Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Mark 1: 21-28
Last week, Carolyn McGahie and I spent our time in various parts of Mississippi working as volunteers with the United Methodist Committee on Relief to try to assist in the effort to rebuild in the wake of hurricane Katrina. It was an eye-opening experience. When you see the video on television, you just don’t fully grasp what the damage is like. But when you see it in person you really begin to understand what happened – and why Katrina is different from any other hurricane. (more…)

Rev. Carl Dudley
Rev. Carl Dudley spoke to us on January 22 while Pastor Bryan was on a mission trip to Mississippi. These are Carl’s notes. He offered a powerful sermon reflecting on the life of Dr. Martin King.
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Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
John 1: 43-51

The United Methodist Church designates six Sundays as Special Sundays during which offerings are to be taken by all the United Methodist Churches. These six Special Sundays focus on a different concern that the church has felt is important enough to merit this special consideration. As we go through the year, we will observe each of these Sundays in different ways. But for all of them, you will receive a special offering envelope and an opportunity to give to that particular concern. (more…)

Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Mark 1:4-11

I was baptized at the age of 12 at the time of my confirmation. I had spent the previous weeks attending confirmation classes with my parents and peers – from which I developed a disdain for filmstrips – and the day came for me to both receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and accept the baptismal vows. I did not realize at the time how significant this event was. But I do remember it clearly. (more…)

I must confess that I love new year’s day. Something about the flip of the calendar to a new year just gets me excited about the possibilities of the future. I relate this to my personal life, as I think about losing weight, re-establishing my spiritual life, saving more money, etc. But I also relate this to the church, as I think about what goals we might accomplish as a church. So, here are some of my basic hopes for 2006 in the church

1.  Read Kicking Habits at the Church Council. I hope this will help us think about what’s right and what’s wrong in church today.
2.  Define our vision, values and goals.
3. Establish a strategic plan for the next 5 years, consistent with out vision, values and goals.

Those are three pretty big goals. They cut right to the root of what it means for us to be church together. And they ask us to carefully consider who we are, who we will become, and how we will change. Those are great aspirations, but in order for them to be meaningful, we will have to be brutually honest and unashamedly bold. Honesty is necessary to face the realities of our current situation. Boldness is necessary to dream dreams big enough to move us forward.

As a new year begins, we have a chance to really define ourselves and our mission and ministry. I hope we do so in ways that are faithful to the founder’s of our Methodist tradition and to the spirit of Jesus Christ.

Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Matthew 25: 31-46

Today begins for us a new year. I always get excited about the new year because it suggests a new beginning – a clean slate. I like that feeling of starting again, of making a fresh start on my life. Each year, I take a moment and think about what my values are and what my goals are for the upcoming year. I actually have a list of values that I re-evaluate at this time of the year and I consider how my life is and is not consistent with my values. Then, I resolve to either change my life or my values so that I live with greater integrity. The things I value on my list of values are excellence, people, effectiveness, fairness, ambition, balance, peace and grace. I’ve written those values down and explained them with a paragraph that further explains what I understand each of those values to mean. And I try to be faithful to them, though I am not always successful. (more…)