Posts with the category “pastor-s-desk”

It was a beautiful day for a ribbon-cutting! We held the grand opening of the True Health Enterprise Wellness Cottage in Enterprise on Thursday, October 17th. The Wellness Cottage, located just off our Enterprise campus, will provide essential pediatric and adult primary wellness care, a financial navigator, and on-site laboratory services for our area. What started off as a simple conversation on...  Read More

Last Tuesday, twenty participants came together for an exciting evening of learning, creativity, and fellowship, as ladies hosted a Charcuterie 101 class. The class was led by the talented Deborah, with the assistance of her sous chef, Deleene, while Michele shared her expertise on crafting beautiful salami rosettes. It was a delightful evening filled with creativity, laughter, and food as partici...  Read More

If you were to ask me what I love most about ministry, I wouldn’t hesitate. Baptizing new believers and teaching the faith, especially in moments like confirmation, brings me the deepest joy. This past Sunday, we had the privilege of witnessing the fruits of our church’s faithful work, and it was incredible While I don’t always think of membership as the primary fruit, I have to say, the conversat...  Read More

Do you ever feel like you’re not enough? Or what you have isn’t enough to make a difference? Sometimes what seems insignificant at first can actually become an Overflow. During this series, we'll explore generosity in a way that encourages giving to express the abundance of God's grace in our lives instead of obligation or religious doctrine. When we live out this model of generosity, our giving b...  Read More

Hurricane Helene left many of us binge watching the weather channel last week and thankful that Florida made it through with minimal damage, especially the Big Bend area. That thankfulness was quickly diminished as the reports came in from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) is one of the few organizations allowed into disaster zones a...  Read More

In our Wesleyan Rooted sermon series, I've been talking each week about the membership Sunday we have coming up on October 13. So, you might be wondering why you should join the church. Anyone who has been baptized, at any age, in any Christian denomination (protestant or Catholic) may join the United Methodist Church. Membership is about making a statement, that we're your church home. You're don...  Read More

Our church has had a Pumpkin Patch for many years. Over the years, it has supported our youth, children, and women's ministries. The past couple of years, we've used it as a general fundraiser for the church. It's much more than a fundraiser though. What we've learned over the past few years is that the Pumpkin Patch gives us an incredible opportunity to connect with people in our community. There ...  Read More

After being removed from her biological home because her mother was unable to care for her, Bri came to Residing Hope. Watch as Bri talks about how the support she has received is helping her heal and become successful. That means we are scheduled to have a Fifth Sunday Offering on September 29th! It was started in 1906, two years before the actual founding of the Florida Methodist Orphanage and r...  Read More

The Boomers met this week to start back their "Mailbox Motivations" for the teachers at Bannerman Learning Center. With it being the first of the school year, they went with "No Waffling Around". We want to give a big shout out to Waffle House for donating these coupons for waffles and hashbrowns, along with everyone from the church who donated waffles. The team is placing the frozen waffles in the teachers breakroom so they have breakfast/sna...  Read More

Starting in 2 weeks, September 11th, we're holding groups for all ages on Wednesday nights. We'll do this for 5 weeks during the Wesleyan rooted series. Why? Multiple reasons: Sunday isn't enough. If the only place you're getting your spiritual growth is in worship on Sunday, you aren't getting enough. Sunday is designed to be an amplifier for what we're doing independently and in small groups. It's...  Read More

I'm so excited to be preaching this next series called Wesleyan Rooted. Churches all across the Florida Conference will be participating in this same series some time this fall which was developed by pastors within our conference.This series will help us do all three: love God, love others, and share Christ. For those of us who have been United Methodist for a long time, it will recenter us on the...  Read More

Bishop Berlin shares a word about Residing Hope, its impact, and why it's so vital to our community. Click to watch. We are hosting a 10th Anniversary Celebration for our Madison Youth Ranch on Saturday, October 12, 2024. The gates will open at 10:00 a.m. We will have a celebratory program with a catered lunch and very special music and speakers beginning at 11:00 a.m. Ranch tours will be availabl...  Read More

The Book of Acts tells the story of the early church, where the disciples lived out Jesus's last words to "go make disciples of all nations and baptize them." In Acts 16:15 we read:[Lydia] and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed. (NLT)This is ju...  Read More

