Summer Fun: Events for kids and families
In this issue:
- Letter from the pastor.
- Footprints Summer Fun
- VBS registration and volunteering.
- Events throughout the month.
- News, updates, and more!
GREETINGS FROM CAMP BLANDING, A NATIONAL GUARD TRAINING SITE in Starke, Florida. By the time you read this, I will have completed a two-week annual training as a chaplain with the Florida Army National Guard. As a chaplain, my duties include counseling, holding chapel services in an outdoor setting, and advising the command team on matters of religion, ethics, and morale. It is a great opportunity to minister to young adults (ages 18 to 35), a demographic sorely lacking in our churches today. Some the accomplishments during this duty away include:
- Co-facilitating a course in Palm Coast over two days for sixteen leaders in the Florida National Guard, called Transformational Moral Leadership (XML).
- Providing an ecumenical guide for Protestant and Catholic Soldiers to pray through the 14 “Stations of the Cross.”
- Performing a graveside service for 2LT Pharis Weekley, a US Army Air Force navigator. He died Aug. 1, 1943 over the skies of Ploesti, Romania during Operation Tidal Wave. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains recently through DNA forensic science.
- Hosting a movie night with popcorn and pizza in the post chapel. The unit ministry team, composed of me and my chaplain’s assistant, hosted 15 soldiers for this event.
Thank you for your support of this vital extension ministry of our church.
I also completed the Royce and Jane Reynolds Church Leadership Program with 24 pastors through the Southeast. Our final three-day seminary in Greensboro, North Carolina focused on planning for the future in the church. I already see the ways my training has benefited our church.
Speaking of the future, I am grateful for our Vision 2030 Team working together with the Church Council to plan for ours. Anticipate a church-wide survey in July and a thorough reporting on their work in the fall.
Also in the works is a $125,000 project to construct the driveway around the Chapel and the Thrift Shoppe building to better handle increased traffic. Thanks to the foresight of past generations of Mount Doran Methodists, the Trustees have allocated $116,000 in endowment funds toward the project. The Thrift Shoppe will contribute the remaining $9,000.
No matter what else the future holds, Jesus holds us through it. As the classic Gospel song, “Because He Lives”, reminds us:
And because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives.
Grace and Peace,
David Averill
Footprints Summer Fun
Hanging out with Jesus
Wednesday, June 7, 6 -8 pm. Kindergarten through fourth grade Bible study, crafts and games. Fifth grade move to Barefoot.
Big Faith Experience
Wednesday, June 21, 6 -8 pm. Kindergarten through fourth grade bible study, crafts and games.
Please be in Prayer for our Campers and Counselors
Our students will attend Warren W Willis Camp June 26-July 1. Two of our Barefoot alumni, Tegan Douglass and Jessa Talton, are serving on summer staff at Warren Willis camp. You are encouraged to send them cards and care packages at:
Warren Willis Camp Summer Staff, [name],
4990 Picciola Rd., Fruitland Park FL 34731
Help Make VBS Super!
July 10-14, 9am-12pm. To make this year’s VBS great, we need:
- Your prayers. Please pray for the spiritual impact we will have through VBS.
- Actors to portray the characters in our VBS program. There are slots for people who can only attend for one day and people who can be there for all five days. Email Janet for details.
- An intact refrigerator box. Please reach out to Janet if you have one.
- Volunteers of all ages. If you are interested in leading a group or a station, please attend any of the following volunteer trainings in the Chapel:
- Wednesday, June 21, 4:30pm
- Thursday, June 22, 10am
- Thursday, July 6, 2pm
Register your child or volunteer for VBS »
On the Calendar
Women of the Old Testament
Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30am, Chapel.
Hear the stories of the most influential women in the Old Testament. Each week we will cover a different woman or group of women, so you can come for every week or just one.
- June 7: Miriam, Rahab
- June 14: Deborah & Jael, Bathsheba
- June 21: Naomi & Ruth, Esther
More Events in June
Coffee Fellowship
Sundays, 8-10:30am, Conference Room. Enjoy a cup of coffee between services and enjoy time with your friends and fellow congregants.
Exercise Class
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9am, Friendship Hall. Stretch your body and your mind three times per week.
Lake Cares Food Distribution
Friday, June 16, 7:30-9am, Martin Luther King Center. Our mobile distribution site needs volunteers to bag groceries, stand at a table to distribute groceries, and pull a wagon to help clients to their vehicles.
VBS Volunteer Training
Wednesday, June 21, 4:30pm and Thursday, June 22, 10am, Chapel.We are in need of youth and adult volunteers to lead groups and/or stations. Trainings will take place in June and early July.
Register to volunteer »
Widowed Support Group
Thursday, June 22, 9:30am, Chapel. Those who have lost a spouse come together to support one another on the journey of grief.
United Women in Faith Meeting
Tuesday, June 27, 1pm, Friendship Hall. All women are welcome.