Aldersgate United Methodist Church

A Little Goes a Long Way

aumcsecretary — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:15:34 +0000

The last few weeks have taught me a lot. The bone I broke will heal easily, and with no cast I might add! The affected foot turned out to be my left foot so I can still drive. My church family has been wonderfully supportive. Short of me whining and my foot hurting the first week, I think I am most fortunate. I have also learned some important lessons.

Immediately, I had to make an adjustment in my routine. There was no way I could carry my purse. For us females, our purse is an extension of our body. Men laugh at us for carrying it, but they often need some of its mysterious contents. Mine was clearly hampering my ability to get where I needed to go, so I made the difficult decision to leave my purse behind. I could only take what a pocket or two could carry. Essential was my driver’s license, a credit card, and a little cash. Amazingly, I got by just fine and really did not miss my purse all that much. We will see what happens when my foot is healed enough to carry a purse again!

The lesson I have learned from this is I do not really need all I think I need. I can get by with very little. Maybe that applies to life as well. I stress over what I think I have to have, but stuff can be such a burden. Learning to simplify can be such a great gift.

After all, nowhere in the New Testament did it say Jesus carried luggage everywhere he went!

While we may need less things than we think we do, what we should not leave behind are the faith and confidence that God is with us. Hopefully, you and I will be sure to take along the courage, hope and kindness this faith puts in our hearts. One thing I have learned, no matter how bumpy the road (or stairs!) in the end it will all be good!

Pastor Pam

Changing Plans

aumcsecretary — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:03:14 +0000

When I was a seminary student, I had one of my first clinical placements at DeKalb General Hospital in the emergency room on Saturday mornings. I was called a “patient representative”, but I functioned like a chaplain, assisting staff and patients and their families in communicating what was going on with the admitted patients to the emergency room. I saw everything, and as a sheltered 24 year-old, I was overwhelmed. After leaving the ER one particularly horrendous day filled with tragedy after tragedy, I stopped at the grocery store on my way back to my apartment. I had seen situations that day where life seemed to be going great, but in a moment altered people’s lives completely. I watched a mother and child come out of the grocery store and go to their car, following their normal routine, and thought about how quickly even their lives might change. I realized that we are not really in control of life, and it helped me to focus on the only anchor I had in an ever-changing world: God’s love and the strength of support we receive from the people in our lives, and in particular, the community of faith.

That day in the ER, I stayed with a wife whose husband had burned over half of his body with flash back from a gasoline fire. She had driven him over 30 miles with him screaming in pain to the hospital. I watched out for her during the agonizing hours as she waited by herself to hear of her husband’s fate. She was very appreciative of my support, but the moment her pastor walked through the glass doors of the emergency room, I could see from that lady‘s face that the minister represented a lot more than just a familiar face. Suddenly she was not alone. Her church family was with her. All of those prayers were with her. That was the moment I knew with a certainly that there was no more important calling than representing that community in ministry.

Over the last few weeks, life has definitely not gone as I had planned. If you had asked me at Christmas what I expected to be doing in January, it was not spending three days at Piedmont Hospital. But the community of love has gotten me through it all. I am so grateful to you all for your prayers, patience, support and care. I will slowly be returning to work, but I still am under the surgeon’s care for another two weeks. I am beginning to do office work and will come into the office a little this week. I am so grateful for your patience. You have stepped in and seen that members were supported during crisis in their lives. No matter what twist life throws at us, I am so grateful God is there every step of the way and I have such a loving church family, good friends and sister, a thoughtful district superintendent and pastor friends as well as a great secretary.

I will be back in the pulpit Sunday. See you in church!

Pastor Pam

Most of us drea…

aumcsecretary — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:47:49 +0000

Most of us dread change. But life will inevitably challenge us to accept that things will change. For 15-plus years, this church has been blessed with the grace, talent and leadership of Gary Wilson. I cannot tell you what a breath of fresh air he has been to work with and how much I trust and respect his judgment and abilities as the Chancel Choir director at Aldersgate.

After much prayer and thought, Gary has decided it is time for him to finally retire as choir director. His last Sunday will be Jan. 29. We are all heartsick to think how we can go on with the same quality of music he has offered to our church or the graciousness with which he has worked with the many ministers and choir members and congregation over the years. But we say goodbye with all our appreciation and love for his faithful service.

