June, 2011

Reflections

One can't come to Ireland without very quickly realizing there is something sacred about the place.  After seeing the number of historical places where the footsteps of early Christians traveled, I have a new way of thinking about Holy Ground. The holiest places all seem to be linked to St. Patrick.  He must have been quite a leader. 

 

Patrick's life was difficult.  Early in life he was kidnapped from his home in Britain about the age of 16, or as some scholars now say, Brittany.  He was sold into slavery by his Irish kidnappers and herded sheep in Ireland for six years until God spoke to him in a dream and told him to go home. He walked 200 miles and caught a boat home.  So moved by God's love and support of him during his captivity, he longed to serve God.  Again, in a dream, God spoke to him and called him to return to Ireland to be an evangelist.  His impact on Ireland is felt everywhere.

When I was a seminary student, I was never taught about Patrick.  I never heard of his Confession.  John Wesley, though, had  heard of his impact.  He came to Ireland at least three times and preached on the site of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dawnpatrick.  In Adare, Ireland, he visited at least ten times. Obviously Wesley was deeply moved by his experience here.

 

Patrick writes words that serve us well in this season leading toward an opportunity of electing delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conference.  He writes:   Wherefore, I give an unwavering thanks to my God--who kept me faithful in the day of trial.  I give unwearying thanks to my God, who delivered me from all in my troubles and so helped my work with such divine power.  I steadfastly exalt and glorify your name wherever I am, not only when circumstances favor me, but also when I am afflicted, so that whatever happens to me, good or bad, I accept with an even mind and thank God always...

 

I could not help but remember this confession of John Wesley after reading St. Patrick's words:

 

I am not my own but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt,

Rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing,

Put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee

  Or laid aside by thee.

Exalted by thee or brought low by thee.

Let me be full.

Let me be empty.

Let me have all things.

Let me have nothing.

 

I freely and heartily yield all things, to thy

  Pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Thou art mine and I am thine.

So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, may it be ratified in heaven.

 

May God be with us all.  Deep peace and prayers,

 

Bill

"Tide"ings from Around the District  

I was making bookmarks for my monthly talk at the Gulf Coast Rescue Mission.  The first step was to select a quote.  I decided on a great one that captures the heart of true friendship.  It's an anonymous submission to a website:  "People say Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone.  But I am here to laugh with you and weep with you.  You are never alone."

The next step was to print.  No problem.  I needed only 30 of them.  I put three on a sheet and prayed I had enough ink.  I did.  Thank You, Lord.  Step 3: cut.  That was easy enough with my cute little pink and black paper cutter.  I was done before the re-run of Fraiser concluded.  Things were coming together nicely.  It was time to mount.

Once upon a time, I thought I was going to become a scrapbooker.  To that end, I have an amazing collection of designer sheets that are doing nothing but collecting dust on my shelf.  I decided to spice up the bookmarks a bit by using them as a backdrop.  I was excited until I realized I'd left all of the double-sided tape in my office at the church.  It was three o'clock in the morning, so I was less than enthusiastic about going to get it.  I had no desire to get dressed just for some tape.  For a minute I contemplated driving over there as is; wigless, hair sticking up all over my head, wrinkled pajamas, way oversized tee-shirt, mixed matched socks and all.  Then, I remembered the time that handsome police officer stopped in to check on me when he saw the lights on at an unseemly hour.  That changed my mind.  I saw the glue.  Aha!  I had seven bottles of Elmer's perfectly lined up in a basket.  As I walked over to retrieve one of them, I heard Linda's voice in my head telling me not to do it.  In all of her years as a classroom teacher, she had come to learn much about the do's and don'ts of arts and crafts.  On a previous project, she had counseled against using glue for mounting because of its negative effects on the quality of the finished product.  She told me that glue causes the paper to wrinkle and distorts the words.  I heard all of this clearly ringing through my head as I walked back to my table with the glue in hand.  Maybe Linda was over-exaggerating.  Surely using glue couldn't be that bad.  After all, it sells great during the back-to-school season, so...I used it.

That was a bad idea!  Not only did the paper wrinkle up and the words of the poem get distorted, the added pressure of the process of laminating caused the glue to stain the paper.  My bookmarks looked awful!  I started to get angry.  I was mad that I was going to have to start over, and I didn't have time for that.  I was mad that I was going to have to go back to the store and buy more of that expensive paper for laminating.  I was also mad that it was now after four in the morning, and I need to be on the track no later than 6:45.  I picked up that bottle of glue and stared at it.  I wanted to stomp on it, throw it through the window, anything to get it out of my face.  Instead, I started laughing.  I looked up and saw my reflection in the mirror and was more than a little tickled.  I looked ridiculous.  There I was, a thirty-nine year old grown woman throwing a temper tantrum over some glue.  I sat down and asked myself just why I so so upset.  Bottom line?  Because I knew better.  I hadn't listened.

