Baptism is not a magic trick in which a person’s soul is guaranteed a free pass into heaven. No is the lack of baptism a condemnation to the underworld.  It is simply an initiation rite that recognizes what God has done in the life of the initiate and an acceptance into the church universal. Not a specific denomination, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, etc, but into the Christian faith as a whole. Thus, a baptized Roman Catholic or a baptized United Methodist are both members of the universal Christian faith.

In one of my previous churches a young couple were talking to me about their brand new baby.  Of course, I asked them about their readiness to have him baptized. They told me they did not want to baptize him because they did not want to influence his decision to become a Christian later in life.  In my mind I thought about another couple who had made the same decision years ago not to try to influence their children’s religious beliefs taking them to church or sending them to Sunday School.  In that case, their children grew up without a frame work against which they could form their own beliefs.  They had no knowledge of what Christianity, or for that matter any other religious tradition had to offer. They had no foundation upon which to grow.  Their parents were not an influence in their spiritual development.

Recently, I was listening to a school teacher complain that the parents of the children in her class seemed uninterested in participating in the moral or ethical development of their children, expecting that the school system should do that part. As a result, the teacher was in the position of being expected to teach the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as history, science, health, civics, and then ethics as well.  She felt out of her depth and overwhelmed. Too much to expect from someone with 34 children in a class.

In baptism, we take the opposite view about influencing our children.  In baptism parents and sponsors take vows to intentionally be an influence in the lives of those baptized.  Not only parents and sponsors, but the entire congregation makes the same vow to raise up the baptized in the Christian faith, giving them the foundation upon which they can make informed decisions later in life about what kind of relationships they will have with God, with Christ, with the Church, and with the people with whom they come in contact.

My parents didn’t have a perfect faith, but they made the decision to raise me in the Church and that gave me the basis upon which I could form my own beliefs.  I did not always, nor do I always believe exactly as I was taught, but I was able to think through my spirituality and ethics with something upon which to base it.  For that, I am grateful.  I think my parents made the right decision to have me baptized. In fact, of all the people I know who were baptized I never heard anyone complain that their parents had them baptized as infants.

Perhaps we as parents and as members of the body of Christ are responsible for influencing the decisions of our children.  Perhaps that’s our job.  Perhaps, if our children have an informed understanding of the faith they will be in an even better position to make choices later in life.

Blessings,

Pastor Steve

His followers watched Jesus as He prayed on the Mount of Olives, as He was betrayed, as He was judged by those unworthy to judge Him, and as He died on the cross.  Unlike those followers, we know what Easter morning brings.  We know that the stone has been rolled away.  So we can wait in great anticipation, in peace and in joy.  We know that Easter morning will resound with the shouts of “He Is Alive!”

If you like, sign-up for a shift around the fire.  Make sure it burns brightly through the night as a testimony to our anticipation. Bring your campers, bring your chairs, or just pull up a log to sit around the fire.  Come for half an hour or all night.

And celebrate with us as the sun rises and we use the flame from the Vigil Fire to light our candles and our way to the Easter Sunrise Service at 6:30 a.m.!

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Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1

“Irresistible Invitation: Living and Giving in Response to God’s Extravagant Love”–RUMC’s 2009 stewardship theme

Missions are a vital part of the United Methodist Church. Our outreach program is rooted in the Word of God. We care about our community and people around the world.

We helped build a Habitat For Humanity house in Ramona, involving volunteers from our congregation, friends, as well as Navy and Marine personnel. Our San Diego District Superintendent leads Mission Area Summits in our San Diego District. These gatherings of churches help us expand our ministries in our congregations and communities.

We supported the Guatemala Project with the purchase of handcrafted items, funded and sent a team of electricians to Arizona to install wiring for Naomi House, a Navajo orphanage, supported a team that rebuilt homes in Biloxi, Mississippi, and partner with Heifer International to help families around the world.

Internationally, through a covenant relationship with the California-Pacific Conference Missionaries, we give to the Siberia Far East District Missionary. In addition, projects along the Mexico border, through our Methodist Joint Commission, hurricane relief, In His Steps ministries, Ramona Open Door Dinner, Ramona Head Start, Ramona Senior Center, Ramona Angels, and Ramona Cancer Resource are some of the ways we serve.

After our Sunday worship service on November 16, 2008, at the Ramona Senior Center, 434 Aqua Lane, we served our 27th annual turkey dinner from noon to 6 p.m. We served 900 meals at the center and sent 400 meals to those in the community, more than 600 of them for families who might otherwise have been unable to afford Thanksgiving dinner. Ticket sales to members, friends, and family fund complimentary meals to the homeless and families and people in need, In His Steps, Michael’s House, and others.

