2024-05-05 BEACON!

BEACON

of May 5, 2024

Shalimar UMC

Dr. Alan McBride Lead Pastor

Pastors and Staff

Dr. Brad Bradford Worship Pastor

Rev. John Kelsoe Associate Pastor

Gerald Batton Custodian

Chris Bennett Director of Student Ministry

Karen Cardinez Office Administrative Assistant

Tanner Dubose Communications Assistant

Denise Heath Financial Secretary

Sarah Hicks Children’s Director

Karen Jadin Preschool Director

Tony Mallini Interim Church Administrator

Heyward McKenzie Chef

Amanda Marshall Nursery Coordinator

Sara Morrison Financial Assistant

Forrest Oliver Assistant Respite Director

Leigh J. Rice Respite Director

Dawn Rozofsky Director of Camp Ministries

Ben Savage Director of Worship Arts

Our Vision

Christ-centered, multi-generational, family & community relevant ministries through WORSHIP , DISCIPLESHIP , and MISSION .

Our Mission

We REACH our community with the good news of Jesus Christ. We TEACH how to love God and to love one another as ourselves. We SEND disciples into the world to share their experiences of Jesus.

Weekly Schedule

Week of May 5th

Sunday, 5th

Adults Sunday School 9:30 am

Childrens Sunday School 9:30 am

Shalimar Students Sunday School 9:30 am

Special Buddies Sunday School 9:30 am

Shalimar Kids in Freedom Worship 11:07 am Parent/Student Youth Choir

Monday, 6th

Tuesday, 7th

8th

This Week in Worship

Sunday, May 5, 2024

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

TRADITIONS – SANCTUARY

8:00am – In-Person & Online

Message by Rev. Dr. Alan McBride

Revive Us Again: Grace that Comes Ahead of Us

Romans 5:1,2,5-8

Worship Led by Rev. Dr. Brad Bradford

Lighthouse – I’m in His Care

Holy Communion Celebrated by Rev. Dr. Alan McBride

CONNECT – SANCTUARY

9:30am – In-Person & Online

Message by Rev. Dr. Alan McBride

Revive Us Again: Grace that Comes Ahead of Us

Romans 5:1,2,5-8

Worship Led by Rev. Dr. Brad Bradford

Connect Worship Team

Holy Communion Celebrated by Rev. John Kelsoe

TRADITIONS – SANCTUARY

11:00am – In-Person & Online

Message by Rev. Dr. Alan McBride

Revive Us Again: Grace that Comes Ahead of Us

Romans 5:1,2,5-8

Worship Led by Rev. Dr. Brad Bradford

Chancel Choir – For Love Alone, Dave Hall, soloist

Lighthouse – I’m in His Care

Holy Communion Celebrated by Rev. Dr. Alan McBride

FREEDOM SERVICE– FAMILY LIFE CENTER

11:07am – In-Person & Online

Message by Rev. John Kelsoe

Made for This 1 John 5:1-5

Worship Led by Ben Savage

Freedom Worship Team

We Honor our Graduating Seniors

Holy Communion Celebrated by John Kelsoe

Church Life

Starry Starry Night

Join us for an evening at Shalimar UMC as our missions team hosts “Starry Starry Night” – a benefit dinner and auction illuminating our commitment to various missional connections of the church. This event will be held on Friday, May 17th, 2024, from 6 PM to 9 PM, shining a spotlight on all the impactful local missions we passionately support. Tickets are $40 each, tables are $350 and can be bought on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings in the FLC Lobby.

Children’s Musical

Our Children’s musical “Star Quest” will be held on Sunday, May 5th at 6:00 pm in the Family Life Center. Come on a journey into the future to a galaxy far away! Shalimar Kids Club is excited to introduce you to the Christian crew of the starship “Star Quest J-316,” which is on a mission to boldly spread God’s love in the greater Omega Galaxy! Believers can only read their Cyber Bibles on the Intergalactic Bible Database. You will meet Captain Holly Grammar and her crew, who love to share the love of God throughout the galaxy but were never taught the importance of Bible memorization.

Sunday Morning Renewal

Beginning June 2, 2024, there will be a change in our Sunday Morning Schedule. We will be going down to three services and the schedule is as follows: 8 am will be a new service called “Upward Worship” which will feature worship from our Connect Team with traditional elements. Sunday School will now be at 9:15 am, Freedom will now be at 10:37 am and the 11 am Traditions Worship will remain the same. Thank you for your understanding in this change, and we look forward to seeing what God does through these changes. Refer to the Article from Pastor Alan on page 15 for more information.

