06/20/2026
A Message from Pastor John. Each week I send out a devotion, usually on Monday. This week it is on Saturday. See you soon.
Friends,
Last night it rained. This morning, my dahlias are rejoicing. Just a few weeks ago, I put the bulbs into the earth, hoping they would burst forth from the soil. Indeed, they have. Their determination renews me, and I will rejoice when they bloom and share love with the world in a few short weeks. Of course, these are not just any dahlias. As I have said frequently, these are the bulbs my father gave me which came from his father. These bulbs have, over the years, been shared with many family members, church members, and friends throughout Northern Minnesota. Now, when planted in different soil they continue to spread love and joy in countless gardens, from Minnesota to Ohio to Idaho.
Dahlias have been important to me because they connect me to my father and grandfather. However, they also reflect my personal call to serve the church, as well as the work of building connections and community across Northern Minnesota. Today, dahlia bulbs thrive in the Moose Lake UMC Community Garden and in the gardens of the wonderful people in Hill City, Cromwell, Finlayson, and Hibbing. When I look out my office window, I see dahlias thriving in the raised beds at Wesley UMC-Hibbing. These bulbs thrive in these different places because caretakers have tended them with love and care. In the very same way, these amazing churches will thrive, regardless of their size, because they tend to their gardens by loving people. Hallelujah!
For me, the dahlias also symbolize transition and change. Tomorrow, I will preach my last message at Hill City UMC. When Conference Superintendent Laurie Kantonen asked me to serve Hill City UMC six years ago, I thought she had too many weeds in her garden. After all, it was in the middle of the COVID pandemic and Hill City, like many small churches, was struggling to survive. And yet, because of her faith in me and their willingness to be creative, the church has grown in both numbers and vitality.
Hill City UMC, like so much churches, is like a garden full of beautiful red dahlias. Just as well-tended gardens produce more bulbs than they can accommodate, requiring some to be shared and planted elsewhere, it is time for me to find new life in different soil. The following Sunday, June 28th, I will preach my first sermon at Pengilly UMC. If tended carefully, beautiful things will continue to bloom in Hill City after I am gone, and God willing, Pengilly’s garden will continue to thrive once I am planted in their soil.
My prayer is that as each of us tends our gardens outside the church doors, we find new ways to tend to the gardens inside our buildings. In this way, love will be shared both inside and outside and in every corner of the earth. After all, love is at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Peace be with you and peace I leave you. Amen!
