Bits from Beth – May 30, 2025

Dear Friends,

First of all, thank you for your support for Kairos #44 at the McPherson unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction. It is now the only all female prison unit in Arkansas and houses over 1300 female inmates. This time we had hundreds of applicants for the 30 positions available. We meet in Newport at 9:00am on Thursday, June 5th to sort cookies, create our prayer chain, and finish any last minute preparations before we enter the prison later that afternoon to meet our participants. Then on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from early in the morning until 8:30pm each evening, we will be in the prison sharing the gospel, worshiping, praying, and learning together. Kairos must fund the entire weekend including fees paid to the prison for use of their facilities, meals and snacks for three and a half days, and hotels for the volunteers. The total cost for the Kairos #44 will be over $15,000. Thanks to your generous support, we have raised $735 from out congregation plus have many commitments for prayer. I will be at Kairos on June 8th which is also one of my favorite Sundays, Pentecost. I hope you will come and support Ellen Horseman who will be our preacher that Sunday!

 

Happy Birthday to Dot Everett who turns 96 tomorrow and to Betty Crowder who turns 92 on June 4th. Ed House will have his 93rd birthday on June 14th.

 

Vacation Bible School begins June 16th and runs through June 19th. We will have a closing on Thursday the 19th, inviting parents and children to stay for a hot dog lunch! Last year the lunch was a huge success. We will bless the volunteers on June 15th. We thank all the leaders and workers who make VBS possible.

 

June 15th is also Father's Day and Communion Sunday. In recognition of the role that dads play in our lives, all our Communion Servers will be fathers that Sunday. Please let me know if you wish to be one of them.

 

Annual Conference will be held June 18th-20th at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Larry and Ellen Horseman are District Representatives. Patsy Hale is our Lay Delegate to Conference. The four of us will have voting rights but others are always welcome to attend. You can follow the livestream on Facebook or the ARUMC website. We will be voting on some polity changes in the Book of Discipline but we will not know the result of those votes until all Annual Conferences have voted.

 

If you have some free time this summer and wish to volunteer at the Food Pantry, please let Erin know. We have several that will be out in June and need a little extra help. Our summer Bible study on Monday evenings and Wednesday noon is called Everywhere Is Jerusalem. This is a study about Christianity as a journey of real people with their feet on the ground in real places. The writer, Rev. James Howell, will take us on a spiritual pilgrimage to significant places in the ongoing story of our faith. The Open Door class is starting a new study by the late Dr. James Moore entitled, Yes, Lord I Have Sinned but I Have Several Excellent Excuses. Dr. Moore is a great storyteller so I am sure you will like this updated book.

 

Finally, our Leadership Board is working on numerous updates to our building, our sound system, and our finances. We will have a Lunch & Learn on Teacher Appreciation Sunday, July 20th and you will be able to ask any questions you may have. As you can see, we have a busy summer but we are so thankful for your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Our relationship with each other and our relationship with Christ leads our ministry in Camden.

grace and peace,

Beth