A Methodist lady told another lady at a party my wife was at that the Catholic church's practice of making the sign of the cross was really a tribute to the goddesses of the North, East, South, and West.....And that the Virgin of Guadalupe was really an Aztec goddess....Oh well...

Thad how does your post in any way relate to Pro Sandy's?

Hi Sandy, I'm with you on the back to the basics. I am also starting to see something new in my UMC here locally...

When all else fails, history is a good teacher

Shouldn't this thread be more properly titled "What's this UNITED Methodist stuff about"?

I'll never get it right...

Thaddeus73, you are trying to hit a transposing target.

The target appears to be constantly reforming to fit the prevailing culture.

Very informative. Thanks for posting.

Sorry Sandy, haven't been here in a while.

There is a movement in our church - the sermons over the last two months have really honed in on Wesley's sermons as well as what Wesley believed everyone should be offered - the choice to follow Jesus.

In a culture that seems to fit the latest craze, the salt that was once prevalent in the Methodist church will have to be refreshed. Being Methodist or Christian for that matter, isn't meant to make life easier - but to make it lived to help others reach their own enlightenment.

All this seems to marginalize people who came from the EUB. They are people called Methodists... I am not saying they would disagree with positions taken by Wesley, but would suspect they might feel they are not relevant in shaping their own identity.

All this seems to marginalize people who came from the EUB. They are people called Methodists... I am not saying they would disagree with positions taken by Wesley, but would suspect they might feel they are not relevant in shaping their own identity.

For a few years I was a member of an UMC church that was EUB prior to 1968. I never heard anyone in that congregation describe the congregation as a Wesleyan community. Why do you describe them in this way? We are talking about a merger--not a buyout, a takeover, or a mass-conversion.

Although I was not a member of the congregation prior to 1968, I assume most of them would have felt that Wesley's ideas were valuable to the extent that his were similar to theirs. Personally, setting aside the merits of any particular idea, I don't think that it would increase my excitement to hear a call for a return to an idea that I had originally embraced because it coincided with my own thoughts.