Rev John Sorensen is Preacher and Celebrant this Sunday

Coffee Hour After Church,

Followed by Vestry Meeting

Your vicar is Preaching and Leading worship this Sunday, September 10 at Messiah Church, having recovered from last week's foot infection. In fact, I was in Myrtle Beach on Thursday for several meetings regarding possible new property locations for a future Church of the Messiah. The several committees are continuing their future-planning work. The Hope is to have several draft plans for the church to consider when Episcopal Church Building Fund facilitator Ann Fleming returns for a second visit sometime in October. We have a future to discern!



In Today's Gospel reading (click here), Matthew 18, Jesus spends some time teaching the disciples about how Christians in the post-resurrection church should behave. Matthew outlines Jesus' instruction that honesty, truth-telling and relationship building are important. In this section, the topic is what to do when a member is misbehaving. Jesus says,

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one."

The instruction is similar to other Bible teachings from both Jesus and Paul regarding when members are not getting along, or when one person offends another. The advice is universal: Talk it out with love, care and forgiveness. Have another impartial member there with you if needed. Remember that each of us will sin, each of us will offend, each of us is in need of forgiveness. We are all equal at the foot of the cross! This communal practice can be difficult to practice, but it is one of the "simple gifts" of the faith. Liturgy helps!

See you Sunday!

Vicar John

Messiah Sunday Children's Program Restarts September 10

Our regular worshippers include at least three families with young children who have difficulty attending the entire worship service. Most churches consider it a part of their ministry to all their members to provide a childcare opportunity during Sunday worship. We had a brief, successful run at this early in 2023, but the worker's other job made it impossible to continue. And we did not meet the need with enough urgency.

Thankfully, one of our members has found a new childcare person for us on Sunday mornings. She will begin September 10. Hopefully this time the program will gain more traction and we can develop a predictable Sunday Children's Program. This coming Sunday, two of our members will hold an interim Children's Program upstairs. It might be wise for us to have a group of parishioners who are willing to take turns working with our children. Most importantly, no church can grow without providing ministry to children and their parents.

The Tenth Anniversary of Messiah Church:

A Short History of Episcopal Church of the Messiah

Ten years ago this month, Messiah was founded as a congregation on Sunday August 4, 2013. The church rented classrooms on 79th avenue to hold our first worship services. We had to move our furnishings in and out each Sunday. Fr. Wilmot Merchant, Rector of Saint Stephen's, North Myrtle Beach, helped us connect with the Methodists, who gave us space for over a year at their 65th avenue school property near the ByPass. In the fall of 2014 we found temporary space with the Saint Philip Lutheran Church, and in November of 2014 we were recognized by the Diocese of South Carolina as a mission Congregation, Messiah. In 2019, we moved to our current location where we have full use of our own rental property. Our next step is to partner with the Episcopal Church Building Fund and the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina to find ourselves a new home! No one wants to be a refuge forever! That process is underway!

Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Lahania, Maui,

burns to the ground. What can I do to help?

Below: Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Lahaina, Hawaiʻi, burned down after wildfires swept through the island of Maui. Photo: Bruce DeGooyer (Episcopal News Service)

We've all seen the news coverage of the wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii. You may be aware that there is a strong Episcopal Church presence on the Islands of Hawaii. This is partly due to the fact that King Kamehameha IV and his Queen Emma, established the Anglican Church on the Island in 1860.

There is an excellent article on the Maui fire, and the work of Episcopal Church relief work there, in our current Diocese of South Carolina Newsletter. You can read that article at this link.

How you can donate money: Episcopal Relief and Development is the Episcopal Church's official Relief Agency. They work directly through and with local Dioceses and Parishes to give aid where it is most needed. I had first-hand experience with them several decades ago in Plattsburgh, NY when a 1999 Ice Storm shut down the Northcountry and turned our parish into a disaster relief center. You can give money directly to Episcopal Relief at this link.

Messiah Visioning Retreat Concludes

The Parish Planning Process Begins!

Four Planning Teams Formed,

Planning Process is Underway

Friday and Saturday, July 13 and 14, over 40 parishioners joined us for one or both days of our two-day retreat. About 35 people were with us for some or all of Friday, and over 27 finished the work with us on Saturday (photo above). I’m excited that our Visioning Retreat with Ann Fleming of the Episcopal Church Building Fund is now complete. Now, the planning work begins.

At a meeting with the Vestry and other church leaders, after church on Sunday, July 15, Ann outlined the planning process whose goal is the creation of a new Church of the Messiah at a new location in Myrtle Beach. We imagined 4 Teams and a Steering Committee that will lead this research and planning.

The Steering Committee organizes the work of the four teams, and assembles an application to the Episcopal Church Building Fund and the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina for the re-establishment of Messiah at a new Location in Myrtle Beach. Kristi Burch and Peggy Kovacs are the Co-Chairs of the Steering Committee that will coordinate the tasks of the 4 teams. The Steering Committee Leadership Team, which is Kristi and Peggy joined by Vicar Fr. John, Charlie Jordan and Warden Rick Stall, has been working for two weeks to clarify the team tasks, goals and a time-line. We now have four teams and a leader.

The Data Team, led by Monica Orosz will assemble demographic, national church and parochial data, civic numbers and research to guide us in church placement, mission goals and to help us understand the larger community which is Myrtle Beach. Data helps us discern who we are and where we live and who God has called us to be in Myrtle Beach. What justifies the our and our partners' anticipated financial support for Messiah Church in Myrtle Beach? Members: Maggie Burch, Allen Jeffcoat, Skip Williams & George Welles.

The Finance Team, led by Al Wiggins will assemble our historical financial data, our operating budget, and create a church-planting budget to help us grow and own property at a new location. This includes funding requirements, capital resources, fundraising goals, are all part of this team's work. How do we pay for this venture? Members: Pat Patterson, David Martin, Skip Williams.

The Parish Ministries Team, led by Charles Evans, will begin to dream what our core ministry is as Church of the Messiah. What parish Life aspects are central to our existence? What is our vision for a church in Myrtle Beach? What is our spiritual core that will capture the imagination of our members and donors for an Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach? What spiritual practices do we need to sustain ourselves as a congregation? What building facility will we need? Members: John Manley, David Hardin, Sharon Williams.

The Interim Site Selection Team. Led by David Martin, with Mary Jeffcoat & Fr. John, this group will begin the relocation process by exploring a temporary location for Messiah during the transition. This team's work will become the Site Selection Team that looks to find our "final" location, but we may find ourselves in a temporary location during the interim.

These teams have begun their work. Monica and the Data Team will soon be handing off information to the Site Selection and Ministry Team for the next phases of the work.. The Goal is to have a report and a proposal ready in draft form by the end of September to present to the Diocese of South Carolina and our potential supporters and collaborators. When this stage of the work concludes, Ann will visit us again, perhaps in October to review that work and the application and plan our next steps.

This is an exciting time for the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Myrtle Beach. As your Vicar, I deeply appreciate the dedication of the forty or more people who spent many hours on the two-day retreat, beginning a Visioning Process for Messiah. I'm equally grateful for those who volunteered for the four teams, and for those who are waiting for an opportunity to participate. Our future is bright!

What's going on? The work is underway, in various committees, and in time applications and conversations will be made with the Diocese of South Carolina, The Episcopal Church Building Fund, and other sources. It's difficult to report to the congregation when we're in the middle of the work, so please be patient. When we have something to report, we'll do so!

Many Blessings,

Fr. John Sorensen

Vicar