Bits from Beth

June 2, 2026

 

Dear Friends:

June has arrived! There is so much to share as we enter the last two months of transition. One of the most difficult issues in a transition is the adjustment we all make concerning the gifts and graces of differing pastors. The staff has to make adjustments but so does the church. When I came eight years ago, I saw a need for better communications. I already had a daily devotional but we also created a weekly newsletter in addition to the weekly bulletin. During COVID-19, we went to a newsletter twice a week until last December. Kay Martin had been mailing out a weekly Sunday School lesson to her class which we expanded to all those who do not have email which included many of our shut-ins. We added a newsletter component to the lesson plus the prayer list and birthday list. There has been so much positive feedback on the mailed newsletter that we hope to continue it. Kay volunteered each week to address, stamp, and stuff the envelope. Hopefully, another volunteer will step forward now that she has moved.

 

If you see a mistake in the bulletin, do not blame Erin. It is all on me. It seemed ridiculous for me to type out what I wanted in the bulletin and hand it to Erin so I gradually started doing the bulletin because it was more efficient. That freed her to manage the building (lots of work), and manage all the finances which included the finances of our preschool and food ministries. We implemented security measures for counting money. The ushers give us an initial count then Dick Dickson, our Treasurer, comes in every Monday morning to do a second count. Dick will be stepping down as Treasurer in December and we hope someone volunteers to take his place. He has been a great asset for Erin. We are so appreciative of Dick’s diligence and good humor every Monday.

 

Thanks to Mike Murphree, our thermostats are on a system that can be managed on our phones. When we have an event, we can program the system without having to run down to the church. This is most helpful on Sunday mornings when it is very cold or very hot. Sometimes I had to come to the church at 6:00am to turn on the heat or air so it would be comfortable by the time you arrived. Now, I wake up and do it on my phone. Someone does have to come open the doors because many arrive for Sunday School an hour early. Our new pastor should not be forced into accommodating our church because a church member does not want to volunteer.

 

Before Honey Reynolds died, she and her family always prepared communion once a month. Erin has taken over that task and we switched to Hawaiian Bread because we did not have time to do the piecrust wafers. It would be helpful if someone would commit to preparing communion every month. We will have communion on the first Sunday this month but it is usually scheduled for the second Sunday. I work on the Liturgist schedule and the Communion Server schedule. It would be helpful if someone managed that as well. These are all small, easy tasks that in most churches, would be handled by a volunteer.  That volunteer could be you.

 

We will be adjusting the Order of Worship starting Sunday, June 21st because every pastor gets used to a certain order of worship and it is awkward coming to a new church and having to adjust so we will use the order Pastor Ryan uses in his current church. He may make changes later but it will be easier for him starting out. The one thing we will not change is our welcome time because that is too important to our people. We want to have a smooth transition which means we do everything we can to welcome our new pastor and his family. The Leadership had a work day at the parsonage on Saturday to ease the amount of maintenance required in the yard. This coming Saturday, they will remove the broken concrete slab where the storage building once stood and hopefully, put up a new mailbox. (The old one broke during the ice storm.) We have plans to update the kitchen and have already torn part of the cabinets out.

 

You will hear more from the Leadership team on welcoming Ryan, Lyndsey, and Emerson. Please make every effort to be in church on his first Sunday, July 5th. Yes, it is a holiday weekend but please try. Round Robin Services will begin that weekend at Norphlet First United Methodist Church with Rev. Ron Grisby of Thornton UMC preaching. This is a tradition that we re-established two years ago. It is a time of worship, singing, and fellowship with other UM churches in our area. Our church will host on August 16th. All services are at 6:00pm. There is an offering taken each week that goes to the Wesley Foundation at SAU. Rev. Timothy Rushing, Director of the Wesley Foundation, will speak at a couple of the Round Robins.

 

In our Book of Worship, there is liturgy for saying goodbye to a pastor and a liturgy for receiving a new pastor. We will be using it this year because I believe closure is important and welcoming is important. My last Sunday at this great church will be June 14th. SPRC has scheduled a reception before the service from 9:15am to 10:15am.

 

Last but certainly not least, our Vacation Bible School begins next week. This is a big event and it is planned and carried out by an amazing team of volunteers. If you cannot join us, please pray that every child may experience the love of God in our church next week and every week!

 

Grace and peace,

Beth