Author: devadmin

Today will start the meat of the trip.  We will travel to meet with the Sanctuary working group, encourage them, interact with them and collect any messages they might want to send back to their prayer partners.  Then we will visit some youth businesses that have been started and hopefully connect with some previous graduates.  We will be eating lunch with Lillian.  You will remember her video where she has opened her own small restaurant.  We have visited her twice since she has opened and she is doing very well.  In addition to her restaurant trade, she has begun catering events and has developed a good reputation.  We will be presenting her with a couple of water filters that have  been graciously donated by Kohler.  One of the trip participants and church members works for Kohler.  All of us on this trip work together in some capacity or other and while on a visit to the Kohler headquarters we noticed  a product that they have developed, the Kohler Clarity water filter.  It takes unclean water, filters it and provides clean drinking water in a resivour.  The company has a stewardship program where they offer this product in areas that are in need of clean drinking water across the world.  They have donated 100 of these filters and we are very grateful.  You can learn more if you google Kohler Clarity.

The water issue is always one that is of concern here.  We take for granted that when we turn the faucet handle that water will come out and we seldom worry about leaving the tap running.  Think about how much water you use on a daily basis, volume and what you use it for.  Now think about waking up and deciding where you will go to get water for the day.  You’ll have to account for cooking, washing the dishes, bathing, brushing your teeth, etc.  Now after getting the water and using it, you hope it is clean.  You hope you don’t get sick, because if you get sick, you can’t work. You don’t work, you don’t get paid, you don’t get paid, you don’t eat.  You don’t eat, you don’t get well. You can see the pattern.

Larry Brown

Our vision of being a Vibrant Family is rooted in 3 key elements we value: worship, multigenerational connections, and service/mission. We continue to see and hear stories from our church family that demonstrate these 3 elements! One story we’d like to share in particular is recent mission work over at the Reeves Campus.

Over the past several weeks, the Reeves Campus has been alive with activity! The University Carillon UMC youth group, Converge, came by several days to clean, organize, paint, garden and help set up the Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) Preschool – which is set to open at Reeves this August!  Their lively spirit was contagious as they worked alongside each other to help be the hands and feet of Jesus. Each day a different group from this week-long camp came by and simply said “We’re here to help, what do you need?” What a great example of not only Christian community and service, but a huge testimony to the hearts of our United Methodist youth.

Our very own youth group Elevate followed the Converge team the next week by taking it a step farther! Elevate even stayed overnight at the Reeves Campus for a week-long mission to serve the community. The Elevate theme and mission for the week stemmed from the scripture found in Matthew 25; “When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

Elevate brought new life to the Reeves Campus by tackling the large project of weeding and laying mulch on the campus during 90-degree days. Each day  Elevate broke into smaller groups; some going out to feed the homeless, others to bake and bring cookies to our first responders, while others headed to Clean the World and Rise Against Hunger.  They worked selflessly and passionately during the day before ending with a beautiful worship service led by Michael Leblanc, Director of Student Ministries.

When you look at these teens you see the future. The future of not only the United Methodist Church, but of our world; of what it could be if we truly strived each day to be the hands and feet of Jesus and love “the least of these.”

I was seven and we were in my backyard in Massachusetts. I was there with friends from church and friends from the neighborhood. I remember a few things from that time: first were the snacks. We had jog-o-juice and we had Goldfish. On one day, we had Hoodsies, an ice cream cup from the Northeast. All of this in the middle of the day! I remember knowing clearly that whoever organized this “school,” really didn’t know how much they exceeded my expectations when it came to snacks.

The second thing that I remembered was that my leaders were so cool. My sisters were a good bit older than me and they were my teachers, along with their friends. These high school students played with me and sang songs with me and generally made me feel like I was the coolest kid in town. These were the kids who were much too big and far too cool to be interested in me, but here they were, getting down on my level and making me feel welcomed. What’s even better is that when I saw them at church the weeks after Vacation Bible School, they said hello to me and let me know that we really were buddies.

