May 22nd, 2026 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

Dear Grace-filled Family,

As we head into this long holiday weekend, I want to wish you all a safe and blessed Memorial Day weekend. While many of us will enjoy the beach, time with family, and a slower pace, I want to encourage us all to take a moment to pause and give thanks for the service and sacrifice of those who laid down their lives in military service to our country, and also to offer a heartfelt prayer for the families of those lost whose grief remains great.

But this weekend is also a monumental one in the life of the Church worldwide, and right here on our own campus. This Sunday is Pentecost, which celebrates the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian Church.

At Memorial, we also get to celebrate our very own church birthday! This year, we are 204 years old. When I think about the generations of faithful Methodists and United Methodists who have served, prayed, and witnessed on Amelia Island down through the last two centuries, my heart is filled with gratitude. What a legacy we get to carry on!

To celebrate this double-birthday in style, I am inviting everyone to wear RED to church this Sunday! (I might have a new pair of red shoes for the occasion 😊 )

As a reminder, we will have ONLY ONE worship service this Sunday morning at 10:00AM in Maxwell Hall. This service will be livestream at 10AM as well (take note of that time, Digital Worshipers!)

This is also our annual “Memorial Day @ Memorial” celebration. Pentecost reminds us of two important movements in the life of the church: gathering in close fellowship (just as the apostles waited together in the upper room) and serving together in mission (which defines the rest of the Book of Acts).

Our annual Memorial Day @ Memorial celebration is the perfect way for us to live out both of these callings as one big church family. Following our 10:00AM worship, we will:

1. Serve Together: We are going to put our hands to work by assembling exactly 204 hygiene kits (one for every year of our church's life!) to be used by our disaster response teams after major storm events.

2. Eat & Visit Together: Once the work is done, we will gather on campus to visit, laugh, and eat some amazing food together. Please bring your own lawn chairs, your favorite side dishes or desserts to share, and a heart ready for fellowship.

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Gathering together for worship, service, and connection as one church family is an important marker in our life together. It’s another way we ensure that Christ’s love continues to show up. I can't wait to see you all there in your red!

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie