Posts with the category “philips-focus”

What would Shalimar United Methodist Church be capable of if everyone put their oar in the water and rowed in the same direction? Even better, what if we all rowed in the direction of living as a disc...  Read More

We are now at the beginning of the second half of 2021. Last week, I reflected on the first six months of the year. This week, I will shift toward hopes for the second half of the year.Before Labor Da...  Read More

Believe it or not, the calendar says we have begun the second half of 2021! What are some observations about the first six months? What are hopes for the rest of this year? Let me share with you some ...  Read More

Over the next six weeks, Dr. Brad Bradford will be on study leave from July 5-August 11. He is entitled to this leave and has been planning a productive project for many months. Brad has received all ...  Read More

Can you believe this week marks the mid-way point of 2021! As we continue to see some normal coming out of a long Covid Year, I would like to lift up some of the current opportunities to grow through ...  Read More

Type your new text here. Today is July 17, 2021, and it is a special day! Shalimar United Methodist is 70 years old on the day this article is published. I hope you will take some time reading this ar...  Read More

Congratulations to Keith Latimer! Keith is the winner of this year’s David Dale Hospitality Award. This choice came through nominations from our congregation, our Lead Team, and ratified by our Church...  Read More

In most of my Beacon articles, I title them “Philip’s Focus” as they have just a point or two. This article has too many subjects to have only one focus. I am naming this one “McVay’s Meandering.”As w...  Read More

Shalimar United Methodist Church received an award last Friday. The Heroes and Hard Workers Award. We received the award from Nash FM 105.5. This award goes to business groups and organizations that p...  Read More

We will have “Dinner on the Grounds” on our campus this Sunday. The meal is not a “bring a covered dish” but is catered. Please do not bring food from home! You will be treated to a delicious meal fro...  Read More

Deb Steele has been our custodian for nine years here at Shalimar UMC. She will be retiring next week, and I wanted to call this to your attention. In her time with us, Deb has made quite a contributi...  Read More

This week I have chosen to write some short snippets of what is going on around Shalimar UMC. In this article/blog, I will list some things you may or may not know. If you know the answers to all the ...  Read More

A few weeks ago, I learned from our Mayor, Mark Franks, the name Shalimar means “By the beautiful water.” That means our church name could mean “Church by the beautiful water.” Some of the sights and ...  Read More

We lost our pet cat, Dasher, last year. Dasher was with us eighteen years! He was remarkably resilient. The old saying that cats have nine lives proved very true for Dasher. He likely had double the n...  Read More

The post-pandemic church is emerging before our eyes! What have we missed the most? What might be the same? What will be different? What are the unprecedented opportunities? I do not know anything mor...  Read More

About a quarter of a century ago, I began preaching a message billed as the “unforgettable message after Easter!”  Why? Because the Sunday after Easter often felt like the antithesis to Easter. On Eas...  Read More

We have and, to some extent, are still enduring one of the craziest times in history. In such a time, we look for a person to reassure us and say, “It will be over soon.”  Who will have that word we l...  Read More

As of Palm Sunday, March 28th, we will slightly revise our Covid-19 Protocol. As the positive trends show an upward number of vaccinations and a lower number of Covid cases in Okaloosa County, we beli...  Read More

In the coming four weeks, we will have special Sundays one after the other. As we move deeper into Lent, this means special worship is rising on the horizon. You will want to be present in-person or o...  Read More

This weekend is time change Sunday! Remember to move your clocks up one hour for worship in-person or on Livestream! In speaking of the time change, have you ever forgotten to change your clocks? I di...  Read More

Last year, we created the first-ever hospitality award and presented it to David Dale. The award also took on the name of David Dale because he exhibited extraordinary gifts of hospitality. There is a...  Read More

I choose to remain a United Methodist because we know our denomination is more than a "fad" or a "short-lived movement." We can learn from our rich history, and we can be sparred some of the same mist...  Read More

We are happy to announce that Mrs. Nicci Fahle will be joining our church staff as our part-time Children's Ministry Director. Nicci and her husband Brodie have been in our congregation for a long tim...  Read More

In previous weeks of Beacon articles, I have praised our congregation, staff, and lay leadership. In this article, I want to lift up some additional ministry teams and offer praise for their good mini...  Read More

As a part of our Nation's fabric, one tradition is customary to give a State of the Union Address for late January. Somewhere along the way, I began a tradition by giving the "state of the church" eac...  Read More

In previous Beacon articles, I have praised our steadfast congregation and last week our phenomenal staff! Today, I praise our amazing lay leadership! As we move forward from the most challenging year...  Read More

In the last ten months, we have not had "church" as usual. We have had to adapt, be flexible, and exercise additional caution at most every turn. Through it all, we have found a way to move forward wi...  Read More

The events of the last week have been disturbing, sobering, and saddening. We have so much division in our country! There is so much anger and angst. What do we do to channel the powder keg of emotion...  Read More

We have begun this week our 21 days of worship online for 2021! I hope you are joining in each day at 6 am or at a time that works for you. The 21 days will offer a daily key to thriving. Practicing t...  Read More

This week we flip the calendar into a new year! I do not remember, in my lifetime, more anticipation of starting a new year. Most people wrote 2020 off months ago as the strangest, most chaotic, crazi...  Read More

WE SURE HAVE MISSED SEEING YOU IN PERSON! In recent weeks, the pastors visited friends and members in their neighborhoods. This allowed us the opportunity to visit with some persons we have not seen s...  Read More

Just like that, Advent has arrived. The leftovers from Thanksgiving were still delicious when the quick shift happened last weekend. In just hours, we moved from turkey, dressing, and wonderful family...  Read More

Type your new text here. One of the most asked questions I receive is “what is happening with the church?” In this Beacon update, I will briefly list some of the happenings I am aware of around Shalim...  Read More

As I write this article, I am still a bit "foggy-headed" from virtually no sleep last night. We knew Sally was coming; however, she intensified in the middle of the night, dropped even more rain, and ...  Read More

My feet do not always touch the ground these days, and my steps are light! I am overly excited about discipleship opportunities picking up through our church. The dream of having abundant discipleship...  Read More

In this Beacon article, I am introducing a new style to my writing. This article will be strictly bullet points. They will go fast…make that a flash. I am going to have some fun and hope you do well r...  Read More

2020 is unlike any year in our lifetime! This year I believe it will be a watershed for the future. Those who cling to the past will be disappointed. Our "new normal" will not be about going back to t...  Read More

We are moving as a congregation to 1,000 persons in discipleship groups every week! We are actively moving toward this goal this Fall. There are immediate discipleship opportunities upcoming just ahea...  Read More

Our congregation is blessed to have an abundance of trained Stephen Ministers. They would love to help you during your time of need. This help could come immediately through our church. In this week’s...  Read More

There is good news for this Sunday! I am delighted to announce we will have guest preacher Reverend Carlos Jones, the Senior Pastor of Campton First Baptist Church of Laurel Hill in North Okaloosa Cou...  Read More