On Laity Sunday I decided to visit several congregations for their worship services. It’s hard to represent or serve nine counties without learning a bit about the personalities, strengths, and struggles of the many congregations and communities. I am trying!!! There are a LOT of you and that’s a good thing.
Even though I typically sleep in a little on Sunday mornings, on this day I was up early. The weather was changing, and I was excited about the first cool morning. I watched the sun rise at Union Point in New Bern and gave thanks for the way God uses all of us for His glory! I headed over to join Garber UMC for their early service and was blessed with a great message perfect for Laity Sunday.
As the morning unfolded, I traveled to Pamlico County. Stonewall UMC was planning to celebrate their Miracle Sunday. In 1987, the church wanted to expand. They had an altar call and raised $20,000 in one day. Once the construction was complete, the loan was paid in full within two years. Every year, they take time to remind each other how God showed up for their church family. They celebrate, re-visit the history, and share a meal together.
Every church I have visited has had lots of friendly people…every single one! Stonewall UMC has a church FULL of friendly people! I was 15 minutes early and every single person who entered the sanctuary, not only stopped, and spoke to me…. they TALKED to me. I learned about how the church was picked up and turned around…literally picked up and sat back down to face the new road in front. I learned about a couple who is in the middle of retiring in Pamlico County and the farmhouse they are restoring. I met and heard all about a baby in the community who doctors said wouldn’t live and a year later, she was right there on Miracle Sunday.
The Lay Leader joked with the congregation as they moved through celebrations and prayer concerns. These people LOVE each other was all I kept thinking to myself. They invited me to lunch because the “women were cooking” and then clarified to say, “that means Smithfield’s.” Folks from my own church are nodding their heads in understanding right now because I just busted out laughing. These were my kind of women! (I don’t cook.) They love each other AND they LOVE the Lord. Don’t even get me started on their newsletter which is PHENOMENAL. This little, tiny church has got it going on!
There was JOY in this place. There was a sweet…SWEET spirit in this place. The small choir made a variety of instruments sound amazing together. They mixed old time foot stomping hymns with beautiful new praise and worship melodies. For the anthem, “Goodness of God” …two young women stepped out in front and their voices brought me to tears. One of them later delivered the children’s message and then gave out bags of Tootsie Rolls with a cute little card that read, “Thanks for the ROLL you play in our church!” Something so simple…yet so profound.
What God showed me that day, is the miracle of God showing up in a million different ways across the Sound District and it is a beautiful thing to see. We are all “Laity.” Whether you are an elected leader in the church, a volunteer who keeps the grounds looking beautiful, part of the crochet group, or the person whose gifts have you putting together the newsletter…YOU are laity. Know that you are appreciated.
Thank you for opening yourselves up and letting God fill you up and use you up for His glory. I can’t wait to visit more of you and see the millions of ways God is using your hearts.
“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!” Philippians 4:4-9 MSG
If you would like to view past editions of A Message from Kim, follow this link: https://sounddistrictnc.org/category/from-district-lay-leader/
If you would like to connect with Kim please do so through her email, k.smith@nccumc.org