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Prayer is the firm foundation for everything we do at White Plains UMC. Prayer is a constant in our everyday lives and is what helps guide our path. There can never be such a thing as too much prayer, which is a good thing because prayer is a way that everyone can participate in the ministry of the church. You can always pray. God hears us anywhere and everywhere. How can prayer help the ministries of our church? One area of…

The purpose of the White Plains UMC Food Pantry is to share God’s love, without discrimination, in a visible and tangible way. We treat those who come for food as true guests. This ministry exists to serve Cary, NC, and the surrounding community by providing food, and so much more to anyone in need. The Food Pantry Ministry brings together volunteers of all ages, and backgrounds to help make God’s love real to our community. This December the Food Pantry increased their…

So, what is Lent? By definition, it’s the forty days before Easter, excluding Sundays. Basically, it’s a tithe of the year, if you round up a little bit. A tithe of time–we’re supposed to tithe at least 10% of our money, our food, our resources, our time to God, and it’s supposed to be the best 10%, off the top, not the 10% of what’s left over after we do everything else. Have you ever thought of Lent like that…

It’s a new year. What are you going to do with it? Lots of people, myself included,  make resolutions to become a better version of themselves, especially during this season. For example, some people vow to be healthier and join a gym. Memberships are up in January. Attendance drops in March. People make plans to clean out the clutter and end up moving the piles around without actually getting rid of anything. Making resolutions seems to be easier than keeping…

When you think of spiritual disciplines what pops into your mind? Tithing? Fasting? Study? Ever think of play being a spiritual discipline? No. Me neither. But according to Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, “Play is the exuberant expression of our being. It is at the heart of our creativity… It helps us live with absurdity, paradox, and mystery. It feeds our joy and wonder.” “Exuberant expression of our being”, huh? What does exuberant mean? According to Merriman-Webster, exuberant means “joyously…

In the 4th century, desert mothers and fathers chose to live in isolation, away from the busyness of the world in order to focus on God. They moved into caves in the middle of the desert. Today, people choose to join a cloistered monastery and live a life separated from the busyness of the world. A dis-ease (not disease) could strike them if they were not careful and we, too, can succumb to this as we are forced into isolation.…

This past Sunday I participated in worship in a completely different way and from a different point of view than I ever have before. Our faithful servant John, who runs the visuals on the screens at the 8:30am Traditions service, was away on vacation and I offered to run the slides for him. I often serve as the Liturgist or worship leader at that service and occasionally preach at it as well as singing in the choir almost every week.…

This year was the 25th anniversary of the Oldies Drive-in. It’s a fairly simple idea that takes well over 100 volunteers to pull off. We turn the parking lot of the church into a 50s style drive-in restaurant. Youth dressed in 50s attire take orders from folks in their cars and bring out hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes and fries. We even have RC cola and moon pies. We always have some beautiful classic cars on display and live music. Twenty-five…

As part of our Heart & Home Journey campaign, the prayer team published a 21-day prayer guide with devotionals authored by members of our congregation. Our youth ministry co-president Shelby Hinshaw wrote the following devotional for this guide. May you be blessed by her thoughts today and moved to action and prayer. LOVING GOD = LOVING EACH OTHER Scripture: 1 John 4: 17-21  17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live…

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 Recently the world-wide United Methodist Church held a General Conference specifically to deal with questions around human sexuality. We recognize that treating people of sacred worth as an issue to be voted about causes pain and harm. The resulting decisions of the Conference still face judicial review and there…

There are so many wonderful missions going on at White Plains that sometimes things go under the radar. Recently we received this testimony from Betty Highfill who has been the primary supporter of the Cooking Matters ministry in partnership with the YMCA. Betty is looking to step down from this post and hoping someone else will be inspired by her story. If you’d like to learn more you can email Betty at Thanks to Betty for sharing her story below…

What kind of God? What kind of God do you really believe in? A master architect who set the world into motion but has very little concern for what happens day to day? Or do you believe in a God that not only cares about the intimate details of our lives but is actively involved in them? When I hear stories like what happened at this year’s Christmas toy drive, I am convinced that the latter is the more true…

JOY On Sunday mornings when I stand with the congregation of WPUMC and sing the beautiful old hymns accompanied by our amazing organ played by our gifted organist, Mac; I feel like my heart will burst with joy. I am so blessed by God. Sometimes it is hard to remember that in 2017 things were very different for me. I wasn’t able to attend church. I spent over 2 months of that year in the hospital and rehab. For much…

This past Sunday our Minister of Congregational Care, Dr. Lee Heathcoat, offered the following prayer. It is a powerful litany of what can happen in a single week when the Body of Christ is united in loving God and loving others. May we continue to live into our call to be a Disciple-making church on mission for Christ. When we do, such joys will be the result. Here is Dr. Lee’s prayer: How can our hearts be anything other than…

  This past weekend I wrestled and argued with God about what to do with the sermon. I had prepared what seemed like a good message based on the Apostle Paul’s use of an ancient Christian hymn in his letter to the church at Phillipi. But somehow in the wake of the tragic, racially motivated shootings in Kentucky and Pittsburgh, it seemed inadequate and inappropriate. Surely we cannot be business as usual on such a day. But much as I…

Over the years I’ve had friends who work at or attend non-denominational churches bemoan the fact that I serve at a United Methodist Church. “You guys have to send a bunch of your money to the central church, and you don’t even get to pick your pastors – and what if you don’t agree with something?” “Wouldn’t it be easier to just make your church independent?” “Or at least you could go to work for a non-denominational church,” they say,…

Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. – Matthew 14:29 The late great youthworker, Mike Yacconelli shared an interesting twist on the story of Jesus walking on the water and calling Peter to get out of the boat. Most of us, when we consider the full story, focus on Peter’s fear, how he takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to sink. And that’s a legitimate reading…