Big Rapids First United Methodist Church

06/16/2026

Our first Teen Book Study meet-up is this Thursday!

Please email Paden at [email protected] if your teen is planning on attending.

06/14/2026

👑 2026 Radiant Sponsor Spotlight 👑
🎊 THANK YOU Big Rapids First United Methodist Church !!! 🎊

Sponsors like you make all the difference!! Your continued partnership is invaluable. Thank you!
To make a donation of any size, you may do so at:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/thank-you-for-your-donation-to-pride-big-rapids
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎 🤍🩷🩵
🏳️‍🌈 Big Rapids QUEEN-tennial Festival - Fearless and Free, Louder Than Ever! 🗓️ Sunday, June 28, 2026 - 12:00PM-8:00PM📍Downtown Big Rapids

06/12/2026

It's Summer Block Party Day! Stop by for a hotdog, face painting, games, and lots of community resources!

06/12/2026

There is a theology in the potluck line.

It lives between the steaming trays
and folding tables,
between the hands that serve
and the hands that receive,
where no one asks for papers,
no one demands credentials,
and no one must prove they belong.

The kingdom of God looks something like this:
a crowded fellowship hall,
the scent of baked bread and spices,
children laughing too loudly,
elders telling stories twice,
and a chair pulled open
for whoever has just arrived.

Here, grace is measured
not in doctrine alone,
but in welcome.

The immigrant and the lifelong resident,
the q***r kid searching for safety,
the widow carrying grief,
the worker exhausted from impossible hours,
the family struggling to make rent,
the believer, the doubter,
the one still learning how to pray—
all are invited to the table.

For Christ never asked us
to build higher fences.
He asked us to build longer tables.

And so we gather,
passing bowls and casseroles,
sharing recipes and burdens,
learning that love grows larger
the more it is given away.

We reject the lie
that some lives matter less.
We reject the fear
that teaches us to sort human beings
into deserving and undeserving.

For every person bears
the image of God.

No human being is illegal.
No neighbor is disposable.
No child is an inconvenience.
No soul is beyond the reach
of dignity and compassion.

At this table,
the hungry are fed,
the lonely are seen,
the stranger becomes a friend,
and the forgotten hear once more
that they are beloved.

The feast is not perfect.
Neither are we.

Yet each Sunday,
with paper plates and coffee cups,
with laughter and prayer,
we practice another world into being—
a world where mercy is stronger than judgment,
where community is stronger than fear,
where justice and kindness walk hand in hand,
and where God's love
is wide enough for everyone.

So we eat.
We share.
We listen.
We welcome.

And in the simple holiness
of a church potluck,
we catch a glimpse
of heaven's table,
where there is always room
for one more.

- Bryndis Taylor Tamsyn

06/11/2026

06/07/2026

June 7, 2026