Darlington SC
Trinity UMC Newsletter
SUMMER EDITION 2016
SUNDAY ACTIVITIES
9:30am Fellowship Time &
Choir Practice
9:45am Sunday School
11:00am Worship
4:30pm Middle School
Youth
5:30pm High School Youth
6:00pm Choir Practice
[For time changes see the
calendar at DTUMC.org]
The United Methodist Church met on May 10-20, 2016 for the 2016 General
Conference. General Conference is the meeting where we come together as a
denomination every four years and make decisions such as setting the budget
for the following four years to hearing resolutions to make changes to the Book
of Discipline. While we have various Bishops serving throughout the world, the
official “spokesperson” for The United Methodist Church is the Book of
Discipline. This book contains various information from how many members
the local church should have on the trustees to our view on particular social
issues, such as abortion and gambling to the ordination of clergy.
There were many items before General Conference related to human
sexuality. This is a very divisive issue in the life of the church, and there were
talks swirling around at General Conference at the possibility of schism in The
United Methodist Church. “Late afternoon May 18, delegates voted to accept
the recommendation of the Council of Bishops to delay a debate on
homosexuality at this gathering of the denomination’s top legislative assembly
and let a proposed commission study church regulations. “We accept our role
as spiritual leaders to lead The United Methodist Church in a ‘pause for prayer’
- to step back from attempts at legislative solutions and to intentionally seek
God’s will for the future,” said Council of Bishops president Bishop Bruce Ough
in announcing the recommendation.”” (http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/
gc2016-wraps-up-with-budget-divestment)
For many this is not the desired outcome of this year’s General Conference.
Many had hoped that a more definitive decision would be made regarding the
human sexuality legislation before General Conference. We all need to be
reminded that during times where tensions flare and conflict abounds that we
need to seek the One who can unite us, the One we serve, the One who
saves us…Jesus Christ.
I invite you to be in prayer for our Bishops as they create the commission that
will address this issue, and I invite you to be in prayer for our denomination as
a whole. May the love of Christ shine brightly in all we do individually and
collectively as the body of Christ.
I also extend the invitation to you all should you desire to sit down with me to
discuss this issue or any issue in the life of the church. May God’s blessing be
upon us all.
Blessings on the journey,
Pastor Chris
2016 SUMMER EDITION CALENDAR
CASUAL SUMMER
Starting June 5th, Trinity will observe Casual
Summer in our services. The pastor and the choir
will not be wearing robes. So join them in dressing
Casually and enjoy the worship of our God together.
June
VBS
June 6,7,8,9th at 5:30PM [Monday thru Thursday]
Celebration Cookout and Luau Sunday June 12th 12:15pm
Middle and High School Youth Bowling Sunday June 25th 4:30pm
July
Middle & High School Youth to Carowinds Saturday July 9th 8am - 8pm
Middle and High School Movie Night Sunday July 24th 4:30pm
Finance Committee Mtg Monday July 25th 6:30pm
Admin Council Mtg Monday July 25th 7:15pm
Middle and High School Youth Pool Party Sunday July 31st 4pm
August
Bldg and Grounds Committee Mtg Monday August 1st 6:30pm
Trustees Mtg August 1st 7:15pm
Nurture, Outreach and Witness Teams Mtg Monday August 8th 6:30pm
Safe Sanctuaries Mtg Monday August 15th 6:30pm
Nominations Committee Mtg Monday August 15th 7:30pm
June Birthdays
June 2 Rookie Moore, III
June 3 Rhett Bailey
June 5 Lanie Kirby
June 10 Marilyn Sansbury
Tricia Hobbs
June 14 Garrett
Cunningham
June 17 Sarah Auman
June 18 John Tyner
June 19 Julia Lawson
June 20 Jimmie Hardee, Jr.
Larrisa Mathis
June 21 Donna Lollis
June 22 Levi Mathis
June 23 Daniel Beasley
June 26 Will Boyles
June 27 Eleanor Hubbard
Amanda Coleburn
Tina Moore
June 28 Nora Grant
June 29 Angel Cole
June 30 Edward Jones
July Birthdays
July 1 Kati Reese
Barney Gooden
July 2 Curtis Mace
Weber Mimms
July 3 Beth Moore Calcutt
July 4 Jim Hardee, Sr.
Betsy Jolly
July 5 Charles Mims
Jane Ramsey
Curt Bailey
Lillie Baumbach
July 7 Patricia Boatwright
July 8 Jerry Barber
July 9 Harry Muldrow, Jr.
Charles Bailey
July 10 Chris Lollis
Burt Jordan
July 13 Sherri Tadlock
July 14 Leon Reese, Jr
Steve Ehlman
William Lawson
July 15 Bobby Hart
Jackie Amerson
July 16 Julie Culbertson
July 17 John Baumbach
July 19 Sarah Lollis
July 21 Sarah Hardee
July 24 Katie Shuler
July 26 Dot Walker
July 27 Mary Ehlman
July 28 Betty Herlong
Mike Sprott
August Birthdays
August 1 Bobby Godbold
August 3 John Ramsey
August 5 Harriet Perkins
Josh Milligan
August 7 Gretchen Cunningham
August 8 Angela Edwards
Anna Hart
August 9 Ouida Edens
Jody Kelley, Jr.
