Crosswicks United Methodist Church

05/20/2026

.:Love is calling out:.

This week, from Sunday through Tuesday, many United Methodists from across our Greater New Jersey Conference gathered together for our Annual Conference Session. It was a meaningful time of worship, prayer, learning, holy conferencing, and reconnecting with sisters and brothers in Christ from throughout our connection. I am also grateful that both of our churches, Groveville United Methodist Church and Crosswicks United Methodist Church, were well represented during these days together.

Throughout the gathering, we received important information about the life of the church, the work of our conference, and the hopes and challenges that are before us as we continue seeking to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Yet beyond reports, voting, presentations, and business, we were reminded that the church is still alive because ordinary people are showing up with faith, compassion, and hope.

And God continues to call the church outward into the world. Again and again, we heard words inviting us not to give up, but to keep organizing meals, stocking shelves, advocating for justice, serving, praying, and believing.

Our Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi reminded us of something deeply Wesleyan and deeply biblical: God can be found everywhere and in everyone. God can be found among those who are struggling and among those who seem to have everything together. God can be found in the housed and unhoused, in the documented and undocumented, in the learned and unlearned, in those who sing beautifully and in those who cannot carry a tune at all. Today, we are invited to remember that every person carries dignity because every person is created in the image of God.

As I listened throughout these days, I kept thinking about our own communities in Groveville and Crosswicks. I thought about the meals we share, the prayers we offer, and the ways people continue to serve faithfully even when life is difficult or the future feels uncertain.

The conference reminded me that the church does not survive because pastors occasionally say something profound. No...

The church continues because people are still loving, serving, giving, praying, showing up, and trusting that God is not done with the church yet.

Love is still calling out...
..To continue building community, welcoming neighbors, serving those in need, and to continue believing that God still has something new ahead of us.

I returned from the Annual Conference encouraged for this new ministry year ahead of us. There is much work to do, and there are certainly challenges before our connection and our local churches in this season of history. However, I also return with hope.

Hope because I continue to see faithful people among us who love deeply, I see our communities willing to care for one another, I continue to believe that when our congregants show up every activity and service, space is created for God to show up as well.

Thank you to those who represented our churches this week, and thank you to all of you who continue to be part of the life and ministry of our communities.


Warmly,

Rev. David Gaitan

Watch the Annual Conference's video: https://vimeo.com/1193573855

05/06/2026

Thank you for your faithfulness...

05/01/2026

.:Mom:.

As the month of May arrives, and as it often happens year after year, we find ourselves remembering, honoring, and celebrating motherhood and the figure that embodies it.

One of the clearest, most powerful, and most used images of motherhood in Scripture is found in Mary. Not only as a symbol of devotion, but as a woman who said yes to something that placed her in a very real and vulnerable position. In a context where pregnancy outside of marriage could lead to public shame and even serious consequences, as reflected in Deuteronomy 22:23–24, Mary’s story cannot be reduced to a simple act of obedience. Even within the Gospel narrative, Joseph is described as considering quietly separating from her (Matthew 1:19), which already reveals the tension surrounding her situation. And yet, she remains. She carries this calling forward, beyond from certainty, from trust. She walks alongside Jesus, her son, throughout his life and ministry, and when many others step away, she is still there at the cross (John 19:25), standing near him in a place of grief, danger, and loss.

In that same way, the Scripture also offers another image of motherhood that is both striking and revealing. In the well-known account of the judgment of Solomon (1 Kings 3:16–28), two women come before the king, each claiming to be the mother of the same child. With no clear evidence to resolve the dispute, Solomon proposes that the child be, literally, divided. What follows is, more than a test of logic, a revelation of compassion. The true mother is the one who, rather than see her child harmed, is willing to let him go.

In that moment, motherhood is not described as possession, but as a willingness to relinquish one’s own claim in order to preserve life.

However, this is not the only way the Bible speaks about motherhood. I find it very interesting that the Scriptures do not idealize it. At all.

Actually, the Bible holds space for a wide range of experiences, including those that are difficult to name.

For instance, in 2 Kings 6:24–30, during a time of siege and extreme famine, we encounter one of the most unsettling stories in the biblical text. Two women, pushed beyond what any human being should endure, reach an agreement to give up their children in order to survive. One of them follows through.

This is not a story that invites quick judgment. It is a story that reflects what happens when life is reduced to survival, when systems collapse, and when human beings are driven to the edge of desperation.

The other woman, however, after her own need has been met, refuses to honor the agreement, choosing to preserve herself while withholding from the other. The text does not simplify either of them. It does not present them as heroes or villains, but as human beings caught in a reality that should have never existed.

In Genesis 27, we encounter Rebekah, whose love for one son leads her to participate in deception against the other. Her preference for Jacob over Esau shapes her actions, and the consequences are not minor. The family is fractured, trust is broken, and the effects of that moment extend far beyond a single decision. Here, motherhood is uneven, partial, and entangled with fear and control.

And these are not isolated stories. The biblical witness consistently refuses to reduce motherhood to a single image, allowing us to see both care and harm, devotion and failure, presence and absence.

