

When I saw her surgery in the operating room, I felt hopeless in front of the unexpected hardship, even though I am a pastor. However, God gave me peace through the support we received from some of the medical staff members. Your prayers and spiritual support made me strong enough to handle it with confidence, as a father.

To be honest, we felt all of your spiritual support when we were in the operating room. I am convinced that because of your prayers, our family could come back safely to the house sooner than we expected.

In American culture, people express their thankful hearts by saying "Thanks" with shaking hands or a hug, but in my Korean culture, people express their thankful hearts by greeting with a deep bow. The Kim family is sending a deep bow to all church members. Thank you all.

Blessings,

Pastor Kook Ho Kim

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June 2017

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." - Proverbs 9:10

Traditionally, the United Methodist Church celebrates Aldersgate Day on May 24 to commemorate the day in 1738 when John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, experienced assurance of his salvation. He had a Holy Spirit moment through his Aldersgate experience. While he was walking on Aldersgate Street, he listened as someone was reading Martin Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans, and this led him to experience his Holy Spirit moment. "While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Later, before John Wesley died, he said his last words that "The best of all is.. God is with us."

As I remember "Aldersgate Day" and the life of John Wesley, I hope and pray that all my parishioners including my soon to be born baby would have at least one unforgettable Holy Spirit moment so that they would know and confess that "the best of all is God is with us." During this time of being pregnant, I have prayed a lot for my first baby and thought about what kind of person this one would be. Millionaire? Celebrity? Smart person? Healthy person? It all sounds very tempting, but I truly want my child to be a man of God who loves God first and makes God a priority. Because I believe that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" as Proverbs 9:10 said, and "The best of all is.. God is with us."

Through a mentoring meeting, I came to know about the web site called "Father’s love letter." It has a love letter from God based on Bible verses and it is written in 100+ languages. I was very touched by each phrase of this letter, and it was another Holy Spirit moment for me. I read this letter over and over for my soul and for my baby’s soul. And I would like to share it with you all for your soul! I hope and pray that you also have a Holy Spirit moment through God’s love letter for you.

Blessings,

Pastor Ran

 

May 2017

“Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”” - John 20:29

 René Magritte who is surrealist painter from Belgium is my favorite artist. Naturally, some of his paintings hang on the walls of our living room in the parsonage. Among his many paintings, there are two paintings I like the most: “This is not a pipe” and “Clairvoyance”

       “This is not a Pipe”                       “Clairvoyance”

These two paintings helped me think about “Eyes of faith.” Are you familiar with that phrase? All human beings who are able to see gather 70-80% of outside information using their sight. Indeed, sight is the most powerful sense among our five senses. Therefore, a very famous proverb says that “Seeing is believing.” However, unlike our common thoughts, in many cases seeing is not believing. Look at the first painting of Rene’s, although we easily can think that this is a pipe when we see his painting, yet it says that it is not a pipe. This is because even if this object looks like a pipe and is not a real pipe, it is just a painting depicting a pipe.

Today, many people find it difficult to have a faith in God and they leave church, because they think believing in God is following unseen hope and it is in vain. Therefore, some people think if they can see a clear sign that Jesus Christ is real then they can believe. This reminds us of the story of Thomas in the Bible. Since he did not see the risen Christ Jesus, he did not believe the resurrection of Jesus.

However, Jesus did not rebuke Thomas’ doubting, but Jesus showed his hands and sides to Thomas and said, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” At that moment, he was full of joy and he answered, “my Lord, my God.” Although Thomas doubted the resurrection of Jesus, Jesus led him to believe and Thomas joined in on the pleasure of the resurrection. Jesus made Thomas believe in him by letting him have the eyes of faith.

I think, we can see what it looks like to have the eyes of faith from Rene’s second painting, “Clairvoyance.” While Rene is looking at an egg he is drawing a bird, not an egg. To see beyond what we can see now is what it means to have the eyes of faith. As a Christian, let us remember what Jesus said to doubting Thomas “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Faith leads us to see beyond what we cannot see. By having the eyes of faith, we can hope and finally see the risen Christ.

