
Cynthia Weems
Senior pastor, First UMC of Miami
Cynthia D. Weems is senior pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Miami, Florida. A graduate of Millsaps College and Yale Divinity School, she has served in mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia and has pastored suburban and urban multi-ethnic churches in the United States. Her current setting for ministry has an extensive outreach to the diverse homeless community in Miami.


Cynthia Weems: Worshipping on the edge of our seats

Seeing her daughter’s reaction to a Brazilian service with music and drama made a pastor wonder whether our traditional liturgy creates distance between us and a Jesus who acts in our midst.



Cynthia Weems: Let the story do the work

Complex moments don’t call for complex answers. They need stories.

Cynthia Weems: Disappointment in March Madness and church

Maybe we get so disgusted with our sports heroes because they are just like us -- unable to live up to expectations.

Cynthia Weems: Communion both Catholic and Protestant

I was a part of a Catholic Mass, in a Catholic church, where I stood at the altar alongside a Catholic priest.

Cynthia Weems: Church as body repair

A recent fender-bender shows something of the nature of God, God’s people, and those called to lead them.

Cynthia Weems: The peculiar, fragile phenomenon of marriage

Our institutions have to be based on something stronger than how we feel at a given moment. But what would that be precisely?

Cynthia Weems: "Toy Story" and church

We don't have problems welcoming people into church. We have problems ushering them deeper into discipleship.

Cynthia Weems: Amos as children's sermon

Great buildings showing tremendous wealth need architectural plumb lines. God uses a different plumb line to show Amos that human beings need more.

Cynthia Weems: Basic kindness in jail

A trip to the detention center, expected to be arduous, turned out to be pleasant. Are our churches this friendly and helpful?

Cynthia Weems: Confirmation and remedial grace

How do we entice outsiders to want more of the grace offered in the church? How do we entice ourselves?

Cynthia Weems: The gospel of the underdog

The tomb, meant to be the eternal home of a loser, was empty.

Cynthia Weems: Where's your Ark?

What is sacred to those who live or work or worship with you? How do you place that where it draws in everyone -- and tells the truth?

Scholarships available for the Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising
This scholarship supports participants in the Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising (ECRF), a program designed to help religious leaders explore the spirituality of fundraising and gain skills essential for their work.
Applications are open now through October 27, 2025.
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