Moving Day

1st Sunday in pulpit for new appointments

Transition Seminar for Moving Clergy

District Office

9 a.m.

District Office closed for Independence Day

Lake Junaluska Singers in Concert

Gulfport FUMC

7 p.m.

Jurisdictional Conference

Lake Junaluska

 

Mrs. Miriam

Mitchell

 

Rev. Dr. Bill

Lampkin

 

Rev. Pat

Thompson

 

Miss "Lizzie" Barlow

 

Rev. M. L. McCormick

 

Mrs. Jean Lightsey

 

Mrs. Julie Handy

 

Rev. Al Gutterman

 

Rev. Dr. Kurt Appel

 

Mrs. Mary Turner

The church of my adolescence, First United Methodist Church, New Albany, MS was built in the heart of the depression. Construction was begun in 1929 and the building was paid for in 1932.

 

It is a stately church, and the place that shaped my spiritual formation more than any other. The shaping was foundational, not so much because of the pastor, but because of the kinds of committed, dedicated disciples, who nurtured, taught, played, and led the youth of my generation.

 

The other formational piece was something many might ignore or even fail to notice. Instead of a wall of fame on which were hung pictures of former pastors, there was a wall of the called-pictures of those who had responded to the call to ministry. Every time I walked past that wall from the age of 13-18, I looked and thought, and somewhere deep in my soul knew, that one day, my picture would hang along side of those. That singular gesture by some un-named disciple in that congregation, long before I walked those halls, encouraged me to believe it was possible to hear God's call and respond.

 

Thinking about that recently caused me to wonder where else in our life together might we need to create cultures of call. In my own experience God's call upon my life came through regular formational experiences in camping ministry, Sunday School, Youth Group, Choir, Retreats. Mostly, they came because there were adults who took the time and cared enough to make it possible for me to hear the Gospel.

 

The churches of my youth, for the most part, did not have youth ministers, full or part time. The connections I remember are the laypersons who gave of themselves, who loved the Lord, and who did not leave me to my own devices. People like Ed, and Wayne and Rheta Ann, Julia, BB, John and Ann. It causes me to wonder these days, who will pour themselves into young people today?

 

Which congregations, which pastors, which campus ministries, which camping program will pour themselves into the lives of our children and youth?

 

Luke Timothy Johnson has a slim volume on the gospels, which he has titled: "Living Jesus...Learning the Heart of the Gospel." For me, it is just that: living Jesus every day, which will transform the world. You, me, discipling one person at a time.... one church at a time so that the world might be one.  

 

More than anything else, those whose pictures I see in my minds eye on my wall of call lived Jesus. They were not super Christians, just regular people getting up and going to work and coming home at the end of the day. Yet, they were willing to serve Christ and offer Christ to people like me.

 

And it has made all the difference in the world.

 

Blessings,

 

Bill

When was the last time you asked God to show you an answer to a question?  We all have questions and want to earnestly seek what God's will is.  However, we often find ourselves asking God for answers and then do not realize that He is already providing them.  You know, we can't see the forest for the trees.

Maybe the true answer is not the answer we want!  So, we sometimes look in the wrong places for those answers and even mistake "answers" for other things.  Then there are times we want God to answer us in a certain way and we find a way to make that the answer in our minds, even if it is wrong.  Sadly though, we know it really isn't the answer God would give, but we try and justify it anyway.  We know this normally dosn't work out too well, but it doesn't change our minds.

And then, how often we forget that Satan has many tools in his arsenal too and is using them to show us "answers!"  Don't be fooled; Satan will disguise "answers" that will appear to be from God.  Therefore, we must be careful and seek God's answers in a smart and prudent manner.  The answer you want may not be what God wants!  God will give the answers, but we must be willing to accept them...even if it isn't what we want.

We welcome Stacey Penny as our new District Treasurer, effective June 1st.  Stacey is a CPA and came highly recommended to us for the position.  We are excited to have her as part of our Seashore family and look forward to working with her.

