Message from the Lay Leader

I had the opportunity to attend my first Episcopy Committee meeting with Bishop Sharma Lewis this month, and Hannah and I thought I should give you a report on that meeting. The Episcopy Committee serves as the closest thing to a sounding board (similar to the SPRC Committee in the local church) that a bishop has at their disposal in order to better feel the pulse of the flock in their conference. Hannah and I are both impressed with her leadership thus far and appreciate her passion and heart for the UMC. She is a life-long Methodist. She seems to be very down-to-earth, honest, transparent and open to questions. Coming from a family of experts, I took advantage of her openness and asked a few questions and expressed opinions of my own.

She spent the early part of the meeting reviewing in detail a report on her activities. She plans to give a similar report at each Episcopy Committee meeting. This report also served as an agenda for the meeting. She is a very busy lady! A native of Maryland and a life-long Methodist, she is determined to reach out to the Conference and learn more about our Church and its members, the role Methodism is playing in our State, and about that place which is Mississippi.

Of course, disaffiliation was a major topic of conversation. Your Church Council spent a short time at a recent meeting initially discussing the concept of the Lighthouse churches. This effort has arisen out of the disaffiliation struggle that the United Methodist Church is currently experiencing. In a recent sermon, Rev. Hannah discussed how Bishop Lewis so poignantly handled the tense and emotional atmosphere that arose at the 2023 Annual Conference after the disaffiliation vote was taken. Bishop Lewis said she has since learned that some present had wished she had spent more time reassuring those of us who had remained in the UMC as well as reaching out in love to those who were leaving. The Lighthouse churches are one way the Conference is attempting this and the Bishop said it was a very deliberate process to work through. In view of the latter and remembering our last Church Council meeting, I spoke to say that I hoped we could reach out in a faster and broader approach to those who stayed.

To help you understand why there is a need for such a Lighthouse church support movement I would like to repeat a story that Hannah told me when we were discussing my attendance at the Episcopacy meeting. Quoting Hannah, “My understanding is that a Lighthouse congregation is a church that wants to signal to others that it is committed to remaining UMC and to serve as a safe space for those who are grieving from a recently disaffiliated UMC congregation.” Imagine how you would feel if you had been a life-long, active member of a church, and wanted to remain so, but your church family votes to disaffiliate from the UMC, leaving you, more or less, unchurched. Continuing Hannah’s story, “When I was in Iuka, I had a lady call me asking if we were going to remain UMC because she was seeking a place of worship and every UMC around her was disaffiliating. She drove 30 minutes each Sunday just to worship with us. She is now a member of the Lighthouse congregation in town.” She has found a home and yet this lady is not able to go to church where she had gone all of her life, and so many of those she attended church with are no longer sitting in the pew next to her. Quoting Hannah once more, “The grief around this is heavy, with many feeling displaced or that they have lost their church home, not to mention fractured relationships.”

Since St. Luke has chosen to remain a United Methodist Church, maybe we should look further into the Lighthouse church effort to see if St. Luke can at least adopt some of the mission of that effort. We may eventually decide we want to be a Lighthouse church if we are willing to meet the criteria required. Regardless, I think we might be able to grow St. Luke by offering a wonderful church family to many people, helping those left behind find a new, loving church family. Many churches surrounding us have voted to disaffiliate. Hannah and I agree that St. Luke is already a strong and welcoming UMC congregation, yet there may be other ways we can learn to be even more so. And it is not just the recently unchurched United Methodists that we need to be seeking. The Lighthouse church movement is much broader in its purpose than that.

Finally, in response to a question of mine, Bishop Lewis spent a lot of time discussing the different dynamics of the current issues facing United Methodism. Since we do not know what the next 2024 General Conference will do regarding amendment of the Discipline and Social Principles in response to current controversies, we may find that we are still in the same situation we are now in if no changes are made, possibly leading to more disaffiliation. Frances and I personally favored the One Church plan that was proposed 2-3 years ago and think it would have been a workable one for all concerned, but it is not currently on the table, as far as we know.

But all that remains to be seen and we may still be in turmoil after 2024. Bishop Lewis announced that the 2024 Annual Conference will be June 20, 21, and 22, 2024, in Jackson.

I hope this information helps you have a better understanding of where United Methodism in Mississippi finds itself. These are not easy questions, but we need to discuss them rationally and with love in our hearts.

May God bless us as we seek to discern our future.

Jim Tims, Your Lay Leader

Lectionary Readings for November

Sunday, November 5 — All Saints Sunday
Joshua 3:7-17
Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37
1 Thessalonians 2:8-13
Matthew 23:1-12

Sunday, November 12 — Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Psalm 78:1-7
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
Sunday, November 19 — Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Judges 4:1-7
Psalm 123 or Psalm 76
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:14-30
Sunday, November 26— Christ the King Sunday
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46

The Mission of St. Luke UMC is to be a Place to Belong, Believe, & Become Disciples of Christ

OPPORTUNITIES TO BELONG

The Coleman SS Class Christmas Party will be Dec 10 at 6:00 p.m., at the Cards. Everyone is asked to bring an hors d'oeuvres and a gift for Dirty Santa. Anyone who was ever a member of the class or anyone who is thinking of joining us is welcome.

