2023-07-02 beacon

WELCOME

Shalimar UMC

Lead Pastor

Dr. Alan McBride

REACH | TEACH | SEND

Dr. Brad Bradford Worship Pastor

Rev. John Kelsoe Associate Pastor

Gerald Batton Custodian

Chris Bennett Facility & Maintenance Manager

Chris Bennett Interim Youth Director

Pat Brantley Office Administrative Assistant

Tanner Dubose Youth Intern

Denise Heath Finance

Sarah Hicks Children’s Director

Karen Jadin Preschool Director

Tony Mallini Interim Church Administrator

Heyward McKenzie Chef

Amanda Marshall Nursery Coordinator

Sarah Hicks Children’s Director

Sara Morrison Financial Assistant

Abigail Raffield Media & Communications

Leigh J. Rice Respite Director

Dawn Rozofsky After School & Camp Director

Ben Savage Worship Arts

Jeremy Thiess Ministries Assistant

After Hours Emergency Pastoral Assistance

Dr. Brad Bradford: (850) 227- 4328

Our Vision

Christ-centered, multi-generational, family & community relevant ministries through worship, discipleship, and mission.

Our Mission

We REACH out to our congregation, community, and the world.

We TEACH the word of God as provided in the Holy-Scripture.

We SEND our members and missionaries to be witnesses to God’s grace and His promise of eternal life.

Week of July 2, 2023

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

CHURCH LIFE

CHURCH LIFE

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BE IN THE KNOW.

PATRIOTIC SERVICE

We would like to ask our military members, retired, active, reserves and veterans to wear their uniform this Sunday, as part of our Patriotic Celebration.

NEW PASTORS & SUNDAE SOCIAL

Our new lead pastor, Rev. Dr. Alan McBride, and our new associate pastor, Rev. John Kelsoe, will be with us next Sunday, July 9. Join us in welcoming our new pastors on their first Sunday here at Shalimar!

On Sunday, July 23 we will have our Sundae Social, where everyone is invited to have ice cream with John and Alan in the Family Life Center! More details on that to come.

LUNCH & LEARN

Have lunch with the discernment team as they answer questions and give more insight into the discernment process. On Sunday, July 9, at 12:30pm in the FLC. We hope to see you there!

ANNOUNCEMENTS & ARTICLES

LAST WEEK’S ATTENDANCE

MISSIONS MAKING A DIFFERNECE

The Bread House needs Peanut Butter and Jelly. Please drop by the Bread House or bring these items to Room 106 on Sunday mornings. The next time you go to the grocery store, please pick up these items and share with those in need. Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

GET TO KNOW OUR NEW LEAD PASTOR, REV. DR. ALAN MCBRIDE

I imagine that it is likely that the good people, leaders, and staff of Shalimar United Methodist Church have many questions and some clear expectations about their new Lead Pastor. Interestingly enough, as I write this greeting article for The Beacon, I also have great curiosity about my new church. I believe that in a short time, my most pressing questions will be answered.

But, in this writing, I want to provide a snapshot of Karen and me to start what I believe will be a long and very fruitful relationship. I want to make a n announcement here too!

For the explicit purpose of advancing our friendship and the product of our ministry together by six months or more, as I arrive in Shalimar this coming week, I will begin Pastor Chats meetings. These informal meetings will begin Sunday, July 30th, in the Chapel and be held each Sunday and Tuesday night through the close of Summer. More details on how to rsvp coming soon!

In preparing for these gatherings, if it is easier for you, you can send any questions or areas of ministry interest to me anonymously by emailing Abigail Raffield at abigail@shalimar-umc.org. She will provide me with the questions and comments, removing the sender’s name for each weekly gathering. There will also be a box where y ou can drop as many questions or comments as you want in the church office during t he week and in worship venues on Sunday mornings.

So, I want to advance or fast-forward our relationship with each of you. First, I must tell you about Karen, my wonderful wife. I’m pleased to say that July 1st will be our 34th anniversary! Karen and I were married on July 1st, 1989, in her hometown of Jennings, LA.

We first met while college students at Asbury College (now Asbury University) in Wilmore, KY, and ran in the same close friend group together until after graduation in May 1988. She agreed to begin dating me that summer and, by year’s end of 1988, said “yes” to marrying a guy whom God had called to be a pastor.