Our church members visit medical patients and families.

Ramona United Methodist Women funds support families in our community, the Adopt-A-Family program, Easter baskets for Head Start children, In His Steps ministries, Little People’s Learning Center, and Habitat for Humanity. Prayer blankets and quilts have been made for individuals in need.

RUMC owns a ball field, which is often shared with the community through our outreach. It is maintained and operated by ball field commissioners, who are members of the church. These commissioners do all scheduling.

Park and Ride: Portions of our church parking areas are offered for the Park and Ride program.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) responds to disasters worldwide. One hundred percent of all gifts go to relief and recovery efforts. To make a donation by phone, please call 1-800-554-8583. Checks are accepted and should be made out to: UMCOR. Please send your check to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Your donation can also be placed in an offering plate at any local United Methodist Church.

For information on UMCOR Domestic Disaster Response, please visit UMCOR’s web site: gbgm-umc.org/umcor/. UMCOR has set up Advanced Specials for those who would like to give to help areas affected by recent disasters. For information, go to http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor.

RUMC’s ongoing mission commitment is that God’s reign of mercy and love might be realized in places far and near.

For help in locating non-profit and governmental assistance for special needs including disaster services and senior services, please go to www.infoline-sd.org.

United Methodist Information Services: Infoserve 1-800-874-3211

California-Pacific Conference phone: 1-800-244-8622

California-Pacific Conference web site: www.cal-pac.org
CALIFORNIA-PACIFIC ANNUAL CONFERENCE

For the fifth year in a row, Ramona UMC received a congratulatory certificate from our California-Pacific Annual Conference as a Missionary Supporting Church.

The RUMC Mission Statement says we witness by word and deed the love of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. We join all Methodists in striving for “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Please visit our diverse congregation for inspiring worship, fellowship, and outreach to the community and ourselves.

–Pastor Steve Islander

RUMC celebrated its 30th birthday on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. You can see a few of the photographs above, or join the RUMC Flickr group to see them all.

For example, the meaning of the word “frog” can be confusing.  It can be the amphibian critter that hangs out around water ponds, a part of a horse’s hoof, a thing that holds up flowers in a floral arrangement, something you have in your throat on some mornings, a clasp used to hold clothing together or hold a pin to fabric.  So if someone were to say to you, “I want to talk to you about a frog,” you wouldn’t know for sure what was coming next.

Then there is the secret language each generation comes up with that seems designed to exclude the older generations from understanding.  Words like ”sick” can mean really good, “bad” can mean good, “groovy” and “the cat’s meow” can mean really good.  It just depends on what generation you happen to come from.  And, if you are in the oldest generation you can begin to play the secret language lesson all over again.  Just say to someone from the “sick” generation that that sunset was really “the cat’s meow.”

I mentioned in a recent sermon that when we use the term “God’s plan,” others may have differing ideas as to what that means.  And we ourselves might not fully understand the implications of what we are saying.

“God’s plan” conjures up some notion of a pre-determined blueprint by which the world will proceed and how we are to proceed in it.  Yet, if there is a pre-determined plan, what choice do we have in our lives.

If we choose door number one, that is God’s plan.  If we choose door number three, that is God’s plan.  So whether we do good or evil can be seen as part of God’s plan. But, our relationship with God is one of love.  At the very least God loves us and we try to love God.  There is a love relationship between us and the divine that is working its way out in our lives.

Remember when you fell in love for the first time?  Did you say to the object of your affection, “Oh my darling, I have a plan for your life?”  How romantic is that?  To have someone want to control us to the point of having everything pre-planned is not all that comforting to most of us.

In fact, most of us would resent such a constraining relationship.  We want a relationship that offers freedom and intimacy, adventure and safety.  I think a better way of understanding God’s relationship with us may be to say that God has a desire for us.  After all, in our love relationships, doesn’t “I have a desire for you” sound a lot better than “I have a plan for you”?

Healthy love is more about desiring good for the other than it is about desiring that the other perform a plan. God has a desire for us.  It is to live a good life, one full of joy.

The path to that good and joyful life can vary from moment to moment.  It can mean being a good student at one point and being a good teacher at another. It can mean being a good child at one point and being a good parent at another.  It can mean serving one day and being served another. What is important all along the way is maintaining an open relationship with God that allows us to respond to God’s desire for our lives in an open and healthy way.

I like that God has a desire for me, even when I mess up. When I make a mess of things, God meets me where I am and, in my new situation, offers God’s new desire for me.  There is always another chance with a God whose love is infinite.  And, that is a good example for us to follow with those we share this world with.