UNITED WOMEN IN FAITH is so grateful for the support provided by St. Luke members for the No-Bake Sale. At this time the total is $1,380. It’s not too late to give. The White Christmas/Christmas in July fund receives half and UWFaith half. THANK YOU!!

UWFAITH Grace Circle will meet on Tuesday, November 7, 10:00 a.m. in the church library. Jackie Pennington will lead the World Thank Offering service and the Pledge service. World Thank Offering is undesignated giving and helps support mission projects around the world that help women, children and youth. Remember all that we have to be thankful for and give as generously as you can.

UNITED WOMEN IN FAITH invite all women of St. Luke to a celebration of Christmas on Tuesday, December 12, at 5:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. PLEASE NOTE THIS CHANGE IN DATE!! Pastor Hannah will have our program. Members of Lunch Bunch and Grace Circle are asked to bring finger foods. We will provide childcare.

We are not asking you to commit to being members of UWFaith (though that would be wonderful). We just want to celebrate this wonderful season of the year with all women in our church family. You may think that you don’t want to add one more thing to what is probably already a busy December, but I promise that you will feel better when you go home than when you came. There is just something about a supportive community of women that lifts our spirits. Put the date on your calendar now! December 12, 5:00 p.m.

OPPORTUNITIES TO BELIEVE

The historic Dockery Farms property was the site of a joint worship service October 1, with St. Luke hosting our friends from Calvary Episcopal Church. It was World Communion Sunday, and Hannah set up a beautiful altar with a colorful cloth, a rustic cross, a globe, sheaves of wheat, and a varied assortment of breads. St. Luke members recited The Lord’s Prayer in French, Spanish, and Tamil. Music was provided by the Delta String Band, Delta Celtic, and the combined choirs of the two churches. Josh Armstrong played a drum solo and Rick Torgerson and Amanda Mayo played “Ashokan Farewell” on flute and violin. After the service, everyone enjoyed a potluck meal on the grounds. If you missed it, you missed a great time, but we’re hoping to make this a tradition, so you might have another chance!

OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME DISCIPLES

Another elementary playground in town has a healthy layer of pea gravel to enjoy! St Luke spread pea gravel at Nailor Elementary on two large sections of their playground. As always, the front loaders make a huge difference, and we had three helping us this time. We are so thankful for Trevor Runnels, Shane Partridge (member of the community who drove Cade Holder’s uncle’s front loader), and Al Williams who brought a front loader and Victor with Olvera Construction to help load and unload the gravel. We could not have done this without our gravel spreaders either, so thanks to all of you for spending your Saturday morning to improve the playground at Nailor. We are hopeful that we may have some money left in our budget to purchase some new swings for Nailor as well. We feel like we not only spread gravel, but we spread joy for students to be able to enjoy these areas more often when the weather turns wetter. St Luke is a good team! Look for pics of the Pea Gravel Project, Redux, in The St. Luke Scene below.

Soon it will be time to carry out our White Christmas project. If you know of a family with school aged children who are struggling financially and might be in need of help with a few Christmas gifts, please consider acting as a sponsor for that family. Contact Lisa at the church office or Deb Cole. November 2 is the deadline to recommend a family. The Christmas tree loaded with paper ornaments will be in the narthex on Sunday, November 12. When you see it, take as many ornaments as you can, purchase those items listed, and help make this a special Christmas for those families in need.

The months of November and December have been designated for the Methodist Children’s Home “This Little Light of Mine” special offering. 100% of the offering will fund programs helping children and families of MCH. Let’s help bring hope and a little light of love into the lives of those children who have been abused and neglected. Deadline to give is December 11.

Worship Greeters are needed for next year! A Greeter is a very important part of welcoming people to our worship service and helps by passing out bulletins, helping people in and out of cars (when needed), directing visitors to pews or various areas of the church, and helps in other capacities of the service. If you feel called to volunteer and want to sign up, please contact Al Williams or the church office.

If you would like to help deliver our “Second Sunday” mission project food items to Helping Hands next year, please contact Lisa in the church office to sign up. Drop off times for Helping Hands are Wednesdays or Fridays between 9:00 am and noon.

The 2024 Flower Calendar is available on the bulletin board across from the choir room. If you would like to help provide an altar arrangement sometime during the year, please look over the calendar, choose a date or two, and sign up. We also have a “flower fridge” so you can sign up for two consecutive Sunday, store your arrangement in the fridge during the week and re-use them the second Sunday. You can contact Sandi Melton (Flower Steward) or the church office to sign up or for more info.