When this newsletter reaches you, we will be several weeks into the Season of Lent. Throughout church history, Lent has been a time of looking within, in order to become closer to God. People have chosen many ways to strengthen their relationship with God. A brief list includes worship, prayer and study, fasting or giving up something, and giving in order to imitate Jesus Christ who gave his life for us.

During my time away from PUMC in January and early February, I gave considerable thought to walking with God. I recalled that, while each of us has an individual path, we also walk pathways together. These mutual pathways may be at PUMC, at work, at school, with our family, or with our friends and colleagues. Some of the paths intersect and some stand on their own. However, each path begins with a longing to become closer with God.

As we continue this Season of Lent, in 2010, I pray that our path includes a variety of ways to reach out to others. With that in mind, I call our attention to the March stewardship message, from the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation, “Giving Is Loving.”

When the Foundation received $44,100 in yearend gifts for the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s emergency fund (UMCOR) and World Hunger, I remember wondering what kind of disaster needs we’d be faced with in the next year. By mid-January, we were dealing with an earthquake in Haiti and mud slides in California.

The Haitian earthquake occurred on January 12. On February 12, the 2010 version of “We Are the World” debuted during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. The original 1985 version, by USA for Africa, has raised over $63 million for humanitarian causes. Ninety percent of the money was pledged to African relief, both long- and short-term. The remaining ten percent of funds was earmarked for domestic hunger and homeless programs in the United States.

It will be exciting to see how the 25th Anniversary version of “We Are the World” will benefit the recovery efforts in Haiti and more. The 2010 version features updated lyrics and music, as well as a rap segment pertaining to Haiti. The original chorus still provides us with some good food for thought:

We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving. There’s a choice we’re making. We’re saving our own lives. It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me.

Stewardship is about all the choices we’re making today and tomorrow about how to use the gifts God has given us. Are we simply saving our own lives? Or will we choose to make this world a better place for all God’s children?

In Christ's Peace,
Pastor Joan