Blessings,

Pastor Ran

 

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April 2017

Bible Passage: Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Confirmation Retreat at Lake Lucerne UMC Camp

I went to the Confirmation Retreat with three confirmands at Lake Lucerne UMC Camp in Neshkoro, WI. I was a little nervous and afraid before going to this retreat. One of the main reasons was because I had to leave my wife by herself. Her journey through pregnancy is going well, but I worry about if something unexpected were to happen to our baby during my absence because we don't have any family members in the U.S. My second worry was that I needed to spend one night and two days with three energetic and active boys, which included 8 hours riding in the car with them. I know our confirmands were worried about spending all that time together, too.

This retreat had a challenging schedule. There were four hours and ten minutes of driving one way from St. Croix Falls to Neshkoro, and I needed to drive on unfamiliar roads during the evening, even though we left the church immediately after school. Our group was one that came to the retreat from the northernmost point of Wisconsin so we missed one session of the retreat.

 

However, God has worked perfectly and prepared everything beyond our concerns and thoughts. Pastor Ran was at home safely with our baby without any problems. On Saturday, she also presided over a funeral, in God’s hands, of a matriarch of the church. Our confirmands and I spent a good time in the car during our 8 hour trip with peace, fun, and joy. We grew closer in our relationships through the playing of basketball. I got a basketball nickname “the Recycle Man” from our youth.   (I hope it is not a bad nickname.) In addition, our confirmands had a great opportunity to meet new Methodist friends from other UM churches. Finally, they learned and studied about Methodist history, mission, hymns, and connectionism as the body of Christ.

 

During the season of Lent, I want to ask you to pray every day, specifically for our next generation in the parish. Ephesians 6:4 encourages us to bring our children up in training and instruction of the Lord. What is our Christian duty and what do we hand over as an inheritance for our next generation? The clear answer is to nurture them with love in the body of Christ and hand down a faithful legacy like our parents did.

Praying for our children every day during Lent will be a meaningful step towards the nurturing of our next generation in faith. Again, thanks for the prayers and support for our parish confirmation class. Your prayers and support made our trip overflowing with the grace of God.

Blessings,

Pastor Kookho

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MARCH 2017

"One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." – Matthew 4:4 (NRSV)

There are many signs around us letting us know spring is coming!! The season of Lent is coming to us, too. Lent is a forty day journey, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). When we look at church history, people have observed this season of Lent in various ways, and in A.D. 352 the Council of Nicea decided it was to be 40 days long.

The number "40" appeared many times in the Bible, such as Moses’ 40 days of fasting at Mount Sinai, the Israelites’ 40 years living in the wilderness, the 40 days of temptation Jesus faced in the wilderness. We understand the meaning of 40 as the period of suffering and renewal based on the Bible. Furthermore, Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter" and the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with the joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.

The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of reflection and penance for 40 days. According to the Bible, traditionally when people have committed sins they repented in sackcloth and ash, so the church tradition has followed that action through the imposition of ash to remember and understand the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

For this year, as we begin the season of Lent, I would like to encourage you all to join in reading the New Testament. I made a New Testament reading schedule (continued on the next page), so if you begin reading the New Testament according to this schedule you can finish reading it by Holy Saturday. You may not begin or finish it by the Easter season, but that is ok. Through the reading of the whole New Testament, our goal is to realize Gods amazing grace, love, and plan for each one of us.

As you start reading, you may have various pitfalls and temptations that may make you stop in the practice. However, I am sure you will find out how every word of God makes you truly alive. I will pray for you and also join together in this great journey to take one more step in faith. Lets all celebrate the most memorable Easter together!

Blessings,

Pastor Ran

 

 

 

New Testament  Abbreviations

Matthew - Mt

Mark - Mk

Luke - Lk

John - Jn

Acts of the Apostles - Acts

Romans - Ro

1 Corinthians - 1 Co

2 Corinthians - 2 Co

Galatians - Gal

Ephesians - Eph

Philippians - Php

Colossians - Col

1 Thessalonians - 1 Th

2 Thessalonians - 2 Th

1 Timothy - 1 Ti

2 Timothy - 2 Ti

Titus - T t

Philemon - Phi

Hebrews - Heb

James - Jam

1 Peter - 1 Pe

2 Peter - 2 Pe

1 John - 1 Jn

2 John - 2 Jn

3 John - 3 Jn

Jude - Ju

Revelation - Rev

 

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 2017

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” – Hebrews 12:1

 I feel like Christmas and New Year’s Day were just a few days ago, but I am already writing a Newsletter article for February. The time has gone so fast. Personally, last year was very special because I graduated from Seminary, I was commissioned as a provisional elder, and I began a ministry at Upper St. Croix Parish as a co-pastor with my husband, Kookho. God blessed us to serve amazing churches with so many faithful people in beautiful towns. But, this year will be more special and exciting for both of us as we welcome an addition to the family. Yes! Now I am 5 months pregnant!! It’s a new blessing from God, and I believe this baby has already received many blessings with many people’s prayers and blessings.

