Asbury First Monday Reader – Stories and Reflections on the life of Asbury First

ASBURY FIRST MONDAY READER | FEBRUARY 24, 2025

CONTENTS: ON GRATEFULNESS | DIVERSITY AS CELEBRATION

ON GRATEFULNESS by Rev. Kathy Thiel

It has been a long cold winter and many of us are quite ready for spring.

Before spring arrives, though, I invite you to take a look outside at the snow and even the ice. Appreciate the beauty of a snow covered tree. Marvel at the way the ice molds around the tips of tree branches. Find pleasure in the way the sun shines on the snow, making it look like sparkling diamonds.

These are all ways to embrace what is all around us. What is around us is not often what we choose - especially when there is a snowstorm in March or April - but it is what we have.

Being grateful for what we have and do not want can be a challenge. Sometimes we need a little help. Feeling and expressing gratitude will make us feel better, it is good for us. There are so many parts of life we wish we could change; if we recognize them and try and find one small part of it with which we can agree or appreciate, we will feel better. It is not always easy to do, so I will give you one that is always something positive and true to remember: God loves you. God not only loves you, God loves you unconditionally. On your good days, on your bad days, when you are feeling happy, when you are feeling sad. Remember this, believe it, embrace it.

God Bless You in each and every season.

DIVERSITY AS CELEBRATION

At Asbury First, we believe that God’s love knows no bounds and that our diversity is a gift to be celebrated. In Galatians 3:26-29, Paul reminds us that in Christ, we are all part of God’s family—united not by sameness, but by a love that embraces our differences. As theologian Austen Hartke challenges us to consider, our unity in Christ is not about erasing identities but about bringing them together in a beautiful, sacred whole. This is why we affirm and advocate for LGBTQIA+ persons as beloved and integral members of God’s creation.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, no is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV)

"There are two ways to interpret what Paul says in Galatians 3:28 about our being one in Christ: either it means we’re all whitewashed and homogenized and our differences are erased... or it means that we’re called to find a way to make our different identities fit together, like the bright shards in assorted colors that make up the stained glass windows of a cathedral. Are we called to sameness, or are we called to oneness?" - Austen Hartke

Visit asburyfirst.org/lgbtq for a listof LGBTQIA+ resources.

Asbury First United Methodist Church

1050 East Avenue, Rochester NY, 14607

(585) 271-1050