Time and again Jesus speaks words of caution to us: "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23); "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven..." (Matthew 7:21); "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him..." (Proverbs 6:16); "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments..." (2 Timothy 2:23); "Don't grumble against one another..." (James 5:9).  Over and over we are warned about things.  But, do we listen?  Not usually.  Though the Holy Spirit fulfills His responsibility of nudging us in the right direction, we make conscious decisions to do things our own way.  Then, we get upset when things don't turn out as we think they should.  The Bible is not a collection of individual opinions or a book of helpful suggestions; it is the voice of The Most Experienced One leading us and guiding us, trying desperately to order our steps...if we would simply listen.

love, miracles and blessings,

Rev. Dr. Denise Donnell

Mississippi City UMC

The Beacon

Congratulations to St. James UMC (Ocean Springs) &

Rev. LaSonya DeBose

2011 Seashore District Small Membership

Church of the Year  

July 8-10

Leading the Middle Size Church

Host a Strength for Service Sunday Special Offering

Many churches across the nation support Strength for Service to God and Country, a devotional book written to encourage the faiths of members of the Armed Forces and for those in the service of others.  This year marks the 10th anniversary of September 11.  By participating in this special Sunday, your congregation will receive books to distribute to firefighters, police officers and other service personnel who work tirelessly to keep our country safe.   Your donations make a difference in the lives of American heros.  For more info, visit www.strengthforservice.org.   

"Surf"ing the District

Biloxi FUMC will start their summer schedule on June 5, with Sunday School beginning at 9 a.m. and combined worship from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.  Flip flops, shorts, t's, etc., are all acceptable attire.  The students will lead worship that first Sunday and will host a day of fun following the service.  Grillin' on the Green and an adults vs. students softball game will take place at 11:30 a.m. at the D'Iberville Sports Complex.

Cedar Lake UMC will have a fish fry on Saturday, June 4 from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. for a bulding fundraiser.  Cost is $7.50; take outs or eat in available.  A community yard sale will also be held that day.

Here and Now...There and Then, by Beth Moore, is a new 11-session lecture on the book of Revelation that began at Gautier FUMC on May 26.  The session will run until the end of July, meeting once a week on Thursdays (morning and evening times available).  Call the church office at 228-497-1698 for more info.  Additionally, due to the many recent disasters, members are collecting change through June 26 to provide items for flood buckets, health kits, layette kits, birthing kits and school kits.  Volunteers will then assemble the kits and deliver them to the Sager-Brown Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana.

The Agape Circle at Heritage UMC will have a po-boy fundraiser June 3 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Cost is $7.00.  Heritage UMC members will also take their turn hosting the Interfaith Hospital Network's, Rebekah's House, the week of July 24 - 30.

The service project for the 2011 Confirmation Class at Long Beach FUMC is to replace the worn Bibles in the church sanctuary.  Cost per Bible is $15.  Anyone interested in donating a Bible in memory or honor of a loved one can contact the church office at 228-863-9619 for more info.

The Lucedale FUMC Kingdom Kids have a summer full of service projects to look forward to when they meet on Wednesday evenings.  The group will buy groceries for the church food bank, make crafts to take to nursing homes and assisted living facilities, fellowship with residents of local nursing homes and assisted living facilities, perform yard work for elderly members of the church, attend Vacation Bible School and also have a fun evening out.

The Youth Group at Main Street UMC is expanding and will begin having "Collide" every Sunday night from 6 - 8 p.m., a time to study the WORD and bond with each other and God in Christian Love.   A Wednesday night Bible Study, retreat and mission trip are also planned for the future.

The Esther Circle at Mississippi City UMC will host a yard and bake on Saturday, June 4 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Additionally, the Wednesday night Bible Study class begins a new study of the Old Testament book, Esther, on June 1 at 6:45 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

The Disaster Response Team of Picayune FUMC are sponsoring the assembly of flood buckets for recent tornado and flood victims.  The buckets and lids and being provided...they just need groups to adopt and assemble the items to include in the buckets.   For more info or to get a list of needed items, call the church office at 601-798-4321.

Sweetwater UMC will host a Pastor Appreciation Day Service on June 19 at 3 p.m.  The Reverend Jimmy Richardson, from Janice, Mississippi will be the guest speaker.  All are invited to attend the service.

Trinity UMC (Picayune) will have a Lydia Circle Garage Sale on June 4 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.   The youth will also have a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hosital.  Order your dinner by June 8 ($6.00); available for pick up on Saturday, June 11 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Additionally, books are being gathered to take to Native American children on the reservation in Philadelphia in July.  Children's books, educational magazines, etc. are appreciated.  Books/donations can be dropped off at the church office before July 10. 

The youth group at the Vancleave/Mt. Pleasant Charge will be heading out on a mission trip to Jacksonville, Florida on June 12.  The group will return on June 18.  A family fun day is also being planned for youth and their families on July 31 at 5 p.m. 

The United Methodist Men at Wesley UMC (Ocean Springs) will get together on Sunday, June 5 at 7:30 a.m. for a great breakfast, devotion and fellowship together. 

 

"Fishing" Angle

Pictured at left is Rev. Oscar McGough

(Diamondhead UMC) holding his "prize catch" reeled in from waters close to the Jourdan River.

SOMEBODY...please take him fishing! 

District Vacation Bible Schools

 
June 20 - 24

Cedar Lake UMC

The Big Apple Adventure 

June 20 - 24

Handsboro UMC

9 a.m. - 12 noon (4 - 12 years)

God's Great Gallery

July 11 - 14

Main Street UMC

Shake It Up Cafe'

July 11 - 15

Heritage UMC

Shake It Up Cafe'