I ran across a poem that speaks to the gifts of song and Gary’s wonderful gift to this church throughout the years. It reminds us that God is in control of the music, and that we need to trust that God will bless Gary and lead us as a church to just the right person for Aldersgate — someone with the same depth and faith that Gary has offered our church.

GOD’S HUM

By George L. Bell

As God sought a new gift

God hummed

And the vibration felt good

And God Hummed

A Second tone

To join the first

Then another

Until God made them

Into the sound of harmony

And it was good.

Then God gave the gift

To the messengers of heaven

To carry to souls

Of those who moved upon earth

And they hummed God’s hum

Each taking a special note

And moving one by one

To another

So that the melody was formed

That moved with a message

For which no words were needed.

Then God nudged the sounds

Into patterns

To add the colors of rhythms

Which would echo

The vibrations

Felt the pulse of all creation

And God felt good

As all the universe hummed

With the music of God’s soul.

Step by step

The heavenly music maker

Moved

Tapping earthly creatures

With mystic communion

Of emerging songs

And God caused notes

To be put in writing

So many could hear

What a single person

Has heard.

And God caused music makers to be created

So sound could be made

With the touch of fingers

And the breath

Of earthly air

And soon the simple hum

Became a vast complex

Of finely integrated sounds

So God’s music

Could be heard.

And God kept on moving

As self appointed

Evangelist

To sow in the souls of all

A mystic network of those

In love with a hum

And with harmony

And rhythms and beats

And to this day

God’s earth rejoices

At God’s gift of music.

For over 15 years Gary has helped us hear God’s hum and melody. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his faithful service and wish him all of God’s blessings for his future.

PPRC has already begun the process of discerning who God wants to be music director at Aldersgate. Please pray with us that God will lead someone with the gifts and graces of Gary to this church.

Pastor Pam

2011 Children’s Christmas Cantata

wpm87unc — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:46:15 +0000

You can view the videos of the Children’s Christmas Cantata: http://youtu.be/salNkmULFsU

2011 Christmas Cantata

wpm87unc — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:19:35 +0000

In case you missed the Cantata, use this link to watch it: http://wp.me/P1Mz9M-1n.

Special thanks go out to Gary, Betty, The Chancel Choir, and all the members of the Orchestra. Great Job by all.

What Makes a Christmas?

aumcsecretary — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:17:31 +0000

In lieu of an article this week, Pastor Pam wanted to share the following poem by Jesse Williams.

What makes a Christmas? Is it place or time,

A Christmas card, a holly wreath, a rhyme?

Is it a gift tied up with ribbons gay,

Does it mean Christmas when you “Merry Christmas” say?

The bells may softly chime “O Holy Night!”

The Christmas tree may glow with candle light,

The table may be spread with festive cheer

And yet no Christmas spirit hover near.

No, Christmas is from all these things apart,

It needs but a warm and open heart;

And sorrow, pain, and fear are swept away

When Christmas comes into the heart to stay:

For Christmas is but faith, and trust, and love,

A lifting of the eyes to Him above—

The Christ who came to earth to set men free,

God’s gift of love supreme to you and me.

And as the angel choir their anthems sing,

The story of God’s love to man they bring,

The promise of abiding peace impart—

‘Tis Christmas when Christ dwells within the heart.

The Simpler Way: Peace

aumcsecretary — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:14:04 +0000

The holiday season offers an overwhelming array of busyness to capture our time and attention. We need to choose to let peace enter our lives. To do that we have to make choices; to give up some busyness for things that feed the soul, to chose simpler over glitzy.

Sue and I were given the gift of peace through an opportunity that arose right after Thanksgiving. Nina and Maclane, Sue’s daughter in law and grandson, were in Sumter visiting Nina’s family. Josh, Sue’s son, was at home because he had to work. We asked if Maclane could spend the day and night with us while Nina and her mom shopped. We usually join the mass of shoppers ourselves trolling the stores, fighting for parking places, weary and exhausted at day’s end.

Instead of shopping I got to spend a precious, rare 24 hours with my amazing and sweet grand nephew who is four. We pitched a tent in the back yard, built a bonfire, made walking sticks, made s’mores (which Maclane declared way too messy) and roasted marshmallows.

