Join Us for Worship this Sunday, July 7, 2024

The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

at Messiah, Myrtle Beach!

Dear People of the Messiah:

In todays reading from 2 Samuel, David becomes the official King of Israel. We are told that he made a covenant with Israel, and was anointed King at the age of thirty. He ruled seven years in Hebron, and 33 years in Jerusalem, a total of forty years.

In our Gospel reading from Mark, Jesus has walked from the Galilee lake region inland to his hometown of Nazareth in the hill country. He goes home, and they didn't like him at all. As it is said, "Familiarity Breeds Contempt!" The townspeople say,

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?”

In other words, they knew him growing up, and he was nothing special to them! He can't possibly be a healer! We also know that Jesus was not an only child, he had four brothers and several sisters. Joseph is not mentioned, which is why many Bible readers think that Joseph was an older father and died before the start of Jesus' ministry.

There's also an excellent and mysterious reading today from II Corinthians 12, where the Apostle Paul writes about a vision experience he had where he visited the third level of heaven. Paul

was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows

Fr. Jim Craig is preaching and leading worship. It is his amazing task to make sense of these three readings!



Blessings,

Rev. John Sorensen, Vicar

Fr John Sorensen, Messiah's Vicar, presided over a June 30 house blessing for Al and Donna Wiggin.

In the top photo, each room was censed with holy incense from Jerusalem, and prayers were said in each room of the home. After the blessing, the group of parish guests gathered for a meal, below.

Church of the Messiah Summer Worship Schedule

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 7, Rev Jim Craig

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, July 14, Bishop Ruth's Annual Visit

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 21, Fr. John (Charlie Jordan, Preach),

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, July 28, Rev Jim Craig

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, August 4, 2024, Rev John Sorensen

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, August 11, 2024, Rev Jim Craig

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 18, Rev John Sorensen

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 25, Rev Jim Craig

Labor Day Sunday, September 1, 2024, Rev Jim Craig

And the Countdown Begins...

In just ten more days, on Sunday, July 14 Bishop Ruth will be the Celebrant at our 10:00 a.m. worship in our chapel where she will confirm our confirmand and welcome our newest members. Afterwards Bishop Ruth will join us for casual conversation and delectable taste treats in the Upper Room, followed by a meeting with our vestry.

Housekeeping. Whenever you notice we are low on any supplies please jot it down on the clipboard hanging on the side of the refrigerator in the Upper Room. This includes kitchen, cleaning, bathroom and office supplies. The Parish Secretary orders supplies about once a month so kindly plan ahead.

The 2024 Messiah Church Vestry

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.

Sunday, July 14, the vestry will meet with Bishop Ruth.

Click Here to Read the May, 2024 Church of the Messiah

Visioning Report and Business Plan

Flip-Flop Charity Drive for

New Directions

Thank you to all who donated flip-flops to the men of New Directions!

Two Study Groups Continue Through the Summer

Tuesday Evening Study Group

Paul's Letters to the Phillipians, Summer Study

The Tuesday Study group meeting at the home of Charles and Amy Jordan is studying Paul's Letters to the Phillipians. All you need is a Bible. No additional text is necessary. This group, led by Charlie, hosted by Amy has been meeting for over a decade. Email cjordan@pearcelawgroup.com for more information, 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 at Ancient Anglican.

Wednesday Morning Bible Study on James

A new women’s Bible study will be starting on Wednesdays in June and July. Cindy Craig is the Leader. We will be studying the book of James, an 8 week series by Beth Moore (available on Amazon for $16.) We go from 10-12 noon and then go out to lunch afterwards. We will be meeting upstairs at Messiah's Upper Room and we do have a wonderful time!

For questions, see Cindy Craig, 2nd from right in the Bible Study photo below, at Church or email her at c.k.craig@hotmail.com

Click Here to Read the May, 2024 Church of the Messiah

Visioning Report and Business Plan

UPDATE!

Church of the Messiah Visioning Report & Business Plan

Submitted to the Diocese of South Carolina

Read our Plan for Our Future in Myrtle Beach

Our second visioning retreat with Ann Fleming of the Episcopal Church Building Fund (photo above) concluded Monday afternoon, October 30

That Retreat led to the Vestry approving the production of a Vision Report and Business Plan to be submitted to the diocese. The report was months in the making due to the mounds of research from many church volunteers, and the tedious attention to detail, and many rewrites. Thanks to Kristi Burch for heading this up as well as the many others who contributed, including Steering Committee Members: Kristi Burch, Peggy Kovacs, Rick Stall, Charlie Jordan and John Sorensen.

The report analyzes our past history and current situation in Myrtle Beach, and outlines several plans for growing the congregation and ministry of Messiah, and presents two options for building the new Messiah Episcopal Church on a new property in Myrtle Beach.

The main report is about 100 pages long, with an additional 75 pages of data and supporting documents. Click Here to read the report online.

Many Blessings,

Fr. John

The Bravest of the Brave!

Chelsea gives the kids glitter to use on their craft project while they learn about God's love.

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.

Our Church Secretary, Patty Tate, has office hours Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 8:00 to 4:00. 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