February 7th, 2025 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

“This week, we rejoice with Pastor Rachel as she has officially passed her final interview and received approval for ordination at this June's Annual Conference!  This is a significant moment in her journey, marking the culmination of a 12-year journey of dedication, study, and faithful discernment.

Rachel's path to this point has been one of deep commitment.  She has entered fully into the process, writing thousands of words reflecting on theology, leadership, personal growth, and proclamation.  Not only that, but she has also completed the “Residents in Ministry” process and has even completed psychological testing along the way too. This week, she traveled to Leesburg, FL. to face her final interview with the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Florida Conference.  Whew!! It’s a lot! Through it all she has remained steadfast and true to her sense of God's call to this ministry.

As her church family, we have had the pleasure of witnessing Rachel's journey firsthand since August 2023. We have prayed with and for her, supported her, and we too have recognized the gifts and graces she brings to ministry.  We affirm her calling and celebrate her growth as she stands on the threshold of ordination. We are immensely proud and filled with joy.

Rachel: your faithfulness, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to God's call are a gift to the world. We are so proud of you and excited to see all that God will continue to accomplish through your ministry.  We will continue to pray for you, worship with you, and serve alongside you in our community and world.

Be sure to congratulate Rachel personally the next time you see her – and start planning your trip to support her at the Conference Ordination Service in June!

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie

January 31st, 2025 | Rev. Rachel Williams

Dear Beloved Friends,  

As a pastor’s kid, or PK as we call ourselves, there are sometimes roles that we take on that are not necessarily things that we want nor expect. Our church choir director was intent on having a children’s Christmas musical every year, so guess who ended up in the children’s Christmas music every year. That’s right, me.

One year remains seared in my mind not for the performance itself but for the horror I experienced at the dress rehearsal. By this time, I’m ten years old and have graduated to one of the lead parts. That means I have lines. That means I have a solo. That means I have a microphone. On this dress rehearsal day I happened to be mic’d up but needed to use the restroom. No one warned me that the microphone was still on and unmuted, so the entire sanctuary not only heard me singing a sweet little song of my own creation but also heard the flush of the toilet. I came back to raucous laughter. I was mortified! Embarrassed beyond belief, I swore then and there never to be in another church musical. Out of my embarrassment I made a hasty decision.  

This week, we’ll continue in our six-week sermon series “All the Feels” with guest preacher and conference co-lay leader Derrick Scott, III preaching on shame and guilt. In the coming weeks, we’ll hear more about what we do with feelings like embarrassment, rage, apathy (what we call “blah”) and doom and gloom. Why are we talking about these? Because many of these emotions might be taking the lead in your life right now. You might be wondering how we are even to approach these emotions as we live out our Christian faith.

Even though all of these emotions are a part of our human experience, they can often lead us to make negative decisions, to lash out at others, and to disconnect from our surroundings. These are things that we need to talk about. But we know that the grace of God goes before us in all things, and that we are always responding to that grace. Therefore, we have opportunities to reflect and change how we let our emotions guide our actions. When we preach about our negative emotions inevitably the good news is in the fruit that can be borne from the alternate option, the positive emotions we turn toward. I hope you will join us during this series in thoughtful reflection of what you are feeling and how those feelings show up daily in your life.  

With Love and Peace,  

Pastor Rachel 

P.S. And yes, to this day, I still check to see that my microphone is muted before using the restroom.  

January 24th, 2025 | Rev. Rachel Williams

Dear Beloved Friends,  

I never thought that I would move back to Florida and see snow all over the yard, on the roof and in the plants! Tropical storms, yes, but snow seemed like an unlikelihood here. I hope that throughout these last few days of frigid temperatures and winter weather that you have found ways to stay warm.

In the beginning of the week, a small group of us from Memorial ventured out in that cold to walk in the Martin Luther King, Jr. parade. As it always goes on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, social media was filled with quotes by Dr. King reminding us to love our neighbors, strive for justice, and challenge systems of oppression. The one that I love to return to, that I believe speaks to the work we can do daily, is his quote on service: “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. ... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.” 

A response in love to God’s grace is at the heart of our service to others. You need not have any special skills or a certain title to serve; you just need to be willing to react to God’s love in your life by extending God’s love to others. I wonder, what is one way you plan to serve someone else this week? Would you be willing to share that story of service with me?  

Keep warm, dear ones, and continue to pray for our unhoused and under-resourced neighbors who have struggled in these past weeks because of the cold. As a reminder, the cold night shelter will be open tonight should any of you feel led to sign up for one of the shifts there.  

With love and grace,  

Pastor Rachel