Dear Trinity Family and Friends,

I hope that you have enjoyed the earlier messages in our current sermon series, “From Both Sides of the Table.” Meeting with a conversation partner and planning out a message for worship together has been a real change-of-pace for our clergy, and we hope that the results of our efforts, expressed in conversation-style rather than a regular sermon message, has been fruitful for the entire congregation!

I had the pleasure of meeting with Rev. Dr. Charles Gattis in preparation for this week’s conversation, titled “Dare to Keep Dreaming.” During our preliminary meeting, Dr. Gattis and I found much common ground as United Methodist clergy who have each served multiple decades. And yet, as different generations in our own families often do, we found that we held differing views on several important topics. Charles and I will be using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral - Scripture, Reason, Experience and Tradition - to guide our discussion. Check out this link for a refresher on the Quadrilateral. 

As you prepare for this week’s conversation, please consider the following discussion questions:

1. Do you communicate easily with people of different generations than your own? If not, why do you think this is difficult for you?
2. Make a mental list of major changes in your life over the past ten years. Maybe it’s a short list – but maybe it’s lengthy! Reflect on these changes and how God has moved in your life through them.
3. Think back on a major success or victory in your life, something that you are especially proud that you achieved. No matter how long ago it was, how could you celebrate that moment in the present with people you care deeply for?
4. How may the three “planks” of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral - reason, experience and tradition - guide our interpretation of Luke 2 as it relates to our conversations on generational differences and aging?

In the spirit of this sermon series, I encourage you to reach out to someone from a different generation – maybe a family member or co-worker or a neighbor – and ask if they would like to meet you for a conversation over lunch or dinner. During your meeting, you could bring up some of the questions above – and see how well you are listening to the answers of others with different perspectives!

I hope to see you in-person this Sunday for our traditional worship service at 9 am or our contemporary worship service at 10:30 am – or to welcome you online!

In Christ,

Pastor Dale