“The Beauty of Creation”

The week after Easter, I spent five days at Ghost Ranch, a 21,000-acre conference and retreat center in northern New Mexico. Georgia O’Keefe found inspiration for many of her landscape paintings at Ghost Ranch and the home she owned there still sits on the property. You can even take a tour of the places she painted. It is easy to see why O’Keefe spent so much time there. The desert landscape is both desolate and beautiful, barren and bursting with life. The towering cliffs that bound in and around the ranch change colors countless times a day, depending on the sun and clouds.

I had the opportunity to do some hiking while I was there and being in the desert wilderness was both fear-inducing and magical. One trail featured a sign warning that mountain lions had been seen in the area. And, while planning my trip, I learned there are seven different species of rattlesnake in New Mexico!

Ghost Ranch is a high desert; there are no rolling dunes. There are plenty of plants and trees, but the species that survive there are hearty and tough. Everything that lives in this place is strained for that which all life on earth must have to live, water. All living things that inhabit this desert landscape, from cacti to human beings, are in a constant struggle with dryness. One might call it a battle, but the power of living things to adapt to extreme environments is a testament to the relentless force of life.

Besides the human ones, the animals that live there do not “battle” with the landscape, they adapt to it in order to live in harmony with the corner of God’s creation they inhabit. While we humans see nature as something we must battle against, the rest of creation innately understands it to be, simply, the place they live; the environment in which they live, move, and have their being. We are meant to understand creation the same way. A place we were created to adapt to, rather than force to adapt to us.

Of course, we are the only ones who can ponder what it all means. The only ones who can build towering structures, earth moving equipment, weapons of war, and all the plastic things we can possibly imagine. We are the only ones capable of using our minds to build great things. And yet, even with our large, powerful brains, capable of creating music and poetry, we are the only ones capable of forgetting that we are part of, not separate from, the rest of creation. And the saddest part of this, is that in our forgetting, we do not understand all the joy and beauty we are missing by believing ourselves to be separate.

In those extreme environments, it is powerful to see so much life, not battling the landscape, but simply living in it. Surviving the dryest, toughest days and rejoicing when the clouds open up and rain down the gift of water. Here, the rest of creation, of which we are only a part, lives day by day, come what may. Come dryness or rain, life goes on, life goes on. There is certainly a lesson in this for us. 

Grace and peace,

Will

The Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) began meeting weekly this Spring, and we are working toward several initial goals:

• Completing the Ministry Discernment Profile, including a statement of our church’s Mission and Vision.
• Discerning the competencies needed by potential candidates for the Associate Pastor position.

We have a formalized procedure provided by Foothills Presbytery that allows us to move through this process in meaningful and organized ways. Through conversation with each other, members of the church, training provided by our friends at the presbytery, and sincere prayer, we hope to discern the needs of the church for our next Associate Pastor and match those to the skills and qualifications of the individual God has chosen to join our church family. We appreciate your patience and prayers with this process and we will provide the congregation with regular updates.

In peace and joy,

The APNC - Missy Nicholson & Ginger Mauney, Co-Chairs, Paul Govan, Kamin Lambertson, Ann Drayton Lister, Robert Lynn, Leanna McCord, and William Shelburne, Jr.

Mission and Outreach News

As the school year winds down, please note that we do not need Dunbar Pantry donations during the summer months. We will begin restocking in mid-August for the 2026-27 school year. Thank you to everyone who has supported the effort to help feed students at Dunbar CDC and Greer Middle School. With our sincere gratitude - Marguerite, Ansley, Preston, and Amy.

A Note from Emily

I will not be with my children this Mother’s Day. In fact, that has been the case for the past several years as the second week of May is generally when the Longleaf Writers Conference takes place in Grayton Beach, FL, where we used to live. At first, I felt guilty about missing church and being away from my family on this holiday, but now I consider it the best Mother’s Day present I could imagine. For me, poetry is not just a hobby; sometimes it feels like my soul’s survival strategy. This became even more true once I had children, and the demands of motherhood surged, at times threatening to crowd out my other roles and sense of self.

Poetry has always been a way for me to wrestle with life, with God, with Scripture, with my various roles. For me it is a spiritual practice, a kind of prayer. Over the decades, some poems have come to me easily like a gift, but most start more like a grain of sand in an oyster–a piece of grit that irritates and that I must worry and roll around in my mind and heart until it grows pearlescent. Or, to use the metaphor of Genesis 32, the poem evolves like a wrestling match with an idea or biblical text or line or memory that I will not let go without a blessing. The poem, "Gethsemane", is an example of how my own experience of motherhood led to a reflection on the nature of God.

Click HERE To Read Emily's Poem

Parenthood is no cake-walk, and I recognize that Mother’s Day can be a difficult holiday for those grieving the loss of a mother or child or who have difficult relationships with living mothers or children, who may have unfulfilled desires to be mothers, or who may be struggling with the challenges of motherhood in the here and now. My husband and I had our own challenges with getting pregnant and miscarrying before Julian was born, and I have other poems that helped me through that experience.

Our Vacation Bible School theme this summer is “Find Your Strength in God,” and the memory verse is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.” My hope for each of us is that we experience God’s strengthening presence with us as we navigate this month of May, with its many celebrations and transitions into summer. Whether it’s through poetry, daily devotions, meditation, hiking, worship, fellowship or service, may your spiritual practices be a means of grace through which the Holy Spirit enlivens and strengthens you in the days ahead. And please don’t hesitate to let Pastor Will or I know if you need a listening ear.

Peace,

Emily

Children & Youth News

On Sunday, May 3, we said "goodbye" to our nursery worker, Erin Prins. For the last three years, Erin has faithfully served our babies, toddlers, and their parents. She will be missed. In her humble and unassuming way, Erin has brought a sense of joy and security to our nursery, and we pray that she will experience all of God’s goodness as she heads to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue a Master’s degree in Math Education. On behalf of the Faith Formation Committee and our congregation, we express gratitude for a job well-done in service to our littlest ones, and we congratulate Erin on her May 9th graduation from Furman. Erin has been a blessing to us! I thank my God with every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

FPC Greer Financial Summary

Year to Date Actual Income

as of 03/31/26 = $321,965.00

Year to Date Budgeted Income

as of 03/31/26 = $227,517.00

Variance = +$94,448.00

Thank you for supporting the

mission and ministry of FPC Greer!

Upcoming Fellowship Opportunities

Luanne Baker

Bonnie Holmes

Stuart Mauney

Bob Moss

Terri Moss

Donna Palmer

Myra Wood

We extend sincere sympathy to the Smith family - Chris, Amy, Lily, and Lucy. Chris's mother, Pam, passed away on April 9th, and his father, Bryan, died on May 1st after suffering a heart attack.

Our deepest sympathy to the family of Debbie Dobson Moore following her death on April 21st. A memorial service will be held at the church on Saturday, May 9th, at 2:00 p.m.

To Our Church Family,



Many, many thanks for the delicious food, greeting and gift cards, phone calls, visits, and, most especially, your prayers during Beverley’s illness. What a blessing you have been to us!

With our love, Beverley and Jack House

Click Here to View

the Latest Church Photos Including Youth Sunday and Graduate Recognition!

The next issue of First News is June 2. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to Lisa Johnson at lisaj@fpcgreer.org by Monday, June 1.