Did you know that teachers rely on parents and donations for many of their school supplies? Those supplies can be anything from Clorox wipes to pencils to the decorations in their rooms. I feel so blessed to have many teachers (and retired educators) in our church who help us stay connected with how we can support our local schools.With school starting, I wanted to share with you who in our church...  Read More

What an amazing week we had at Scuba VBS We asked the kids to share God sightings, so I want to take a moment and share some God Sightings of mine. Last year for VBS, I was one of a couple of adults that did our very best to help some of our new friends find a place during VBS when the music was too loud or the environment was too overwhelming. In the past year, we've made this a priority within ou...  Read More

Three of our youth participated in the Florida Future Chef Student Cook-Off. Our three young men were excited and privileged to learn from the best: Costa Magoulas, the Dean at the Mori Hosseini College of Hospitality and Culinary Management at Daytona State College, Chef Michael Taylor from South Beach, and Chef Perry Li of the Cocky Rooster in Deltona. Our aspiring chefs cooked Sazon Gator with ...  Read More

Many may ask, "What's the point of confirmation?" or "Isn't that a Catholic thing?" If I had to choose one thing that you found a way for your teenager to do, it would be confirmation. It's so important for the spiritual development because it helps them understand what's different about Christianity from all the other belief systems in our world. As our students go through the important process of...  Read More

Did you know that as a church, we host events for other organizations and people? In a given quarter, we may host a health screening, birthday party, board meeting, scouts, and a sheriff's meeting. It's been part of the church's goals over the past 2 years to make our spaces available to the community. We work to keep our facilities up-to-date and looking nice. We don't want them to just sit aroun...  Read More

This is going to be a long post, and I'm sorry for that. There are two sections though, so some of you won't care about all of these sections. The first is my reflections after attending Annual Conference this year. The second section is the official report from the Annual Conference, with more technical details. You can jump to which section you want to read. We started conference off with an eve...  Read More

Legacy Scholars Academy's 4th Annual Student Art Showcase was held on May 17th at the historic Enterprise Museum. A large crowd of local leaders and art enthusiasts converged to see and learn about the amazing artwork done by our incredible artists from the Legacy Scholars Academy at Residing Hope in Enterprise under the direction of their teacher Melissa Stilwell. The artwork by artists from sixth...  Read More

I want to share that the year ended strong with the Boomers and Bannerman. They delivered 11 months of mailbox appreciations along with something in the workroom for the teachers. Along with these items, the Boomers also provided breakfast multiple times and an appreciation bar for Teacher Appreciation week that was "grab and go" style. We also started to work with businesses in our community to hel...  Read More

Last week, I took time away to plan the remainder of 2024 in regards to worship. I love spending this time with God and listening to where he wants our church to go. Most importantly, how he wants our energy to be spent. I'm a firm believer that when this type of work is done in advance, it makes it easier to adapt to all the things life throws our way. I have seen this come true so many times in m...  Read More

A Story Arc is one or more consecutive comic book issues that define a story with a beginning, middle, and end.The Bible is not just a collection of stories but a saga that intertwines with our own lives. It's the tale of Yahweh and Adam, the prodigal son and his ever-gracious heavenly father, humanity in its rebellion and God in its grace. This narrative begins with Eden and concludes once creati...  Read More

In 2019, Circle of Friends Services became a division of the Florida United Methodist Children's Home, now known as Residing Hope. This was a very important and vital addition to the growing range of services being provided by the Children's Home at that time. By providing trauma-based therapy to children and families at an earlier point, it was possible to avoid the need for higher levels of care...  Read More

I am so excited about the number of new families joining the church in the past year. These new families have brought many new children, and Katie has done a fantastic job in Kid's Club. I'm trying an experiment to connect our new families with a group called Friends Unleashed. Over the summer, we're going to do some fun weekend outings that are family-friendly so you can bring the kids with you. The...  Read More

May 4th is International Firefighters Day. On Sunday May 5th at their local 12:00 pm, Firehouses and others all over the country will pause to remember the men and women who are no longer with them by sounding off. Since we won't be together at that moment, I encourage you to take a moment to stop and pray for all of those who will be remembering a lost friend or loved one..You might notice if you...  Read More

Everyone wants to enjoy life, but only some know how to put themselves in the right place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to experience joy in the journey. This three-week message series will explain what fun is, how to permit ourselves to have fun, and how to add more to our lives. This is a sharing Christ series. We'll look at passages in scriptures that talk about worship and joy and ref...  Read More

