Hyde Park United Methodist

Sally and Mat sit down this week to discuss how inter-faith relationships can work and how to build those bridges.

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One of the most common questions we ask of our faith is, “What is Christianity’s relationship with other religions?” What are we to do with the passage from John 14, in which Jesus declares that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but through him? In an age of religious pluralism and religious intolerance (even violence), how can we be charitable and loving toward people of different faiths, while still maintaining the core of our Christian convictions? 

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Questions for Reflection:  
1. What is your experience with people of different faiths?

2. In what ways are you using your gifts to cross barriers and build connections/relationships with those whose beliefs are different from yours?

3. What is one thing you could do to start a dialog with someone who practices a different faith?

This week, we have started a new sermon series discussing our Christian heritage and how we can relate to people of other faiths. Magrey and Mat sit down to talk about their own personal experiences in exploring and being raised in environments of differing faiths.

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 John Wesley’s famous sermon “Catholic Spirit” provides guidance on how Christians of different perspectives and traditions can find common ground, just as Jehu and Jehonadab joined hands in the passage in 2 Kings. Despite some significant differences among Protestant denominations, we hold much more in common, and we are called to forge a dynamic and united witness to the good news of Jesus Christ in the world. 

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Reflection Questions:
1. What is the story of your religious journey? What faith traditions shape who you are?

2. What similarities among denominations do you find most meaningful?

3. What is best about being United Methodist to you?

This week, Sally and Magrey talk about the impact that was the witness of Mary Bethune in education and how all of us can be inspired from it.

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Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, philanthropist, and civil rights activist, whose work was deeply rooted in her Christian convictions. Bethune-Cookman University stands as an enduring reminder of her legacy, as this states only United Methodist historically black college. Her famous quote “Without faith, nothing is possible; with faith, nothing is impossible” captures her belief in the power of God to transform hearts and communities for the better.  

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Reflection Questions:
1. What Voices of Inspiration in this worship series have been most meaningful to you, and why?
 
2. What insights and inspiration does Mary McLeod Bethune’s story evoke in you?
 
3. How will you become a voice of inspiration to others?

This week, Mat and Sally sit down the discuss the witness of Oscar Romero from El Salvador in the 1970s. And how Sally's own experience in El Salvador influenced her call to ministry.

Archbishop Oscar Romero was a powerful voice for freedom and liberation for the people of El Salvador, and his untimely death by an assassin’s bullet leaves behind a stirring witness to the power of non-violence in addressing systemic inequities and injustice. His work was a living embodiment of the words of Luke 4, in which Jesus spoke of setting the captives free, recovery of sight to the blind, and the proclamation of the Lord’s favor. 

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Reflection Questions: 
1. Did you know much about Oscar Romero before today’s sermon? What surprised you about his life and witness?

2. In what ways are you using your influence to bring Good News to other people?

3. How might God be inviting you to change your heart? How are you evolving, changing, growing in your Christian witness?

Mat and Magrey have a discussion about how songs shape us, how they shaped the Bible, and how they continue to bring the biblical text alive today.

Mahalia Jackson was one of the greatest musical artists of her generation, not just for her beautiful music, but also for her inspirational witness. Her most iconic moments were in her singing of “His Eye is On the Sparrow,” based on the teaching of Jesus in Matthew, which inspired comfort and encouragement during the civil rights movement. Her encouragement for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to “tell them about the dream, Martin,” elicited the grand, sweeping conclusion to his famous speech in Washington, D.C.  

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Reflection Questions:
1. What do you think makes singing such a powerful form of individual and communal expression?

2. What songs have been most inspiring to you throughout your life?
 
3. How familiar are you with the music of Mahalia Jackson? How might you listen to her music over the coming days?