Edition 4, Vol. 5
THE MOUNTAIN VIEW MESSENGER
Mother’s Day May 10th
May, 2026
FROM PASTOR LAURA
Welcome to May 2026 Mountain View Family
As May arrives, the flowers bloom with many different colors, and I am reminded of the term, April showers bring May flowers. Also, there is old foliage that stays connected, which needs to be trimmed back for full growth potential. Our congregation had a Spring workday, and we had a great turnout of members who were the hands and feet of Jesus, trimming back all the old foliage and preparing for the new. We, too, have old growth that needs to be pruned for us to grow into our full potential that God desires for His glory! May we all spring into a better version through being in His Word, prayer, and fellowship.
Holy Week and Easter Sunday were special times at Mountain View. Following a Palm Sunday celebration where we had three baptisms and eight people join our Mountain View family, we continued the following weekend with a community-wide Easter Egg Hunt. We came together on Good Friday for a Tenebrae service, a service of darkness to prepare our hearts for Jesus’s continued journey to the cross. Easter Sunday was a celebration of what Jesus accomplished for each one of us and His devotion to the Father. We continue to celebrate that He is Risen, He is risen indeed!
Our congregation is growing together in discipleship through a new Bible Study on Wednesday evenings. Additionally, our youth are meeting and studying together to grow in their Christian faith and understand their Methodist roots.As we continue to greet new faces and enjoy deepening fellowship, we remain steadfast in God’s Word. Let us continue to lean into God’s direction and trust in the movement of the Holy Spirit who is working through us.
We invite you to come and join us for worship and ministry gatherings at Mountain View Global Methodist Church, where our mission is to make disciples who fuel faith, build foundations, and embody Jesus Christ in the world.
“He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” John 15:2
MAY CALENDAR
2 – Hiking Club’s last hike until Fall, (p.4)
5 – CINCO de MAYO, 6:00 PM, (p 7)
6,13,20,27 – Bible Study, 5:00 PM
7 – Handmade with Love, 1;00 PM
7 – Songs We Love, 7:00 PM (see below)
11 – Mah Jongg, 1:00 PM
12 – MVMW, 4:00 PM
17 – Admin Council, 2:00 PM Fellowship Hall
17 – SDWAT Meal
21 – Handmade with Love, 1:00 PM
22 – Happy Birthday America, 7:00 PM (see below)
23 – MVGMM-Hamburger lunch 11:00 AM (p.6)
24 – Graduation Celebration – After Worship (see below)
25 – Mah Jongg, 1:00 PM
28 – Veteran Coffee House, 11:30 AM -1:00 PM (Hot dog Lunch at Lake Robinson)
Pastor Laura’s Office Hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
On May 7th, “Songs We Love” will be presented by the Greenville Chamber Singers You will find Mary Crowson lending her alto voice to this group!
Greenville Chamber Singers – Thursday, May 7th 7:00 PM, Northside Methodist Church, 435 Summit Drive Greenville, SC
On May 22nd the Greenville Concert Band will be presenting “Happy Birthday, America. Tammy Than plays clarinet with this group
Greenville Concert Band - Friday, May 22nd 7:00 PM
Rodeheaver Auditorium - Bob Jones University, East Drive Greenville, SC
Nurture Committee
It’s graduation time again!! This year we have two graduates to celebrate:
-Cole Hunter is graduating from University of South Carolina, Union with a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership.
-Stephanie Hydrick is receiving an Educational Doctorate in School and Community Leadership from Anderson University.
We will celebrate these two special graduates on Sunday, May 24th right after church. Be sure to come and congratulate them for their great accomplishments.
Remembering Debbie Wilson by
Making a Difference
The Mountain View faith community continues to show generosity, and the parking lot Paving Fund keeps growing! Every gift is important, regardless of size, and helps us honor Debbie Wilson and our goal of repaving our parking lots. Our campaign to honor Debbie Wilson’s wish to fund the parking lot paving continues through the end of June 2026.
Our fundraising efforts have currently raised $27,925.50, which is over 37% of the total amount needed! To recap, repaving the parking lot is estimated to cost $75,000, and we are hoping to raise the necessary funds by the end of June 2026. Please continue to support this cause and label any donations for the parking lot paving as ‘PAVING’ to make sure they go to the right place.
