Following Jesus - Fall 2023

FALL 2023 | FRAZER FREE METHODIST CHURCH

FOLLOWING

JESUS M A G A Z I N E

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE FULFILLING THE GREAT COMMISSION PAGE 4

FRAZER COLLEGE & CAREER “WE NEED CHRIST EVERY MINUTE” PAGE 9

THE FIRMANS

COVER STORY:

LASLIE HALL AND FRAZER’S YOUNGEST PAGE 16

HONORING THE LORD WITH SERVICE PAGE 12

FLOWER DELIVERY

FROM THE ALTAR TO OUR SHUT-INS PAGE 18 FOLLOWING JESUS | 1

Frazer 365 is our attempt to touch every member every day with the Word of God. Acts 2:46 teaches that the early church met “day by day, attending the temple together.”

While most members cannot get to our campus every day, we can still study His Word daily together in community. We believe that God works in miraculous ways when every member studies the same Scripture each day.

We have also discovered that an expositional approach to the study of Scripture keeps us from skipping the difficult sections and provides us the whole counsel of God’s Word.

Beginning Nov. 27, you will be able to receive a new Daily Devotional each morning that will be a continuation of our sermon series we are preaching each week.

To receive the daily devotionals, you will need to go into the settings of our “Frazer Connect” App in the top right corner, enable push notifications, and select “devotions.”

We look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do this coming year as we dig even deeper into the Word of God. 2 | FOLLOWING JESUS

FOLLOWING JESUS VOL. 2 NO. 2 FALL 2023 ©2023 Frazer Free

Methodist Church 6000 Atlanta Hwy. Montgomery, AL 36117 Printed in USA by Wells Printing

PASTOR’S NOTE W

hat an exciting season this is in the life of Frazer. We have seen God at work among young and old, new members and long time leaders. Our vision is to be a church that fulfills the Great Commission by following the Great Commandment.

As we each live into our calling as baptized believers and committed members of this local church, we are a witness to a world in need that God loves, Jesus saves, and the Holy Spirit transforms lives.

FOLLOWING JESUS magazine is dedicated to the purpose of showcasing the stories of God at work among us. My prayer is that as you read the testimonies of fellow church members contained within these pages, your own faith will be stirred up and you will be “stirred up to love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24) God bless you as you continue to follow Jesus!

Editor & Layout Kym Klass Writers Kym Klass Katie Blair

Dr. Chris Montgomery SENIOR PASTOR

Photographer Nathan MacKenzie

ON THE COVER: Laslie Hall has volunteered in the Frazer Nursery for 31 years. Story on page 16.

PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE.

Christmas at Frazer December 10

Lessons & Carols | 4 PM Worship Center

December 20

Acoustic Candlelight Experience | 6 PM East Sanctuary

December 21

Longest Night Service | 6 PM East Sanctuary

December 24

Christmas Eve Worship Service | 10 AM Worship Center

December 24

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service | 4 PM Worship Center FOLLOWING JESUS | 3

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE Celebrating 20 years at Frazer!

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Frazer’s English as a How are students minSecond Language ministry exists to bring Jesus Christ to students, using the teaching of English as the avenue in which to accomplish this in a uniquely powerful way to proclaim the gospel.

Started in 2003 by Frazer member Kay Bray as a way to reach the community by helping with language skills and bring them into the church, the program currently averages 92 students – almost double what the program saw last year.

“Prayers are that the students will know that God loves them and that He wants a relationship with them through His Son Jesus Christ,” said Gary Cochran, Frazer’s ESL volunteer coordinator.

We asked Cochran and Hank Dasinger – Beginning 1 Lead Teacher and assistant ESL volunteer coordinator – to share with us the background of the program, the structure of classes, and why this ministry is important.

istered to as part of the program?

A key to the program is relationship building.

English is taught by the teachers and volunteers and in doing that, relationships are developed.

A level of trust is fostered and once that happens, volunteers are better able to share the love of Jesus Christ. Teachers also ask for prayer requests from the students. When the students know that they are being prayed for and cared about, these relationships are built. – Gary Cochran How can we be effective teachers with our students?

