Jun 30th, 2023 | Rev. Alyce Parmer

Throughout my spiritual journey, my prayer life has changed.

Just as we biologically change daily (very subtly, those changes barely noticed) so can we spiritually change. And prayer, its influence, power, and effect on our spiritual beings, is what this pastor’s note is about this week. I don’t understand prayer…it is truly an utter mystery to me. Maybe for you, too.

But here’s the thing. Healthy or bad habits, whether biological or spiritual have their effects for better or worse. I’ve learned the habit of practicing prayer produces spiritual fruit, even if I don’t understand how that works. Which is really vexing for me.

I like to know the why and how. God hasn’t provided an answer, much to my chagrin. But I have a kind of peace about that…as an old hymn says – “we’ll understand it all by and by”. What I have experienced is prayer does produce spiritual fruit. You’ll find some of those fruits named in Galatians 5. Mysteriously, this fruit grows, just as all fruit grows slowly, change barely perceptible until, voila – a tiny bud transforms into something beneficial.

Unlike biological fruit though, spiritual fruit benefits, not only us, but others too – consider the spiritual fruits of patience, kindness, self-control and love. The effects of prayer are often surprising, and God did what only God can do recently in this regard. I hadn’t been praying for it, but voila, mysteriously, the Holy Spirit gave me an insight into something – something about myself I hadn’t realized, and that God mysteriously changed for the better without me even asking for it! The details aren’t important, but I share this experience with you because prayer is the key to what happened.

Prayer is a time of thanking, praising, beseeching, or petitioning God for us and on behalf of others, but it can be so much more. In the stillness, the Holy Spirit moves in ways and means beyond our understanding. Because our human interactions involve our physical senses, it’s challenging to realize God “hears”, “sees”, is “with”, and “speaks” to us when we pray. Just as St. Francis of Assisi said: “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”, it’s also true that we can, pray at all times, and if necessary, use words.

I hope I’ve piqued your interest in developing a deeper, stronger, and richer prayer life. If I have, be on the lookout for in an upcoming opportunity Pastor Charlie will be offering to do just that.

Blessings!

Pastor Alyce

June 25th, 2023 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

Can you guess what the most common question I get asked around church these days is?

It’s this:

What can I/we do for you that would be helpful right now?

It’s true. We are all aware that our beloved Associate Pastor, Carrie Yoder, has now moved with her family to begin their exciting new chapter in Nashville, TN., and many of you have asked this question out of your concern that with us now being one Church staff member down our remaining staff team might need some extra help as we keep things going at Memorial.

I can’t express fully in words just how cared for and encouraged it makes us feel when the church family communicates their love and desire to help in a time like this. Let me also put your minds at ease: right now, aside from a very full summertime youth program being run by Justin and our amazing Youth Ministry volunteers, things are actually a little quieter around Memorial (as they usually are during the summer months. Our church staff are doing well and even though we all miss Carrie’s presence with us, we are managing to keep all the plates spinning for now. The most valuable thing any of our church family can do to help at this time is to pray for our staff team, and to keep on offering those words of support and encouragement.

The second most common question I am being asked right now is

closely related to the first:

How is the search for a new Associate Pastor going?

Myself and our Staff Pastor Parish Relations committee have been working on this since Pastor Carrie informed us of her plans. Since April, we have been making connections with suitably qualified potential candidates. From the get-go, our commitment has been to be willing to wait for the right person to fill this important role. We know that God is already at work to bring that individual to Fernandina Beach.

As there is more news to share in the coming weeks, we will share it with our congregation. In the meantime, I ask you again to please continue to prayerfully support the search process.

Blessings

Pastor Charlie

June 16th, 2023 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles (& our lay delegates)

Friends, I’m still on a high of encouragement after the gathering of Annual Conference. Last week, I shared some of my own experience with you in the Pastor’s Note. This week, I’d like you to hear directly from Memorial’s two Lay Delegates: Phyllis Sweeney and Donna Feith. I asked them both to write up a few thoughts on their experience of AC.

Please read on and I think you will be encouraged yourself below!

Blessings!