Thank you for your love, support, and generosity in honoring Debbie with us.
APRIL GIFTS
In honor of Harriet Aaron by John Wilson
In honor of Christine Barnhart by Mick & Lois Coster
In honor of Mick & Lois Coster by John Wilson
In honor of Cindy Crain by Harriet Aaron
In honor of Phillip & Kay Deal by Harriet Aaron
In honor of Kane Pitman by Barbara Williams
In honor of veterans of the church, living and dead by George & Shirley Ward
In memory of Debbie Wilson by Mt. View Methodist Women
Jim & Kathy Sketo
Thelma Tate
Donna Tompkins
MEMORIAL DAY MONDAY, MAY 25, 2026
Memorial Day honors fallen service members of the U. S. Military.
Take a moment of silence at 3 pm, take part in local activities, or display a flag at half-staff from sunrise to noon.
TAKE A HIKE
The Mountain View Hikers have climbed some miles this year in their first seven hikes since we started in October! We have been to Paris Mountain three times (each time a different trail combo), Table Rock State Park, Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve, and Bunched Arrowhead Preserve for a scavenger hunt! We will conclude our first season at Conestee Nature Preserve on May 2nd. Thank you so much to everyone who participated and a special shout-out to Russ and Terry Didelot who as of this writing have had perfect attendance and even brought guests! We welcomed 16 hikers in both March and April, our biggest groups of the season.
Hiking Club will resume this Fall: some of the same hikes will be repeated and we may even add a new hike or two. When the weather is good, it's just fun to be out in God's beautiful creation, breathing fresh air and making new friends. No special equipment needed, although hiking shoes/boots and poles are helpful to keep you speedy and upright! Stay tuned for the announcement of our first hike this Fall. We are excited to log more miles and smiles on the dusty trail with our MVGMC family!
Kerry Barnette, Mary Crowson & Tammy Than
WHAT A GREAT TURN OUT FOR “SPRUCE UP OUR CAMPUS DAY!” THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO CAME OUT (APPX. 21)
Welcome to Mountain View Global Methodist Church Bill Cooner and Patti Miles-Cooner, who joined our church on November 30th, 2025.
Patti grew up in the Sandy Springs section of Atlanta, GA and attended Presbyterian College. She moved to Greenville when her first job gave her this area as her salesterritory. Patti was raisedin theLutheran church and then joined the Methodist Church and attended Buncombe Street UMC with friends from her apartment complex in 1981. Bill has lived all around the country in Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina! Bill is retired and has 3 children and 2 grandchildren.
Patti has ridden andshownhorses sinceshewas 10 yearsold and currentlyhas 2retired horses, even though she no longer rides. She also adores competing in AKC (American Kennel Club) sports with her chosen breed, which is labrador retrievers. Her current dog, Jolly, has been amazing to train as well as live with and recently became an AKC Champion in Rally Obedience. Congrats to Patti and Jolly! Rally Obedience is a team sport where the dog and handler work together at their own pace, performing exercises like sits, turns, and jumps. Patti also enjoys building sculptures in clay and plaster as well as silversmithing jewelry.
Family, friends and church are what make Bill happy. He used to jog, bike ride, and play golf but has had to cut back those activities recently because of health reasons.
Patti is enjoying participating in the Bible studies at Mountain View. She also enjoys all the extra activities that Mountain View offers as well as the friendly people. Bill likes the interaction among people, Bible study, and service to the community. Bill likes getting to knowpeople,Biblestudy,andcommunityservice. Pattihasjoinedin thePlantBasedCooking classes and she and Bill have both been hiking with the Mountain View group.
Welcome to Mountain View Patti and Bill!
“I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord.”
Psalm 122:1
Bill Cooner & Patti-Miles Cooner
MOUNTAIN VIEW GLOBAL METHODIST MEN
April meeting
Although I wasn’t able to be present, the men had their monthly meeting, and carried on well without me. Much of the discussion was about our upcoming May Meet and Greet. This will be May 23, starting at 11:00 AM. A hamburger lunch will be provided, followed by fun and games, and then a discussion about when we should have our meetings going forward. We moved this to a Saturday so that we can include as many of our men as possible. Some of our members, particularly a lot to the new ones come from a distance to worship at Mountain View, and it’s not practical to attend the men’s club then drive all the way back home, and then back here again for worship. I hope ALL of the men will prayerfully consider joining us for this fun get-together, and share their input as we go forward. This will also be the last meeting of the season, as we take June and July off, so we won’t meet again until August.
