But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  –Ruth 1:16b

Do you remember those senior class superlatives from your high school yearbook?  The kids who were voted “Class Clown”, “Best Smile”, and “Most Likely to Succeed?”  I didn’t earn any of these coveted titles when I was in high school—as a shy marching band geek in a school of over 2000 students, I wasn’t anywhere near the inner circle of popular kids who usually earned those honors!  (Although when I was in 8th grade, I was elected “Class Bookworm” and I wore the title with pride!)

We like to honor the people who stand out from the crowd; the people who shine brightly and seem to “have it all.”  But strangely enough, we don’t find too many of those shining stars in the Bible!  To the contrary: the Bible is filled with underdogs and losers and nobodies!  The pages of Scripture are full of outsiders and outcasts—and the really crazy thing is that in the end, God turns these people into the stars!  Throughout the Bible, God is constantly using the most unlikely people, and God is always transforming underdogs into heroes and heroines!

In our July sermon series, we’re going to be studying one of these unlikely heroines: a young woman named Ruth.  We will examine her story and see what it has to teach us today—we’ll talk about faith and trust, we’ll talk about how Christians are often called to be outsiders in the world, and we’ll talk about how wide and expansive the Kingdom of God truly is!  Join us on this journey as we get to know Ruth: a woman who was the least likely to succeed, but through whom God accomplished powerful things!

July Sermon Series: “Girl Least Likely to Succeed” 

July 10th: Ruth 1

“Girl Least Likely to Succeed: The Outsider”

July 17th: Ruth 2

“Girl Least Likely to Succeed: No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed”

July 24th: Ruth 3

“Girl Least Likely to Succeed: When is ‘Bad’ Behavior Good?”

July 31st: Ruth 4

“Girl Least Likely to Succeed: From Outsider to Insider!”

June has been quite the crazy whirlwind month!  I attended the Great Plains Annual Conference, I was ordained as an Elder in Full Connection—this is the United Methodist clergy equivalent of getting tenure!—and then I spent a week teaching teenagers about Methodist theology at Confirmation Camp.  (Fortunately, camp wasn’t all work and no play: in between classroom sessions, I honed my archery skills and went ziplining for the first time and made a spiffy tie-dyed t-shirt!)

Ordination–you might notice our District Superintendent on the left!

It seems like the summer is rushing by very quickly, but we’ve got some amazing community outreach opportunities on the horizon1  We’ll be talking about these more in church over the next couple of weeks, but please mark your calendars and fire up your ovens for the following events!

Stephen and Evie and I have been in Auburn for nearly 10 months now, and it’s amazing to me that we’ve been here for almost an entire year.  It feels like the time has just flown by—when we first arrived, Evie wasn’t even crawling; now she’s running and climbing and talking and getting into all kinds of mischief!  Stephen and I often talk about how fortunate we are to be raising Evie in a church community like this one.  One of the best parts about being a church member is the knowledge that you have a whole network of people who are looking out for you and supporting you through life’s ups and downs.

We try to take good care of each other here at Auburn, and we have fabulous people who lead our hospitality ministries and prayer ministries.  Pastoral care visits are an important part of my work as well, so if you (or a friend or family member) are ever in the hospital or in need of a visit, just call the church office and let us know!  I am always happy to schedule a visit, and we can also put you on the prayer chain or send some meals through our Hospitality Committee.

A few more spring updates:

• Our confirmation class is starting up soon, and letters have been sent out to potential confirmation students!  This year’s class will feature a trip to “Confirmation Camp” at Camp Fontanelle—it’s going to be a great time!
• Speaking of camp, it’s time to get your kids (and grandkids) registered for United Methodist summer camps!  Information and registration sheets are on the bulletin board; remember that all child/youth members of FUMC will receive a 10% camp scholarship for themselves and one friend.  (More financial aid is available; contact the church office for details.)
• Mark your calendars—we will be honoring our high school graduates on Sunday, May 15th.

Have a fantastic week!