I had sensed God calling me to go into full-time Christian ministry as a pastor after I was saved at the age of 18 in my home church, Gadsden Street UMC, in Pensacola, where I was born and raised. Pursuing this call, I went to Asbury College in the fall of 1984. While there, I received a BA in History and English and added teaching certification in case the preaching thing didn’t work out.

At Asbury, Karen earned her BA in Spanish Education. She began teaching Spanish full-time at Jessamine County High School near Wilmore, KY, in 1989, the same time I entered Seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary. I’m so thankful for her! As a High School Spanish teacher earning her Master of Education Degree at The University of Kentucky, specializing in teaching English as a second language, Karen also put me through school to earn my Master of Divinity degree. She is really a re markable person!

In May 1993, I completed my M-Div from Asbury Theological Seminary. We promptly

moved from Wilmore, KY, into Pastoral Ministry at my first appointment as Associate Pastor at Church Street United Methodist Church in Selma, AL.

As I finished seminary in early 1993, our first of three children was born in Kentucky. William lives near Cincinnati, OH, and is a video designer, editor, and creator for numerous media outlets. Karen and I are very excited to share that Will is engaged to be married to a wonderful young lady, Haley Hulett. Their marriage will take place this fall, November 12th, in New Orleans, LA. Our daughter Laura is a nurse and lives in Ft. Collins, CO, and our youngest, Allison or Ally, also lives near her brother in Cincinnati. She works in event planning.

Over the past month, I have had several opportunities to be at Shalimar and meet with some very special people for the purpose of learning all I can. I’ve talked with several of your key leaders, and our conversations have helped me to build a great sense of excitement about what God is about to do among us in Shalimar. I can’t wait! But, the most fun thing I’ve done in the past month is meet with members of the staff of the Shalimar church.

First, your staff persons are an incredibly gifted group and each of them are very much in love with their church. They have great vision for ministry, great ideas, and are fully in love with Jesus and His mission to bring people to come know and experience Jesus and His love. I am FULLY on board with them, and I’m gonna love working with them. But, from the staff, I have also heard some great questions from them, which clued me into the need to share some simple things about myself in this writing.

There has been a question about my favorite bible verse. Hah! I don’t know where to start because I have several “life verses.” I must say upfront regarding the Bible that for many reasons, not least being my educational background at 2 conservative Wesleyan institutions, Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree earned at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, I am completely committed to living by, teaching, and preaching God’s Word as found in the Old Testament and New Testament. I believe in the Bible. I embrace the Doctrine of Inspiration regarding all scriptures and believe that God’s Holy Spirit has inspired each writer in the Bible to write what has been written. There is unity of message through all the books of the Bible. This unified message is that Jesus is Lord of all and that my purpose as a Christian Pastor is to support making disciples for Jesus, leading every church I serve to focus solely on this as our mission.

My favorite verse? Having said something about my belief in the Bible, at this season of my life, I want to mention 2 verses that are my “favorite” for this time: Second Timothy 1:7 and Galatians 5:22-23. Please look them up and read them. One tells me that fear is never an appropriate motivator for the choices I make but that I have power in the love Jesus gives me by His Spirit to have the mindfulness to make the right choices. The other means that if I am filled with God’s Spirit, there are fruits of attitude and behavior that will flow from my life, and I try to be ever mindful of what fruit is spilling out.

Previously, I mentioned that I was born and raised in Pensacola, but I need to add that I was greatly blessed by God to be born into a very loving family. I am the youngest of seven siblings, all of whom live in the Pensacola area. I’m the family’s black sheep because I don’t

live in Escambia County. Though our parents are deceased, we are close and get together regularly, and all our spouses are fully engaged in this clan. I still recall the first time Karen came to visit my family at Christmas in 1988 when we first d ated. She was stunned and overwhelmed by all the McBrides floating around my parent’s home, but she was quickly brought lovingly into being an integral part of the family.

Karen and I are very committed and connected to our families of origin. Part of this loving commitment to our families includes the caregiving that Karen and I provide within our families. Karen and her brother Perry, who lives in Baton Rouge, LA, share in helping care for their mom. Her name is Miriam Kahl, and due to her health and age-related issues, Karen travels regularly to Baton Rouge for long weekends to be with her mom and provide for her needs. I have two brothers living in Pensacola who need my care as well.

