Join Us for Worship this Sunday, May 5, 2024

The Sixth Sunday of Eastertide

at Messiah, Myrtle Beach!

Dear People of the Messiah:

This Sunday's Bible readings continue to build on the theme of Love in the newly started Christian Church. As the Collect says,

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Our Eastertide story from the Book of Acts picks up from where we left Peter in our Easter Sunday reading from Acts 10 in the house of the Roman Centurion Cornelius. The faith-filled soldier and his entire Caesarea household were converted by Peter's sermon, and today's reading depicts Peter and his Jewish-Christian associates "astonished" that the Holy Spirit fell upon these non-Jewish pagans. Clearly, God was at work doing new things. The story concludes with a ceremony we know well:

Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ

Today's Gospel Lesson from John 15 is a direct continuation of last Sunday's Johannine metaphor of Jesus as the vine, we the branches and God the gardener also the giver of all good things. If we "abide" in the vine, we bear much fruit. Jesus' teaching combines abiding in the vine with keeping God's commandments yielding the fruit of Christian practice, which is Love. This is a crucial connection, because as the Christian movement grew, matured and institutionalized, Christians from different churches in different towns didn't always get along or see things the same way. The New Testament itself was written to help develop common theology and practice. To hold it all together, lots of love was needed.

The Letter of John's teaching on Love builds on the Gospel of John's metaphor of abiding in the vine, the Epistle teaches about how love is the fruit of abiding in Christ. "Love" is the most important virtue of church life. The church community cannot exist without it. There are also hidden problems addressed in the Epistles of John, and today's mention of "water and blood" appears to be a reference to Gnostics, an early Christian sect that downplayed the human nature of Christ, seeing him as a phantom spirit-creature. It takes lots of love to get along!

I am looking forward to being with you this Sunday, May 5 at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Myrtle beach!

Rev. John Sorensen,

Interim Vicar

Bishop's Visitation Sunday, July 14, 2024

For those of our members who have never been Confirmed or Received into the Episcopal Church, the Bishop's annual Visitation is an excellent opportunity. Perhaps you've returned to the church after a time away and would like to recommit yourself to a life of faith. There is a ceremony called "Reaffirmation." Perhaps you'd like to mark your joining Episcopal Church of the Messiah with a special ceremony with the Bishop. If any of this interests you, please see Fr. John or Charlie Jordan, so we can design an appropriate class or preparation process for this excellent event.

Clergy Retreat April 28-30

In the photo above, the clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina gather for the Spring Clergy Retreat at the Saint Christopher Camp and Conference Center, Seabrook Island, April 28-30. Vicar John Sorensen was in attendance at the clergy retreat.

Church of the Messiah Upcoming Worship Schedule

Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 5, 10 am, Fr. John Sorensen

Ascension Sunday/7th Easter, May 12, 2024, Rev Jim Craig

Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2024, Rev Jim Craig

Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2024 (Memorial Day Weekend) Rev John Sorensen, Celebrant; Charlie Jordan, Preacher

Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 2, 10am: Rev Jim Craig

Third Sunday after Pentecost, June 9, 10am; Rev John Sorensen

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Fathers Day), June 16, 10am: Rev Jim Craig

Update on Charlie Jordan's Application

for Ordination in the Episcopal Church

Last year, in 2023, Our parishioner Charlie Jordan began conversations with the Bishop and Commission on Ministry to discern a call to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church. Beginning in the Summer of 2023, a formal Ministry Discernment Committee of Messiah Parishioners, led by Donna Wiggin met with Charlie for six months to discern this call with him. That team strongly recommended Charlie for ordination, and the vicar and vestry agreed, formally recommending his candidacy to the Bishop. On April 23, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley accepted Charlie as a Postulant for Holy Orders, the next formal step in his process towards ordination as a Priest in the Episcopal Church.

The next steps for Charlie will consist of education and formation, which will likely consist of education at an Episcopal seminary and local training in a hybrid model that is often used for training well-educated, second-career Episcopal Clergy. Congratulations Charlie!

Looking for a point of contact for ushers. Tasks are simply describing the duties to those interested in ushering, supporting those currently serving and periodically giving an updated roster to the scheduler. Minimal time commitment. Contact Patty.

Sacramental Records for 2013, 2014 & 2015 cannot be located. Sacramental records include baptismal, confirmation and marriage records. If you are aware of where these records may currently be, please contact Patty. Or if you have knowledge about a particular event (perhaps you were confirmed here during this time) contact Patty.

Share Your Love of Our Church

Patty (Parish Secretary) is working on updating our website. She wants to emphasize what the Church of the Messiah means to individual parishioners and families so that others potentially looking for a church home can quickly feel the amazingness that we feel here. Please send her an email describing what you love about the Church of the Messiah and what it means to you! Alternatively drop a note in the offering plate or in her inbox in the Upper Room.