Larry Davis is beginning a new undertaking.  He and his wife have moved to Madison, Mississippi, where he began a new position in the Conference Treasurer's Office on Monday, June 11.  We give thanks for all his hard work and wish him well in his new endeavor.

A mandatory hurricane preparation refresher training event for district clergy will be held on

 

To reach Camp Faith:

Turn north onto Highway 605 (Cowan-Lorraine Road)

Turn west onto Highway 67 (Traditions Parkway)

Travel 1-2 miles on Turan Road and turn right into the driveway.  The building sits about 300 yards off the road.  If you get to Barber's Road, you've gone too far!

Turn south onto Highway 67

Turn north onto Turan Road

Trael 1-2 miles on Turan Road and turn right into the driveway.  The building sits about 300 yards off the road.  If you get to Barber's Road, you've gone too far!

Rev. Paige Swaim-Presley and Rev. Judy Longo are making themselves available, beginning in July, to pulpits throughout the district to speak about the exciting ministry happening at Seashore Mission in Biloxi.

To take advantage of this opportunity, give them a call at 228-436-0913 to set up a date to speak.  You can also  reach Paige at 228-265-1106 (paige.swaim@gmail.com) and Judy at 228-861-7777 (judyofstonegait@prodigy.net). 

The Men's Wednesday evening study at Biloxi FUMC will be discussing John Eldredge's book, Fathered by God.  The group meets at 6 p.m.  The Sisters in Christ Thursday evening Bible study is exploring Beth Moore's book, Living Beyond Yourself.  The group meets at 6 p.m. in the Education Building.

A Children's Revival will be held at Byrd Chapel UMC June 13-15 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 16.  Guest speaker will be Rev. Mark Barfield.  On Sunday, June 17, the church will celebrate Father's Day with a men's breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

The UMW at Cedar Lake UMC will have their annual salad dinner on July 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall.  Rev. Paige Swaim-Presley will be the guest speaker.  The Thursday Night Bible Study Group has resumed meeting at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall and is studying the Gospel of Matthew, using a video presentation of the text, followed by discussion.  All are welcome to participate. 

The Pie Ladies at Gautier FUMC will be having their annual rummage sale on Saturday, June 16.  All are invited to come by and pick up some bargains.  On Father's Day, June 17, a special offering will be taken for the Texas/Mexico Mission and Rev. John Peel.  Gautier FUMC is also one of the local churches who have committed to assist Revival UMC in Russia with some of their expenses to purchase a new heating system.

Gulfport FUMC is a partner with the Salvation Army Homeless Program in Gulfport.  Volunteers are needed to help serve those in need on Mondays and Wednesdays (morning and afternoon slots are available).  If you would like to assist with this ministry, please call the church office at 228-863-0047 for more info.  Additionally, Friends of Mary, will meet on Tuesday, June 12 at 9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary parlor for a discussion on, "You can learn from death...hurry before it's too late!"  All ladies are invited to take part.

Members of the UMW at Handsboro UMC will meet in the fellowship hall on June 20 to celebrate their birthdays.  Regardless of the month, this celebration will include everyone in attendance, without asking the year they were born, of course.

The youth at Heritage UMC will be traveling to Whitewater Express in Andrews, North Carolina on June 26.  They will enjoy a week of mission work, rafting, paint-ball wars, out of this world worship and many other exciting activities.  The Shalom Circle will be putting envelopes in the bulletin for Father's Day lines, which will be published in the Father's Day bulletin on June 17.  Proceeds support the United Methodist Children's Orphanage.  Additionally, the Agape Circle will have a frozen breakfast casserole (Brenda's famous grits and sausage) sale on Friday, June 29.

Long Beach FUMC will host MOSAIC 2.0 The Next Chapter, beginning June 28.  MOSAIC began in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the need for a mission camp to allow students to respond to devastation.  The group will kick off with a potluck meal on Thursday and a time of worship following.  On Friday and Saturday, work teams will be assisting with service projects throughout the community, along with evening worship opportunities.   Additionally, the youth of the church have been given the opportunity to attend M.Y. Mission this summer, which is a one-week, urban mission camp sponsored by the Southwest Texas Conference Council on Youth Ministries.  The week is a safe, but "intense" week of homeless street experience, poverty simulation and service in and around inner-city Austin, Texas.

