Pastor Jim’s Blog

Since John Wesley Methodists have advocated against gambling.  I think we United Methodist clergy are even prohibited from gambling.  There are obvious reasons for this position:  Gambling can become an addiction; gambling can lead to conflict and suffering in families; gambling distracts from more important matters in life and faith.  The UMC [...]

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men ae created equal…”  These words in the Declaration of Independence are familiar to us, but what do they mean?  Is this grounded in a belief that God looks upon all of us equally?  Or does it mean to imply [...]

When I was last at Cokesbury I discovered something disturbing.  The number of books in certain categories has changed.  I had trouble finding my favorite areas – History and Culture was tucked away in a back corner; Bible Study was on the back side wall and worst of all Theology has [...]

While watching commercials my children and I play a game to overcme the tedium – what is this advertising?  Sometimes it is clear from the start, advertisments for detergents tend not to mess around, but often one doesn’t know what is being hawked until the end.  It’s a contest of [...]

I sympathize with the “Occupy” movment, at least about the disparity of wealth in America today.  I feel particular concern for young people who graduate from college with tens of thousands of dollars of debt into a job market that is depressed.  I recently heard on NPR that older people [...]

Welcome to the pastor’s blog.  Thank you Matt Cruz for all your hard work building our new website. This is a new frontier in technology for me.  When I started in ministry over 20 years ago computers had yet to make it into churches.  It was in my second church [...]

I believe God has a sense of humor I believe we have an obligation to leave the world better than we found it I believe you can tell a person’s morals by the way they play golf I believe it’s good to question I believe none of us is qualified [...]

You first experience The Spirit of Cedar Cross as you come upon the church building sheltered under the tall evergreen trees on the church’s wooded campus that sets it apart from the bustle of the nearby highway. Here the reassuring words “open hearts, open minds and open doors” are etched in the [...]