To be effective, we must establish meaningful relationships with our students. We look for opportunities to meet student needs beyond teaching English ... help in navigating unfamiliar processes for obtaining employment, drivers’ licenses, etc., or more basic needs of housing and food. We demonstrate Christ’s love through an unconditional acceptance of our students and

PHOTO: Becky Offord, left, volunteers her time recently with the ESL program.

Q&A COMPILED BY KYM KLASS. PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE.

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At Frazer, as with most Christian-centered ESL programs, the Biblical purpose can be viewed as follows: ESL is a vehicle through which we can fulfill the Great Commission, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

ABOVE: Hank Dasinger recently works with an ESL class, teaching the months of the year. compassion concerning the challenges they face. The church as our teaching “school,” provides a natural setting for sharing the Gospel. Frazer is our open door to tell our students how we are loved by God and want them to know God’s love as well. Our students often expect to hear about God. In fact, it would seem strange if we did NOT talk about Him. During classes we pray, have group devotions, and use scriptural materials that focus on sharing the Gospel and incorporating our faith in our everyday lives. Consequently, we create a bridge to the local church. Once the ESL ministry brings people through the doors of our church for English classes, it is our hope to invite them to other church activities as they come up throughout the year. This will allow students to meet others who love the Lord and may be willing to build relationships with them or help them with basic needs. Most of our students are Hispanic and thus can benefit from Frazer’s outstanding Hispanic ministry. – Hank Dasinger How many volunteers does it take to operate the ESL Ministry every year?

This year, there are 35 volunteers – up from 30 last year. Volunteers are needed to help with registration and testing, assisting teachers, and being lead teachers. Fluency in a foreign language is not required.

Volunteers should have a servant heart and a love for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The students see this love when they are taught English by our volunteers. – Gary Cochran

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Our students come to us to learn English as a second language, and we must deliver on our promise to do so. In doing so, ESL becomes the mechanism through which Frazer fulfills the Great Commission.

Moreover, we are compelled by scripture to serve this particularly vulnerable population. – Hank Dasinger “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34) “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18) “Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” (Deuteronomy 27:19) “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36) What does a typical class look like?

The ESL program has several facets. Students are first registered and tested. A basic literacy test is used to determine a student’s English fluency, and once

the student is evaluated, they are placed into one of four levels: Beginning 1, Beginning 2, Intermediate or Advanced. We have three Beginner 1 classes, one Beginner 2 class, one Intermediate class, and one Advanced class.

The four levels operate a little differently than one might expect.

The three Beginner 1 classes (students with little to no English fluency) start with a 25-minute large group meeting which has two parts. Part 1 includes basic concepts for the lesson being taught in the classroom/ small groups. For example, Unit 3 is about time, so basic time concepts and parts of the 12-hour clock are introduced. Part 1 is taught all in English using listen and repeat teaching techniques.

Part 2 is the devotional portion. A short scripture is used to teach a basic Christian principle such as “Be kind to one another,” and “Love one another.” The devotional is supported with multiple translations on PowerPoint to ensure student-understanding. The key difference is that, in Part 1, English is taught with an expected outcome of enhancing student understanding and use of English. In Part 2, a principle of faith is explained with the goal of faith sharing with the

students.

The students are then dismissed to their individual classes for the next hour. A workbook is used and there are learning objectives for each section. A learning check for these objectives is scheduled in December to ensure that all the classes are on track.

A learning center approach is used with each class set up with four round tables. Students move from table to table where instruction is presented by volunteers. Techniques are used in which students listen first (repeatedly), then listen-repeat, pair the word with a picture, repeat orally, write the word, and use the word in a sentence. Approximately 40-60 repetitions are needed to master the new word followed by consistent use to sustain learning.

The Beginner 2 and Intermediate classes also use workbooks. When lessons are presented, students divide into small groups to practice their vocabulary and conversation.

The Advanced class uses a variety of techniques.

The class uses book studies, stories, and culturally unique metaphors and idioms to enhance student understanding for more subtle English communications.

