Philip’s Focus

As I said last week, as a sports nut, March means NCAA basketball March Madness. This week most Conferences have their tournaments. On Sunday, teams will be selected for the big dance! I hope your team gets selected!

In the church, for the last nine years, here at Shalimar, we have had our own version of “March Madness.” Our vibrant church is up yet another notch! Instead of March Madness, I call it “LENT LUMINOSITY.” LUMINOSITY means the total amount of radiant electromagnetic power emitted by Light. Our boss is the “Light of the World,” so our light emitted will be too be off the charts and through the roof! Yes, wear your spiritual sunglasses as we share the light of Jesus during Lent! This year could be the most LUMINOUS Lent yet!

Our church brackets are all prepared with wonderful plans as we move into the middle of lent. We already know Jesus wins in the final four with victories over sin, the Evil One, and death. The victory is already won!

On Sunday, March 12, we will have Missions Night beginning at 5PM in the Family Life Center. There will be a free dinner and we will hear a report on the recent Cuba Trip. Our Missions team, Pete Peters, Terry Brown, Kyle Wilson, and Rev. Matt Langford, will highlight about their most recent trip to Cuba. Here is what Matt said the mission trip meant for him…

“When I saw the amount of work that Shalimar UMC had been able to accomplish in Cuba since we started trips, I knew I wanted to tell everyone so they could really get the full picture. You will be able to see through pictures and stories how Shalimar UMC is reaching teaching and sending even in another country. Boom!!! Pete Peters also added Boom!!! Pete has also written more details in this week’s Beacon you will want to read.”

Hey! Regarding speaking of Luminosity…we will be preaching on light this Sunday, March 12th. At all four services, we will hear a message about the second I AM saying of Jesus... “I am the light of the World.” In our world of darkness, how does Christ’s light shine today? How do we let our light shine for Jesus? How does our church glow and grow!

The SEVEN DEADLY SINS STUDY continues for the next five weeks. There is still time for you to jump into the study. Our focus this week will be on the deadly sin of SLOTH. The following weeks will be GREED, LUST, ANGER, AND GLUTTONY.

Come and join us at either 9:00 AM or 6:30 PM on Tuesday March 7th.

We rescheduled the church WORKDAY to a new date March 25th. The start time is 9AM. All willing workers are invited to come and help. In Nehemiah 3:6-8, we read how many people working together make greater work possible. We have a beautiful campus, and this gives us a chance to be good stewards of this Kingdom real estate of God.

Here is a word from our Trustees Chair, Joe Kochanowski, about the workday… “It’s almost springtime, and the leaves are falling (remember you’re in Florida). Trustees would like to prepare our campus for Easter activities and invite you to come on Saturday, March 25th starting at 9AM. We have a wide variety of tasks we want to tackle to get started. If you can’t make it but still want to help, contact Joe Kocanowski and he will get you plugged in.”

This Sunday on March 12th, we will receive this year’s Shalimar UMC’s CONFIRMATION SUNDAY. This is such an important day in the life of our young people who receive baptism and become members of the church. This year’s class is finishing lessons about the meaning of being a Christian, following Jesus, baptism, and church membership. The Confirmation Class of 2023 will be received into church membership at our 11:07 service. We will also hold immersion baptisms on Saturday, March 11, at 1:30 PM at Meigs Park. We have 12 students this year in confirmation!

This week JOYFUL PLACE celebrates its one-year anniversary! What a difference it has made in the lives of friends and family members through this JOYFUL ministry! There will be a special gathering to mark the one-year anniversary! All are invited at 1PM on March 16 to share in this celebration!

We continue to collect our LILY OFFERING during the Lenten Season. This extra offering goes to Bread House, One Hopeful Place, and the Agape Fund. We hope you will give generously to the Lord for our vibrant ministry through the operations budget and for the beyond our normal giving for the Lily project.

These are just some of the highlights for the first half of March. There is more to come in the second half of the month! Come and be a part of the LENTEN LUMINOSITY!

Shalom, Philip

Lead Pastor

Dr. Philip McVay

philip@shalimar-umc.org

Week of March 12, 2023