Rev. Malcolm Stranathan

May is a Month for Celebrations!

I can’t believe that it is May already! It’s been said that time flies when you’re having fun! Well, we’ve been having a lot of fun. It seems like we only just celebrated Christmas, and then before we turned around it was Holy Week and Easter, and now Pentecost is just around the corner. In fact, if the pattern holds true of time passing quickly when we’re having fun, then May is going to fly by!

In May, each Sunday has about three and sometimes four different themes to celebrate! We have liturgical church celebrations (Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sundays) that collide with secular holidays (Mother’s Day and Memorial Day) and special annual celebrations like that of Mount Zion’s Blessing of the Pets/Animals service. Big United Methodist Church events like the “once-every-four-years” General Conference comes to an end at the beginning of May and the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church’s Annual Conference begins at the end of May. The Choirs and Sunday Morning Children’s Christian Education Classes celebrate the close of another year and anticipate the start of their summer sabbaticals.

So much to celebrate, so little time,
before you know it, it will be June

Also in May, we are welcoming the West Virginia Wesleyan College Concert Chorale on May 5th. Some of us will be hosting students in our homes and hopefully all of us will enjoy a wonderful concert. The UMW is hosting their annual mother/ daughter banquet on Saturday, May 10th. And the Mount Zion Preschool students will be graduating on Thursday, May 22nd.

These don’t even touch the personal events (high school and college graduations, family gatherings for Memorial Day, etc.) and other activities that our Church family will be participating in this month.

So much to celebrate, so little time; before you know it, it will be June! Then we’ll all be looking at new opportunities like planning vacations and retreats, maintaining our current Worship Schedule during the summer, and weekly mini-VBS programs during Sunday School with new teachers and facilitators.

Ah, it’s great to be part of such a vital thriving community of faith, isn’t it?

See you at church!
Pastor Malcolm

God’s Vision From the People of Mount Zion

During worship services on Sunday, September 23, Pastor Malcolm encouraged those present in worship to share God’s vision for Mt Zion in the coming years. Over 170 people responded and below are your responses of God's Vision for Mt Zion. This information was shared with Church Council on September 25.

Percentage of Vision Focus
19% Age Level Ministries (10% Youth, 5% Children, 4% Percent Young & Older Adult)
17% Missions (Hands on Missions, VIM, Local Supported Projects)
12% Getting in touch with Local Community–Evangelism (6% Connect/Support Our Community, 6% Hospitality, Witnessing)
10% Discipleship (Increasing Ecumenical Dialogue, Disciple/Adult Education, Spiritual Growth, Bible Study)
5% Fellowship (Socializing Events)
5% Finding Meaningful Places to Serve–Lay Leadership (Spiritual Gifts inventories, finding a place to serve in the church)
5% Shepherding Ministries (Small Groups, Parish Nursing, Visiting Sick and Shut ins)
4% Financial (Tithing, Stewardship, Budgeting, Paying off Debt)
4% Church and Society (Community Support Groups, Involvement with Community Projects, Outreach, Advocating Peace/Justice Issues)
Remaining percentages less than 4%

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May is a Month for Celebrations!

God’s Vision From the People of Mount Zion

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