BELOW: A student and volunteer work together on how to write out the time. PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE..

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ABOVE: ESL volunteers serve encouragement to students throughout the year . PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE..

The Beginner 2, Intermediate and Advanced classes all start with a devotion. They also have frequent food activities tied into the lessons where students either bring in their favorite cultural foods or the food is brought in by the teachers. Some teachers have pool parties at their homes or meet students in restaurants. This creates bonding in the classroom, gives the students opportunities to practice their English, and builds relationships between students and teachers. – Gary Cochran

Christian, Methodist, Baptist, Islam, Buddhism, and atheism. Over 20 percent of the students left this response blank. The ministry has a tremendous opportunity to reach out to people in our community who may have never attended church.

ESL classes provide a tremendous opportunity to share Jesus Christ. There is an international mission field here in Montgomery. We are commanded in Matthew 28:19 to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” The Bible also states in Deuteronomy 10, “For How many nationalities have been represented the Lord your God …. shows love to the foreigners over the years? And which countries are most living among you and gives them food and clothing. represented?

So, you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

We have 17 countries represented in the program.

The largest number of students are from Mexico, fol- We are all called to make disciples and to show the lowed by Venezuela, Guatemala, South Korea, Hon- love of Jesus Christ to those in our community. – Gary duras, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Ecuador, Cochran El Salvador, Laos, China, Columbia, Cuba, Canada, and Turkey. – Gary Cochran How can people volunteer? Email Elizabeth Drollette, Frazer’s minister of missions, at edrollette@frazer.

Why is this ministry important? church, or Gary Cochran at gcochran1957@gmail.com.

Each time a student registers for ESL, they list their religion. There are many responses – Catholicism, 8 | FOLLOWING JESUS

Frazer College & Career, a new class for 18-24-year-olds, is designed to explore the truths of Scripture together, live authentically as Christians, and build a community as friends and followers of Christ.

involved elsewhere on Sunday mornings and for some others, Sunday nights work out well.

Its teacher, Blair Andress, shares what this class means to Frazer, why it is important for a church to emphasize, and where he believes college ministry “starts.”

FCC was created to provide a Sunday morning opportunity that could complement the Sunday night group. For those who might not be able to attend on Sunday nights, for those who are visiting Frazer for the first time, or for those who might be more comfortable visiting a class rather than someone’s home, we have an option.

What need did Frazer see that led to the creation of the College and Career class?

How can we create a college ministry that is meaningful and vital to students?

Back in the spring, some folks noticed a conspicuous gap in the Sunday morning classes and groups at Frazer. There were dozens of options for people of almost every age group. Birth through high school?

Adults of almost every age, from young adults to those young at heart? Frazer had a place for you. Recent high school grads through mid-twenties? Not so much.

When I was in college, I participated in several different ministries, both church-based and parachurch. I saw several different areas of focus. For one organization, discipleship was a huge deal. They encouraged college students not only to participate in small group discipleship but to lead groups as well. Another on campus organization focused more on evangelism and missions. The college ministry at the church I attended focused on Bible study.

To be clear, there was a small group option, a Sunday night group that had been meeting faithfully in the home of Lindsey and Jeremy Goddard who have been investing in this group for some time. Some of our college students are also involved in different ministries on Sunday mornings such as leading small groups in the student ministry or helping lead worship. For those

One of the things that all of them featured was adults who were willing to spend time with us. Yes, they taught us the Bible and encouraged us to apply it to our daily lives, but they also just loved us and invested in us. They gave us opportunities to be together, and

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ABOVE: Blair Andress, center, and his wife Miranda, left, oversee the Sunday morning College & Career class.

PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE.

they were right there in the mix. I think it starts there.

Why is this class important for a church to emphasize?

Do you remember the old hymn that includes the lines, “I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee”? I know that this is true and that we need Christ every minute of every hour of life, but I can’t help but think of just how deep that need is for this age group.

Think about all of the incredible decisions that are made during this time of life. “Am I going to college?

Am I going to work? Where am I going to college?