August 11 Cindy Green
August 12 Donnie Outlaw, Jr.
Irby DuBose
August 13 Larry Jolly
August 17 Jay Brunson, IV
August 18 Ann Flowers
Christopher Moore
August 20 Linda Mace
August 21 Doris Mims
Larry Eckhardt
Sue Moore
August 22 DeLette Jordan
Betty Coke Lawson
August 27 Alexis Gibbs
August 29 Harry Coleburn
Isla Lynn
August 30 Judy Bolger
Kathryn Lee Muldrow
Sam Baumbach
August 31 Barbara Moody
Congratulations to Patricia Boatwright!
Patricia finished her
Educational Doctorate in
Curriculum and Instruction at USC.
She is now an Assistant Professor
in the Education Department at
Francis Marion University.
MEMORIALS
MRS. BETTY JEAN ASTON
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Mims
MR. RON COLOMBO
Dr. Beverly Spears
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Mims
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Hardee
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Grant
Mr. and Mrs. Scott DuBose & Langley
Mrs. Sally Psillos
Ms. Betty Coke Lawson
MRS. ANNIE LEIGH FLOWERS
Mrs. Carol H. Davis
MRS. MARGARET FLOWERS
Mrs. Gail Allen
Mrs. Esther Cook
Mr. and Mrs. Marion Bonnoitt
Ms. Betty Coke Lawson
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Grant
MRS. MYRA GRAY
Mrs. Carol H. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. J. Scotty Jeffords
Dr. and Mrs. Ed Jones
MRS. MARIAN HARPER
Mrs. Carol H. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. J. Scotty Jeffords
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Fleming
Mrs. Elizabeth A. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Morgan
Dr. and Mrs. Ed Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Hardee
Mr. and Mrs. Dupree (Cecelia P.) Atkinson
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Baldwin
EDWARD HURSEY
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mims
MR. ALBERT “JUNIE” JAMES
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Mims
Mr. and Mrs. Scott DuBose & Langley
Mrs. Sally Psillos
Ms. Betty Coke Lawson
MRS. MILDRED KELLY
Ms. Betty Coke Lawson
MR. ADRIAN H. LANGSTON
Mrs. Carol H. Davis
BELOVED BIBLE SCHOLAR &
WRITER FOR S.S. LITERATURE, ELLSWORTH KALAS
Dr. Beverly Spears
MRS. DONNA VAUGHAN
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Grant
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Baldwin
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Mims
MR. S. B. WEATHERFORD
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Mims
HONORARIUMS
MR. CHARLIE BETHEA
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Howle
DR. AND MRS. KEITH F. TAYLOR
Dr. Beverly Spears
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Grant
MISS LANGLEY DUBOSE
Mr. and Mrs. Scott DuBose
Mrs. JoAnne Langley
Mr. and Mrs. Will (Cindy) Green
GC2016 puts hold on sexuality debate
General Conference delegates have hit the pause button on the denomination's
quadrennial debates related to homosexuality. Late afternoon May 18, the delegates
voted by 428 to 405 to accept the recommendation of the Council of Bishops to delay
a debate on homosexuality at this gathering of the denomination’s top legislative
assembly and let a proposed commission study church regulations. The bishops
asked for the body’s permission to name a special commission that would completely
examine and possibly recommend revisions of every paragraph in the Book of
Discipline related to human sexuality. The commission would represent the different
regions of a denomination on four continents as well as the varied perspectives of the
church. Below is the Council of Bishops Statement.
AN OFFERING FOR A WAY FORWARD
Galatians 3:25-29 (NRSV) 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a
disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of
you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer
Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you
are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,[a]
heirs according to the promise.
Your bishops were honored to receive the request of General Conference to help
lead our United Methodist Church forward during this time of both great crisis and
great opportunity. As far as we can discover, this is the first time that a General
Conference has ever made such a request of the Council of Bishops, and we accept
this request with humility.
We share with you a deep commitment to the unity of the church in Christ our
Lord. Yesterday, our president shared the deep pain we feel. We have all prayed for
months and continue to do so. We seek, in this kairos moment, a way forward for
profound unity on human sexuality and other matters. This deep unity allows for a
variety of expressions to co-exist in one church. Within the Church, we are called to
work and pray for more Christ-like unity with each other rather than separation from
one another. This is the prayer of Jesus in John 17:21-23.
