Grace and peace to you. I’m Rev. Joe Cailles, the pastor of Peakland United Methodist Church in Lynchburg Virginia. Today is Wednesday, September 20, 2023. +

Do you know the word liminal? L I M I N A L liminal. It means a transitional or an in-between time or space. A hallway is a liminal space between two rooms. A liminal time is what I’m experiencing this week at Peakland: we are in-between big church events.

In the past two weeks, we started our fall kickoff with huge successes. With Rise Against Hunger, over 70 of us packaged over 10,000 rice and grain-based meals in about an hour and 10 minutes.

Last week, I presided at Peakland Pre-school’s all-school chapel service in the sanctuary. Dozens of preschoolers, all the Peakland preschoolers, gathered in the sanctuary together with their teachers, and we sang this Little light of Mine, enacted the first creation story in the Bible, and prayed our action prayer together.

This past Sunday, Parkland After Dark had its first regular meeting of the season. We had children, youth, parents, and grandparents together and we created homemade pizzas as a spiritual exercise by praying together and individually during the preparation, and the eating and clean up.

During these big church events it is easy to know and feel the presence of God during these big ministries.


Looking ahead, in October Peakland will begin a congregational study called Being United Methodist Christians. We’ll explore the United Methodist story, our beliefs, and our best practices as well as the challenges we United Methodists face. This is going to be a great study for all of us both lifelong United methodists and for those of us who are new comers to Peakland and to being United Methodist.

Next month, on October 17, the Ruth Circle will hold its grand Card Party here at the church to raise funds for supporting the helping agencies here in town. We also have our annual blood drive on November 9 and during Advent, we’ll have the second annual mission fair where we’ll have half a dozen ways to contribute and support helping agencies here in town.

Those are the big spirit filled items that lie ahead.

But this week, not a lot is happening at the church. We have our usual ministries and meetings. The Peakland staff met yesterday, and we prayed for our people and discussed church matters. The sanctuary choir and praise choir will rehearse later today.

I am working now with lay nominations to identify our church leaders for the upcoming year, so when someone calls and asks you to serve on a committee, I trust your answer will be, Of course, I’m willing and able to swerve. With pride and pleasure.

We are also in the middle of our Pave the way to grace Parking lot stewardship campaign. So far we’ve raised just over half the amount we need to raise. I turned in my first check and my pledge card this past Sunday. If you haven’t yet, now is the time.

This is a liminal week for me at Peakland, in between big church events. While it’s easy to see and know God’s presence in the big events both here at church and in our own lives, the good news for us is that God is also present in these quieter, in-between liminal moments of life as well. God is with us when we are high on the mountain top with us when life is rewarding. God is with us in the valleys of shadows when life is challenging and hard, and God is with us in the routine, every day, neither high nor low places in life. Today and in the days to come, look for God in the ordinary, run of the mill liminal spaces in your life.

Thanks be to God.