Where am I going to work? What am I going to major in? What do I want to do with my life? Who do I want to share my life with?”

People between 18 and 24 are facing all of these incredibly huge life-altering decisions, and research on human brain development tells us that the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps us with goal

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setting and impulse control, isn’t fully developed until age 25!

I know that I am deeply grateful for the people who were in my life during this chapter who were constantly pointing me toward Jesus. When I was wrestling with these issues and more, they were willing to remind me of my need for Jesus and my need to rely on my Him and my faith.

There’s obviously a need. In Montgomery, we have multiple college campuses, and Frazer is located right between a couple of them. Plus, research into trends for central Alabama high school graduates shows that we have a lot of high school graduates who aren’t enrolling in college. In other words, we have a lot of people in this age range right here in central Alabama.

And they are all on the brink of making big, life-defining decisions. I pray that (his wife) Miranda and I can be for them what so many others were for us. I

hope we can pay it forward as we try to live out 2 Timothy 2:2 “…what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

Connect with Frazer College & Career Sundays, 9:45 AM in room 8101 (first floor, Activity Center) Questions? Email jjeffcoat@frazer.church

Do churches “do” college ministry well?

Research would seem to indicate that we don’t. Our student ministries are cranking out students who go to college or join the work force, and many of them are leaving the church behind when they do. According to Lifeway, almost two-thirds of students who attended a Protestant church for a year or more as a teenager dropped out of church for a year or more between the ages of 18 and 22.

Q&A COMPILED BY KYM KLASS PHOTOS BY NATHAN MACKENZIE FOLLOWING JESUS | 11

VOLUNTEERS

Honoring the Lord with Service PAUL & BE T T Y FIRMAN

ABOVE: Paul and Betty Firman attend our New Member Orientation on April 16, 2023.

STORY BY KATIE BLAIR. PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE.

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Paul and Betty Firman may be relatively

new faces among the Frazer Family, but their hearts for service have already impacted the lives of those within our church as well as those around the River Region.

For this couple, there is no better way to thank God than rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in what the Lord is doing.

“Paul and I accepted Christ as our Saviors a year after getting married through a ministry called The Navigators,” said Betty. “We started attending the base Chapel and serving where the greatest need was, which happened to be children’s ministry. Over the years, moving in the military that area always had the greatest need − children’s church and children’s Sunday School classes, which through our former church, we continued, although Paul moved on up to the older kids and started serving with youth there.”

Paul, who hails from New Jersey, and Betty, who is from Minnesota, found their way to the Montgomery area by way of the Air Force.

Paul continues to serve with the sixth graders at Frazer, although that was not his original “As an active-duty member of the US Air plan.

Force, our family lived around the world and across the country,” said Paul. “Never in a “I had served with youth for many years and million years did I think we’d be living in Ala- thought God was leading me to serve in anbama. Not because I was positive or negative other area,” he said. “After coming to Frazer, on Alabama, it just never crossed my mind. I I made the mistake of asking God to open applied for a special duty position at Maxwell or close doors on where to serve or how to Air Force Base, not because I wanted the job, get involved. I was thinking my son may get but to be near my sick brother.” involved with youth, and spoke with a couple people. Next thing you know, (student minisIt didn’t take long for the area to grow on ter) Tyler Grant was saying they needed help them and develop a love for the region and and asked if I would join them. Of course, you know what happened ... I’m working with the the people. youth again. I said ‘OK God, you have a sense “I love how pretty the area is, and I’m espe- of humor. Who was I to think you wanted me cially partial to our hometown Wetumpka,” to serve somewhere else?’” relates Betty. “We love the people; they are kind and have fun accents! I Iove living where Betty said her heart was touched after hearprayer is normal and standing up for the na- ing about the widow’s ministry at Frazer.

Women’s minister “Susan Fisher sent out a tional anthem is an honor.” list to new members with areas to serve here Paul also likes the proximity to the beach as and on that list was the widows’ group lunch. well as the people. “It’s refreshing to live in a Honestly, people that might be hurting, or location where it’s still okay to pray before a feel on the outside tug at my heart strings football game or share conservative values.” so that is what led me to sign up. I love to love on them.”