The 2024 Messiah Church Vestry

The 2024 vestry held their organizational meeting on Sunday, February 18, after church, choosing officers. Above, Left to Right: John Sorensen, Vicar; Jim Kiefer, Jr. Warden; Monica Orosz; Peggy Kovacs, Treasurer; Rick Stall, Senior Warden; Patrick Patterson, Clerk; John Manley; Charlie Jordan, Legal Advisor; Eileen Fairchild.

In March, 2024 the vestry made decisions aimed at upgrading our office equipment and the live worship broadcast equipment. Plans are also being made for audio sound reinforcement to help people hear during worship. In addition, a cleaning service will be cleaning our facilities twice a month! The vestry is planning hopefully for a new future!

Sunday, April 21, the vestry met after church.

Monday, May 20 is the next vestry meeting.

Around the Church

On Wednesday, April 24, Jr. Warden Jim Kiefer was working in the Chapel replacing exit lights (Jim is a retired electrician). At the same time, Sr. Warden Rick Stall, Kristi Burch and Fr. John were upstairs working on final edits to the Vision report and Business Plan for the Diocese.

Red Doors. Red Prayer Box.

Many Episcopal churches paint their doors red to symbolize that they are a haven for emotional and spiritual healing and a place for forgiveness and reconciliation. In other words, red doors are an invitation to visitors to enter a space filled with the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately glass store doors don't lend themselves to being painted red. However, our new prayer box is red to symbolize that it is a space filled with the Holy Spirit.



Simply fill out a prayer request card and place it in the red prayer box in the back of the church and the Intercessory Prayer Team will pray for your needs.

Two Study Groups During Eastertide

Tuesday Evening Study Group

Julian of Norwich Study

The Tuesday Study group meeting at the home of Charles and Amy Jordan is off the week of April 23. This group, led by Charlie, hosted by Amy has been meeting for over a decade. They have been studying Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. Email cjordan@pearcelawgroup.com for more information, to order a book, or to receive the Bible Study emails.

Charlie & Amy invite members and friends of Messiah to attend, here are the general particulars for the Tuesday evening meetings:

Dinner is at 6 at 1523 Brookgreen Drive, Myrtle Beach. The discussion begins about 6:45. Read more about Julian at Ancient Anglican.

Thursday Morning Bible Study on Daniel Concludes

The Next Study begins June 6

The Thursday Morning Bible Study, Led by Cindy Craig, had their last week of studying Daniel on Thursday, April 18. They are going to do an 8 week Bible study on The Book of James beginning June 6, the first Thursday in June. A possible brunch in May is being planned.

For questions, see Cindy at Church or email her at c.k.craig@hotmail.com

Our October Visioning Retreat II Concludes with Recommendations for Building a New Messiah Church

Our second visioning retreat with Ann Fleming of the Episcopal Church Building Fund (photo above) concluded Monday afternoon, October 30, with five specific recommendations for building the new Messiah Episcopal Church on a new property in Myrtle Beach. You will be hearing more from the Steering Committee in the coming weeks, and the Vestry will consider the recommendations at their November 19 meeting. But here is a brief Summary of the Recommendations of our team, pictured above.

(1) begin the process of calling a full-time residential priest to Messiah by Summer of 2024, and provide a paid support staff for the office to support our clergy and ministry

(2) Grow and Expand the Messiah Congregation, and redevelop and improve existing parish program and ministry offerings

(3) Proceed with the purchase of a 1.4 acre lot that we believe is the future location of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Myrtle Beach

(4) Develop a financial and business plan to fund 1-3 above and lay out the timeline and steps that will lead to the construction of our new church within five years. This report will become our plan to be presented to and approved by the diocese for support and funding for this new future!

(5) Meet with the Diocese for acceptance and funding.

Stay tuned for more news, and keep our congregation in prayer. This will require the time, talent and treasure of each of us!

Many Blessings,

Fr. John

Messiah Sunday Children's Program

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. Our Fall Childcare program began September 10.

Chelsea, our new childcare person has enjoyed working with our children and will continue to do so. With your support and encouragement, Messiah will develop a quality, predictable Sunday Children's Program. This is an important component to church growth! We will also be employing a second childcare worker, Victoria, who is Chelsea's back-up.

Dear Reader:

Messiah Episcopal Church is a congregation in transition, seeking to rebuild at a new location after losing our church property in a schism that started over ten years ago. It's an exciting time to be part of a congregation! Please join us at Church Sundays at 10am. We are located in a shopping center at 4201 North Kings Highway, adjacent to (behind) Finish Strong Fitness. To reach me directly, you can email me at lakesinai@comcast.net.

Our Church Secretary, Patty Tate, is in the office Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can email her at messiahatthebeach@icloud.com. She particularly wants you to email her photos of yourself for the Church Directory, which we print periodically in the office when there are new additions or updates. These directories are available at the back of the church.

Many Blessings to you,

Fr. John Sorensen, Vicar