For this Newsletter, I would like to introduce Korea’s New Year’s Day! The first day of the Lunar New Year is called “Seollal”, and is the biggest festival in Korea; it is on January 28 this year. We have 3 days of the Lunar New Year holiday including a day before and after. During that time, all the family gathers together to celebrate. During that time, we have a memorial service for our ancestors, and we make deep bows to parents and the elders of the family. We also share our traditional festival food and play traditional games together. Specifically, the main food of “Seollal” is “Tteokguk” which is rice-cake soup, prepared with slices of rice cake, beef, eggs, and some vegetables.

Korea uses the ancient East Asian age reckoning system that has been implemented for thousands of years. Newborns start at the age of one year, and on New Year's Day one year is added to the person's age. So, everyone adds one more year together on New Year’s Day. Culturally we consider that as we eat “Tteokguk”, we can add one more year. Therefore, many children try to eat “Tteokguk” as much as they can, hoping they become an adult sooner.

It has been five years since I came to the United States, but I have not had a chance to visit South Korea during “Seollal” more recently. However, I always remember it, cooking and eating traditional food, especially “Tteokguk” to remind me of my New Year’s resolutions which is difficult to keep for more than 3 days. So, on “Seollal”, as Kookho and I eat “Tteokguk” together, we will make our New Year’s resolutions again and try to keep it. If you don’t carry out your New Year’s resolutions, it’s not too late! You always have a second chance in Christ Jesus. How about making it again? Especially for this year, how about adding some resolutions to help your faith grow? Remember God is always with you whatever you do and wherever you go. I also pray and support your New Year’s resolution in the love of Christ Jesus.

Blessings, Pastor Ran

 

 

JANUARY 2017

"The boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and favor with the Lord and with men." (1 Samuel 2:26)

This year Christmas was meaningful for me because it was my first Christmas with my wife as the co-pastors at USCP. I will never forget my first Christmas services at USCP. I am so glad to be here and to meet you.

As you know, I started my Christian journey in South Korea with my grandmother when I was young. However, I didn't have the experience of decorating a Christmas tree even though I have been a Christian for a long time. When I shared this information with people, almost all of them questioned why I didn't like to do Christmas decorations at home. There are several reasons, but the main reason is the difference in cultural background between Korea and the U.S.

Christianity has affected every part of the U.S. For this reason, Christmas in the U.S. is not only a meaningful religious day, but also a cultural holiday regardless of religions. However, there was almost no Christianity 150 years ago in Korea.

Christianity spread in earnest to Korea through missionaries after 1884. Many missionaries came from the U.S. They did not build just the church buildings, but also the schools, hospitals, and orphanages in Korea. God has worked and showed God's blessings through the missionaries and prepared Korean Christian leaders. As the result, Korean Christianity has developed rapidly.

Korean Christian members were only around 100 (estimate) at 1884. However, the numbers are now 13,750,000 according to the 2015 Korean Census. It is almost 30% of the population in South Korea.

However, there are also 22% Buddhists and 45% Atheists, which are based on Confucianism. My grandmother was the only Christian among my family members. My Grandfather strongly followed old Korean tradition based on Confucianism, so I couldn't have much of a Christmas mood at home. I could feel the mood of Christmas only at the church. For my family, Christmas was one of the holidays when people didn't work or go the school. For this reason, the Christmas decorations still don't work for me at home. But Pastor Ran was born and raised in a faithful Christian family, so Christmas decorations are a natural thing for her. It was an interesting thing that we were born and raised in the same city (Seoul) and we are the same ethnic as Korean, yet we have totally different family backgrounds and cultures.