From Karen: The Boomers met on April 2nd and prepared the monthly mailbox motivations for the Bannerman (BLC) faculty and staff. Hagan Ace Hardware in Green Cove donated flower seed packets. We attached notes to each packet and placed them in faculty and staff mailboxes (pictured above). This week, Pizza Hut of Green Cove provided the staff with pasta trays and breadsticks for lunch, and the Boomers...  Read More

In a short time, people worldwide and news stations alike will be turning their eyes to Charlotte, NC, as the United Methodists gather for the first time in 5 years to handle the general business of the church. More than 800 men and women from around the globe have been elected and are now preparing to represent their Annual Conferences by working with their delegations.The Florida Annual Conferen...  Read More

Over eight days, March 16-23, we participated in 3 events and helped feed people across Clay County. Thank you to everyone who helped, either by volunteering, donating items, or giving financially. A team of us went to Jacksonville to pack food at a table our church sponsored. This event was the 2nd Annual Faith in Action that Hunger Fight has put on. Churches sponsored all the tables. It was so much f...  Read More

I can't fully express how blessed I was by the day of worship we had for Palm Sunday, but I will try. But first, I'll confess. I make decisions based on data and prayer. So, when looking at worship times for Palm Sunday and Easter, I spent a lot of time reviewing numbers from last year, especially our children's. After talking with Katie, we felt it was best to have two services so that a new famil...  Read More

People place boundaries to keep us safe, like a guard rail at a cliff or a glass wall at the lion's exhibit. Sometimes, we see walls and fences as challenging to find a way over or around them. Sometimes, this challenging spirit can be healthy in life, but other times, it can lead us to captivity. Jesus died and rose again so that we would be set free of sin, shame, and death. It's up to us to ens...  Read More

Every month, our Boomers focus on a project to show love to the teachers at Bannerman Learning Center. Here are some pictures from their recent meeting where they were putting together the mailbox motivations. For February, the Children's Ministry helped create Valentine cards. The Boomers took these cards and set up a candy bar in the teachers lounge as a small way of showing the teachers they are loved by others. They al...  Read More

If you've wondered where I've been this week (which is not the office), I've been at the 2024 Exponential Conference. Here's why that should matter to you. The theme this year is: ONE-EIGHTY — Return to Disciple Making. Although making disciples is the clear mission of the Church, when asked, most churches say that making disciples who make disciples is still their biggest weakness. We sense God is c...  Read More

Holy Week is the week of Palm Sunday or the week leading into Easter. As early as the 4th century, we have seen Christians take extra fasts, go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and attend special services as they approach the remembrance of our Lord's most challenging days on earth.To aid in your Holy Week practice, I am preparing a set of pre-recorded services that will be about 15 minutes e...  Read More

Jennifer has been attending our church since 2007. She has been a part of a United Methodist congregation for most of her life; she joined God in baptism at a United Methodist congregation in Pennsylvania. Jennifer has seen multiple pastors come and go here at Fleming Island UMC but felt God lay it on her heart recently to reaffirm her baptism, make a public profession of faith, and make us officia...  Read More

Yesterday started Lent with Ash Wednesday. For those who have been United Methodist (or Catholic or Lutheran), Lent is something you’ve experienced in some way your entire life. For others who may have come from another church or no church background, Lent may be a new thing. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter. If you exclude Sundays (which are non-fasting days), that equals...  Read More

Last week, we experienced our 3rd mixer event. I came home from a conference last year with the idea to hold a mixer in a neutral location (not the church) with the goal of helping new worshipers meet people and feel better connected to the church. We held our first event April 2023.Last week, we learned we could have too many people on this patio to be comfortable Is that not a wonderful proble...  Read More

Sometimes it feels like when we pray, God isn’t there. Why do we suffer and pray, but God stays silent? We’ll journey through the silence of unanswered prayers through the stages of Holy Week, reflecting on how God can still be present, even in the silence. This is a story of faith, hope, and love beyond all understanding. This is a loving God series. We'll look at how our prayer life is connecte...  Read More

The Kitchen of Clay County has become one of our favorite ways to serve our community. This past weekend, 6 of our members went out to Middleburg to serve those in our community who need some support. We don't ask why they need the meals or check their qualifications. If people show up and ask for food, we give it to them. The team showed up with 5 crock pots of soup and stuff to make sandwiches. 131 servi...  Read More