Rev. Jonathan J. Page

04/06/2021

Drew Ensz shares his story of being under complaint for officiating a same gender wedding.

A winding road eventually gets there, but the clergy complaint process has fallen off the path multiple times in Virginia.

03/18/2021

This week, the long, painful story of violence in America claimed more lives. Specifically, in a city I love, a number of Asian-Americans were killed at the hands of a domestic terrorist.

Our brokenness keeps showing. People are dying. Violence, especially against people of color, surges. And friends, what we can see in the public eye just scratches the surface of the microaggressions and harms that are happening daily. It doesn't tell the history of what's been happening for years, decades, and centuries in this land.

So many of my colleagues have reminded me in the last few days of the prayer found in Psalm 13 (and other places in Scripture): "How long, Oh Lord?" I join that prayer today.

With that prayer, I pray that in a world filled with violence and hate, that we all might learn to choose the more loving way. I pray that those choices are not simply philosophical ones, but active ones that allow those with a voice and power to stand alongside those most vulnerable and marginalized. I pray that systems and cultures that promote division might be dismantled and that new opportunities for love and unity might develop for all people.

And I pray that our "How long" prayers will soon transform into the last stanza of Psalm 13: "I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms. I’m celebrating your rescue. I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I’m so full of answered prayers."

May all people soon celebrate rescue. May all people soon sing. May all people's prayers soon be answered. Amen.

03/17/2021

This week has been a lot! As a reminder...

03/13/2021

Looking forward to worship with Herndon United Methodist Church in the morning! We'll be sharing about laughter...you don't want to miss it!!

10am EST on youtube.com/herndonumc or the tagged page above!

03/12/2021

On March 12, 2020, I was in Richmond all day for a meeting. By the time I returned home that night, it was clear that we would be pivoting into a new reality.

In the year that has passed since, so much has changed and so much has not. The nature of human connection has changed; the need for it has not. The consistency of kindness has changed; the empowerment it provides has not.

In my life, there have been moments in the last year personally and professionally where I've felt prepared, equipped, and successful. At other times, I must confess I've been lost, aloof, and have failed.

Despite my own peaks and valleys, my eyes tell me other stories. I see every day what my wife is doing as an educator, what colleagues are doing in ministry, and what so many are doing to just put one foot in front of the other, and I am amazed. I know we tend to share our highlight reels more than our behind the scenes, but I'm really taken aback by the ways so many have adapted and generated in this challenging time.

Tonight, as we prepare to mark a significant moment in the United States, I'm pausing to reflect. I hope you will too. It may be easy (and necessary) to imagine what the last year has taken from you. But I hope your reflection won't stop there. What has this last year afforded you? What is a new perspective you have on your life or the world in which we live? How might you be inspired to do something loving for another, regardless of whether that person would merit it?

While I believe so much has been and will continue to be so hard, I am hopeful that better days are ahead. I believe that love of God and neighbor have a unifying power and I hope we will choose to practice those consistently and well.

My prayer tonight is one of patience, persistence, and power. May God grant us patience to continue on the course of defeating the virus through masking, social distancing, vaccine distribution, and anything we can do to ensure this virus is a memory more than a reality. May God give us the persistence to choose the loving thing at all times, even if it comes at personal sacrifice.

And may the creative power with which God spoke life into existence be the kind of life-giving, selfless, loving power we invite to propel us forward into all that is to come.

Be well my friends. Please let me know if there is anything I can be doing to support you tonight.

03/07/2021

Looking forward to worship with Herndon United Methodist Church tomorrow! 10am EST on www.youtube.com/herndonumc or the page linked above. We're in a series called Everyday Glory where we are discovering the presence of God in otherwise ordinary places. Tomorrow I'm preaching from the dining room table!

I hope to see you there!!

Welcome to the Official Youtube for Herndon UMC! Located in Herndon, Virginia, the mission of Herndon United Methodist Church is to serve and share God's lov...

03/06/2021

Hey friends! I'm thrilled to have this space to share ministry insights, leadership strategies, and information related to The United Methodist Church, the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church, and Herndon United Methodist Church!