Throughout my ministry, I have had the privilege of walking with people from many different places. Some speak of their mothers with deep gratitude and love. Others, often in the quiet space of pastoral conversation, begin to name experiences of pain, distance, and even the impossibility of maintaining a relationship. I have met people who find comfort in speaking of God as Mother, and others for whom that language is difficult because of their own history. In the same way, there are those who struggle with the image of God as Father for similar reasons. These experiences are real, and they shape how we approach both faith and community.

What, then, do we do with all of this?
Perhaps we begin by allowing Scripture to remain as honest as it already is, without forcing it into a single narrative that does not hold the weight of real life. And then, we should turn to Christ.

In Jesus, we encounter one who does not step away from human complexity, but instead enters into it fully. One who sees without reducing, who understands without dismissing, and who remains present even in those places where relationships cannot be repaired in the ways we might hope. He weeps with those who weep, and he draws near to those who carry wounds that are not easily resolved. His presence is not dependent on whether a story is whole, but precisely on the fact that it is not.

There is grace for those who have known the gift of nurturing love as there is also grace for those who have known its absence. There is grace for those who have tried to be good mothers and have struggled under the weight of life, and for those who carry regret over what they could not give. And there is grace for those who continue to live with the consequences of relationships that could not be restored.

In Christ, no story is outside the reach of compassion. No life is beyond the possibility of being accompanied, and perhaps that is where we begin this season.

Not with a single image of what motherhood should be, but with a God who meets us in all the places where it has been lived.



Warmly,

Rev. David Gaitan

04/20/2026

Join us on Sunday, May 24 at Groveville UMC for our Crosswicks/Groveville Joint Worship Service as we gather during Memorial Weekend to remember, give thanks, and be together as one community.

After worship, we’ll share a potluck luncheon in the fellowship hall. Bring a dish if you can, but most of all, just come. There’s a place for you at the table!

04/09/2026

A Holy Week to remember

This past week, our communities at Crosswicks and Groveville walked together through a Holy Week that was spiritually meaningful and full of deep moments. I feel grateful. Not only for what we did, but for what we experienced together.

We began on Palm and Passion Sunday. We remembered and celebrated Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, welcomed with palms and songs. There was joy in the air as we sang together. And yet, as the service moved into the Passion, we entered a deeper space.

One of the most powerful moments came when we were invited to come forward and place our burdens at the cross. Our anxieties, disappointments, and struggles, but also our joys and accomplishments. Everything.

We were reminded of something difficult but very real. That there is a force so strong within us that even when we have the Savior in front of us, we may fail to recognize him. That the same voices that cry “Hosanna” can later cry out for crucifixion. It was a deeply reflective moment for us as a community.

On Maundy Thursday, we shared one of the most profound and intimate services many of us had ever experienced. Together, Crosswicks and Groveville UMC gathered around the table, not just to remember the Last Supper, but to enter into it in a tangible way.

We reflected on a simple but powerful question: What would you do if you knew this was your last night?

We sang, we prayed, we shared a meal, and we received Holy Communion. We also experienced the washing of hands, a simple act that became deeply meaningful. It was a night that many of us will carry in our hearts for a long time.

On Good Friday, we joined our brothers and sisters from other Christian traditions in the area at the First Presbyterian Church in Hamilton Square. Together, we stood in silence before the cross.

We reflected on the question: How far would God go to keep his promise?

Even when we have broken the covenant again and again, God remains faithful. That silence, shared together, became a response in itself. It was sacred, and it was meaningful for all who were present.

After waiting through the quiet of Holy Saturday, we gathered early on Easter Sunday morning for our Sunrise Service at the Groveville cemetery. As the light began to break, we sang with hope, we prayed with expectation, and we shared what the resurrection means to those present.

There was something powerful about proclaiming life in a place that reminds us of death.

And then, we closed our Holy Week with our Easter Service. One full of music, full of joy, and full of people who came to celebrate with us. Together, we proclaimed that the resurrection is an invitation into new life, into new beginnings, into a new way of walking.

And maybe we do not always step into that newness without fear. But we step into it anyway. Even with fear, we move forward. We now look ahead with hope, trusting that God is still doing something new among us.

Thank you, Crosswicks. Thank you, Groveville!

What a gift it is to walk this journey together.

Warmly,

Rev. David Gaitan

03/28/2026

You are welcome here! ✝️❤️

03/19/2026

03/18/2026

Are you ready for Holy Week?

Every year, Holy Week arrives, and yet it never feels the same. Perhaps because our lives are never the same either. We come carrying different joys, different worries, different questions in our hearts. And still, year after year, the story of Jesus invites us once again to walk with him through the final days of his earthly journey.

It is hard to believe, but we are already nearing the end of our Lenten time! These past weeks of reflection and conversation during our Coffee with David Bible study have been highly meaningful. There is still time to join us for our final session this Tuesday at 5:00 pm at Dunkin' in Yardville as we close this season together.

