PASTOR’S CORNER

Sunday was an incredible, high, and holy time as we worshiped the Lord and celebrated the 47 years of ministry of Rev. Dr. Philip E. McVay. Church, what a great testimony of God’s love and power as we shared in worship together. The Holy Spirit was most powerful, and we are forever changed because of God’s work in us. Our Connect and Freedom Worship teams, Chancel Choir, orchestra, accompanist, AVL teams, and all who led us were used by God to help us express our hearts for the Lord. Philip’s blessing for each of us will be something that we will remember for the rest of our lives. This is a day we will remember for eternity!

Thank you for your continued prayers as we transition in our pastoral leadership. These next two months will bring change and will require us to adjust to God’s moving among us. I wanted to give you a quick overview of some of the ways we are going to continue to minister and equip God’s people for works of ministry:

• Our District Superintendent, Rev. Jean Tippit, has asked me to meet with each of our • administrative teams during this interim time.

• Our Resident Bishop, David Graves, has granted me sacramental privilege during this time for baptisms and Holy Communion.

• Each of our pastors continue to have specific days in which we visit the hospitals. We also • continue our weekend rotation and are on call to assist with pastoral needs. We are so grateful for the partnership of our Stephen Ministers in helping to visit our congregation in the hospital.

• We have a preaching plan through June. Each week the Beacon will contain the coming Sunday’s preaching schedule for each service. We will also continue to list the scripture that will serve as our central focus for our worship services.

You will see elsewhere in this Beacon how you can express your love and care for Rev. David Garvin and his wife, Hannah, as they prepare for their last Sunday here at SUMC on May 28. Please take the opportunity to show you love with a card and gift card as they prepare for the next place God will lead them to serve. Our Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) is planning a time to celebrate David’s ministry among us. Please stay tuned for the details of that time. In the coming days, you will see and hear about the plans to share our love with Rev. Matt Langford and his wife, Anne Claire.

With David’s departure, the SPRC has secured Chris Bennett to serve as our Summer Youth Ministry Interim. Chris has multiple years of youth ministry experience and has already begun to help in our youth ministry in preparation for this time of transition. Assisting Chris will be our own Tanner Dubose. Tanner will serve as our Summer Youth Intern. This is going to be another exciting summer of ministry here at SUMC!

We plan to have a “Pastor’s Corner” word each week in the Beacon to help inform you of upcoming ministries, communication during these days of transition, and to celebrate the great things God is doing here at SUMC.

Let us continue to love God and love people and bless those around us.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Brad Bradford, Worship Pastor