September 26th, 2025 | Rev. Rachel Williams

Beloved Friends,

I don’t know about you all, but I thought that the Beatles concert was simply delightful! I am so impressed by our band our musicians who practiced diligently and learned that much music (and some of it is not easy!). I mentioned back when I was preaching that I hoped I had created a new generation of Beatles fan with Austin hearing some of the songs on record. And it seems that that was solidified with him coming to the concert where he danced his little heart out.

I noticed two things in the concert: 1)people were able to leave everything else behind for an hour and have fun, and 2) people were connecting through this music.

(If you missed the Concert, you can view some of the songs in the file here.)

I hope that you have been able to connect with this sermon series as we have walked through some very hard weeks in our nation. We were reminded of the everlasting. Hope that comes. With the transformative love of Jesus Christ.  We were reminded that we are never alone, that even in our despair, God is with us, and we actually cannot do life alone. And last week we heard about how we can cultivate a life of peace in the midst of the chaos in turmoil of this world.

This week, Charlie will wrap up the series with a pretty important message that we can carry with us always (hint: it has to do with love). I hope you have enjoyed the series as much as we have, and I hope that you are excited to join us in October as we dive into what it means to give of ourselves wholeheartedly when we follow Christ.

With Love and Peace,

Pastor Rachel

The Good News: Memorial Well Represented at District Leadership Conference

Clergy and laypeople from Churches from all over the North East District gathered in Ocala on September 13th for an annual day of connection and learning together. Memorial, who was the church the farthest away from the event, had the most members of any church in attendance with 18 traveling down to Ocala! And four lay members of our church family were there serving in their roles as District and Conference Leaders:

Jessica Scott is introduced, by DS Rev. Dr. Simon Osunlana, with the other Co-Lay Leaders of the North East District.

• Sarah Flint serves as the chair of the Creation Care Task Team for the Conference

• Jessica Scott is a Co-Lay Leader of the North East District

• Mary Negron is the President of the United Women in Faith for the North E0ast District.

• Jim Mitts serves as the Disaster Coordinator of the North East District.

Sarah Flint representing Memorial and the Conference Creation Care Task Team.

Our District Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Simon Osunlana, greeted the group and offered some words of welcome. The theme of the conference was looking at evangelism with new eyes and seeing how we could all be better at telling our stories and the story of Jesus. Rev. Osunlana reminded those in attendance that, " The message of Jesus is transformative! There is no need to disguise it or transform it - It just is the message." About being United Methodists, he further said, "Our theology is needed (right now). It's one of grace and the unconditional love of Christ."

One of the invited speakers, the Rev. Bill Bown from the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference invited the group into a deeper discussion on evangelism. He opened his session with this definition of evangelism: It's anything you to help another person move closer to God, or into a Christian community.

He acknowledged that evangelism can be scary and even annoying to people, which is why some avoid is all together.

" If it (evangelism) doesn't scare us, it scares everyone we come into contact with,": he said.

But Rev. Brown said that evangelism is more important now than ever to help, "overcome the epidemic of loneliness and invisibility in our world by connection," and walked the group through some new, successful ways to look at evangelism and also some tactics to avoid.

Rev. Michael Beck was another invited speaker, and he was joined by Derrick Scott, III (Campus to City Wesley/ Studio Wesley) and Rev. Caitlan White (Stetson Wesley) to talk about the evolving use of evangelism with young adults. They reminded the group how the ways of reaching a new generation are changing along with that generations view of connection and church. While it seems younger Christians are only interested in digital connection, the campus ministers said that is not what they are experiencing. They see young people looking for face to face connection and churches who are living into the call for social justice.

The remaining time at the conference was spend in worship and in fellowship over a meal. it was a wonderful day for meeting other United Methodists, and everyone came away with fresh ideas about evangelism to put into use at Memorial.

Be on the lookout for more training and leadership events from the North East District in the future.

September 19th, 2025 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

Dear Memorial,

Our mission statement reminds us that Memorial is a place where Christ's love shows up through our worship, study, connection, and service. This week, I've been thinking about the special and vital role that our connection with one another plays in our life together, and just how important it is in these strange times we’re living in.

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Wednesday Night Dinner and Classes, and then what a gift it was to gather for Wesley Dinner Club and welcome our new District Superintendent, Simon Osunlana. What a joy it was to hear his story and his hopes and dreams for the North East District.

And let’s not forget that we have three more fantastic opportunities for connection coming up this weekend:

On Saturday morning, at 9:00AM, put on your red #LoveShowsUp shirt and join us at Main Beach as we join with St. Peter's and Keep Nassau Beautiful in the Coastal Beach Cleanup. It's a great way to serve God and meet people at the same time. That night at 6:30PM, don't miss the free Beatles Sing-along Concert in Maxwell Hall. Our band will be playing, and we'll have a number of soloists performing some special pieces. It's going to be a fun night and a perfect way for all ages to share some joy together.

Then, on Sunday, right after our worship services, please join us for a Potluck Lunch in Maxwell Hall. This is one of my favorite ways to get to know people from different services, connect with old friends, and welcome new faces.

These events are more than ju

st social gatherings; they are a chance for us to live into a core part of our calling: to be connected with one another as we grow in grace.

I hope you'll plan to attend and also extend a warm invitation to someone to join in with you.

See you there!

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie