Posts with the tag “philips-focus”

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

This is our last Beacon for the year and my last article for 2020. I had some things I wanted to say to our congregation from the heart. Here goes with some grateful sharing with you and for you!You h...  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

As I pondered what to write about for this Beacon, Julie Covert reminded me I do an annual list of reasons to be grateful each year just before Thanksgiving. Of course! This has been a long-standing t...  Read More

This Sunday we are delighted to welcome Dr. John Ed Mathison as our guest preacher. John Ed is a national speaker and is very knowledgeable in the area of stewardship. We are especially grateful for h...  Read More

How is the church doing? This is a question I receive often. My answer, we have a lot of steep challenges right now, yet Shalimar UMC keeps moving forward! In a year of uncertainties, adversities, and...  Read More

As I write this article, it’s Tuesday afternoon and still hours before we should know who the President will be for the next four years. I wondered if I wait until tomorrow or write some thoughts abou...  Read More

We have begun our “BE RENEWED” time as a church! In the continued challenges and adversities of this unforgettable year, 2020, we will gain the most to renew ourselves in heart, mind, spirit, strength...  Read More

This article is the final part of the series of my annual Charge Conference Report. The previous three parts in this series can be found in the recent Beacons and on our blogs. Below are the final tho...  Read More

Type your new text here. In a continuation of sharing my annual pastoral report, below is part 3 for this week’s BeaconOur new wineskin will consist of a heavy diet of discipleship with the goal of ha...  Read More

My report this week to the Annual Charge Conference (October 11, 2:30 PM) is way too long for one Beacon article. As a result, I am sharing over three Beacon articles. This week is part 2.Our new Fall...  Read More

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing segments of my annual report to Charge Conference for the year 2020. The Charge Conference report gives a yearly review, shares realities and hopes for the upcom...  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