The Little Food Pantry is up and running, and apparently is quite successful. Reports are that it is getting emptied out rather quickly. We haven’t even started any kind of campaign to spread the word to the community! It’s apparent that there is a strong need right here in our community. Please bring your non-perishable food items in. For now, place them on the stage in Fellowship Hall. We’re still working out the details of where we will store donations. This is an easy way to help out in the most local way possible. Thank-you!
In His Service, Jay DeBree
The Methodist Men's Veteran Coffee House
This group continues to meet each 4th Thursday. Our Veteran attendance is growing as it does by invitation. Russ Didelot has filled an entire table with his neighbors in Stillwaters. SOS is a mainstay for breakfast, sometimes supplemented with Scrambled Eggs. If you know a veteran, invite a veteran. For the month of May, we will change to a Hotdog Lunch at Lake Robinson Park, time 11:30-1:30.
Mountain View Methodist Women
MAY is the month that we lift up every WOMAN - Mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, friends and those who Nurture in Ways Unseen. Bless their hearts with Peace, their hands with Strength and their Spirits with JOY. Please let every woman know that SHE is cherished, celebrated and deeply loved.
Well April was a very busy month for the women in our group. We were very happy to have 12 women attend the meeting., We all know how busy our lives can be with family and other obligations but that is what makes our group so special. We all have times when our personnel lives overrule meetings so we miss our women when they cannot attend but when we all get together the next month, we continue enjoying each other's company and get the job done.
We opened our meeting with refreshments provided by Pam Pasek and Patti Jolly great job. Then Pam Pasek gave the devotion on 2nd Corinthians "You Reap What You Sow". That GOD expects us to GIVE in order to Receive. Under Old Business I am happy to report that we took our final donation for Debbie Wilson, and Leann Barnett wrote a check for $900.00 to be given by us to the Paving fund. OH, how wonderful it is to be a tiny part of a group of such generous and loving women!!
New Business of course by now you all know that we will be having a fundraiser "Cinco de Mayo" on Tuesday May 5th at 6pm. RSVP's will be in the church bulletin again on May 3rd . You can also sign up ON LINE. We welcome you and your family and friends and neighbors. We hope that this will be a FUN and memorable experience for everyone. Don't worry ladies we will be contacting everyone who wants to donate on the 3rd to confirm what is actually needed, by then we should have an exact count hopefully.
The Program was given by Patti Miles-Cooner and her SMART and beautiful dog named "Jolly". (no, we are not related she behaves and listens much better than me) Patti put out awards and pictures of past and present dogs she has trained. She also passed out a paper to us on Pet Poison Safety Tips. Patti also shared with us how she got involved in this project and her natural love for all animals has led to her success. Thanks, Patti, for sharing with us especially those of us with pets. Oh, and Patti also gave the closing prayer which I didn't know that dog is GOD spelled backward no wonder we love them so much.
Finally: YES, there will be a women's group meeting in MAY - Tuesday the 12th at 4 PM
I wanted to share that May is often called the "Month of Blossoming in Nature", it is the season when SEEDS planted in FAITH begin to show their beauty. In our lives it's a reminder that the SEEDS of KINDNESS, SERVICE and PRAYER that we have SOWN are never wasted. GOD in his perfect timing brings them all to life.
Patti Jolly President
SEEDS OF KINDNESS,
SERVICE AND PRAYER
ARE NEVER WASTED – GOD IN HIS PERFECT TIMING BRINGS THEM ALL TO LIFE.
HISTORY
…. “when it was being lived… it was just another day, in an earlier time”.
By 1960 our present Sanctuary has for 18 years served us well for Worship and Sunday School as best it could with no water, no kitchen, only outside “facilities” and probably a coal fired furnace in the basement. We had added additional acreage; the debt having long ago been paid off. A year earlier the Commission on Finance had resolved that we were financially and spiritually capable of supporting a full-Minister and we were now a Station Charge with our own Parsonage finding ourselves healthy but confined. Things were about the change.