Shalimar Church and Cuba

JESUCRISTO ES LA RESPUESTA!

A taste of the revival from Cuba is coming to Shalimar this month! We pray that the Holy Spirit fan the flame into our congregation as we journey in this 4-part community renewal experience.

Wednesday, May 8th at 5:30pm in the Family Life Center, Aldo Gonzalez, National Coordinator for US Church Mission Teams will discuss the impact our church has had on Cuba during our Koinonia moment at fellowship dinner.

Sunday, May 12th at 9:30am Connect and 11am Traditions worship services, Rev. Andres Rodriguez will deliver a powerful word of transformation, hope, and how “Jesus is the answer!” to everything!

Wednesday, May 15th at 5:30pm right after fellowship dinner in the Family Life Center, Pastors Andres Rodriguez (Ciego de Avila Methodist Church) and Raidel Baños (The Methodist Church Cathedral of Holguin) will present and witness how the Holy Spirit is moving in our two sister churches within the community.

Pentecost Sunday, May 19th at 9:30am Connect and 11am Traditions worship services, Rev. Raidel Baños will be preaching. He shepherds the third largest church in Cuba with 1500 in attendance each Sunday!

Good of the Church

Welcome, Karen Cardinez and Forrest Oliver to

the Church Staff!

This month, Shalimar Church welcomed two new staff members! Karen Cardinez is in the office as our new Administrative Assistant shadowing Pat Brantley. Forrest Oliver is now working as the Assistant Respite Director for Joyful Place. Join us as we welcome them to the team, and may Gods blessing be upon them as they start their positions here at Shalimar Church

Missions Moment

The Bread House accepts donations of adult clothing items to distribute to those in need when they come to the Bread House for food. If you have gently used clothes, please consider donating them to the Bread House for us to distribute to those in need. You may drop off clothes or food on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 9:00 - 12:00 at the Bread House in Cross Corner. Thanks in advance for your support!

Offering Moment

During the glow of Jesus’ Resurrection and the Holy Spirit Fire of Pentecost, we are lifting up specific ways your giving to God through the Church is changing lives as we carry out Jesus’ Mission.

Young Adult Ministries at Shalimar Church - The Worship Ministry of Shalimar is a blessing to this entire community of faith and to our Lord! Each person in this ministry seeks to be faithful and dedicated, working together, and committed to high-quality, creative, and compassionate worship of the Lord God Almighty! Your generous and faithful gifts to the operating budget of our church provides the funds necessary for people, equipment, and supplies as we strive to lead God’s people in worship

VBS - To Mars and Beyond

All children (ages 4 as of September 1, 2023) – completed 5th grade are invited to join us for Vacation Bible School, “To Mars and Beyond” this summer, Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 7.

At “To Mars and Beyond” VBS, children will enjoy an interactive, energizing, Bible-based good time as we explore where God’s power can take us. They will become Voyagers and discover how to serve God and God’s mission for their lives.

After a high-energy Opening Assembly time, Voyagers will make their way to interactive stations that will reveal a Power Launcher (key learnings) to equip them for an active life with God. They will also discover our Vector Verse (Bible memory verse), Ephesians 3:20 - Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us! Voyagers will expand on their discoveries by making their own art projects at the Craft Station, singing new songs at the Music Station, exploring the wonders of creation at the Science Station, playing games at the Recreation Station, and enjoying tasty treats at the Snack Station. Along the way, they will hear about our mission project and respond to a call for action!

An Update from Pastor Alan

Dear Friends in Christ at Shalimar Church,

Grace and Peace in the Name of Jesus Christ! With this update, I want to bring you forward with me in discussions, prayer, and reflection I have been having and engaging others in about the flow of our Sunday morning experiences as the Body of Christ at Shalimar Church. In previous updates, I began to share my plans to bring some aspects of change to our Sunday morning. After my initial announcements a month ago, I decided to put a pause on the announcement and plans to begin our renewed schedule for Sundays until today.