Then we will enter the most sacred days of the Christian year.
On Sunday, March 29, we will gather to celebrate Palm/Passion Sunday, beginning by remembering Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The service will start with us waving our palms as we sing, celebrating the joyful arrival of Jesus into the city.

Then, during that same service, we will transition into a deeper moment of contemplation as we enter more deeply into the Passion of Jesus on the cross.

It will be a beautiful and deeply spiritual moment as, together, we move from celebration into reflection.

On Thursday, April 2, we will gather for a Joint Maundy Thursday Service with our brothers and sisters from Groveville and Crosswicks, hosted this year at Crosswicks UMC. And yes, this means it is time to prepare your best soup!

We will share a Soup and Bread Potluck for us to remember the meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. During the service, we will also experience a moment of hand washing and celebrate Holy Communion together. It promises to be a meaningful and reflective time during this Holy Season.

On Good Friday, April 3, we will join our brothers and sisters from several Christian churches in the area for the Ecumenical Good Friday Service at 12:00 noon at Hamilton Square Presbyterian Church - 3550 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690. There is something powerful about entering into this solemn reflection together with believers from different Christian traditions to contemplate the sacrifice of Christ.

Then comes the great morning of hope.

On Easter Sunday, April 5, our two congregations will gather together for a Joint Sunrise Service at 6:40 am at Groveville Cemetery, where we will wait together for the day to break, holding in our hearts the hope and expectation of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

Later that morning, during our regular worship services, we will celebrate Easter with joy and gratitude. Together we will sing, pray, and gather around the Lord’s Table for Holy Communion, proclaiming the good news that death did not have the final word.
And we hope you will walk this Holy Week journey with us!

Warmly,

Rev. David Gaitan

02/26/2026

We have very good news..! Our churches, Groveville UMC and Crosswicks UMC, are hosting an Interfaith Iftar Dinner, the meal that breaks the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan, for our Muslim neighbors.

This year, the event is being organized by several Christian denominations in our area who desire to come together in a true spirit of fellowship, friendship, and mutual understanding. It is a beautiful sign of unity among Christians as we open our doors and hearts to build bridges with our Muslim brothers and sisters.

I warmly invite you to come and bring your family and friends on Saturday, March 14, at 6:30 PM at Groveville UMC. We will begin with a brief program and prayer, and a short explanation about Ramadan from our faithful Muslim friends at Peace Islands Institute. We will also experience the Muslim call to prayer before breaking the fast together at sunset.

Dinner will be provided, and we will enjoy a delicious Turkish meal as we share fellowship and deep conversation around the table. I have heard there may even be baklava for dessert!

Please register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWCAnicRWfurJ5aLbbBLhfNirR1bNmnmFybUz-u1-lVS1izg/viewform

02/22/2026

Dear ones,

This is a last minute decision, but out of care for everyone, especially those vulnerable among us who need to drive, we have decided to cancel both in person meetings today. The weather is uncertain, and with the forecast of light snow and ice in the morning, and the declared state of emergency here in New Jersey, we do not want to risk any surprises on the roads.

Today is the First Sunday of Lent, and while we will not gather in person, we will meet online at 10:30 am for a brief time of worship through Google Meet

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/puz-ozib-cvu
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 401-315-8192‬ PIN: ‪550 179 574‬ #.

Let us stay home, be prayerful, check on our neighbors, and see this as an opportunity to keep the Sabbath holy.

Please, help me to spread the voice...

Grace and peace,
David

02/05/2026

Let us get ready for Lent together!

It’s hard to believe, but Lent is already around the corner! It feels like we just packed away the Christmas decorations and now the Church is gently inviting us to slow down again and prepare our hearts for Easter.

We begin on Ash Wednesday, February 18. That morning, we at Crosswicks United Methodist Church will offer Ashes to Go at 8:00 am, and everyone is warmly invited. If you are heading to work or just want to start the day with a quiet moment of short prayer and ashes, it is a beautiful and simple way to begin the season. Then, we will gather that evening at Groveville United Methodist Church at 6:00 pm for ourJoint Ash Wednesday Service with prayer, Scripture, silence, ashes, and space to return our hearts to God.

During Lent, our Wednesday Coffee with David at Dunkin’ Donuts will also become a small Lenten Bible study.

Nothing formal. Just coffee, some ideas and theology, honest conversation, and time to prepare our hearts for Holy Week and Easter.

As Methodists, we talk a lot about grace. Lent is one of those seasons where we slow down enough to actually notice that grace again. It is a chance to reset, to pray a little more, to let go of what we don’t need, and to walk a little closer with Jesus.

And February is already busy in the best way. This Sunday is our Super Soup Sale, which means good food and good opportunities to share.

Then on February 15 we will welcome Rev. Raquel Santiago from Grace AME Church for a special time with us. We had planned a pulpit exchange, but their sanctuary had a pipe burst and they are worshiping online while repairs are happening. So she will be with us here, and I will preach there at a later date. Please keep her and her church in your prayers.

As we move closer to Holy Week, there will be more opportunities, more gatherings, and probably a few surprises along the way. For now, just come. Walk with us. Lent is something we do together!

Warmly,



Rev. David Gaitan