During the summer, the youth at Lucedale FUMC are diving into God's word and studying the Book of Revelations on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m.  A summer kick-off pool party was held on June 3 to welcome upcoming youth and their parents to the youth group.  The group will also take their Bible Study on the Road to Holstetlers Whole Grain on Sunday night, June 24.

Members at Mississippi City UMC are collecting items for the Baby Meg Project.  The items should be new and for girls ages 0-3 months.  The items collected will be passed along to the Harrison County Emergency Shelter located in Gulfport.

The Vital Planning Committee at Picayune FUMC has designated the month of June as "A Month of Prayer."  The group concluded that strength will come through concentrated prayer and will meet each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel for 15 minutes of prayer.  Each Sunday school class, committee, UMW circle, Bible study group, youth and children's group, have also been asked to pray during their times together to seek God's leadership for the church.

The Poplar Head UMC Mission Team went to a local community residence in May to do odd jobs and chores for an elderly couple.  The team was assisted by teenages and chaperones participating in a 30-hour famine to raise money and awareness for world hunger. 

Thirteen youth from Poplarville FUMC will attend Lake Junaluska for Do Good...Surge into Missions 2012, June 21-24 and are looking forward to a great time of fun and spiritual growth.  A study of the Book of Acts will continue throughout the summer at Picayune FUMC, looking at short sections of the book at a time.  Only a Bible is needed for the study.  For more info, contact the church office at 601-795-4519.

Roberts Chapel UMC will honor all fathers during worship on Sunday, June 17.  A blue grass picking and jam session will also be held on Saturday, June 16 at 7 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to hear good music and fellowship.

The Wednesday study group at Saucier UMC meets at 10 a.m. During the summer months they will be discovering and discussing our Methodist/Wesleyan heritage.  Everyone is welcome to join in on biblical study, discussion, fellowship and food.

Sweetwater UMC will host a Pastor Appreciation Dinner on June 24 for Rev. Mark Peters.  Rev. Nathaniel Barkum, Ramsay Memorial UMC, will be the guest speaker.

Trinity UMC (Picayune) have begun their annual book drive for UMC Indian Missions in Philadelphia, Mississippi.  Additionally, men, women and children's gently used clothing, shoes (in all sizes) and school uniforms (K-8th) are also being collected.  Items will be delivered on July 13.  For questions and to help with this ministry, contact the church office at 601-799-4567.

The youth at Wiggins FUMC will join in a church-wide clean up, fix up day on June 16.  On June 18, five youth will go to Jr. High Camp at Wesley Pines, and on June 25, 18 youth and adults will leave for PULSE summer mission project based at Camp Wesley Pines.  Children's activities for June include bowling on June 12 and a summer fun bounce party at the Family Life Center from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, June 28.

Kidz Konnection at Vancleave UMC hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Supper on June 3.  The June mission offering for Mt. Pleasant UMC will go to Moore Community House, which serves low income families in east Biloxi.  The youth will head to Lake Junaluska for a spiritual retreat and go whitewater rafting July 11-15.

White Plains UMC will have a fish fry on Saturday, June 16 from 5 to 7 p.m.   Catfish plates with two sides and desserts will be offered by donation.  Proceeds will go toward the building fund.  All are invited to come and enjoy.

The many churches that have no musicians to support their congregational singing can now download hundreds of piano accompaniments of fammiliar hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal for free. 

More than 200 songs were initially available online at www.bit.ly/vuvD8L and more have been added.  They include songs related to the seasons of the church year, baptism, marriage, Thanksgiving, Holy Communion and general themes.  To come will be songs from The Faith We Sing and Worship & Song.  All of the music is public domain, so no royalty fees are required.

The downloadable accompaniments may be used during worship and also for occasions such as Sunday school, church meetings, VBS, Christmas caroling, singing for shut-ins, or just by yourself at home or in the car.

--Adapted from a news release from the General Board of Discipleship