Sunday, May 10, was a special day in the life of McMurry Church, filled with many sacred moments. Sixty-three people attended worship on Mother's Day. It was great to see some visitors and special guests. After the Hymn of Praise, we took time to honor our mothers. Sitting on the altar were two vases of flowers, knitted by Lon Burke. I invited the children to help me distribute these flowers, giving one to every woman present. While the children were handing them out, I read a brief history of Mother's Day. Once every woman had received a flower, it was time to honor two noteworthy mothers. Special plants were given to the oldest mother, Shirley Votipka, and the newest mother, Bethany Kimrey.
During the Morning Prayer, I offered a "Prayer for Our Mothers" from the United Methodist Book of Worship. The choir sang a beautiful anthem, "Bless this House." I was blessed to administer the sacrament of Holy Baptism to Lane Eldon Gercone. Two-year old Lane is the great grandson of Loyd Adwell. His parents, Dillon and Mackenzie Gercone, along with several other family members, stood in the chancel with me to witness this special moment in Lane's life. I count it a privilege of my position as pastor to administer baptisms, and I was honored to be able to welcome Lane into the Body of Christ on Sunday.
May 2026 is proving to be an exciting month at McMurry Church, and we still have three Sundays left. Sunday May 17 is Ascension Sunday, when we remember how Jesus ascended into Heaven 40 days after his resurrection. During the service we will honor and present gifts to those who are graduating from High School and College. We will also present a Bible to one of our young persons.
Three special days in the life of the church coincide on Sunday May 24: Pentecost Sunday, Aldersgate Day and Memorial Day weekend. I will try to incorporate a bit of all three occasions into the service. You are invited to wear something red for this triple celebration.
I gave a good promo for May 31—the "Fifth Sunday Special"—in last week's Chimes, and now the news for the day is even better. In addition to me preaching a musical sermon with banjo playing, singing, and preaching, Emilio Silvan will be back to play his harp throughout the service. Many of you have enjoyed hearing Emilio play harp during his previous visits. So, you won't want to miss this special Sunday filled with all kinds of great music.
Although the first two Sundays of May have passed, there are many blessings in store during the remaining three Sundays. You won't want to miss any of it. Tell your family, friends, and neighbors about these special services. We'd love to see their faces in person at McMurry. Yet even if they can't attend (perhaps they live in another part of the country), they can always watch the services on Facebook. They can watch the services live at 10 a.m. on Sundays, or any time after that for up to 30 days. See you in church!
Grace & Peace
Pastor Clayton