New Hope United Methodist Church of Greater Brunswick

06/14/2026

Next Garden Work Day- Monday, June 22nd at 10:00 a.m.

06/14/2026

Getting closer- one week away!

Please use the link below to sign your kids up for this summer's Vacation Bible School- True North
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlu_Z6mlVMajM89Ptfcw_RypUF3ckuRBeHZQ7L2LNitM74xA/viewform

06/12/2026

Have you been reading Pastor Katie's "Genesis, as performed by Genesis" reflections in our weekly email newsletter? Here's this week's... subscribe to our email list to follow along throughout the summer!

This week we’ll turn our attention toward Sarah, Abraham’s wife. While absolutely essential to the story, Sarah remains a profoundly underwritten character. Even in this week’s text (Genesis 18:1-15), Sarah is a background character, eavesdropping from behind a tent wall as Abraham once again receives God’s promises directly. And when Sarah overhears God’s promise, she laughs. Is her laughter incredulous at the idea of a child at her age? Is it bitter for all the years the promise has gone unfulfilled? Is it hopeful that God will maybe finally do what has been promised? Is it all of these things, and more?

It is doubly important for us to pay attention to Sarah this week, as the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in the US) has doubled down on its refusal to allow women equal pastoral leadership to men. I don’t know if women leaders in the SBC have laughed this week, but I imagine that if they have, it has sounded a little like Sarah’s laughter. Part disbelief, part weariness, part grief, and perhaps even still a stubborn flicker of hope. We know that God’s call is larger than human limitations. And we know that God calls women into leadership of every kind in the church and in the world.

In That’s All, Genesis sings about the impossible communication in a relationship gone awry. “I could say day, and you’d say night, tell me it’s black, when I know that it’s white.” Sarah knows something about that kind of dissonance. For years God’s promise has seemed completely at odds with the facts on the ground. Yet the bible insists that God’s future is not determined by present limitations, religious conventions, or human expectations. That’s not only good news for Sarah, but for everyone who has ever been told there is no place for them in God’s story. As the band puts it, “it’s just a shame” whenever the people of God refuse to recognize the voices God has chosen to carry the promise.

06/07/2026

Honoring our graduates with a blanket and prayer for their future.

06/03/2026

Pastor Katie here. By now, you probably know that I can't resist a bad joke. So when I decided to spend the summer preaching through the Genesis texts provided by the lectionary, I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of pairing each week's reading with a song by the band Genesis.

To be clear, I have far more experience with the book of Genesis than I do with the prog-rock band. But as I kept chuckling about the idea of "Genesis, as performed by Genesis," I began to wonder whether there might be something both fun and fruitful in the comparison.

So this summer, I'm going to give it a try. Not in my sermons, but in our weekly email newsletter, I'll share a brief preview of each week's scripture, a Genesis song to accompany it, and a few reflections on where the two unexpectedly intersect. Some connections may be stronger than others. Some may be little more than an excuse for a pun. But my hope is that this playful exercise might help us hear these familiar stories with fresh ears.

After all, God has a habit of showing up in unexpected places. Why not in a prog-rock playlist?

Be sure you're signed up to receive our weekly emails to follow along. Link is in the comments.

05/31/2026

Going to be a great harvest! A reminder that God provides.

05/31/2026

Next Sunday June 7th, we will be honoring our graduates during worship.

05/31/2026

It's almost June- VBS month! Be sure to sign up!

Please use the link below to sign your kids up for this summer's Vacation Bible School- True North
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlu_Z6mlVMajM89Ptfcw_RypUF3ckuRBeHZQ7L2LNitM74xA/viewform

05/30/2026

Garden Work tomorrow (5/31) at 4:00 p.m.