Pastor Blog

Dear Fellow Ministers, I am so grateful to get to be a part of your ministry here at Matthews UMC! Wow… what an amazing church you are. Pastor Susan and I have about unpacked our offices and are discovering what living outside the boxes is like at MUMC. We are finding out exactly why we have both heard so many...

Just these lines… …to encourage and challenge you in this new season to embrace incoming Pastors David and Susan, who are super excited and a little nervous (they are human), with the same welcoming and radical-love-of-Christ spirit of which you welcomed me. May you seek to discover together where our Triune God, who comes to all of God’s children in...

Just these lines… … to give thanks for the wonderful, welcoming, love encouraging Body of Christ at MUMC who have graciously embraced a quirky retired clergy woman still surprised and humbled by the unexpected new season of ministry I have shared with this congregation and your incredibly gifted and giving ministry staff team. This past Sunday, Father’s Day and Trinity...

Just these lines… … to let you know that we appreciate each of you and the way that you showed up on Sunday. We are taking this edition to celebrate Pastor Chuck’s service in ministry. He and Karen make a great team and have left an indelible mark on the churches they have served. No one does it quite like...

Pentecost Sunday Just these lines, my friends … … to say thank you for all our graduates this past Sunday. We love seeing them finding their way and now moving forward to new goals and aspirations. May you become everything God intends for you to become. Thank you, Pastor Corey for your deeply inspiring message. You are such a fine...

7th Sunday of Easter | Graduation Sunday Just these lines … … to say that this past Sunday (May 25) brought the joining of a great group of New Members at the 11 am hour: Renee Gillespie, Katy Aderhold, Christina DeMaio & Kimberly DeMaio all joined by Profession of Faith. These were momentous moments watching Renee, Katy, Christina and Kimberly...

6th Sunday of Easter | Memorial Day Weekend Just these lines … … to say that I sound like a broken record, but my oh my, what a beautiful Sunday of worship: Thank you, Craig Estep, for your leadership of our amazing Joyful Ringers. I’m not sure we can wait until the fall to hear them again. Shannon Remley and...

5th Sunday of Easter | Confirmation Sunday Just these lines … … to say that I loved our Mother’s Day worship on the 4th Sunday of Easter worship. I hope you will long remember standing along with everyone else in the room confessing that our families are certainly less than what God longs for them to be. If you missed...

4th Sunday of Easter Just these lines … … to say that thank you for all our leaders of worship this past Sunday. Karen and I were away in New Bern celebrating the marriage of LuAnn Scruggs with Duke Pratt. I loved connecting with LuAnn’s girls, Katie and Ashlyn, who were deeply connected to MUMC in their early years. Thank...