Our Communion Rail Offering: WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
David, Liliana, and Emma celebrating his doctorate from Perkins School of Theology (SMU), December 2020.
This Sunday, October 5, is World Communion Sunday. United Methodists around the globe will celebrate communion with Christians of all denominations, recognizing our unity in Christ as we join together worldwide in Holy Communion.
Embracing this commitment, United Methodists dedicate this day to nurturing diverse leadership within the church. Gifts received support scholarships and leadership training for underrepresented students.
Contributions fund scholarships for U.S. and international students, as well as grants that strengthen inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. Last year, over $360,000 was raised to advance these initiatives:
50% of funds provide scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students of color pursuing ordained ministry.
35% of funds support worldwide training in inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. These In-Service Training Grants help recruit, train, and retain people of color in leadership across all levels of church ministry. Imagine the impact of one World Communion Sunday scholarship recipient on the many lives of people, leaders, pastors, and future pastors.
15% of funds support leadership development among partner churches and communities in Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and communities of color in the U.S.
One such recipient is David Rangel, who grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Monterrey, Mexico, in a devout Christian family of lay leaders and pastors. As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player until he entered engineering school.
After graduating from the Engineering School in Monterrey, Rangel joined a mission trip to Dallas, TX, helping a United Methodist church connect with its community. Though he was engaged in meaningful ministry, he lacked the financial resources to pursue his calling.
“It was the United Methodist Church that opened its doors for me to begin my pastorate as a local pastor,” Rangel says. “Later, the church provided the financial support to become a permanent U.S. resident so that I could attend seminary.”
With a master’s degree completed, Rangel sought to continue doctoral studies. The General Board of Global Ministries, through World Communion Sunday offerings, supported his pursuit of a Doctorate at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology.
Rangel’s ministry has been innovative and wide-reaching:
Developing the first Spanish-speaking multi-site model in the Legacy North Texas Conference, opening two campuses in his previous appointment.
Creating a Spanish-language Leadership Institute.
Producing a Spanish leadership podcast, Liderazgo y Estrategias Ministeriales (“Leadership and Ministry Strategies”).
Currently, he is forming a coaching cohort for Spanish-speaking pastors, serves with the Hispanic Latino Planters Group (which evaluates the work of the National Plan with the General Board of Discipleship Ministries), and pastors the largest Spanish-speaking church in the Horizon Texas Conference at Custer Road en Español.
Rangel—and many other scholarship recipients—are making a difference because of your gifts to this Special Sunday offering.
Please give generously to the World Communion Sunday offering on October 5! Every penny you give goes directly to people who need this support.
Pogo Was Right
Pogo Collection, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, The Ohio State University
Pogo was a beloved cartoon character featured in newspapers across the country from the 1940s to the 1970s. His creator, Walt Kelly, famously had Pogo looking at the man-made trash littering his forest home and saying, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
That line came to me as I sadly pondered yet another senseless and tragic killing last week—this time in front of the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. The targets, according to investigators, were ICE agents, but the victims were Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez and Norlan Guzman Fuentes, both shackled in the back of the ICE van that came under fire. Garcia-Hernandez was a father of four, and his wife, Stephany Guffeny, is expecting their fifth. She said her husband was a “good man, a loving father, and the provider of our family” (NPR, 9/30/25). Miguel Angel had lived in the U.S. for 20 years but did not yet have legal status.
The alleged shooter, Joshua Jahn—like the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk, and the alleged shooter at Evergreen High School the same day, and the alleged shooter of the Minnesota representatives—was not an immigrant but a man shaped by fear, anger, and hate, and in this case, from our own backyard. And that is my point—a point we all need to ponder like Pogo: we have met the enemy and it is not a horde of “others.”
There is a very loud narrative in our country that portrays people crossing our border as rapists, drug dealers, criminals, and murderers. The facts do not support that narrative. Our own Justice Department reports that crime rates among those here without legal status, or awaiting asylum hearings (which is legal), are lower than those born in this country.