As the youngest of seven siblings, it was our parents’ wish that I be the Trustee for my brother Steve, who is a very special guy. He will always need me to look out for him and provide for his needs. In 2004, my brother Jack was involved in a horrific car accident that caused severe brain injury. At that time, with the agreement of our siblings, I became his Guardian and provide the same types of care I also provide for Steve. With Karen’s support and all kinds of assistance from my other siblings, I look after Steve and Jack in our family home in Pensacola. I hope you can see that I’m very thankful to serve as the Lead Pastor at Shalimar Church because I can still get to Pensacola quickly enough and regularly enough to “love on” my brothers.

As your Lead Pastor, beginning tomorrow, July 1st, I want to openly confess my joy and excitement about being Pastor to each of you. I have already said that I love our staff at Shalimar, and their collective resources for the mission gives me great joy. Stuff is going to happen! I’m also excited to come because I know that the seeds of what God will lead us to do next are already in our present, and I will enjoy figuring that out with you. There is excitement because I am very impressed with Rev. Brad Bradford by reputation and encouraged by his gracious, kind, and knowledgeable work with me since we began speaking and meeting at the end of April. He will be fun to work with as I learn.

I’m glad I am coming to Shalimar because I am very excited about bringing Rev. John Kelsoe into Pastoral Ministry at Shalimar. I feel strongly that Shalimar is a great church for him as he finalizes his formal preparation for Ordination. It is wel l known that you are a warm, generous-spirited church that knows how to encourage your Pasto rs, and John will benefit from this greatly. I count it an honor to be chosen as a Lead Pastor to work with him and see very clear gifts and abilities that Jesus will use mightily to grow Shalimar and accomplish our mission.

And, one more reason for my joy and excitement about being Lead Pastor at Shalimar UMC. Since I first learned that Jesus loved me, I have been convinced that God wanted me to do something because of His love. I’m deeply thankful that I have the opportunity once again as your Pastor to continue to do, along with you, what God calls me to do and also calls The Church to do.

In Jesus, Dr. Alan

W. McBride

GET TO KNOW OUR NEW associate PASTOR, REV. john kelsoe

Grace and peace to you all as we begin this journey together. Alan and I are excited to be your next pastors at Shalimar UMC. It truly is an honor to serve God and God’s people. Prior to our first Sunday together on July 9th, here are a few things you should know…

My wife, Stephanie, and I were recently married on March 4th at Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. We were honored to have Stephanie’s father, Rev. Dan Morris, the longest actively serving Elder in the Alabama West Florida conference officiate our wedding. (The United Methodist clergy runs deep as we had over 20 clergy from around the conference attend this special day.) Stephanie and I first met as I began my tenure at Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. A few months after my arrival, her and I embarked on a journey to the greatest air show in the country as the Blue Angels performed over the waters of Pensacola Beach. I learned two things on that day: 1. Sunscreen is very important in Florida. 2. Stephanie is truly something special. To make a long story short, my negligence to apply sunscreen resulted in a trip to the emergency room where I was diagnosed with sun poisoning. While waiting for the doctor, I received a phone call from Stephanie which consisted of anticipation and concern on her part. I assured her that I would be ok and that I learned my lesson that the Florida sunshine is no joke. It was after the phone call in which sparked my heart to believe that this young lady is something special. From that moment, the rest is history as we were engaged in June of 2022, and we’re married on March 4th of 2023. Stephanie and I have two daughters. Victoria is 8 years old and she has a beautiful voice as she is excited to learn under the leadership of Reverend Brad Bradford and the wonderful children’s choir. Anna grace is 6 years old and she has a personality that requires 2 cups of coffee every morning just to keep up with. Safe to say she rules the house on occasion, but she is an abundance of joy with a caring heart.

I grew up in the small peanut lands of Enterprise AL to John Sr and Lynn Kelsoe. We are very much an athletic family as most of you have heard. However, I am not the most athletic in our family (That title belongs to my mother). I was honored to be awarded an athletic scholarship to enterprise state Community College and later accepting another athletic scholarship while completing my degree in sports management at Huntington College in Montgomery AL. I began my seminary studies at Asbury theological seminary in August of 2021 and currently just over the halfway point within my seminary studies while also in the process of applying for provisional elder (commissioning) in the Alabama West Florida conference. Now let’s get to the fun part. Our communications extraordinaire Abigail Raffield came up with some fun questions to offer you as a way of getting to know more about me and I hope my answers bring joy to y’all.