UNITY We believe that our unity is found in Jesus Christ; it is not something
we achieve but something we receive as a gift from God. We understand that part of
our role as bishops is to lead the church toward new behaviors, a new way of being
and new forms and structures which allow a unity of our mission of "making
disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" while allowing for
differing expressions as a global church. Developing such new forms will require a
concerted effort by all of us, and we your bishops commit ourselves to lead this effort.
We ask you, as a General Conference, to affirm your own commitment to maintaining
and strengthening the unity of the church. We will coordinate this work with the
various efforts already underway to develop global structures and a new General
Book of Discipline for our church. Strengthening the unity of the church is a
responsibility for all of us.
PRAYER We accept our role as spiritual leaders to lead the UMC in a "pause
for prayer" - to step back from attempts at legislative solutions and to intentionally
seek God's will for the future. As a Council of Bishops, we will lead the church in every part of the world in times of worship, study, discernment, confession and prayer
for God's guidance. We ask you, as a General Conference, to join us in this
effort, beginning this week. We were moved by the sight of delegates praying around
the table, and we hope these efforts will continue. As your bishops we are ready to
join you and to lead you in these times of prayer.
PROCESSES We have discussed in depth the processes which might help our
church heal and move forward - up to and including the possibility of a called
General Conference in 2018 or 2019. We have not finalized our plans for such
processes, but we will keep working on options we have heard from many of you,
and we will keep reporting to this General Conference and to the whole church.
NEXT STEPS We recommend that the General Conference defer all votes on
human sexuality and refer this entire subject to a special Commission, named by the
Council of Bishops, to develop a complete examination and possible revision of every
paragraph in our Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality. We continue to hear
from many people on the debate over sexuality that our current Discipline contains
language which is contradictory, unnecessarily hurtful, and inadequate for the variety
of local, regional and global contexts. We will name such a Commission to include
persons from every region of our UMC, and will include representation from
differing perspectives on the debate. We commit to maintain an on-going dialogue
with this Commission as they do their work, including clear objectives and outcomes.
Should they complete their work in time for a called General Conference, then we will
call a two- to three-day gathering before the 2020 General Conference. (We will consult with GCFA regarding cost-effective ways to hold that gathering.)
CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS We will continue to explore options to help the
church live in grace with one another - including ways to avoid further complaints,
trials and harm while we uphold the Discipline. We will continue our conversation on
this matter and report our progress to you and to the whole church.
Today, as a way of beginning to find our way forward, we suggest that in place of the
allotted legislative time we spend 1-2 hours of plenary time in prayer, confession and exploration of a creative way forward. The bishops are prepared to provide questions to guide your
conversations. Your conversations will be the first step to a way forward.
General Conference votes to withdraw from Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice By Jessica Brodie, special contributor
PORTLAND, Ore.—General Conference voted May 19 that two United
Methodist entities withdraw immediately from membership in
the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The motion passed 425268.
The General Board of Church and Society and the United Methodist
Women currently are members of the RCRC, a national community of religious organizations and faithful individuals dedicated to achieving reproductive justice.
But five annual conferences submitted a petition to withdraw from the
RCRC—Mississippi, North Carolina, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania and
Alabama-West Florida—stating that RCRC’s advocacy often directly contradicts The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles on abortion, but it
still uses the UMC name.
The committee assigned to this petition, Church and Society 2, voted
44-25 last week to adopt it.
On the floor Thursday, a motion was made to refer the petition to the
General Council on Finance and Administration, but the UMC gives no
money to RCRC. That motion failed.
Speaking against the withdrawal, Becca Girrell of the New England
Conference urged fellow delegates to keep the UMC’s voice at the reproductive health table and said remaining in the RCRC does not in any way affect
the UMC’s position on abortion.
“As a woman of faith, it deeply saddens me that every two minutes,
some woman somewhere in the world dies of childbirth,” Girrell said. “As a
maternal health advocate, I, too, want to reduce the number of abortions. I
want healthy babies to be born. …”. But we cannot do the work alone. It
takes all of our faith voices working together.”Speaking for the withdrawal,
delegate Katherine Rohrs from West Ohio, said she’s heard time and again
about the need to stay at the table because the UMC’s voice matters, but
nothing has changed.
“RCRC refuses to talk about unborn children as just that,” Rohrs said.
“They refuse to condemn abortion as a form of birth control or gender selection. They affirm abortion in any way.”“I don’t speak for all young women who are United Methodist, but as a mother of two, I speak for those who
have not been surrounded by the church’s support to cheer them on to life.”
Trinity United Methodist Church
PO Box 16
Darlington SC 29540
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Join us at Vacation Bible School
starting Monday June 6th
5:30pm and each night at
5:30pm through
Thursday June 9th.
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TRINITY’S VISION STATEMENT
By God’s grace, Trinity United Methodist Church exists to care for the spiritual,
emotional and physical needs of all people. We will share the love of Jesus Christ
and glorify God in everything we do. Our efforts will prepare us to be disciples of
Jesus Christ, discover and use our spiritual gifts, mature in our faith and make a difference in the world around us.