Our Fall Kick-Off Sermon Series begins in August and extends through September 20. We’re looking at “The Five Marks of a Methodist” — the five characteristics that help name and define who we are, what we believe and how we live, as based in the writing of John Wesley. Wesley wanted ‘the people called Methodist’ to have a clear identity. This wasn’t to make us out as better than other Christians, or to have us get tangled up in our opinions about things. In fact, he said: “so as to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.”

Wesley’s intent was that we ground our faith in Scripture and live out our faith in the world, for the transformation of the world. In that spirit, our Book Study for September is Pope Francis’ encyclical: Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home. As the Pope comes to the U.S., I invite us to be in prayer for him and for the whole church — one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And one, may it be so, in our care for our common home.