Did you miss the excellent Faith and Science discussion forum at the Meriden Public Library in May? Now you have a chance to catch it again! Come and hear how faith and science can be perfect together, when we respect the strengths of  both with open minds and hearts.

The discussion begins on Tuesday, November 13th at 1PM at the Meriden Public Library with light refreshments and fellowship, then shifts at 1.30 into reflections on our topic from leaders of three different faiths in Meriden: Rabbi Michael Kohn of Meriden's Temple B'nai Abraham; Chaplain Miyan Zahir Muhammad Mannan for Meriden's  Baitul Aman "House of Peace" Mosque; and Pastor John Blossom of South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church.

At the end of these reflections, the panel of faith leaders will field questions from those in attendance, and shift by 7.30 into a closing half-hour interactive discussion of faith and science, moderated by the panel. 

Please spread the word about this special event, and come and enjoy an evening when we can all join with our community, as outward signs of God's inner grace that seeks us all out through faith! A link to the library's event posting is here. 

 TIs your heart at war, even if you try to act like you're at peace?

Do you find yourself at odds with other people in hurtful relationships, hoping for something better?

South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church is inviting people who cannot find peace to learn  how to use important tools that can help you to act with more peace in your heart - even if you're not always liking the people who you have to make peace with. We believe that it is God's way, and, hopefully, our way.

We invite local residents, business and civic leaders, and educators, to the first of a series of free peace-making workshops, on Saturday, September 29th, in the Cook Room at the Meriden Public Library, from 9AM to 3PM. A registration form is here and below. We encourage you to invite not just friends, but your enemies who are hard to find peace with. 

The core of this peace-making workshop is based on the book "The Anatomy of Peace," a book by the Arbinger Institute, a non-religious research firm. A free study guide based on the book is available here online. Workshops based on this book have helped thousands of people around the world to take a new perspective on how they view and manage potentially hurtful conflicts - in their own lives, in their workplace, and in their church and public lives. There will be light refreshments throughout the day, and a light lunch at noon, with opportunities for guided prayer during breaks.

Peace doesn't just happen. Peace is what we make of the wars that we must confront. We hope and pray that this workshop, and other workshops like it in the future, will help you to become a peacemaker in your own life, for your own sake, and for the sake of everyone who you meet. Please register for the workship below!

Faith doesn't pop out of thin air: faith is a habit, the constant process of renewing and growing our relationship with God and one another, so that we will be part of God's story of salvation - especially when we need it most!

This Lent season, we are beginning our commitment to faith formation groups, which will help anyone to find and grow our faith together. Anyone from anywhere can join a faith formation group, there is no need to have expertise in the BIble or specific beliefs, only a desire to find a better way than the ways of the world.

Our faith formation groups will meet Sundays at 5PM and Wednesdays at 7PM in the Clark Room of our education building (door to the right of our office entrance on Main Street). Our format will be simple: opening prayers and statements, a time to listen to people reflecting briefly on their walk with God, group reflections on a reading for the day, and a closing prayer.

No reading in advance is necessary, but we encourage people this Lent (Feb 14th - March 31st) to use Adam Hamilton's reflection book "The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus" to guide your formation of faith during the week ($7 in the church, available online here).

Other publications that can be useful are available in the church, including our "Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living" book for people seeking the Methodist way of discipleship. Bibles are available for free in the church foyer, and online for free at various Web sites.

Come grow in faith with others, so that together we can become God's story, one person at a time!

As you may be aware, the 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church established a "Commission on a Way Forward" to help define the agenda for a special General Conference to be held in 2019. This special General Conference will focus on how the church organizes itself in relation to differing and deeply held convictions regarding church doctrine on human sexuality and related matters.

The following video provides a slide presentation with "bullet points" describing the commission's progress to date. It ends with a short video of prominent UMC author and Pastor Ed Berlin describing how Jesus' parable of the vine in John 15 may reflect how we can move forward as a global church that incorporates a wide array of cultural outlooks under a common umbrella of powerful and transformational missions, shaped by Wesleyan theology.