And lastly, I remember hearing about Jesus. I grew up in the church so this wasn’t the first time I heard his name, but this was the first time his name became real in my life. I learned that Jesus loved me and would walk with me if I invited him into my life. I remember being told that whatever I did, Jesus would always care for me and be there for me.

This has of course, changed the trajectory of my life. I have leaned on Jesus in good times and in bad times. As a teenager, I knew I wanted to be a part of youth ministry, because that is where my VBS leaders came from. When I was in high school,  I knew I wanted to lead small groups, because I remembered how much it meant to me to be noticed by someone older, taller, and cooler. As an adult, I have felt a call in my life to serve Christ in my vocation, and that call can be clearly traced back to that summer afternoon.

This December, I turn 30. I can still, just as if it were yesterday, remember exactly the color of the sky, the taste of the jug-o-juice, and the sound of the name of Jesus that I experienced that day. To me, that is why Vacation Bible School matters. It is a lot of work and the lay and staff team of Children’s ministry have transformed our campus into a virtual theme park of experiences for these kids. All of this work is worth it. We are creating opportunities for children, youth and adults to experience Christ for the first, second, or thirtieth time.

This week, please pray for our team, both lay and staff, that they have opportunities to remember why this all matters. Pray that our children who are coming to experience Vacation Bible School would encounter Jesus in a real way. And pray that in 25 years, someone is telling the stories of Shipwrecked, 2018.

~ Michael LeBlanc, Director of Student Ministries

Studio 150 recently held 2 weeks of their annual Summer Dance Camp. This year was extra special as there were many new faces filled with passion and joy!  We were blessed with a grant from Healthy Central Florida to allow one free week of dance to children living in the Hannibal Square area. With help from our Diversity Team, we reached out to the Hannibal Square Heritage Center and 8 students were given a scholarship for the week.

During the camp, students experienced all forms of dance including acrobatics, ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop and tap. New friendships were formed between all students. The older dancers partnered with the younger students and truly became “big sisters” for the week. Studio 150 Director Laura Work said, “A couple of girls were even emotional and truly moved by the feeling of dance. It was a beautiful thing to witness.” Laura felt as the weeks went by they truly came to understand the purpose of these camps. “The best gift you are ever going to give someone is the permission to feel safe in their own skin; to feel worthy; to feel like they are enough.” (Hannah Brencher)

Our Studio 150 Ministry serves as a catalyst into our vibrant family and we are excited for years to come as we continue to offer the joy of dance to those in our community!

“Today was worship.  Paul said it would be more of an American service….maybe an hour shorter!  I am always struck by the abandon with which they do church.  Worship is filled with activity, lots of singing, some from the hymnal, some from memory, but fully involved by everyone.  The children are such a big part of the service and while it seems uncontrolled, it is always the same format and there is a joy on their faces.  The youth provide a skit with dancing that is truly amazing.  This weeks skit was about poverty and how they are faced with not having money for school fees, not being able to pay the landlord, and how prayer can help them face life’s troubles.  

Rev. Paul Matheri’s message was about how ‘things’ in our lives can be obstacles to our living out our Christian faith. John Wesley said the world is his pulpit, after he was told he couldn’t go out and preach without being behind a pulpit.  Dr. Livingstone was used as an example when he had asked for assistance in the mission field and he got back questions about whether there would be roads there (among other things).  He replied that he didn’t want someone who was concerned about how easy it would be, but send him people who didn’t care about whether there would be roads, but only wanted to serve God.

The scripture was about King David and how he worshiped by singing and dancing when the Ark of the Covenant was being transported to Jerusalem, and how that was not what a king was supposed to do.  He didn’t let his position keep him from expressing his faith.  Former president Obama is in Kenya this week, and he is visiting his homeland while on this trip, something he was criticized here for last time when he didn’t go there.  Previously he didn’t go there as it wasn’t something a sitting president would be expected to do, but now he could do that since he no longer carried the weight of the office.  Paul said we shouldn’t worry about our station in life and how we are perceived but should be bold in our faith.  He raised Panua as an example of people serving God in ways that weren’t always clean and easy but that served God’s purpose.  I was feeling a bit sheepish then as I thought about how little effort it takes on our part to participate in Panua but how big an impact that effort has on people here.  So for me only, I want to thank all who contribute, no matter how small or large the effort may be.  And by the way, there are roads here, very few paved as we know them, but roads none the less.”

