Melanie Smith
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Healing The Harm
At Brecksville United Methodist Church, we strive to create space to grow with God and one another. Part of that work is preventing, responding to and working to repair spiritual trauma. What is spiritual trauma? Spiritual harm can happen in religious spaces. We are constantly on a journey of understanding what harm is, as it…
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Celebrating 11 Years as a Reconciling Congregation
A Reconciling Congregation within the United Methodist Church is a local church that publicly welcomes and affirms all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, to full participation in its life and ministry. Reconciling Congregations are committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all God’s children and actively work for full equality for LGBTQ+…
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Pride Season Volunteer Opportunities
June Is Pride Month – an opportunity to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues and to advocate for equality and inclusion. Here are some opportunities for 2025 Pastor Heidi’s current sermon series is about getting off your donkey. Do you need some ideas? Here are some fun and worthwhile opportunities: Pride in the CLE 1. Have…
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Food Justice
We seek to embrace a food economy based on the values of stewardship, sustainability and justice. Learn more:
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Home Days Booth
It’s a joyful gathering of the whole community, right outside the church doors! We have reserved our booth and will be selling Brecksville UMC Cookbooks and Ice Cream Floats, to help raise money to pay for our parking lot repairs. And, even more importantly, we’ll have the opportunity to listen to our community and tell…
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Donation Drive for B. Riley House
B. Riley House is an LGBTQ+ Drug and Alcohol Treatment facility in Cleveland providing temporary, safe, affirming, recovery-oriented living space. They offer alcohol and drug treatment services, mental health assessment and treatment and psychotherapy to help each individual along their journey to long-term recovery from substance abuse challenges. Our June Donation Drive will help support…
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Sensory Inclusion
Brecksville United Methodist Church is a Certified Sensory Inclusive Facility Since 2017, Brecksville United Methodist Church has partnered with KultureCity® to earn Sensory Inclusive™ Certified status, which helps us live into our mission of creating safe spaces for everyone to grow with God and one another! This lifelong learning enhances our ability to assist and…
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Grief Comes in Waves
Each time someone in our community passes, it leaves a void. When that person is on staff, and has been for the better part of a decade, I’m discovering that void is much larger. Not because Dana was “more important,” but simply because she was someone whose fingerprints are all around our church. She loved…
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A Summer Devotional
Summer Days: A Companion to Mary Oliver’s “Devotionals” by Salt Project At its best, summer is a season of rest and joy – tapping into the ancient, sacred practice of sabbath restoration. Mary Oliver can help us reconnect with this dimension of summertime, savoring what she calls its “luminous sprawl of gifts.” This devotional is…
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Serve a Meal at South Street Ministries
You are invited to be part of the the incredible work of loving and serving our neighbors in South Akron and Summit Lake! At South Street Ministries, transformation happens through relationships, and volunteers are at the heart of that mission. Whether it’s mentoring youth at Open Gym, preparing meals for our Reentry meetings, helping in…