The Firmans, who are parents to adult children, Nic (29), Jake (25), Cassie (23) and Ellie In addition to their service with the youth (21), say that serving others began when they and widows, you can also find them serving were newly married 31 years ago and young together one Sunday a month at the Connection Desk.

Christians.

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“The best part of serving at the Connection zone. I don’t remember all the details of the Desk has been getting to know people,” said book, but I do know that from that point on Betty.

I was more courageous in stepping out. I started from that point trying areas of ser“I don’t feel qualified at all, but Ms. Nell Mur- vice outside of the church walls, in addition phy was willing to give us a chance. In the to serving at my church, which I might add e-mail Susan Fisher sent out, she had the as a stay-at-home-mom, I was blessed with Connection Desk listed as Urgent in Need, time to do these things. so I talked to Paul about it and thought why not offer to help there. It has turned out to “I started to serve at a food pantry, then the be great fun!”

Lord led me to serve at a local crisis pregnancy center, which led to a tutoring ministry Paul adds that serving there has been the through the church we were attending at the best way to meet people and learn how to time.” navigate the vast space of Frazer. “I love the The book inspired Betty to try new things simplicity of serving where needed.” even though she felt unqualified and afraid.

The Connection Desk is a fitting place to find Yet, her courage grew, her faith grew, her the Firmans, as that is what they feel when confidence grew, and she said the Lord rethey serve the church: Connection. vealed her sin in new ways − which was hard, but it is what she is most thankful for.

“I came from a large family with nine kids, so moving all over the world in the military was “I learned how to love those who are differvery difficult and lonely, especially in the early ent, how my problems can seem so big as I years in that I missed that connection with walk into a serving opportunity but often after them,” said Betty. “But the blessing I found seeing people and their situations, I would in being a new Christian is that the church walk away thinking I have absolutely nothing is my family also had all kinds of brothers to complain about,” she said. and sisters in Christ and a spiritual connection that fulfilled in a way that often families “I learned the importance of prayer in mincannot. So, serving at church was another istry and of course life by watching fellow way to grow deeper in relationships with our workers prayer over the tiniest details and church families in each location that the mili- the biggest.” tary sent us.

Paul said that through their service, they have “Some years ago, I read a book called Radi- continued to grow in their relationship with cal by David Platt that really challenged me in Christ and others, whether it be serving here serving, especially to move out of my comfort at Frazer or beyond.

Paul & Betty’s Inspirational Verse “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all.

For even the Son of Man did not come to beb served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45) 14 | FOLLOWING JESUS

Betty, who works with a local tutoring ministry said Betty. with fellow Frazer member Victoria Campbell, “In Deuteronomy it says that the Lord gives agrees. even us grandparents the charge to teach “I serve in a tutoring ministry called HOPES our little ones as we walk about Him and His at Capital Heights Middle School,” she said. Word which we are so thankful to be able “Victoria heads up our weekly meetings. We to do. meet at First Presbyterian after school on Thursdays and do Bible Study with the kids, “Paul and I are first generation believers so tutor English and math skills, and eat dinner we do not take this call lightly. It is an honor, and we are so grateful that the chain was with the students and their families. broken though the gift of Jesus in our lives, “This ministry has been extremely rewarding and we can share all He has done for us and to me personally, not just loving on the kids that all of our hope is in Him and our future and the love given back to me, but also a in eternity. blessing in the relationships formed with the other volunteers.

“What a gift!”

“There really is a spiritual work the Lord does in our hearts when we serve, it is akin to giving to me in that it seems hard in the beginning and sometimes even when doing it, but after the fact I always walk away the one blessed and filled up.”

“They call it service for a reason,” said Paul.

“Not everyone wants to come to Wednesday night youth after a busy workday, or prepare to teach a Sunday School lesson when you have had a busy week.

“But God has an amazing way of blessing those who serve. It is not about receiving the accolades; it is about knowing how blessed we are and wanting to be part of what God is doing.”