This year, we decorated a small Christmas tree at home. (My friend gifted a small tree for us and we bought some decorations from the "Old Fashioned Christmas Coffee, Crafts and Bake Sale" at Atlas UMC). It was the first time I decorated my Christmas tree at home, and it was a small challenge for me. It was a small change in my life, but I hope to make my new Christian life, tradition, and future with Pastor Ran and you in God continually at USCP.

I hope and pray that our Christian journey in 2017 will grow continually in the Lord and will be in favor with people beyond our limitations and backgrounds like the boy, Samuel, did in 1 Samuel chapter 2.

Happy New Year in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Kookho Kim

 

 

DECEMBER 2016

“Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the

right way I will show the salvation of God.”-Psalm 50:23

              I can’t believe that this week is Thanksgiving. A year has passed in the blink of an eye. I still vividly remember our first day at the Upper St. Croix Parish having a joint service at Atlas UMC. Summer turned to autumn, though it is unexpectedly long this year, autumn is almost done. Time flies so fast. According to the church calendar, this week is the last week of the Christian year. After Thanksgiving Day, we will begin the new season, the season of Advent. Advent can be understood as a season of waiting. During the four weeks before Christmas, we are waiting for Jesus’ coming as we light four candles: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. As I live in the season of Thanksgiving and waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ, I would like to share all the blessings that I received from God this year with you. I hope and pray that you may have personal devotion time and you are counting your many blessings and naming them one by one in front of God.

First of all, I graduated from seminary. For the last four years, I survived as an international student at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Secondly, I passed my Board of Ordained Ministry interview, so I was commissioned as a provisional elder in the Northern Illinois Annual Conference. Thirdly, I was appointed to the Upper St. Croix Parish, which has four beautiful churches, with my husband as co-pastor. Especially, for me, it is my first appointment as a provisional elder, and I am so lucky to start my very first ministry with generous and faithful congregations. Fourthly, as pastor, I have had the chance to preside over two baptisms for new life and over two funerals by celebrating their lived life. Fifthly, I have started a confirmation class and a parish youth group with my passionate co-pastor Kookho. Every week we have a chance to spend our time with our church’s hope and future- the youth! They go to different churches, different schools, and they live different places, but as one body of Christ and one parish, they are learning and growing together by sharing the love of Christ Jesus. Sixthly, through a lot of visitations, I have had a chance to share the good news and love of God with family and friends of the church. Seventhly, although each of the four churches are small and located in rural area, as one parish and one body of Christ, we have hosted various amazing events. As the United Methodist Church, our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Through hosting a film screening, “Church of Felons”, we have supported the people who are struggling with issues of addiction, give them hope for second chance, and raise awareness with many people in our community. Furthermore, through hosting a Free Thanksgiving dinner, we are able to share our grateful hearts and love of Christ with the community of people by serving delicious food.

Surely, I have a lot more to share, but I will stop here. I just hope and pray that our Upper St. Croix Parish: Central, Atlas, St. Croix Falls, and Wolf Creek UMC will extend this community of faith by loving and serving one another in Christ Jesus. As we count the blessings that we received this year, we pray together and wait for Jesus’ coming in great hope and expectation.

 

Blessing

 

Pastor Ran

 

NOVEMBER 2016

Pastor Ran and I want to say "Thanks" to you.

picture2Thanks for fully supporting us, two full time pastors. We really thank you for your love, kindness, generosity, help and everything you do for our ministry. Thanks for your faithful decision to maintain our parish ministry continually with us, even though we have some of financial problems. St. Croix folks, thanks for your dedication to share your benefit with our parish churches. Your continuing support has been a huge help to us.

Even though, we have only been here almost 4 months, we have done many new things for the church and will have a fruitful ministry plan. What we have done:

  • Started the Parish Youth Group Meeting. Regularly 10-20 youth have joined our program.
  • Started the Parish Confirmation Class.
  • Started the regular visitation to church & non-church members-We regularly visit 12 people, twice a month.
  • Started the fixed office hours, for all local churches, especially Atlas & Wolf Creek UMC.
  • Started to introduce ourselves to the community and have participated in local church events.