The next morning we baked and decorated cookies—getting as much on ourselves as we did on the cookies. It was a very uncomplicated 24 hours filled with laughter and simple joys.

I wonder if the visit to Elizabeth brought the same peace to Mary’s life. In what must have been a busy Advent for Mary, she found time to be supported and loved by this kind older relative who obviously received Mary with love. No matter how much we have to do this season, we need to find those times to capture the simpler things and quieter moments, to feel God’s presence draw near and embrace us in the comforting peace of those God-filled moments of love.

Pastor Pam

Images of Faith

aumcsecretary — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:08:04 +0000

I have always loved listening to stories told to me by our older church members of their memories of growing up. Saturday,
Mrs. Beth Noles shared a powerful remembrance of her father.
I had gone to HealthSouth for a visit with Beth on Saturday, and we talked about her wonderful parents and grandparents. Her
father was a deeply devout man who adored his wife and family. Beth and her husband stayed with him for a brief while after his
wife died. She said her dad was very thin, and through the
summer and winter wore a long pair of long johns under his clothes all day long. She never went into her parents’ bedroom after they retired for bed, but because they were concerned about her dad after her mother’s death, Beth said she cracked her father’s bedroom door to be sure he was alright. There he was kneeling by his bed in those long johns, deep in prayer. It was a powerful image for Beth and even I could imagine the witness her unaware father had on her. Both of her parents had that kind of very genuine deep faith that touched all those around them, especially their children. No wonder God’s house has so much importance in Beth’s life. Why, that’s why she broke her femur. She had frost on the window of her car but was too impatient to get to Sunday school.

What images of our faith do others see in us, especially our children? Are they genuine, powerful and loving? As sweet as the enticing smells and tastes of our favorite Thanksgiving dish is the powerful image we should leave for those who catch us in those unguarded moments of our lives. On Thanksgiving Day, while you sit and ponder the past and your blessings, reflect on what image of your faith and God will others glimpse in you.

Pastor Pam

“Methodists Meeting Methodists”

wpm87unc — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:06:44 +0000

“Connectionalism” means many things to many people who belong to the United Methodist Church. The South Carolina United Methodist
Advocate has been connecting Methodists in South Carolina since 1837.

The current unemployment rate for the state of South
Carolina remains over 11%. Today, in an effort to not only aid in lowering this
rate but in hopes to keep this rate from rising, the Advocate is offering a new
feature, Click HERE to learn more.

Sacrificial Living

aumcsecretary — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:47:56 +0000

My parents were probably no different from your parents. They worked hard and knew what sacrifice meant because they lived it. My dad, a career military man, never made tons of money. Mom did not work when we were little. I never thought about how hard things were. As a child, you only notice the obvious. In the third grade, I did notice that my mom only had one thin gray suit, one dress and some slacks in her closet. That was all she wore year to year.

To stretch money mom would buy a gallon of milk and use powdered milk to double the amount. Once it was cold, it was palatable. Her cooking was delicious, but now I know the things she cooked so cleverly were inexpensive meats and fish. No one was allowed to be picky. But it was so good.

Years later, I studied photos of mom as a young single woman. She was smartly attired in handsome suits, her hair and nails in the latest coiffure. She was lovely and smiling. But she left that all behind to raise four children on military pay. They knew about sacrifice. The truth is, any parent who truly loves their children will sacrifice everything for them.

Now let me ask you to privately measure how much you love your church and God. Do you ever sacrificially put the church ahead of your own wants? Aldersgate needs you to remember it and give to it, to think about what it means in your life, and help it be strong enough financially to touch other lives. That may mean making a trip to Starbucks only once a week and instead giving an extra $5 or $10 to the church. Putting aside what you would spend to go to a Clemson or Carolina game or maybe a greens fee. We seem to fall into the habits of neglectful parents. We indulge ourselves and our church becomes an afterthought. Dig down and give sacrificially. We all are blessed by sacrificial giving. How can we not make a sacrifice when God made the ultimate sacrifice, his Son, for each of us?

This week, I will be at Lake Junaluska taking two courses under Dr. James Fleming, a world-renowned antiquities topographer who specializes in Biblical studies. While I am away, Rev. Stephen Gaither has been kind enough to be on call for us. Please call India Hook UMC if you have a serious emergency or call me on my cell phone. See you Sunday.

Pastor Pam