Dear Edinburg First Family, The season of Lent is now in full swing, and I have to tell you—Lent is my favorite time in church because in Lent, we slow down. We go back to our roots. We take stock of who we are before God. In Gospel of Luke 3:21–22, Jesus stands in the waters of the Jordan. The heavens open. The Spirit descends in bodily form. A voice speaks: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And then, Luke tells us that Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit,” is led into...

Dear Edinburg FUMC family,      As I write this letter, my Spotify playlist has pulled up the song, “Love Will Never Fail  (1 Corinthians 13)” by The Porter’s Gate. The simple chorus repeats, “Love will never, ever fail.” How fitting for February. How fitting for us as we begin to prepare our hearts for Lent. “Love will never, ever fail” is, after all, the message of Lenten and the Easter seasons. It was Love who knelt in the dust of the earth and breathed life into the first human. It is...

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:3, CEB Dear EFUMC family, As we step into a new calendar year, the glow of Advent candles may feel like it’s fading behind us. Christmas trees come down, routines resume, and the world’s weariness does not magically disappear on January 1. And yet, the church dares to say that the light has not gone out. In fact, January invites us to ask a different question: How do we...