Minooka United Methodist Church

06/17/2026

Prayer Team Announcement:

Due to the predicted bad weather for this afternoon, June 17th, Prayer Team will not meet. We will see you next week, on June 24th. Stay safe.

06/14/2026

Minooka UMC Worship - Sunday, June 14

06/12/2026

Dear Minooka UMC Found Family,

I have to make a confession. Something I said in my sermon last Sunday was wrong. I said the United Methodist Church has ordained women for 60 or 65 years. Actually, the Methodist Church first affirmed full clergy rights to women 70 years ago, in May of 1956. Before that 1956 vote, women served as clergy but only as local pastors. Meaning they had “no guaranteed appointment, no pension, no vote in her annual conference and no formal standing.”

Of course, women preached in Methodist churches long before that vote. Famous names like Susanna Wesley and Sojourner Truth; and a name that deserves to be famous, “The Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first U.S. woman ordained a minister, was Congregationalist — part of what is now the United Church of Christ. But she was ordained in 1853 by a Methodist, the abolitionist Luther Lee.”

In fact, Christianity has always had women preachers. As we often say, according to all four canonical gospels, the first preacher of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection was a woman. Without women preachers, there would be no Easter.

It seems to me important and timely to remember our history and celebrate our UMC denominational witness—especially given the tragic (though, considering their history, unsurprising) news out of the Southern Baptist Convention this week:

“The Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to advance a formal ban on women pastors in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, sending a clear message that men alone should preach to these conservative evangelical congregations.”

What a stilted, anemic vision of the faith. While the UMC is far from perfect, I am exceedingly grateful to be part of a church that strives to lead the way by “explicitly and unapologetically living into our values…the very antidote our world needs right now to the misogyny, racism, homophobia and bigotry that is running rampant.”

As for worship this Sunday, June 14th, it is the conclusion of our sermon series on Pentecost. This week is The Gospel According to the Trinity, so we will consider that tricky triangle of meaning that has vexed and inspired Christians for centuries. To get a sense of what I mean by that, I encourage you to watch this fun, funny, short video. (Please note: that link is to a YouTube video, thus there will be some kind of ad. I cannot control the content of that ad.) Yes, I suggested that video to you last year on Trinity Sunday. What can I say? I find it simultaneously informative and hilarious.

Participate in our worship experiences Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in person at 1210 S. Ridge Road in Minooka. Or via livestream on our Minooka UMC page or on our Minooka UMC YouTube Channel.

Whether in person or online, all are invited to our welcoming and affirming congregation.

Plotting Goodness,
Pastor Dave

Minooka United Methodist Church is an inclusive gathering of found family learning to be more like Jesus and actively serving the community.

06/11/2026

Sending off our ASP mission team with Love and Prayer!

06/07/2026

Minooka UMC Worship - Sunday, June 7

06/05/2026

Dear Minooka UMC Found Family,

As a world-wide denomination, the United Methodist Church is very diverse. Way back in the 18th Century, John Wesley (widely seen as the founder of the Methodist movement) preached unity through diversity:
“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences. These remaining as they are, they may forward one another in love and in good works.”

Despite Wesley’s words, sadly—though not entirely surprisingly, given the realities of human history—throughout its 240 year existence, our denomination always had some category of people it officially excluded from some part of its ministry. In the past it was people of color or women. More recently it was our LGBTQ+ siblings. That finally ended two years ago at General Conference in May of 2024.

Thanks be to God for the movement of the Spirit that empowered us to finally be the fully welcoming and affirming denomination that we are called to be! As scripture reminds us, God is love, and wherever we see love we see God.

Further, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” (1 John 4)

Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is how we follow God in the Way of Jesus. I’m proud that our congregation is, as far as I can tell, the only congregation in the Minooka-Channahon area that publicly proclaims the full inclusion and participation of our LGBTQ+ siblings in our church’s life and ministry. Thank you for living out that vital witness.

As for our worship experience this Sunday, June 7th, we’re exploring the ideas, images, biblical foundations, misunderstandings, and practical applications of pneumatology. As the most nebulous portrayal of God, the Holy Spirit is also the most confounding.

So we are asking questions such as: In what ways is the Holy Spirit present throughout our biblical text? How do we navigate the myriad symbols found there? In other words, just who is the Holy Spirit and what does She do? I’ll wrestle with those questions and more in my sermon, Pentecost: Um…What?!?

Since we are continuing to ruminate on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit this week—the main image for which is fire—I encourage you to have some fun with this theme by wearing flame colors like RED or yellow or orange!
Finally, as this is the first Sunday of the month, we will celebrate Communion together. If you plan to participate online, I encourage you to have some bread and juice (or other similar elements) ready before worship begins.

Participate in our worship experiences Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in person at 1210 S. Ridge Road in Minooka. Or via livestream on our Minooka UMC page or on our Minooka UMC YouTube Channel.

Whether in person or online, all are invited to our welcoming and affirming congregation.

Plotting Goodness,
Pastor Dave

Minooka United Methodist Church is an inclusive gathering of found family learning to be more like Jesus and actively serving the community.

06/04/2026

We know poverty extracts a real, quantifiable human toll. Thus, serving the community is one way we practice resurrection—one way we embody our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We were excited to bless and commission this great group of youth and adult leaders as our missionaries to Magoffin County, Kentucky via ASP (Appalachia Service Project).

06/03/2026

Confirmation Sunday is always one of the best days in the life of the church. We are thrilled that Olivia and Piper confirmed their faith as followers of God in the Way of Jesus and as members of Minooka UMC! We can’t wait to see how your story continues!

05/31/2026

Minooka UMC Worship - Sunday, May 31

05/29/2026

Dear Minooka UMC Found Family,

Confirmation Sunday is always one of the best days in the life of the church. Young people publicly profess their faith in God, their desire to follow God in the Way of Jesus, and their willingness to do so as members of this congregation, Minooka United Methodist Church. Congratulations to Olivia and Piper and their families!

On Confirmation Sunday we experience the future melding into the present. On Confirmation Sunday we sit next to parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members beaming with pride. On Confirmation Sunday we celebrate commitments made by the teenagers. But commitments are also asked of the confirmands’ parents and the entire congregation. In other words, everybody has a vital role to play on Confirmation Sunday.

But wait, there’s more! This Sunday we also celebrate Pentecost: a time when God’s Holy Spirit ignites a brand new day. Some speak like never before, others hear in ways they never thought possible. Questions and wonderment abound!

When Pentecost and Confirmation join together? That makes for a Sunday in which we embody hope.

Our guiding text for this Sunday is, as one would expect for this day, the story of the first Christian Pentecost as told by Luke in Acts of the Apostles. In my sermon, To Be Continued…, I will reflect on that story and celebrate the unique attributes of this current Confirmation cohort as we explore what is possible for our future together.

When Pentecost and Confirmation join together? It should leave us forever changed.

Pentecost and Confirmation together make for a great day to participate in worship in person this Sunday, May 31st, at 9:30 a.m. Of course we will also live-stream the worship experience on our Minooka UMC page and our Minooka UMC YouTube Channel.

All are invited to our welcoming and affirming congregation.

Whether online or in person, what could be better than witnessing hope embodied?! See you Sunday.

Plotting Goodness,
Pastor Dave

Minooka United Methodist Church is an inclusive gathering of found family learning to be more like Jesus and actively serving the community.