My reading group just finished the most agonizingly important book I have ever read: Crossing the Line by Sarah Towle. Towle’s wide-ranging research and first-hand work with nonprofit groups serving immigrants along the border more than supports the Justice Department’s statistics about who the real enemy is. Her book upended everything I thought I knew about our country’s decency and its border policies across every Congress and administration of the past 60 years. It is a difficult and fascinating read, and I commend it to you in the name of our shared humanity as people and as Christians. One factoid: in 2023, we imprisoned more than 68,000 children and youth whose only “crime” was arriving with—or being sent alone by—families desperate for a better life. 68,000 is more than any other country in the West.
We have some pondering—and some praying—to do about who our “enemies” really are. “Lord, forgive us, for we know not what we do,” we once confessed before the Great Thanksgiving. This Sunday, we will again share holy communion on our knees together, and fortunately for all of us, Jesus told us to be kind to our enemies, starting with ourselves.
Breathe peace,
Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor
The $2 and 2% Solution
Maci Oh really wanted a Glow-Stick. Our youth were selling them for $5 at the Plano Balloon Festival to raise money for Crossfire Youth Ministry. Maci only had $4, and she told our Youth Minister, Sarah Henson, that $2 of that had to go in the offering plate the next day at church. Sarah, of course, chose grace and let Maci buy a Glow-Stick with the $2 she actually had to spend.
I know the Oh family and can imagine that Maci’s $2 for the offering plate was a tenth, or a tithe, of perhaps a $20 allowance she is given by her parents. Maci already has an understanding and practice of gratefulness that few Christians have, despite “what the Bible says” plentifully on this topic of gratitude and praise. I know this to be true because the national average for giving to all charitable causes is 2.1% of income; the average percentage rate given by Christians in our country is only slightly higher: 2.3% of income. Yet even at that rate, if every church member of most churches gave that to God through their church, few churches would be struggling financially. A first step in this spiritual practice is to move beyond tipping God toward tithing for God and God’s purposes through Christ’s body, the church.
We are putting into our people’s hands a new FAQ sheet that explains the accomplishments and the challenges ahead of us in the last three months of 2025 as we gear up for 2026. We need to discuss and pray together in our families and small groups about our roles in giving for 2025, and our collective giving/funding for ministry in 2026 towards $291,000 current deficit in general ministry. The solutions for both will require participation of all 1,300 people who consider FUMC Plano their church home. To this successful end, I want to commend to you three things:
Like Maci, what would a 10% of income gift to God look like for you? What would 2% look like?
What percentage of giving is God calling you to give back to God for the remainder of 2025?
What percentage of giving is God calling you to give back to God in 2026? We will have Estimate of Giving cards for everyone to use as we work to fund the 2026 Ministry Goals.
Maci’s $2 (tithe) solution plus everyone else’s 2%+ solution will result in the funding we all want to see for the ministries of FUMC Plano in 2025 and 2026.
After all, we all want to see our church “glow.”
Lead Pastor
FUMC Plano
Time to Stop the Experiment
The Stanford Prison Experiment was a 1971 study at Stanford University where 24 psychologically stable male college students were selected from a larger pool and randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners in a mock prison set up in the basement of Stanford’s psychology building. The psychologist Philip Zimbardo aimed to explore how situational factors affect behavior.
However, the experiment was stopped after only six days due to the guards’ increasingly abusive, even sadistic, behavior and the prisoners’ severe emotional distress and submissiveness. Questions have been raised since then about Zimbardo’s methods and conclusions, but the experiment remains a testament to how any of us can situationally and quickly live into roles and behaviors that we would otherwise deny and abhor. Within the Judeo-Christian tradition, we call this sin.
Like you, my heart has wept and my mind has been aghast at the murder of Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson, the alleged 22-year-old shooter, like the majority of lone gunmen before him, slid into the dark corners of the internet and into a role and behavior that he would otherwise deny and abhor,
like Desmond Holly, the 16-year-old who allegedly shot two students at Evergreen High School on the same day – Wednesday, Sept. 10;
like Vance Boelter, the 57-year-old who stalked and murdered Minnesota House of Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and wife Yvette Hoffman, and attempted to murder their daughter Hope Hoffman in June;
like Cody Balmer, the 38-year-old man who struggled financially and once attempted suicide, who firebombed the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in April.
Unlike the Stanford Prison Experiment, no one knew or was able to stop the slide into horrific sin by each of these males. But there is another slide into extremism that can be stopped, and it involves all of us.
