Palm Notes

Hurricane Ian Updates

Out of an abundance of caution for the deteriorating weather conditions Thursday evening through Saturday morning due to Hurricane Ian, the following schedule changes are announced:

Lowcountry Youth Wind Symphony practice on Thursday, September 27 is canceled
Chancel Choir practice Thursday night is canceled
Thursday dress rehearsal for “Okatie’s Got Talent- Palms Style” is canceled
Friday’s performance of “Okatie’s Got Talent- Palms Style” is postponed until January 20, 2023

Continue to monitor the church webpage at www.palmsumc.org for the latest information and watch for a further update in Thursday’s Palm Notes.

Charge Conference Report

Rev. Joey McDonald presided at the 2022 Charge Conference of Church of the Palms last night, September 26. The Conference opened with Anna Marie Kuether leading the group in singing the hymn “Praise to the Lord, The Almighty.”

The information shared and decisions made included:

Report of Ministry and Mission by Council Chair, Jill Swab. View it here.
Sharing of the following statistics: Membership as of the Charge Conference: 294, 38 new members since last Charge Conference, 14 of which were Professions of Faith, 8 deaths of members (the names were read and a prayer offered), average worship attendance for the first four months of 226.
Report of pastoral duties and activities by Pastor Pete. View it here.
Voted to increase the total compensation, housing, benefit, health insurance, pension package for Pastor Pete by 4%.
Affirmed, by vote, the leaders for 2023 - view summary here.
Affirmed, by vote, the following Lay Servants: Linda Robertson, Larry Sanders, Jill Swab, David Voyles
Affirmed, by vote, to recommend Larry Sanders as Certified Lay Speaker.
Affirmed, by vote, to recommend Portia Foden as a continuing candidate for ordained ministry.

Numerous other reports such as finance report, trustee report, safe sanctuary verification, and others were submitted in advance online to the Conference, a full copy of the Charge Conference documents is available for review in the church office.

Summary of Kentucky Relief Work

(Editor’s Note: Dick and Ann Tullie share this report on their participation in Disaster Relief in Kentucky with Samaritan’s Purse International)

Disaster Response with Samaritan’s Purse

Jackson, Kentucky

September 19-23

Day 1 - Tuesday

Arlene’s mobile home. Her home sat part way up a mountain where the family owned 70 acres. She moved her used mobile home to the property 7 years ago on what she thought was high ground. Grannie’s empty house sat further up the mountain. Arlene was rescued by boat. She lost her car in the flood. She will move back into her home with no further construction as she has no insurance.

(read more)

Pumpkin Patch Training

It’s time to get ready to sell pumpkins!

Come to Room 102 on Friday, September 30 at 3 p.m. OR on Sunday, October 2, between services to get acquainted/reacquainted with the process of staffing the pumpkin patch, greeting our neighbors, booking the transactions, caring for our pumpkins.

Pete and 2022 Pumpkin Master, Mark Reed, will be present to share the tips to a successful experience and to answer any questions.

Opportunities to Serve

The pumpkins are currently scheduled to arrive in their new home at Church of the Palms on October 6.

There is much to do to get ready so please consider how you can be part of this easy and fun way of engaging with our neighbors and community.

Use this link for SignUpGenius for opportunities to help with the unloading and the daily sales slots.

New Members Weekend

Our next New Member weekend is October 8 and 9. These are the dates when we welcome those desiring to connect on a deeper level with Church of the Palms.

The process is easy. Let Pastor Pete or the Church Secretary, Sandy Biggs, know. Complete a Family Information form to make sure we have contact information. Then an informal meeting will be set up with you and Pete so that he might get to hear your “story” and so he can address all your questions. You may join at any of the three worship services on October 8 or 9.

Blessing of the Animals

All animals and their people are invited to a “Blessing of the Animals” on Sunday, October 2, at 4 p.m. We will gather under the portico entrance at the Christian Life Center for a time of sharing and a special blessing for each pet and the people who love them. For everyone’s safety, please crate or leash your pets.

Ways to Give Back

Do you like to read? Do you like to talk to friends? Do you like to send notes? We are looking for two people to work together looking for articles, news, and events to put into our new mailed newsletter. This would be a monthly newsletter, not large but one giving you a calendar of events for the month that you could put on your refrigerator, or in your calendar. It would give you information on what is going on at Church of the Palms and who to contact. It would be just a little way of staying connected to your church family. We have someone willing to put it together for us, now we just need one or two people willing to help with retrieving information. If interested, please contact Dee Lehr at dee@palmsumc.org or 843-816-6775 or 843-757-6775

Thank you!

Support The Mercy Mission

Please continue to bring your canned and packaged food donations plus unopened toiletries to the containers in the narthex for The Mercy Mission Pantry, one of our Cornerstone Missions. Please remember food items need to be in bags or boxes.

Your support will help supply the food pantry in Hardeeville. The pantry collects items such as: cereal, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, dried beans, pasta sauce, small bags of rice, pork and beans, canned fruit and bottled water along with personal care items including individually wrapped toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Special needs at this time: canned fruit, peas, green beans, pasta sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, small bottled waters, toilet paper.

Please contact Sylvia Kaufman for additional information: 843-705-5306.

