University UMC Sermons

“Becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” – Michelle Obama, Becoming

“We are not hungry for what we're not getting, but for what we're not giving.” – Ann Lamott

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say ‘It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.” – Fred Rogers

A Visitor
by Hyunjong Jung

When someone comes to us,
it is, in truth,
an astonishing thing.
For they come
with their past,
their present,
and their future.
A whole lifetime comes.
And a heart comes—
a heart fragile enough to break,
and therefore perhaps already broken.
A heart whose hidden folds
perhaps the wind alone
could gently trace.
If my own heart
could imitate such a wind,
surely,
that would be hospitality.

“I look upon all the world as my parish.”

– John Wesley

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

“The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.” – Vision Statement of The UMC

"There isn't anyone you couldn't love once you've heard their story." – Benedictine Sister Mary Lou Kownacki

“The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ, who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections. This vision statement complements the Church’s longstanding mission statement, inspired by Matthew 28:1-20: “The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

– The United Methodist Church’s new vision statement
Learn More

“Today is the day
God cries with the masses of starving people,
despises growing disparity between rich and poor,
demands justice for workers in the marketplace.
And so shall we.” – from The Social Creed of The UMC

Maybe home is not a place. Maybe it’s the version of yourself that finally feels safe, calm, and free. – Cia in “A Life In Between Zones”

“Gather us in, and hold us forever; gather us in, and make us your own; gather us in, all peoples together, fire of love in our flesh and our bone.” – from the hymn “Gather Us In”