June 5, 2011
Thomas Merton died in December 1963 at the age of 53
by touching a poorly grounded fan while stepping out of
the shower in Bangkok. His body was flown back to
Gethsemani, Kentucky where he is buried. His writings
continue to influence Christians who are striving for a
deeper relationship with the living God. He wrote
[We] in modern technological society [have] begun to be callous and
disillusioned. [We have] learned to suspect what claims to be new, to doubt all
the "latest" in everything. [We are] drawn instinctively to the new, and yet [we
see] in it nothing but the same old sham. The specious glitter of newness, the
pretended creativity of a society in which youthfulness is commercialized and
the young are old before they are twenty, fills some hearts with utter despair.
There seems to be no way to find any real change. "The more things change," says
a French proverb, "the more they are the same."
Yet in the deepest ground of our being we still hear the insistent voice
which tells us: "You must be born again."
There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of
creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes our
lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a
recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves. To
be born again is not to become somebody else, but to become ourselves.1
How profound, to be born again is to become ourselves. I have come to love
the writings of Thomas Merton. In this reading I am reminded of the sociological
idea that we all wear masks; that none of us are ever really ourselves. We wear
a certain mask in the work place and different one when we are around family and
friends; and I would add that we also wear a different mask when we are in the
church and when we interact with God. I don’t necessarily believe that this is a
bad thing, just a reality. So I wonder when or if ever in life we are really
truly ourselves. I guess the old adage that God knows us better then we know
ourselves is true.
To be born again is to become ourselves, not something we do in a
moment but rather throughout our life time. And to become ourselves is to become
the person God created us to be. A journey that requires being in relationship
with self, with others and with God as we discover together what it means to
remove the masks that hide our innerbeing. May we grow more in love with God as
we grow in relationship together!
Ed
¹ Thomas Merton. Love and Living. Naomi Burton Stone and Brother Patrick
Hart, editors. New York, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1979: 176.
This page last updated:
June 5, 2011
Reverend Dr. Ed Judy, Senior
Pastor Morrow First UMC
Ed was appointed to Morrow First
UMC June 2007. He is married to the former Julie Shafer
from Berlin Center, Ohio. They have one daughter,
Lauren.
Ed enlisted in the United States Army when he was
eighteen years old. He served 42 months and was honorably discharged as a
Sergeant. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree he was commissioned as a
2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army, Signal Corps.
While on active duty in the United States Army Ed
served in Germany; Korea; Japan; Fort Gordon, Georgia; Fort Sill, Oklahoma;
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and Fort McPherson, Georgia. Ed retired as a
Major from the Army Reserves September 1, 2002 after serving 231/2 years.
Ed has a Doctorate of Ministry from Erskine Theological
Seminary, Due West South Carolina, a Master of Divinity from ‘Emory
University, Candler School of Theology’ and Master of Public Administration
from the University of Oklahoma, Norman Oklahoma.
He is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church,
North Georgia Conference. He served as pastor to New Hope UMC June 1996 –
2001; to Forest Park UMC 2001 – 2006; and to Saint Paul UMC 2006 – 2007. He
was appointed to Morrow First UMC June 2007. Ed has also served on the
district committee on finance, Hispanic ministries and the North Georgia UMC
homeless council.
Julie has a Bachelor of Social Work from Marshall
University; she is a Certified Pharmacy Technician and has worked for twelve
year at Henry Medical Center. Lauren is a graduate of the University of
Georgia and currently in her second year at Candler School of Theology of
Emory University where she is working toward a Master of Theological
Studies.
Pam Rich
Administrative Assistant for Morrow First United
Methodist Church has served in this position since 2008. Pam is the key data input person for the computer.
She prepares office correspondence, bulletins, and
mailing lists. She is also the content manager for the
church Web site. Although born at Frances E.Warren Air
Force Base in Cheyenne , Wyoming (family is from
Tennessee ), Pam has been a resident of Jonesboro since
1970. She currently holds several leadership positions
in her church including Sunday School teacher for the
Searchers Class, Member of the Joy Sunday School Class,
Sunday School greeter, Chair of the Visitation Ministry,
Member of the Administrative Board, Member of the
Council on Ministries, Member of the BBQ Committee,
Member of the Mary Alice Boyd Scholarship Committee,the
Co-Chair of the Bereavement Committee and a Wedding
Hostess. Pam has previously been an acolyte and the
Family Care Chair. Her hobbies include bowling,
cross-stitch,reading.
Becky Griffin
Donna Weeks
Donna Weeks has been the Director of Music Ministries
at Morrow First United Methodist Church since 1995. She
is also the choral director at East Coweta High School.
Donna has sung with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Chorus for the past twelve years, giving performances at
Carnegie Hall and one at Avery Fischer Hall in Lincoln
Center.
Donna performed a concert series with the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra in March 2007 in conjunction with the
American Choral Directors Association national
convention in Miami, Florida. Donna has been a member of
the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus since 1990. She
was one of 40 women chosen from the association to
perform the Debussy Nocturnes at the convention. Donna
has traveled numbers times to Carnegie Hall to sing with
the Association. She also spent eight days in Berlin,
Germany with the Association singing with the Berlin
Philharmonic. In 2008, Donna will again sing with the
Association at Carnegie Hall in April and in Berlin,
Germany in May. Way to go, Donna!
Jackie Davis
Jackie returns as Church Accompanist in February
2005. Previously, she served as church accompanist from
1984 to 1998.
Jackie has been a member of Morrow First United
Methodist Church since 1987. She has a Masters Degree in
Music with a concentration in Piano Pedagogy. Jackie and
her husband, Don have two children, Casey and Luke. She
has taught many piano students in private and studio
settings and continues to share her talent with us, her
church family. Jackie and her husband are the parents of
two teenagers.
Nannette Dooley
Nannette has been a nursery worker for Morrow First
United Methodist Church since 1997. She is active in the
United Methodist Women, the Handbell Choir and the
Chancel Choir. She is a member of the Administrative
Board, Class of 2008. Outside of the church, Nannette
does clerical work. Nannette has one son who deployed to
Bahrain in July 2006.
Elizabeth Lee
Elizabeth has served in the nursery of Morrow First
United Methodist Church since 1995. She has kept the
nursery in her own church for since 1965 and for the
Homemakers Club since 1977 at their meeting places.
Elizabeth, married since February 16, 1952, has eight
children, 16 grandchildren, and five
great-grandchildren. Her hobbies include crafts. Taking
care of children is Elizabeth's ministry. She loves
children, as they are a joy to her.
Tracy Holland
Tracy, a newly wed in May 2007 has served as a
part-time custodian at Morrow First United Methodist
Church since 1998, and previously from 1988-1992.. He
has been a full-time custodian for the Clayton County
School System since 1983, currently working at Jonesboro
Middle School. Tracy is active in his church and enjoys
his hobbies, which include football, basketball, bowling
and pool.