I sought more counsel with the Task Group I had assembled from across the Church Family and asked Dr. Brad Bradford to reconsider with me some of the very valid concerns we received about the early concepts for renewal of Sunday mornings. In March, when I initially shared my plans among the Church Family, I was not free to announce that Rev. John Kelsoe, our wonderful Associate Pastor, would be moving forward, receiving his own church as pastor- in- charge in June at Marlow United Methodist Church in Robertsdale, AL. His departure brings a focus to the necessity for this new approach to Sunday mornings.

Today, I want to invite you to warmly embrace the renewed Sunday Morning Schedule for all aspects of Body Life at Shalimar Church beginning Sunday, June 2nd.

8:00 am – Upward Worship, Sanctuary

This service will combine the best of our current Traditions and Connect worship. We will worship through Scripture-centric acts of worship including communal prayers, spoken liturgy, Holy Communion each week, and the Proclamation of God’s Word. We will share in a variety of musical styles including wonderful hymns and classic contemporary worship music honoring to God. Our SUMC ensembles along with the Joy Ringers handbell choir and the SUMC orchestra will be a part of this experience. Musical leadership from our current Connect Worship Team will bring great gifts to this worship service.

9:00 am – Fellowship and Body Life, FLC Lobby

This current fellowship time continues with coffee and a variety of goodies but is really a means of God’s Grace in spending time with others sharing the joy of godly togetherness where the Spirit is present among us.

9:15 am – Sunday School/Small Groups/Christian Education Time

SUMC has always offered a fully integrated and age-appropriate time of fellowship in small groups surrounding the study and discussion of the Scriptures. These groups continue with our current Sunday School classes as well as new group offerings for more people to be engaged by God’s Word as we help each other to learn more of Jesus’ way of living. This time could include classes led by pastors and church staff.

10:15 am – Fellowship and Body Life, FLC Lobby

Another opportunity for those who will be attending either the Freedom or Traditions worship to experience the Body Life of Shalimar Church from which we all receive blessings in being with other believers.

10:37 am – Freedom Worship, FLC

This service will continue to be the post-modern, emergent style for which Freedom is well known. This service will continue to be led by our Freedom Worship Team.

11:00 am – Traditions Worship, Sanctuary

This service shall continue as we have known the 11:00 Traditions service. It will include our Chancel Choir, ensembles and orchestra. The Traditions acts of worship will continue to include communal prayers, spoken liturgy, creeds, and the preached Word. The musical style of this service will continue to be traditional hymnody led by organ and piano.

As Pastor, I wanted to make this change to our Sunday schedule separate from the news about John Kelsoe’s departure from Shalimar, but it became clear that it was not in God’s timing for me to bring this change at the beginning of May. Given the disappointment that I feel bidding John and Stephanie Kelsoe God’s Grace as they move forward in their ministry and the necessity of not having a pastoral associate here for our Church Family, I deeply desired to set a forward-looking, positive note with the change of schedule.

However, this renewed schedule is a very positive movement because it allows our Church Family to focus on 3 biblical cornerstones for growth in faith and preparation for our mission to make disciples for Jesus Christ- to empower each of us to be able to bring others who don’t yet know Christ to come to understand His love for them and help them through the Body Life of this church to experience Jesus’ love.

However, this renewed schedule is a very positive movement because it allows our Church Family to focus on 3 biblical cornerstones for growth in faith and preparation for our mission to make disciples for Jesus Christ- to empower each of us to be able to bring others who don’t yet know Christ to come to understand His love for them and help them through the Body Life of this church to experience Jesus’ love.

The 3 cornerstones are spirit-led, excellent worship which brings praise and honor to God and enables us to experience the presence of His Holy Spirit among us as we worship in three distinct styles of worship on Sunday mornings. Another very important cornerstone for us to grow in our faith journey is the spiritual formation and Christian education we experience and learn in Sunday classes or small groups on Sunday morning and I wish for more of our Church family to engage in small groups.

Currently, I am developing plans to add several small groups during the Sunday School/Small Group/Christian education hour and at other times during the week. If you are willing to receive some training from me in facilitating a small group, please contact me to help in this very crucial area of focus.

Finally, the third cornerstone is fellowship and hospitality. There will be two bridging fellowship times each Sunday morning. Fellowship is more than just a cup of coffee and Hayward’s scones. It is also an act of New Testament “koinonia”, literally spiritual fellowship, flavored by the Holy Spirit, where we encourage each other in our relationships and our closeness to God. Added to spiritual fellowship AND coffee and scones, I am bringing a renewed emphasis on hospitality where persons will offer a “touch” or two to everyone who comes on campus, newcomers as well as regular attending friends and members. If God’s Spirit is nudging you to help me re-build a spirit of hospitality, please contact me and let’s get started!