The Firmans will continue to model serving others, especially as they enter a new season of being grandparents to Kesslie, who was born in September to their son Nic and his wife Chantal.

“I was just saying to a friend yesterday that we are excited to be able to share our love of Jesus with our precious granddaughter,”

And to those who may be thinking that they do not have what it takes to serve, Betty offers this advice: “To those who feel not qualified, just come talk to me!

I am a prime example! The enemy wants to keep us away, isolated, and caught up in self. The Lord has so much more, fellowship and joy in Him, and through our relationships with one another. We need one another!” − Betty Firman

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ABOVE: Laslie Hall greets babies as they arrive at the Frazer Nursery on Sunday mornings.

Three decades of compassion

STORY BY KYM KLASS. PHOTO BY NATHAN MACKENZIE.

Laslie Hall hums his way through Frazer’s campus soothing babies Laslie Hall walks quietly through the Atrium – a baby in his arms – and hums deeply.

Within seconds, the baby softens her voice, her eyes become mesmerized from the low noise, and for the first time in almost half an hour, she becomes still. Less chatty. Focused.

For over three decades, Hall has walked the halls

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and the Atrium of Frazer with babies through his monthly volunteer work in the nursery. When a baby becomes fussy, he holds them face out so they can see their surroundings – the people, the fish tank near the Tugboat.

He takes them into the bookstore. Past Connection Point. Toward the student ministry at The Gathering Place. They listen to the music coming

from the Contemporary service.

“I know all the nooks and crannies around here,” he said. Hall began volunteering in the nursery in 1991, when he and his wife, Jan, began attending Frazer.

“You start because you have to sign up for something,” he said. “We started because it was something my wife and I could do together. We came in 1991, and I’m not sure when we started, but if we came in September, and you had ‘In His Steps’ then, then I’m sure we started that year.”

They served together until her passing in 2010.

“We just liked babies,” he said. “When they’re calm, they’re laying in your lap. And a year later, they are walking and talking. That’s the most exciting time for kids – seeing them develop. One of the biggest things women can’t understand, is that when the babies see me, they’ll come to me because I look like a granddaddy. For a kid, that’s what I look like.”

As he talks, a baby spits up on his hand. His pants.

The floor. “You have to be prepared for everything,” Hall said, laughing.

Volunteers are a vital part of the church nursery, said Cheryl Smith, Frazer’s nursery director. “By serving, you’re loving and caring for people’s children so they can attend Sunday School, and/or a church service and they’re able to focus on worshiping and know their children are being nurtured in a loving environment.

“Laslie is very patient and gentle with the babies,” she said. “He will gladly take a crying or fussing child and stroll them or rock them till they calm down.

“Often you will see him sitting on the floor of the nursery laughing and playing with the children.

The children love him.”

Smith believes the first feelings a child will have toward a church are formed in the nursery.

“I believe a positive experience in the church nursery is essential to helping shape the way little ones learn and know Christ,” she said. “When you welcome a child in the name of Jesus, you welcome Jesus himself. When we minister to children – God is with us.”

Hall has watched babies grow up and have their own babies – that he later cares for on Sunday mornings. “They like me, and I like them,” he said.

“Whatever is going on, is exciting to them. I wish I could be like them. I can take anybody’s kid and anybody’s dog.”

It is not just the children Hall enjoys spending time with, but the people he works with every month.

“You have a relationship with the people working with you, too,” he said.

“Of course, he loves the babies,” Smith said, “but I think he stays because he enjoys working with the other volunteers who having been coming on the same Sunday for just about as long as he has. It is a chance for them to catch up by sharing life stories, fellowship, and be impacted by what they are doing serving the littlest members of the church.”

“When you’re in the nursery, you are being entrusted with the most important – and vulnerable – members of the church family,” Smith said. “There is no greater treasure on this side of Heaven than the little ones God has given us.

“Being trusted with such an important position is such a blessing, not only to those serving in the nursery, but the kids and their parents as well.”

