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?
Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative
A new grant is available to support endeavors that help children come to know and love God and grow in faith.
The Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative aims to support programs that help congregations strengthen worship and prayer practices that respect how children experience God and express their faith, include children with disabilities, draw upon the arts, create opportunities for Bible storytelling, and connect worship to the daily lives of children and families.
Proposals are due by 5 p.m. (ET) on May 6, 2024.
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