- What do you like to do in your spare time?

Whenever I am free from seminary studies and pastoral duties, I really enjoy going to the movie theaters with Stephanie and the girls. The entire concept of buying a ticket at the gate, purchasing popcorn, candy, and large soda exuberates a level of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming movie we are about to see. As you may have picked up on, baseball is a huge aspect of my life. Henceforth, I am an avid Atlanta Braves fan. I enjoy watching the Bravos on television broadcast and especially on the grounds of Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. I also love to be a big

cheerleader to Stephanie, Victoria, and Anna Grace. I love supporting my girls whether it be a job promotion, singing performances, or school plays, I find true joy in witnessing the beautiful stages of life the girls embark on.

- Favorite Place to Eat? (Top 5)

1. Moes Southwest

2. Cracker Barrel

3. Momma Goldbergs (Auburn, AL)

4. Five Guys Burgers

5. Amigos 30A Mexican Kitchen in PCB.

- Favorite Sports Teams? Atlanta Braves and New England Patriots

- Enneagram Number? 3 (Achiever)

- Favorite Scripture? Psalm 144

- What are you most excited about as the new associate pastor of Shalimar United Methodist Church?

Without a doubt, the faithful folks of Shalimar UMC is what brings the most excitement as I begin serving this great church. It is the people of this historic church in which exuberates what it truly means to be the hands and feet of the Kingdom of God as the people of God. A major theme that I recognized as I asked some of the members about what is the culture of Shalimar UMC: The common denominator was that this is a place for the entire family. In essence, Shalimar UMC is a place where children and adults in the faith can have the opportunity to learn, grow, mature, and live out their faith. The warm hospitality that my family has received has greatly enhanced our level of excitement and we cannot wait to serve the great people of Shalimar UMC. I cannot wait to work with some of the best worship leaders in the Freedom service and working alongside Rev. Alan McBride and Rev. Brad Bradford.

As we embark on this journey together, may the gracious love of Jesus Christ dwell deep within your heart! May his spirit penetrate our soul and may we be open to what God has in store. On behalf of our family to yours, we are honored to serve at Shalimar United Methodist Church.

-Blessings and Peace, John

joyful place

Did you know that there are almost 30 other respite programs like ours scattered across the country? Respite for All (RFA) was our mentor for opening Joyful Place in March of 2022. The award winning RFA respite model is a proven faith based, volunteer driven model that positively impacts our community. Joyful Place is the only respite program in the south end of Okaloosa County and the closest other RFA program to us is in Dothan, AL. We have participants that live in Navarre, Niceville, Mary Esther, Fort Walton Beach, and Shalimar. We are truly reaching families in our area and making a difference in the lives of people and caregivers living with dementia.

The RFA respite model and Joyful Place are volunteer based. Although there is a part time respite director, the true magic of respite happens because of the volunteers. It is neighbor helping neighbor, each lifting each other up in their own way. Each pouring life and love into the others in the room.

If you would like to be part of our Joyful volunteers, we would love for you to share your time, talents, and gifts. Please reach out for more information.

Be JOYFUL always!

-Leigh Rice Respite Director

The Bread House

OPEN

Monday | Wednesday | Friday 9am-12pm

FOOD DISTRIBUTION NUMBERS

Bags Collected: 393

Bags Given Out: 246 Members Served: 276

TOTAL

Bags Collected: 55,887

Bags Given Out: 44,792

Members Served: 42,793

Summer has started and we have slowed down a bit but still seeing new families with needs! Please consider donating any of the items below! Anything is appreciated!

SUPPLIES NEEDED

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Paper Towels | Toilet Paper

Canned Vegetables: Corn, Green Beans, & Mixed Canned Meat: Tuna, Chicken, & Spam

Dried Goods | Beans & Rice

Fruit, Potatoes, & Onions

These supplies are needed for each week. If you wish to donate money instead, send a check to SUMC. Make the memo line out to “Bread House”

POC: Pete Peters (703) 395-2437

fpeters1@cox.net

Week 164