Socially and culturally, we are—often unintentionally—experimenting with extremism, self-righteousness, rigidity, and blame in our rhetoric instead of openness, curiosity, compromise, and dialogue. None of us has a monopoly on the truth; all of us have something to learn from those with whom we disagree. As followers of Jesus, we have to be willing to wade into those rare waters and replenish them; otherwise they will dry up.
I respect Charlie Kirk’s desire to stand as a follower of Jesus. I also respect his invitation to students on college campuses to debate the issues of the day. At our best, this is what we do in a democracy: we debate the merits of ideas, not kill the other person for theirs. Make no mistake: one does not have to pull a trigger to condemn and kill another person in our heart and mind. We are followers of higher law. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21–22).
It is time to stop this experiment in extremism—where we know we are right and the “other” is obviously wrong and even evil. It is poisoning our souls, the souls of our churches, and the souls of our country. We can do better, and we must do better—all of us. Fortunately, we do not have to do it alone, for God stands by to help us if we but ask. Let’s ask, and stop the experiment, and start rebuilding a better way of living, instead of dying together.
Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,
Lead Pastor
FUMC Plano
When is a Front Door More Than a Door?
When it is also an invitation.
You can tell a lot about the inhabitants of a house just by looking at their door and front yard. I recently drove by a house whose owners had allowed the bushes to grow up over the windows, the front door porch light was burned out, and the front door was dark, tired, and bare. Otherwise, the front yard was reasonably well-kept. The message I received was, “Don’t bother stopping here.” Sometimes “No Solicitation” signs in the front yard underscore that message.
Another house I have driven by has a neatly trimmed yard with bright flowers at the base of the bushes, windows with curtains pulled open, and a front door with a beautiful wreath hanging on it. A large, vertical sign hangs next to the door saying, “Welcome!” The message sent and received is quite different from the other house. Here, I would almost expect to knock on the door and meet my next new friend—and maybe be invited in for dinner! I think that’s the message the church wants to send to the neighbors who drive by our “house” every day.
It has been five years since we began this odyssey, but this Sunday, after the 11 a.m. service, we will consecrate and celebrate our new front door, now facing the busy intersection of East Spring Creek Parkway and Parker Road. The new parking lot is ready, and the finishing touches on the landscaping are nearly done. More than 500 bushes and 50 new trees now surround our campus, creating a softer, greener welcome that the City of Plano requires to better align with the “Park Overlay” that is part of our plat. But what excites me even more is the way our Gathering Area was designed. The angled walls around the three southeast doors look like outstretched arms, ready to embrace our neighbors and invite them inside. And soon, a large banner over those doors will make it clear: this is more than just a front door—it’s an open invitation.
This Sunday’s brief, 30-minute consecration is the first of three Bring 1 events that will highlight our reoriented campus. We’ll mark the occasion with special food and fellowship, and we hope neighbors will join us in celebrating this milestone. I encourage you to come, and to bring along someone you haven’t seen in a while. Together, let’s share the joy as we raise the welcome banner to quite literally shout our welcome from the rooftop. That’s when a front door becomes so much more than just a door.
It’s going to be a beautiful Sunday; let’s fill it up!
Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,
Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor
Proud to be a United Woman in Faith
It always gets a laugh when I tell people that, by the Discipline of the United Methodist Church, every UMC pastor is a United Women in Faith member—and that I am proud to be one! More seriously, it has been the UWF (formerly UMW – United Methodist Women) who have long led our denomination in serious study and reflection on issues that impact God’s children globally.
One of my most enjoyable teaching experiences was teaching a class on global economics at the (then) UMW Missionary School in the mid-90s. Women of all ages from churches around the region gathered to learn about how an “American” car was actually a composite of parts and processes from around the world, often using labor at countries’ borders where workers could be paid a sub-living wage. It was the United Women in Faith who began to raise awareness that the much-touted North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the United States, and Mexico had a dark underbelly for poor families who had few options. While this was certainly an economic and political issue, for these faithful women it was first a moral, Christian, and human rights issue that needed voice and advocacy. Those women are still speaking out wherever God’s children are being unjustly trampled upon … just as Jesus did.