“And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37)

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Worship in Bloom STORY BY KATIE BLAIR

Late on a Saturday afternoon, Sandra Summerlin slips through the doors of the Worship Center and heads down the aisle where she places a large, colorful arrangement of flowers on the altar.

For her, this is a sacred moment – a time in which she reflects on the beauty in the stillness of the space filled with the sweet perfume of the blooms and the impact the flowers will have on worshippers the following day, and in the days to come.

“You just never know who it is going to reach,” she said, reflecting on the floral arrangements she has made over the past year at Frazer. “The flowers are there to glorify Him.” So why flowers, some may ask.

Creating artful arrangements is also an act of worship for those who design the florals each week.

“It is an honor to use my God-given gifts for His Glory,” explains Summerlin. “I always looked at the flowers at church and always thought how beautiful they were.

I have always had a love for flowers, ever since I was a kid. The Spider Lilies would bloom, and I would get so excited. Even as a kid, I knew I wanted to create something pretty, especially when I would see the pink sweetheart roses bloom.

“I am self-taught, but I have made flower designs for friends’ weddings and for loved ones’ funerals. I know how meaningful the presence of flowers can be and I knew I wanted to be a part of it, so I called Amis Sellers

“We adorn and revere the altar with flowers,” said Amis Sellers, who coordinates the Sunday floral arrangements.

“For me, I love the idea of bringing God’s nature inside as an offering unto our Lord for worship. Church members often contribute financially to place them in honor or in memory of a loved onespecial birthdays or anniversaries, for example. And of course, in memory of a deceased person.”

JEFFREY TODHUNTER ROLLS FLOWERS OUT OF SERVICE.

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Rhonda Miles is one of over 25 volunteers who sees the joy the flowers provide.

“I have delivered flowers to people in the past and saw how it touched their lives,” she said. “I just knew I had to be part of it.

After Covid, I saw an even greater need for people to visit with the recipients and see how meaningful it is to the people getting JAMES MASHBURN AND BYRON SMYTH PLACE FLOWERS AT THE ALTAR PRIOR TO SERVICE. the flowers to get a visit from a fellow church member.” and said I want to be a part of the team.”

It is that special touch that ministers to the person who Years ago, Frazer used a local florist for the flower receives the flowers, along with this message attached arrangements, but Sellers soon realized that we had to each bouquet: volunteers with arranging talent who truly enjoy making them each week.

“These flowers have been in the chancel of Frazer Free Methodist Church. They have heard the hymns Jeffrey Todhunter, a new volunteer with the group of that have been sung, the prayers which have been floral arrangers, also finds joy in creating and using his offered, and the sermon which has been preached. gifts for design to glorify God. Now they come to you with their silent message and with our love.”

“I have done the floral arrangement for Pentecost and I also did the patriotic flowers in July,” he said. “I like to “With just over 130 floral arrangements delivered this tie in specifics to my arrangements by looking at the year, the flower ministry is reaching the lives of many,” church calendar. I’ve learned a lot and I love to serve. said BJ Nave, who coordinates the team of volunteers It’s a creative outlet for me and makes me feel like I delivering the flowers, “whether through the beautiam participating. I love the idea that the flowers are ful blooms adorning the altar on Sundays or filling the shared with others after the service.” homes of shut-ins with their sweet fragrance and reminder that they are loved and cared for by a body of That is something that many people may not know, believers, this ministry is bringing glory and honor to said Sellers.

God.” “Each week, following Sunday’s service, the flowers are broken down into smaller bouquets arranged by another team that delivers them to shut-in and nursing home residents,” she said. “It is a very special treat for them. We reassure them that they are not forgotten, and the flowers having been in worship make them even more special.”

Want to serve?

To volunteer for floral arranging, contact Amis Sellers at amissellers@gmail.com.

To volunteer for floral delivery or the breaking down of arrangements, or to dedicate flowers to a loved one, please contact BJ Nave rnave@frazer.church.

FOLLOWING JESUS | 19

exists to deepen Scriptural understanding through discussion and study, build authentic Christian community, and serve the needs of our community alongside other believers

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