Prayer Concerns

In Joy and Thanksgiving

For Austen and Glenn Hecker as they move through the adoption process to receive Esperanza Grace

For Alexander Atkins and his fiancée Ailing, as Ailing makes her way from China to South Carolina

For Direction, Comfort, Protection

For our Country, our UM Church, and the leadership of each

The citizens and soldiers on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine

Healthcare workers – including those caring for the elderly and those with mental illness

Refugees in Syria and other war torn areas

The millions living in hunger in Africa and Afghanistan

Our military and those serving in law enforcement

Our civil service workers and leaders in government

For the people of Puerto Rico

For the people in the path of Hurricane Ian

Thanking God for continued Healing and Wholeness

Sam Hollis

Sharon Boulware

Aura Lee Mulik

Jack Hills

For Those Under Hospice Care

Rev. Kenny Burr

Helen Berntson

Dean Bare

Jim LaGoy

Ill / Healing

Linda Stibel

Luther Berntson

Dan Miller

Don Myers

Mark Forry

John Hurley

Gerri LaGoy

Jane May

Gene Yanek

Lois Solomon

Dan Mabey

Peter Danforth

Lori, Mike Beagen’s daughter

Mark Reed

Bonnie Wallace

Fred and Donna Bagley

Carol Baxter

Mary Snyder

Chick Mazon

Hospitalized

Steve Morse was admitted to ICU , and for Maggie

Kristy, daughter of Linda and Lou Greer, in Wake Forest Hospital

Those Grieving

Judy Jones and family in the unexpected death of her brother, Robert E. Jones, Jr, 60

Spiritual Formation

Sisters!!

The Sisters!! Wednesday morning Bible study with Pastor Pete will start a study of Ezra-Nehemiah on Wednesday, September 28. The group meets from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

Brothers!

The Brothers! Thursday morning Bible study with Pastor Pete, will continue their study of the Book of Acts on Thursday, September 29, at Acts 5:17. The group starts with a full breakfast at 8 a.m., study at 8:30, and closing prayer at 9 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

Emmaus Reunion Groups

Emmaus Reunion groups meet weekly on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

An Emmaus reunion group is a small accountability group of two to six persons who have usually participated in the three-day Walk to Emmaus and who want to continue their pursuit of a life lived wholly in the grace of God. The meeting consists of persons’ sharing the stories of their walk with Christ during the past week. Members listen to one another, celebrate the grace of God in each person’s life, and reinforce each one’s core commitment to living in union with Christ in all facets of daily life.

Contacts Pat Ary: RPH1225@yahoo.com

Pastor Pete: Pete@palmsumc.org or 843-694-7447.

Women’s Bible Study Fellowship

Meeting in the Fellowship Hall from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings, this in-depth study focuses on A Kingdom Divided, A Study of Old Testament Kings and Profits.

For more information contact Terrie Winkates: 847-363-2595.

Sunday Morning Classes:

Heirloom Love - meeting Sundays at 9:45 a.m. in Room 103. Led by Dick and Ann Tullie.

Biblical Studies - meeting Sundays at 9:45 a.m. in Room 106, studying the Book of Colossians. Co-Leaders: Larry Fullen and Harry Danforth.

“Short Stories By Jesus" - meeting Sundays at 9:45 a.m. in Room 107, led by Jill Swab.

The story behind “The Love of God” hymn lyrics is one of the most interesting and touching stories we have. There is always a difference between a hymn composed by someone who just woke and decided to write a hymn and one written by someone who felt convicted to write something.

Frederick M. Lehman is the composer of this much-loved song, The Love of God. He was born in 1868 in Mecklenburg, Schwerin, Germany. At the age of four, his family emigrated to the United States of America. They settled in Iowa where Frederick M. Lehman spent most of his life. Later he would move to California.

As is the case with most of my beloved hymns, this hymn came after a challenging time in the life of the author. He had just lost his business after some of his business deals had gone sour. It is from this incident that we find Mr. Lehman packing oranges and lemons on a farm so he could pay the bills. It is reported that during this time he attended a church service where he heard a powerful sermon on the love of God that touched him deeply. Only those that have gone through a similar experience can understand what it means to spend the whole night contemplating a powerful gospel message that you heard that day. The message of the love of God kept ringing in his head and he could not sleep. When he returned to continue packing oranges in containers the following day, he decided to write a song based on this sermon that he had heard. He wrote the lyrics on crates, scrap paper, anything he could write on to remember the words running through his brain. Mr. Lehman produced the melody by playing around on his piano. Within a brief period, he had produced two verses.

In those days a song was considered incomplete until it had at least three verses. This meant that Mr. Lehman had to produce at least one more verse to complete the song. It was at this time that he remembered a poem that had been written by a prisoner on prison walls two hundred years before. Mr. Lehman reviewed the words of this prisoner’s poem and by God’s grace it fit his melody. And it formed the third verse of this hymn.

In later years, the origin of these words became known to Alfred B. Smith, which reveals an even greater miracle in the writing of this song. The original third stanza was written in Hebrew around the year 1000 by Meir Ben Issac Nehoria, a Jewish Rabbi. God, knowing that Lehman was going to write a song, also realized that Lehman would have trouble writing a third stanza and so He chose this Rabbi, who though not accepting Christ as the Messiah did possess the skills to graphically paint a picture of God’s love in words. He would preserve these words and then hundreds of years later He would have them translated by this prisoner into a language that did not as yet exist, namely English.

And to think, He did it in the exact meter to fit Lehman’s melody!

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

and were the skies of parchment made,

were every stalk on earth a quill,

and every man a scribe by trade,

to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

though stretched from sky to sky.

Musically Yours in Christ,

Anna Marie Kuether