Saint Junia United Methodist Church

Saint Junia United Methodist Church We are a diverse community of sinners, saints, and skeptics who join God in the renewal of all things Who is Junia? We don’t know much about her. Why Saint Junia?

Paul mentions her only once, in the 16th chapter of Romans:

“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.” (Romans 16:7)

Yet in the 1500’s, some translators didn’t believe that a woman could possibly be an apostle. So they gave her a man’s name: Junias, a name that nobody had ever used. When tha

t didn’t work, later translators translated “prominent among” the apostles as “well-known to” the apostles. She was almost deleted from the Bible by people’s prejudice. The idea that Jesus would appoint a woman to tell others the gospel was just too much to take. So Junia is everyone who has ever been told that they are the wrong gender, the wrong ethnicity, the wrong sexual orientation, the wrong kind to be used for God’s glory. Junia is a sign that God shows no partiality, and that all of us are called and sent to witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Like her, we are saints – not because of anything we’ve done, but because of what God has done in Jesus Christ. When God stepped down to earth and put on human flesh, we were made holy. When Jesus said he was present in the least among us, we were made holy. When he took on the kingdom of death not with violence, but with open arms of forgiveness on the cross, we were made holy. And when he stepped out of the grave and declared that even death itself could not separate us from the love of God, we were made holy.

New Advent devotional:
12/02/2024

New Advent devotional:

Day 1: Blind spots: When we can’t see what is there The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, &…

10/06/2024

Every time Christians sing, "O for a thousand tongues to sing," they are asking God to help us practice radical hospitality toward immigrants and radical unity for the planet, which is the only way we will ever hear a thousand languages singing for joy.

09/07/2024

**Taking a Break from Online Worship Tomorrow**

Hi folks - this is Dave Barnhart - I'm at a Ketamine-Assisted Therapy practitioner retreat this weekend, and a number of our leaders are traveling or elsewhere this week. So we're taking this Sunday off. Please mark the time in a way that is renewing and worshipful - visit another church of a different tradition, take a walk outside, or enjoy a personal sabbath in some other way.

And please join us again on Sunday, September 15!

09/01/2024

From today's liturgy:
In 1894, the U.S. Congress recognized the first Monday in September as Labor Day. In 1908 and 1909, mainline American churches promoted the first Sunday in September as “Labor Sunday,” and many denominations adopted positions supporting the rights of workers to unionize. Some politicians and preachers saw the September date as an alternative to the more politically-charged May 1 holiday celebrated in Europe.

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The Social Creed of the United Methodist Church, approved in 1908, reads:

We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.

We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.

We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.

We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of all persons.

We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.

We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.

We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.

Just finished "The Flag and the Cross" by Gorski and Perry. It is prescient -- In the last chapter, they describe Le Pro...
08/18/2024

Just finished "The Flag and the Cross" by Gorski and Perry. It is prescient -- In the last chapter, they describe Le Projet Twenty 2 5 even though it had not been published at the time they were writing.

I'll be speaking about wyt Xian Nacionalysm on September 19 at Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church (link in the comments).

The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

06/02/2024

From today's liturgy:

On today’s date in 1692, Bridget Bishop became the first woman tried and eventually found guilty of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. She was hanged on June 10. The town's witch hunt would kill 18 more women. The town of Salem proclaimed a day of fasting and repentance five years later, realizing they had succumbed to a moral panic.

Today is the birthday, in 1951, of Gilbert Baker, artist and gay rights activist, who designed the rainbow flag. His iconic work has become the recognizable palette of Pride Month.

Today marks the death, in 1987, of Anthony de Mello, Jesuit priest, psychotherapist, and storyteller. He wrote, among other things, "If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth."

We mark these dates to remember that the church has a long history of both good and bad, to honor both recognized saints and neglected ones, to celebrate, repent, and marvel.

05/19/2024

Hi, preachers. Happy Pentecost:

You know what would show me the power of the Holy Spirit? A group of people speaking prophetically about what we're doing to the planet, and other people taking the urgency so seriously that they would rise up and change policy.

If your God could do that, I'd believe in her.

I created this video 5 years ago. It's still relevant.
05/17/2024

I created this video 5 years ago. It's still relevant.

What Exodus has to teach us about nationalist leaders.

05/08/2024

Dear humans:
“The first shall be last and the last shall be first. “
Act accordingly.

05/04/2024

May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. Here is an excerpt of a prayer by Alydia Smith for the United Church of Canada:

"…Remember your beloved children, Creator;
remember the grandmas, mothers, sisters, aunties, partners, and friends
who have been viciously taken from their communities.
Remember the loved ones who miss them;
remember the faithful who have continually prayed to you
throughout the seasons and throughout the years,
and join our prayers with them. Amen."

[From tomorrow's liturgy]

The Intersection of Psychedelics and Spirituality
03/06/2024

The Intersection of Psychedelics and Spirituality

Talk given at the Birmingham gathering for the Coalition of Southeast Psychedelic Practitioners.

Address

Birmingham, AL

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