We will not hear of anything so dramatic this Sunday as we lift up our United Women in Faith. But what will remain the same is the boldness of faithful women (and men) to speak up for the grace of Jesus Christ and for those in our world who most need it. “When you did it for the least of these, you did it for me,” Jesus said. We are committed to that at FUMC Plano. Our women will remind us of that as we share communion this Sunday. I am proud of their witness and proud to be one of them!
Summer is over; it’s time to be back in church together and start the fall well together. See you Sunday!
Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,
Take Time to Be Holy
This is the title of an 1882 hymn by William D. Longstaff. Though venerable, its message is eternally contemporary:
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
The need to find that place apart from the craziness of the world is not just a vacation need but a daily need. It’s why Jesus pulled His disciples away for some “down time” together (Mark 6:31–32). It’s why I am thankful to hear of our members getting away over the summer or even just a long weekend. It’s why I urge my staff to take their PTO; they are better when they have been away to a quiet space somewhere else for a while. It’s why I am glad when I hear that a member has started a new prayer routine, found a helpful prayer app, or is going on an Emmaus Walk—they are looking to Jesus and “like Him (they) shalt be.”
The extended benefit of this is what Longstaff says in this second verse: “Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.” When we take care of ourselves, we see more clearly the Jesus who is in each other and in the gathered body of Christ; the benefit is exponential for the church.
I have enjoyed our time away in the mountains of Colorado, but I am looking forward to being back with my church family this Labor Day Sunday in order to see Jesus in each one of you. But I tell you in advance: some of our staff will be gone—I told them to go take some time to be holy somewhere!
Breathe peace,
Matt
A Ridiculous Vision?
Rev. Judith Reedy, Guest Writer
These last two Sundays have been inspirational and energizing! Derek set us up for the race with a fast-paced charge of “On Your Mark, Get Ready, Get Set, Go!”
Stacey followed up with “Surrounded and Still Running!” As Stacey reminded us, these stories are written for us. They have been written for FUMC Plano since we first began meeting together in 1847. Obviously, the meaning, the charge is different for each of us. Those before us, and certainly those to come, may not look like us, but the stories written are for those who are living an example that others can follow.
Stacey told of pastoring a new church start in an elementary school. Everything – chairs, screens, music and much more – at the end of any given Sunday, had to be stuffed back into a trailer for a week. She asked the question, “If there had been a week when we could not have unlocked that trailer of stuff, would we still have been the church?” The answer was/is “Yes!”
The journey, our journey, is not finished on any given Sunday. It is a lifetime journey – staying alert to whoever needs us along the way. Trying to imagine what that will look like may, on most days, turn out to be a “ridiculous vision,” which happens to be Jarrod’s sermon title for this coming Sunday.
Jesus had quite a few “ridiculous visions.” I’m guessing you have had a few of those yourself. Stay tuned for Rev. Johnston’s Word this Sunday!
Peace,
Pastor Judith
Fleshing Out Our Faith
Rebecca Grogan, Guest Writer
At our last 1st Thursday Night Book Club, we reviewed a book we all liked but felt should have been “fleshed out” a bit more. The language was flat and without passion. Aren’t we kind of like that as Christians? We’re trying, sometimes absently, and we believe, we’re striving to put our faith to work, but we need a little “fleshing out.”
Maybe we need to consider getting out of our comfort zone. What would it take for us to move our comfort needle? Is it missional work that needs to be fleshed out? Talk to Stacy Spears or her mission co-chairs, Cassandra Bowell or Suzanne Babb. There are so many opportunities at our church for you to experience!
Maybe we need to experience a new way of thinking, so try a class like a book study, a Bible study, or Book Club. It gives rise to reading you might not do on your own. It is amazing how many Christians shy away from biblical reading and thought. It is so valuable in fleshing out our faith and widening our comfort zone of witness. The good thing about these activities is discussion and debate, making it easier to understand and develop your own faith statement. Everyone grows! Come talk to me. We are doing a study of the Gospels because a member asked if the study was possible.
Maybe we are good at witnessing our faith through interactions and sharing, and we want to work with children or youth. This is an area always in need of strong, patient, and loving adults. Yes, they will test you, but what better way to stretch your comfort zone and flesh out your witness? Talk to Sarah Henson or Mardi Bowen to see where you can contribute.