This renewal of our patterns of Body Life and Worship on Sundays is occurring at the same time that I feel God is beginning to do a new work among us! I’ve been praying and expecting His movement for months and I want to ask you to prayerfully ask God’s Spirit to enliven you and our Church. Expect great things from God and begin again to invite new people to join you at Shalimar Church.

Please call if I can serve you in any way. In the meantime, pray and look forward to more of what God wants to do at Shalimar Church.

In Jesus Always,

Dr. Alan W. McBride, Lead Pastor

May Pentecost Emphasis- Shalimar and the Cuban Methodist Church

Since 2014, Shalimar UMC and our Missions Ministry has been sending mission teams to partner in ministry with the Cuban Methodist Church and Bishop Ricardo Periera. To date, nearly 100 of our Church friends have been in mission ministry in Cuba serving to support pastors and churches there.

As we approach the High Holy Day of Pentecost on May 19th, celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we will have a great opportunity to hear testimony about the Holy Spirit’s movement in Methodism in Cuba and our partnership with the Spirit in serving with the Cuban Methodist Church to impact so many lives for Christ.

Through the month of May, culminating on Pentecost Sunday, May 19th, our Missions Ministry Team and Church are hosting three very special Cuban friends.

Wednesday, May 8th, 5:30pm in FLC Aldo Gonzalez, National Coordinator for US Church Missions Teams for Bishop Ricardo Periera and the Cuban Methodist Church, will be our guest for a time of fellowship and a presentation about how the Holy Spirit is at work through our efforts and other US churches in Cuba.

Sunday, May 12th, in the 9:30 and 11:00 worship services, Rev. Andres Rodriguez will be preaching. He is Pastor of Ciego de Avila Methodist Church and shares Christ with over 500 persons each Sunday. Pastor Andres is also the District Superintendent of the Ciego de Avila District, the Cuban Methodist Church, with 24 churches under his guidance.

Wednesday, May 15th, 5:30pm in the FLC, Pastors Andres Rodriguez and Raidel Banos will be our guests and provide slide and video presentation and witness about Shalimar Church’s 10 year-long partnership with their churches and the Methodist Church in Cuba. Through their eyes, we can see and hear how the Holy Spirit is moving in a powerful way!

Pentecost Sunday, May 19th, at the 11:00 Traditions service, Rev. Raidel Banos will be preaching. He has been a Methodist pastor for 25 years and currently leads the third largest church in Cuba with 1500 in attendance each Sunday.

Please make every effort to be a part of these experiences in worship and testimony about our involvement with God’s Spirit in the churches of Cuba.

Flower arrangements and roses can be given to the glory of God and displayed each week in the Sanctuary worship services. Reservations for altar flowers can be made using the reservation book in the Sanctuary Narthex or by calling the Church Office at (850) 651–0721.

This weeks arrangements are from Tonya Tucker in memory of Roger Tucker.

Are you passionate about helping people feel welcome and enjoy themselves over a delicious meal? If so, consider serving on the Hospitality Team during the weekly fellowship time at Wednesday night dinner and Sunday morning brunch. Contact Chef Heyward McKenzie during the fellowship times for more information.

If Fellowship Dinner is not for you, then we have other opportunities! God has designed us with a unique combination of gifts, passions, and life experiences to spread the Gospel. Let us know which areas of ministry you want to serve in by completing an Every Member In Ministry (EMIM) form at shalimar-umc.org/emim.

Week 205 – Apr 5th

Food Distribution Numbers

0 cards given out

(219.9 tons)

($8735)

15 New Families visited last week, representing 43 individuals.

Items always needed!

1. Toilet paper is a must need each week!

2. Canned Meat; Tuna, Chicken, and Spam!

3. Canned Vegetables: Corn, Green Beans, and Mixed!

4. Dried goods, beans and rice!

5. Fruit, potatoes, and onions

If you don’t have time to shop, you can donate money to The Bread House by sending a check to SUMC, MEMO line put “Bread House.”

Questions? contact Pete Peters, 703.395.2437, fwpetersjr@gmail.com or Robin Hays 850-621-7014.