Pastor Charlie

----------

From Phyllis:

I had the opportunity to go to this year’s Florida Annual Conference as one of your two Memorial UMC Lay Delegates. Thank you! I am so happy I got to do this; the conference was great. It was my first time attending an Annual Conference (even though I’ve been a Methodist all my life and have held many different positions in church leadership over the years). I was curious, excited, and prepared… having attended 3 (Creation Care, Building a Beloved Community and What does it mean to #BeUMC) of the 14 pre-conference workshops that were offered on Zoom the week before the Conference, I read all the materials associated with resolutions that would be presented or deferred to various committees and I skimmed the 178 page online “Workbook” of the Conference which contained most of the Committee Reports and budget figures that would be presented. I was ready to do the business of the Conference.

Annual Conference is the annual business meeting of our FLUMC Conference – 8 Districts all over the State of Florida. Everyone together on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. What joy I felt from the very first “Laity Session” on Thursday morning that this was going to be an uplifting event, not a boring business meeting. Worshipful and joyous music, insightful Bible Study, meaningful and uplifting worship services - all focused on the theme “Abound In HOPE”. And then there were the Committee Reports – this is where I was never so proud to be a United Methodist! We are a connectional church. WE are doing (through our apportionments) so many exciting ministries throughout Florida – things we never could accomplish just by ourselves in our local Memorial UMC. It’s not the Conference (THEM) that are doing all these things, it’s US (WE!) who are doing these works. I was so proud of US! Disaster Relief, Zoe Empowers, United Methodist Men, Campus Ministry – Wesley Foundation/Impact, #BeUMC, Scouting Ministries, Fresh Expressions, Committee on Resolutions, Camp Ministry, and so many more reports were given with both hope and humor! Even the Report from the Finance Committee was hope-filled – yes, budgets will have to be cut across the board (and by a significant 30%!) but apportionments will not be raised, we will continue to do what we are doing, just scaling back. It may not be pretty for a time, but it is what we must do – what any family or business must do when income is decreased for whatever reason.

Bishop Tom Berlin encouraged the assembly to follow the Holy Spirit as we all go forward into what the UMC will become, the Holy Spirit wants to show us the way. Let’s live into the future that will be. Acknowledging that there will be changes, but that “We can do hard things!” as we go forward together.

Laity, lay delegates, are an important part of the conference equation. It’s about us, the lay members of the local churches AND our pastors together doing the work of being the hands and feet of Christ locally and across the FLUMC Conference. I had the opportunity to meet a couple of former pastors of MUMC, Rev. Beth Fogle-Miller and Rev. Ann Burkholder. I enjoyed meeting and talking with a few of the other lay delegates at lunches or the Beloved Community Dinner on Friday night with great speakers about “Ending Gun Violence”.

Thank you, Church, for allowing me to represent you at this year’s Annual Conference – AC2023! If I am ever to attend another Annual Conference, the bar has been set high for me as to what an Annual Conference can be.

From Donna:

I’ve attended many conferences, and this was the best so far. Bishop Berlin set the tone as a very spiritual person, with a sense of humor, and he kept the theme of the Conference, Abound in Hope, throughout. It was a very uplifting and promising experience. There was much meaningful worship and music, and the atmosphere of the conference was positive. One effect of the churches who are disaffiliating is that we won’t be receiving apportionments from them. Therefore the conference budget will have to be reevaluated. This will be painful, but we can do it. A personal thrill for me was seeing the name “Rev. Anna Brook Opalinski” on the screen as she read the scripture during the memorial service for clergy members who died during this past year. Anna Brook (daughter of one of our former Senior Pastors, the Rev. Dr. Brett Opalinski, and much loved at Memorial) has been appointed as associate pastor at Trinity UMC in Tallahassee. Another personal highlight was being in a worship service led by Rev. Drew Weseman, our former Associate Pastor. He has recently received an appointment as pastor of a church in Michigan where he and his family are currently living. It’s always good to catch up with friends whom you usually just see at conference. I came away this time with a feeling of hope for the United Methodist Church. Let’s live out our callings, and we will be fine.

-------

Read more about the 2023 Florida Annual Conference & find videos of each session HERE.