On September 6, 1961, the Education Committee assessed a need for 11 classrooms to serve 235 members, 75 of those in four children’s rooms (nursery, kindergarten, primary and junior) 60 in three youth rooms (intermediate, senior, and older youth) and 100 in four adult classes (one young adult and three Bible study classes). Ten thousand dollars was now on hand and 9 months later in June of 1962 a $9,800 mortgage was undertaken. The Education Building was finished, adding a Pastor Study, 9 class rooms, two restrooms, a kitchen, fellowship space with oil heat in the Sanctuary and Education Building and the Choir Space was reconfigured as we know it today.
In 1968 we became the Mountain View UNITED Methodist church and we faithfully supported that denomination and its missions in our new facilities. On our walls and in our Archives are recorded our years of United Methodist service.
By 1975 our mortgage was retired and we were comfortable in our Worship and Fellowship and Future. But time did not stand still, and by 1991 we were approaching our Centennial Dean Fowler, Joyce Barnette and Mary Louise Roe organized the renovation for the Sanctuary and grounds Our insured value was now $400,000. The polished brass cross we see today behind the Choir is in recognition of our 100th year as Mountain View Methodist.
In the early 2000s our needs were evolving with financing and plans carried out in 2004 that resulted in the Campus we see today. Our current Fellowship Building was completed giving us an alternate Worship/Fellowship space, a kitchen worthy of ever hungry Methodists, a reconfigured space in the Educational Building for relocated restrooms and a proper Choir Room.
Long standing issues within the United Methodist Church were finally resolved in 2023 when Mountain View aligned with the Global Methodist Church under the leadership of Pastor Carol Walters.
As this May 2026 History Lesson winds down, Pastor Laura Geloni enters her second year of leading us on into our future years that will one day be called …… our HISTORY.
Perhaps, inspired by Frieda Anne Liston, we will find time to explore our Archives and the records of our past that can be revealed to us.
We shall see…. Phillip Deal…. “Thanks for following along, where the inspiration of our Founders can still be felt today.”
Never Miss Another Sermon!
We are now recording Pastor Laura’s sermons and making them available on YouTube to be viewed at your convenience. Each sermon is typically uploaded by mid-afternoon on the day that it is recorded. You can access the entire collection of sermons either through the website or by going to YouTube directly. From the website (www.mountainviewgmc.org), hover over What’s Happening and then select Recorded Sermons (see diagrams below). Click on the sermon of interest (listed chronologically from most recent to oldest) and you will be redirected to the YouTube where the sermon should be loaded up and ready to view. To bypass the website, you may go directly to YouTube (youtube.com) and search for Mountain View Global Methodist Church. Select View Channel and you will see a list of all available recordings. You can also subscribe to theMountainViewGlobalMethodistChurchandwithappropriatesettingsonyourdevice,youwillbenotified when new content is posted (which typically will be every Sunday afternoon). If you have any questions or need assistance navigating this feature, please see Mary Crowson or Tammy Than.
Sunday Dinner With A Twist (SDWAT)
SDWAT continues to feed and support the Homeless they encounter. Mountain View Methodist could not do our part without your budget support. Thank You for that.
Our 3rd Sunday, 80 Meal Mission under the direction of John Wilson continued on April 19 and is next planned for May 17th. Through the cold months we have made Hot Chocolate available at two locations and with the evolution to warmer days we now offer cold waters and they are truly welcomed and enjoyed along with their meal.
If you are not on our e-mail list and want to know of SDWAT opportunities contact Phillip Deal or Bill Wilson via e-mail or phone
Contact Information:
Mountain View Global Methodist Church
6525 Mountain View Rd. Taylors, SC 29687 (864) 895-8532
Check out our new website at Mountainviewgmc.org for news, pictures, and much more!!! Look for our google calendar under “What’s Happening” as well as weekly bulletin, monthly newsletter and photo gallery.
We are also on Facebook – Mountain View Global Methodist Church – Taylors, SC
Sunday School – 9:30 am Worship – 10:30 am
