- Weekly Update 5/7
The story of faith is not one of arrival but of journey. The new butterfly’s struggle to push out of its confines produces a fissure that cannot be undone. There is no going back, the journey to a new existence has commenced. The post-resurrection story of Jesus opening the hearts of his fellow travelers along the road to Emmaus invites us to be companions of the one who will open us into the light of a new day.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
EMERGE – A Metamorphosis Moment
“Open: Into The Light”Behind the Curtain
Warning. This week’s Behind the Curtain has politics included, but my goal is to not be political. Bishop Berlin hosted a regional meeting last weekend in Gainesville. One of the things he told the audience is we, as the church, need to be prepared for what is coming from the policies being enacted by the government. You might have seen in the news that the number of cargo ships entering the United States is going down. I saw this week that four container boxes on a ship equates to one job. Cargo ships carry hundreds and even thousands of containers. That means there is a real impact to our neighbors and that is my focus. How can we help? Join us on Sunday and I will share with you the first step we are going to take to help our neighbor.
Pastor Steve
Upcoming Events
- 5/10 ROL Women’s Social at Stella’s home 2-4pm
- 5/11 Sunday Bible Study after worship
- 5/11 T.L.C. Youth Group 6-:30-7:30pm
- 5/13 Young Adult LGBTQ 4-6pm
- 5/14 Young Adult LGBTQ 11-1pm
- 5/16 Teen SYNC 6-8pm
- 5/20 Church Council Meeting at 6:30pm
Ladies Spring Social
Online Bible Study
Everyone welcome to join the online Bible Readings as we journey through the Book of Psalms. This is a 2 part series, Psalms 1-75 and then 76-150….5 chapters per week. You can join at any time and if you get behind, just skip to where we are! For those of you already in the Online studies, I will send you the next links. For anyone that wants to join, please reach out to stellakaypainter@gmail.com. March 1, 9am-1pm
Youth News
Congratulations to our graduating seniors!
Derek Rivers is 17 years old, born 09/21/2007. Graduating this year from Creekside High School with a 3.6 GPA. He also belongs to The National Society of High School Scholars, and was also a recipient of the St. Johns Count Character Award last year. Derek plans are to pursue playing Basketball in College, with a major is Sports Medicine, and a minor in Sports Management, is goal is to be a Physical Therapist while also continuing to be involved in Basketball at some level. He has had a few offers from Colleges to play Basketball, the 3 he may pursue is Barry University in Miami, the University of Fort Lauderdale, and locally Trinity Baptist College.
Chris Rhodes is graduating Biscayne High School! He is to continue working at Chik Fil A in the Avenues Mall and in the fall he’ll be going to FSCJ for HVAC tech.
Megan Hendel is graduating from FSCJ with a degree in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing. Congratulations Megan!
Zoe Yates is graduating from Creekside High School on May 16th. She was a 4-year member of the Track Team. She was also on the Cross-Country team for 2 years. She completed 4 years of the Teaching Academy at Creekside. Zoe loves working on and driving her car. To pursue this interest, Zoe plans to attend JTech to study Automotive Technology.
Opportunities to Serve
Seeking volunteers for Nursery, Preschool, Children’s Sunday School age, and Youth! Talk to Kayla and let’s get you set up!
HUGS Food Assistance for St. Johns County Youth Contact Margaret CampbellBirthdays and Anniversaries
Max Merchant – May 4
Mark Aubel – May 6
Theoren Murphy – May 8
Gloria Woodard – May 14
Kenny Henley – May 15
Bob Ritter – May 22
Deborah and Larry DeLeury – May 10
Sweena and Jacob Mani – May 10
Weekly Updates (Page 2)
Jesus teaches “many things” from a boat to a crowd that has gathered on the seashore. He teaches in parables, including the parable of the sower — “let everyone with ears to hear listen!” We often associate discipleship with “doing” — and certainly that is part of it. But we must also return time and again to the Teacher at the sea who offers us the stories that…
We move north to the tiny village of Nazareth. Although not so tiny anymore, in those days, Nazareth was a place where “everyone knows your name” since it could only support a limited amount of people from one small well of water. Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel with news that she would bear a son. Mary’s joy was not limited by the improbability that such a thing…
River Of Life Family, As we head toward the end of 2024, I would like to share with you some changes that will be made to the structure of the Leadership Council of our church. For the past few years, we have been operating the business of our church on a traditional leadership model that is comprised of a Finance Committee, a Trustees Committee, a Staff Parish…
God’s creative activity is described as an ongoing active force for good. Rather than fashioning us of something that could not change, the biblical metaphor is that we are fashioned of clay, a malleable substance that can be reshaped again and again. When life requires change of us, let us embrace our ability to roll with it, for we were made for this!Sunday,…
Each of the prior themes leads to the culminating idea that we are to serve others and impact the world. Because God’s grace is a lifelong journey, and because love is a verb that should be shared with all people, we are called and equipped to make a difference in the world. God invites us to partner in God’s mission of love. As Wesleyan Christians, therefore, we assume…
The word love, in its primary biblical root form, is a verb before it is a noun. Love is first something that we do, before it is something that we feel. In the Wesleyan tradition, we believe it is important to translate faith into loving action. Faith without works is dead. We view the Christian life as a dynamic journey rooted in a faith that works by love, leading to…