Central UMC Blog

Dirt. Everywhere. As far as the eyes could see – sand, dirt, and dust. Welcome to Vicente Guerrero. An agricultural area, Vicente Guerrero is a part of the Baja Peninsula and approximately 175 miles south of the Tijuana/San Ysidro border checkpoint. Everything is more difficult here...

It seems to me that we do a lot of searching these days. Most of what we search for is at our fingertips. Recently my daughter needed a dress altered. How does one find a good alteration place? I asked a friend who told me about a place but didn’t have the name. How would I find it? Easy!...

The imagery of life as a river has led us at Genesis’ Morning Manna in our worship services to a point of navigating life with love as our desire, path, and deepest longing. Like a trip of a lifetime down the raging Colorado River we go – with a trustworthy, seasoned and true guide...

Over the summer, I spent a week at a mission camp called Ozark Mission Project. During this week, I met awesome new people, served the Lord intentionally through multiple projects (ranging from painting houses to yard work to building a porch), and was awakened to the impact and significance of...

Dear Church, Have you ever tuned out (or even stayed home) when the sermon focus was tithing? It can be easy to think that in a congregation the size of Central “everyone else” is giving so my portion surely won’t be missed. But according to the Barna Group, only 5% of...

Dear Central Family: Last week we shared with the congregation that Rev. Carl Palmer has been appointed by Bishop Gary Mueller to become the Senior Pastor at First UMC Harrison effective July 1, 2018. Plans are still under development to honor Rev. Palmer for his six years of ministry at Central...

Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Proverbs 4:26 At our Morning Manna services at Genesis on Sundays, we have been talking about becoming the men and women that God created us to be, and following Christ as salt and light no matter what our circumstances may be. It...

This Thursday, March 8, our church celebrates five years of Celebrate Recovery, and we hope you will join us for the festivities. For me, it will be especially meaningful. My precious husband John will give his testimony for the first time. I have no doubt that he will be his usual, eloquent...

“I don’t need Celebrate Recovery. That’s for addicts and substance abusers.” That was my thinking five years ago when our wise leadership wanted to bring this nationally recognized 12-step program to Central. I felt God was calling me to be part of this new ministry and I...

“When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those...