You will want to be in the CLC at 10:00 AM this Sunday. Our own Robin Hughes will be teaching the combined adult Sunday school class.

We know that some folks will be out of town for the long weekend, but all the rest of us will gather for fellowship and, what I am sure will be, a great lesson from Robin.

On Monday, we hosted the Fifth Grade Honors and Awards Program for our partner school, L. H. Williams. The children, their families, and even the staff from the school had a great time. Our volunteers decorated the room beautifully, welcomed them to our campus, and served a delicious meal to the 127 guests.

For decades you have been generously invested in the children of our community. In addition to class readers, tutors, and weekly backpacks, you once again celebrated in grand fashion the transition of our students to middle school. If you had been here, you would have been proud of our church.

Last Sunday, our 11:00 AM service was shared around the world by UMCOM, our United Methodist Communications Ministry. Each week, the communications team selects a church to share on the denomination stream, and Vineville was the featured service that was streamed by UMCOM last Sunday. This meant that we had people worshipping with us from across the country and around the world. Based on the number of views, it looks like just over 10,000 people worshiped with us.

One of the great things about being part of the United Methodist Church is that we share a common and connected ministry. We appreciate the work of UMCOM and their sharing of our service. The fact that 10,241 folks worshipped with us is a great reminder that this is bigger than us.

Last Sunday afternoon, the South Georgia Annual Conference had a special Zoom business meeting. As part of that meeting, the disaffiliation of 193 churches was ratified by the Annual Conference. During morning worship, we experienced the positivity of our connectional church in the work of UMCOM. That afternoon, we faced connectional failure. Nearly 200 churches felt the need to leave the South Georgia Conference and the United Methodist Church because they were afraid of what might happen. I am happy that they have gotten to where they understand that they need to be, but I grieve that they felt the best answer was to leave. I am sorry that relationships and the ties that bind had been that strained. In the morning, we had people who wanted to worship with us tuning in from around the world. In the afternoon, we had others who decided the best thing for them was to sever ties with us. Needless to say, it was a day of joy and sadness.

Our Conference continues to faithfully serve the cause of Christ. We are 274 churches strong. We are growing. There are 8 new worshipping communities in the works to serve places where the previous church or churches chose to leave our denomination. While it was sobering to see the names of churches I knew and even churches where I had served among those leaving, I still believe in our United Methodist Church. I don’t think God is done with us. Our task is to remain faithful and stay on task – making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Hope to see you in church on Sunday dressed in red, orange, or yellow.

Peace,

IN-PERSON

ATTENDANCE

9:00: 92

Kay Green, Brenda Mallory,

Jean McLendon, Ellen Thompson

Harriett Durkee

Send prayer requests to vinevillemethodist@gmail.com.

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