-Larry Brown

“The group made it to Naivasha and Naivasha made a big impression on this group.  This is the first time for the 4 guys with me and the thing they keep saying is that they had no idea….. Even though we who have been can describe what we see, what we feel, what we smell or eat or experience, there’s no way to really convey what this country is like.  No adequate way to help you understand how great the need is.  And yes, there is need everywhere, but this is where we have thrown our hat and this is where we need to do our best. I pray that our best is going to make a difference. 

Today we met with the Viwandani Heros working group.  After the usual very formal introductions, songs, and prayers Florence introduced James (a graduate from the first cycle).  He gave his story about perseverance and how he has become successful because of what Panua had taught him.  He went through several years of different directions in his life after graduation.  He had started farming which was fine and paying his bills, but he wanted more.  The money he made from his farming allowed him to take two courses, one in electrical wiring, and one mechanical engineering.  He put those two things together and now he builds and sells welding machines that are durable and have developed a reputation throughout town.  He offers a warranty and is dedicated to building a customer base that will rely on his special skills.  His point, which had all the youth paying attention was that “life is not for cry babies, get up and face it head on”!  Take what Panua offers and find for yourself what you can do that can make you different than others, and use it to improve your life and the lives around you.  James, you nailed it.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about what we are doing with some donated water filters and how those can be used to improve lives as well.”

– Larry Brown

Our church family is on a journey. We are journeying together as we embrace our vision of being a vibrant family. As you remember, on April 15^th at our Living into the Vision: A Dinner Event, Pastor David called us to direct our hearts and minds towards 4 key initiatives of our church this year. One of those focal points included the addition of a leader for our Family Ministry.

Our Prayer: Help us grow in community together and strengthen our family ministry as we support the spiritual, educational, physical and emotional growth of our whole church family.

After a long and arduous search, we are pleased to announce we have hired Rick Jones as the new Director of Family Ministry.  Pastor Rick presently serves as a local pastor at Grace United Methodist Church.  After serving as a local pastor for four years, Rick feels called back to his first passion – ministering to kids and families.  Rick has a strong past serving as both a children’s and youth pastor. Rick is married to Lynette and they have four kids, ages 3-16. We are pleased to announce that Rick will serve as the Director of Family Ministry beginning August 15, 2018.

We’re also excited that Pastor Rick will be with us on Wednesday of Vacation Bible School to start meeting our families.  His wife Lynette will be serving all week in VBS along with their two teenage kids.  Their two younger children will attend.  Please be sure to seek out the Jones family so you can extend a warm welcome.

Trinity Christian Academy is having a farewell event on July 28th from 4:00-8:00pm at the South Street campus for all current families, former families, staff and anybody that has been a part of TCA since we started in 1995.

Our South Street campus has been the home for many families and holds many wonderful memories. We are grateful for the time we have spent here as a vibrant family and we want to take time to commemorate that. This is a chance to celebrate God’s work on this campus and to celebrate the future of Trinity Christian Academy as we move forward! As a vibrant family we are called to include, equip and support each other. We hope you will join us to for a special event that will do just that!

The goal of Act II is to provide participants with an opportunity to pursue passions, build new relationships, give back to our community, absorb new knowledge and grow in faith through Jesus Christ. As part of building new relationships and giving back to our community, Act II recently had a pre-4th of July celebration at the Oaks, a low-income independent living community that serves individuals and families with disabilities.

Act II and the Oaks residents gathered together for lunch and dessert, where everyone brought something to share. It was a time of fellowship and good food. The Oaks residents also give back to First UMC of Winter Park through their monthly involvement in Becky’s Beads. These prayer beads are given to our family members in need. In the fall, Act II participants will assist Oaks residents in planting a vegetable garden. Together we are forming relationships, friendships and serving each other while strengthening and expanding our vibrant family.