Portland United Methodist Church

08/13/2026

08/09/2026

All are welcome!

08/08/2026

In this month’s blog, Bishop David Bard celebrates two things that help him deepen his connection with himself, others, the world, and God — music and poetry.

BISHOP DAVID ALAN BARD
Michigan Conference

“When the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?” (Job 38:7, NRSVUE).

“To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles” (Proverbs 1:6).

This is the final essay in my series written before taking renewal leave. My July essay was long and serious, grappling with contemporary issues from a theological-ethical perspective. Perhaps you agreed with much of it, were upset by some of it, or disagreed with parts of it. Perhaps you decided not to make your way through it, or perhaps it put you to sleep.

At the end of that essay, I offered this: “If we want to improve the condition of democratic politics, we need to occasionally do something together other than politics” (Robert Talisse, “Overdoing Democracy,” p. 4). Talisse thinks the health of democracy depends on stepping away from politics at times, particularly by developing relationships that may transcend it. This may mean taking in less news from time to time and ensuring that our whole lives are not focused on the latest headlines.

Read more: https://michiganumc.org/poetry-and-song-as-means-of-grace/

08/05/2026

Joyce Rose Showerman Memorial