Middletown United Methodist Church

Pilate washed his hands of the guilt, he didn’t recognize who Jesus was and he chose to listen to the crowd rather than his own heart. He was afraid of what the people would do and was afraid of losing power and his position. What actions or lack of actions have we performed in our own lives condemning others or condemning Jesus? Have we allowed the actions of the crowd to dictate the response of our faith? Have we allowed our fear or desire for popularity of power to stop us from seeing Jesus or recognizing the needs of others? As we begin the Lenten journey through the stations we are invited to put ourselves in the story with the steps we walk with Christ. How are we walking with Jesus? And showing our faith in this journey, in the ways that we condemn ourselves or others. Pilate washed his hands of the fault, let us begin the journey washing our hands as an act of repentance and cleansing.

Pilate washed his hands of the guilt, he didn’t recognize who Jesus was and he chose to listen to the crowd rather than his own heart. He was afraid of what the people would do and was afraid of losing power and his position. What actions or lack of actions have we performed in our own lives condemning others or condemning Jesus? Have we allowed the actions of the crowd to dictate the response of our faith? Have we allowed our fear or desire for popularity of power to stop us from seeing Jesus or recognizing the needs of others? As we begin the Lenten journey through the stations we are invited to put ourselves in the story with the steps we walk with Christ. How are we walking with Jesus? And showing our faith in this journey, in the ways that we condemn ourselves or others. Pilate washed his hands of the fault, let us begin the journey washing our hands as an act of repentance and cleansing.

A caregiver sacrifices his or her time, energy, and love every day. The attributes of Christ, His mercy and compassion, are all critical to caregiving. While we can never measure up to His example perfectly, we should always remember that caregivers aren’t just doing good work—they are doing God’s work, exemplified in Christ.But it is often not an easy life change. The interplay of caregiving consequences: poverty, discrimination and stigma, lack of support from others, diminished social relationships, depression, emotional trauma, and poor or interrupted sleep are associated caregiver burden.For caregivers, depression is more common than you might think, and it’s a normal response to a difficult situation. It is not unusual for caregivers to develop mild or more serious depression as a result of the constant demands they face while providing care

A caregiver sacrifices his or her time, energy, and love every day. The attributes of Christ, His mercy and compassion, are all critical to caregiving. While we can never measure up to His example perfectly, we should always remember that caregivers aren’t just doing good work—they are doing God’s work, exemplified in Christ.But it is often not an easy life change. The interplay of caregiving consequences: poverty, discrimination and stigma, lack of support from others, diminished social relationships, depression, emotional trauma, and poor or interrupted sleep are associated caregiver burden.For caregivers, depression is more common than you might think, and it’s a normal response to a difficult situation. It is not unusual for caregivers to develop mild or more serious depression as a result of the constant demands they face while providing care

Mental illness and depression is a serious complex thing. There are a lot of factors that contribute to our development. We can’t and won’t always understand suicide but it’s important and crucial to offer a place of hope and grace. There is always hope but it might not be readily visible. What if Judas had waited three days? “In our lives, we have moments that seem overwhelmingly bleak. We make a mess of things and see no way out. Judas felt that way. But the message of the cross and Resurrection is that God is the Lord of second chances. In even the most dire circumstances, there is always hope. After our most egregious sins, there is the offer of grace. In the darkest times, there is an Easter yet to come” –Adam Hamilton

Mental illness and depression is a serious complex thing. There are a lot of factors that contribute to our development. We can’t and won’t always understand suicide but it’s important and crucial to offer a place of hope and grace. There is always hope but it might not be readily visible. What if Judas had waited three days? “In our lives, we have moments that seem overwhelmingly bleak. We make a mess of things and see no way out. Judas felt that way. But the message of the cross and Resurrection is that God is the Lord of second chances. In even the most dire circumstances, there is always hope. After our most egregious sins, there is the offer of grace. In the darkest times, there is an Easter yet to come” –Adam Hamilton

Everyone suffers from levels of anxiety and majority of people have experienced a taste of depression in their life. Anxiety and depression are not just figments of our imagination. They are real struggles and it’s time we name it for the sake of our mental and spiritual wellness. From Ministry Matters –“We have an Incarnational God who gets right down there in the muck and mire of our messy lives, right along with us. Jesus is called “Immanuel”: the God who is with us. As followers of Christ, that is our call, too. The call is not to sit on our thrones of judgment, telling people to have more faith or be less selfish, but to get messy with them, walk with them in their pain, point them to the God of hope. Don’t shame them. It doesn’t help.”

Everyone suffers from levels of anxiety and majority of people have experienced a taste of depression in their life. Anxiety and depression are not just figments of our imagination. They are real struggles and it’s time we name it for the sake of our mental and spiritual wellness. From Ministry Matters –“We have an Incarnational God who gets right down there in the muck and mire of our messy lives, right along with us. Jesus is called “Immanuel”: the God who is with us. As followers of Christ, that is our call, too. The call is not to sit on our thrones of judgment, telling people to have more faith or be less selfish, but to get messy with them, walk with them in their pain, point them to the God of hope. Don’t shame them. It doesn’t help.”

How can we begin to bridge the gap and stop the shame around addiction? How can we model Jesus’ example of accepting all of God’s kingdom and not label people based their struggles? Addiction is a disease of the brain but too often we treat it as someone’s personal sin. God shows us a different way.

How can we begin to bridge the gap and stop the shame around addiction? How can we model Jesus’ example of accepting all of God’s kingdom and not label people based their struggles? Addiction is a disease of the brain but too often we treat it as someone’s personal sin. God shows us a different way.