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Dear Cedar Grove friends:
I love pie.
My favorite pies are apple pie, blueberry pie, peach pie, pecan pie, and, my go-to, chocolate cream pie. Years ago I learned how to make all of these, and more. I even make my own crust, which is key to a good pie. I love pie. And, I want to share that love with you.
Starting in June, Pastor Faith and I will host Pie with the Pastors on the second Saturday of each month from 9am – 11am. We will share pie at these events, of course. More importantly, we will share more about what it means to be a Christian, a Global Methodist, and a member of Cedar Grove Methodist Church.
You may have noticed all the new faces in worship over the last year. Many of these new folks have expressed interest in joining our church. The purpose of Pie with the Pastors is about more than sharing dessert. The purpose is to provide critical information for anyone wanting to commit to full membership at Cedar Grove. People who have attended one of these gatherings, and who feel God is calling them to live out their discipleship at Cedar Grove, will be welcomed to take the sacred vows of membership during one of our regularly scheduled Sunday worship services.
Because membership in a local church is a deeply meaningful covenant commitment, we are also inviting people who are already members to attend a Pie with the Pastors gathering. This is because our church has experienced much change in the past year. Last July Cedar Grove disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church. Six months ago Cedar Grove aligned with a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church. Though related by our past heritage, the UMC and the GMC are now on much different spiritual paths as to their understandings of Scripture and how we are accountable to each other in sacred covenant. The information provided in Pie with the Pastors addresses what it means to be a member of this church in this season of its life.
I want to be very clear here. People who were members of Cedar Grove before November 12, 2023 automatically became members of the Global Methodist Church on that date. This is confirmed in a letter from Keith Boyette, Transitional Connectional Officer of the GMC. If you wish to remain aligned with Cedar Grove and the Global Methodist Church, you don’t have to do anything to retain your membership status here.
However, rather than just default into membership here because you joined years ago, we encourage everyone to be informed. Come to a Pie with the Pastors gathering. And then, as God leads, recommit to your discipleship journey during a Sunday worship service. Recommitments of faith by current members will be offered alongside commitments by new members so that we can all walk this new path in solidarity, together.
Signup sheets for Pie with the Pastors will be available in the church lobby. You can also sign up by contacting the church office. Even if you like pie a lot, you only need to sign up for one Saturday gathering in order to receive all the information you need to make a decision about a commitment/recommitment to membership. So that we can get to know each other better, and so that I don’t have to make more than a couple of pies at a time, each PWP is limited to 12 attendees. Don’t worry, though. When the summer dates fill up we’ll offer PWP on the second Saturday of every month through the end of the year and beyond.
See you soon at Cedar Grove, friends. As much as I love pie, I love Christ and the people of his church far more.
Peace,
A.B. Snell
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