Next year, our first priority is to be united among the four churches as the one parish beyond financial bondage. For it, we will have a new parish Ad Council meeting, parish joint worship services, parish fundraising events for our next generation, parish missional work and parish children's ministry. Our youth have bonded through the parish youth group meeting. Next year is our turn.

Our second priority is our revival, not only spiritually, but also increasing attending members. Finding our lost sheep at each church and inviting new people to our church will increase our attendance.

Through worship, Bible study, and adult education programs, I hope we will grow our faith spiritually. We will have visitation time more and more to find our lost sheep, but the pastors work has a limitation for the revival. Praying for and giving some information to the lost sheep or those who are interested in our church and Christianity would be helpful. We also encourage you to try to give the good news to your family, friends, and neighbors yourselves. We will have the time to invite new church members next year.

Yes. We know we will definitely have financial problems next year. I do not say "Maybe", I am saying "Definitely". We have a 27% increasing parish budget, almost $38,000 to compared to last year. This is a tremendous jump beyond our expectation. It looks out of our hands and as if we are losing control.

However, we also have some positive signals to help solve this issue. SCF UMC decided to increase their commitment and to extend it to us through next December. Central has started the Financial Stewardship program and Atlas & Wolf Creek accepted the budget and have tried to overcome this difficulty with faith. Also, our conference may help us if we stand with the serious hardship.

As a leader of the church, I never preach and ask you to offer more and more because our parish faces a serious financial problem. Firstly, we will lead by example as the pastors of the parish, even though we will eat only lentil and beans 🙂

Jesus said, (Matthew 7:8) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

It is the time to ask God for help for our Parish. It is the time to seek the vison of the church for our next picture1generation. It is the time to knock on the door for finding the lost sheep and inviting new members to the Parish.

Let's go the next step with a humble and faithful heart like the tax collector in Luke 18. I definitely promise that we are going to share and celebrate many fruitful ministerial joys with faithful friends and God here. Thanks be to God and thanks be to all of you.

Blessings, Pastor Kookho

 

OCTOBER 2016

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” – Genesis 1:31a

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             Today is the last day of my vacation, and I am at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska. Pastor Kookho and I visited Alaska as a honeymoon trip. Although it has been one year and eight months since we got married, we still consider this trip as our honeymoon. This is because Alaska was my long time dream place for a honeymoon. Now, our nine day honeymoon travel is done and it is time to go back home.

For the last nine days, I have experienced a lot of things, especially I have been enjoying nature’s beauty. Actually, when we planned this trip, we were expecting to see glacier covered mountains, Eskimos, Igloos, and bears and moose everywhere. However, it is fall here in Alaska, so we saw a bunch of yellows leaves everywhere instead of snow-clad mountains. There was nothing really different from the scenery of Evanston, IL where Kookho and I spent 4 years before we came to Wisconsin.

On the third day of our trip, we visited “Exit Glacier National Park” to see an actual iceberg. Although we saw them while we were taking a glacier cruise, it was too far, so we wanted to see them close up. This was a part of the reason behind our Alaska trip. I was so excited and nervous, and I was fully ready to face the cold weather. While we were heading to edge of glacier, there were many signs indicating particular numbers. 1926, 1951, 1961… 2005, and 2010. I was wondering about the meaning of those numbers. When I arrived at the last point, I have finally figured out what they mean. That was the location of the edge of glacier of the year.

We were totally freaked out. There was a huge gap between the 2005 and 2010 markers, and there was an even wider gap between 2010 and the current edge of the glacier. Unfortunately, I could witness the melting speed is increasing. This is the reason why the scenery of Alaska is completely different from what I expected. Basically the iceberg looks blue because of its density from longtime compression. However, it is gradually losing its original color and melting too quickly. This rapid melting has effects on the sea level and the living environment of humans and animals.

According to Genesis, when God created and saw everything that he had made, it was good. However, I think it is no longer good enough. Protecting and conserving God’s whole creation is our responsibility and duty as human beings. Especially as members of the United Methodist Church, based on our social principles and creed, we address that God has granted us stewardship of creation, so we should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect of the natural world. This is not only because they are very useful to us, but also they are God’s creation. From now on, we should care about environmental issue and start one little action for it. Remember, from small beginnings came great things! As Christians, we should make everything look very good again, just as it did in the beginning.

 Blessings,

Pastor Ran