I’m just hitting the obvious opportunities to flesh out your faith and witness. It is hard to do anything in our church and not grow in faith. I have a challenge for all: invite a friend or friends to come to church WITH you. Flesh out your witness. You can even let your friends know this is a challenge for you. I bet they will help you out! Let’s put a little more flesh, a little more color, and a little more passion into our faith.
A Review: Something Greater
Photo by Anita Hord
By Nancy Bryan-Ellison
From the moment the first note rang out, Something Greater felt like a production far bigger than its modest five-week rehearsal window. I had the rare privilege of having a “front-row seat” to its journey from concept to stage—helping with everything from casting calls to promotional graphics—and I can honestly say that what opened on stage looked and felt like the work of a company with months of preparation, not weeks.
It wasn’t without its hurdles. Casting an impressive group of young adults for a complex, original biblical musical is no small feat. There were last-minute role changes, a tight timeline, and the sheer ambition of bringing to life an imagined excerpt from the “Lost Book of Nathan.” But this cast and crew didn’t just rise to the challenge—they soared. The teamwork was palpable, creating a production that felt seamless and alive.
Written by FUMC Plano member L. Kim Ross, with music by Ross and our own Director of Worship Arts, Robin Kaufman Anderson, this original work weaves scripture, history, music, imagination, and drama into a story that feels both ancient and urgent. Though rooted in biblical history, the production’s creative mix of modern dress and ancient imagery made the story feel startlingly present. King David in a suit and spectacles and Nathan the Prophet in Nikes, carrying a black briefcase, brought the characters into our world, while the all-white apparitions evoked a timeless, spiritual realm.
While the entire company brought depth and energy to the stage, four performances stood as pillars of the musical’s success:
Elbert Haney, a Music Education major at Collin College, opened the musical with a strong, clear solo that set the tone for the evening. Though many of his roles were brief, each was performed with precision and presence—especially his portrayals of Young King David and the Apostle Paul. As Young David, Haney’s playful energy and musicality lit up the stage; as Paul, his passion and authority commanded it.
Griffin Shoemaker (King David) brought both authority and humor to the role. His David could roar with righteous anger one moment and disarm with sly wit the next. One particularly memorable scene came as he described his vision of the temple to his wife, Shey—equal parts comedy and sadness—revealing a king both proud and human. Having known Griffin since he was a child, it was a joy to see him come full circle in such a demanding role. His dual connection to the church—as both actor and staff member—added a special note of pride for me personally.
Hudson Donnell (Nathan), a senior at Wylie High School, anchored the story as our narrator and trusted guide. Tasked with both telling the story and living within it, Donnell delivered with wisdom, warmth, and grounded authority. He gained my trust immediately. In the second-to-last scene, his delivery of the line, “Things change. That doesn’t change everything. Perhaps it is not that everything happens for a reason, but that God can create reason out of everything,” will be a moment of truth that stays with me for a long time.
And among these seasoned professionals was Haley Villaruel, a University of Texas at Austin graduate and first-grade teacher in Richardson ISD. This was Haley’s first performance in a lead role and as a soloist. Her portrayal of King David’s wife, Bathsheba (known as Shey in the production), was sweet and kind, embodying a strong matriarch of reason. The show also explored some dramatic history about Shey’s marriage to King David, including the murder of her first husband—a gripping storyline that added intriguing depth to her character.
At its heart, Something Greater is more than a work of historical imagination. It’s a story about navigating change, finding purpose in the unexpected, and trusting that God’s plans—even when they differ from our own—are greater than we can imagine. This production not only told that story—it lived it in its creation. And in that way, the team behind Something Greater delivered something greater than even they may have envisioned: a piece of theatre that inspires, entertains, and leaves the audience reflecting long after the final bow.
Support the Arts at FUMC Plano
If Something Greater moved you, please consider supporting our music and arts ministries. Your generous donations help us continue creating meaningful productions that inspire, challenge, and bring our community together. To give, please CLICK HERE and choose MUSIC MINISTRY from the drop-down menu. Every gift, big or small, makes a difference. Thank you for helping us bring stories like this to life!