August 21, 2019 Page 3B
JRe orter
Spotlight on Local Churches
F
PASTOR'S CORNER by Rev. Pamela Johnston
I
in
Email church calendar news to D ane G dewelt at ngwS@mymcr, net by Mb~9
at 10 a.m. Church informatien is published f '.c,f charge.as
.~:!(
21 are welcomed.
Day s and Gods C "r ch o
Christ
!
ti
junction with Circle of Care,
"God uses whatever is usable in a life, both
to speak and to act, and those who insist on
fireworks in the sky may miss the electricity
that sparks the human heart."
--Barbara Brown Taylor, "Leaving Church:
Sharpie across the box tops. It seemed
these couples were doing life so much
better than we were, and I was starting to
regret asking for their help.
But thenI realized that everyone was
Aug. 21. To volunteer to help
Unload the truck and/or
assemble and distribute food.
show up at 10 a.m. at Christ
UMC. 417 North Frontage
A Memoir of Faith"
Trecently helped a pastor friend of mine chuckled about some of the times we had tion, contactCircle of Care
, " at (478)=994-4939.
|move. If you ve ever loaded a U-Haul gone camping together and wondered
|on a summer day in " whether our toddlers would Aug. 21-23
JL. Georgia, then you know end up attending the same GI'0 bll I
one thing: you might survive schools or dating, if we still
without a hand truck, but not
a water bottle!
Four of us were there, and
we took turns lifting furni-
ture, awkwardly re-arranging
ourselves to fit through
doorways, and carefully trek-
king up and down the ramp
dozens of times. Or was it
hundreds? As the truck grew
tidier and the house grew
in a good mood, forming assembly linesonbeing: a recipient of this
to get the boxes out the front door. We once,a-month food distribu-
knew each other then.
No one was taking notes
about the state of my house or
my marriage or my parenting.
I thought of Jesus' words in
Matthew, chapter 6: "but store
up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor
rust consumes and where thieves
Johnston
do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also"
My home did not consist of the contents
of those boxes, but rather of the years my
spouse and I had shared as best friends,
the truths we had worked to teach our
children, and the hope we had in our
promise to hold each other up when
things got tough. Likewise, our friend-
ships were not dependent on whether our
d&or was up to par, or how enviable our
jobs or Christmas card pictures were.
Instead, these people shared a history
with us, albeit short, of things both good
and not so good, of triumphs and disap-
pointments. We were drawn together as
friends because of our faith, our need for a
place to belong, our assurance that we'd be
liked--better yet, loved no matter what
our differences were. That day, amid the
Rev. Pamela
emptier, I turned my attention to boxes in
the living room, most of them filled with
books, small electronics (I thought we were
the only family with 7 remote controls!),
and old photo albums from post-college
daysl It felt good to help my friends in such.
: a physical way, especially since our lives
had not crossed paths nearly enough the
past few years due to our busy schedules.
The experience took me back to the
last time I moved, many years ago. Our
new house was only two miles away,
but we needed help since our relatives
lived in other cities and we had a 2- and
4-year-old at the time. Our church friends
offered to help, showing up one Saturday
with the promise of pizza and cold iced
tea afterward as a thank-you.
I remember feeling embarrassed that
we weren't more organized when they
arrived: we had run out of boxes the
night before and just couldn't get every-
thing ready. Also, as we loaded the truck,
it seemed like the dust bunnies behind
bookshelves and dressers were multiply-
ing. What kind of homemaker was I,
anyway? Definitely not one who had my
act together. It felt like our soft underbelly
was exposed to these people whom we'd
only known a fewyears, and our life was
reduced to random piles of stuff, which
I was struggling to name as I drug the
Aug, 25
First Baptist of
High Falls has 46th
nine people
met in the yard :of Mr.
and Mrs. J. T. Mitchegs
home on Ruby Road. Cel:
ebrate 46 years of PralSlng
25. Min|ster Lesia Atwater,
will deliver title message. Ev- Augi 25;,29"30
eryone is invited. Breakfast Zj~llll Hill
will be .~erved ~ ~
Jullette, will ha,;e its last
Sunday in August lunch
on Aug, 25 afier 11 a,m.
worship service. Bring a
Road. Culloden will cel-
ebrate Homecoming on
Sunday, Aug. 25 at 2 p,m,
with Rev. John Chetham Aug. 27
Our Lord on Sunday, Aug.
25, The Homecoming war- 1".0. Sams of Tussanaw.
ship service will begin at 11 Wednesday the speaker wilt
a.m. and the guest speaker " be Rev. Danny Robinson of
dust and beside an upturned bug in the
corner, church happened: we gathered in F6rscth will celebrate Home- Aug 25 at 2:30
a spirit of love and support for each other, coming on Sunday, Aug, Rickey Wright and P eas-
25. Sunday School beg ns ant Grove Baptist Church
and in return, God filled my heart with
peace.
Rev. Pamela loh ton ispastor of a.m wi
Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 1671" provided by the church. All
Dames Ferry Road, Forsyth. The Pastor's
Corner is sponsored by the Monroe County
Ministerial Association, which meets on the
second Thursday of each month at &30 a.m.
at Christ United Methodist Church, 417 N.
Frontage Road, Forsyth.
i Mary Persons FBLA members trav-
eled to San Antonio this summer for the
National Leadership Conference. Mary
Persons was represented by Mason Baker,
Jason Hickman, Anokhi Pat& laylen
Prescott, and Seth Walker in competitions
and other conference activities.
Mason and Jason were recognized for
completing their Americalevel Business
Achievement Award. Anokhi was recog-
nized for the Community Service Award
for her 500-plus hours of community ser-
vice, and Seth placed 9th in the nation in
Database Design and Management. FBLA
anticipates another great year in 2019-20,
and plans to represent MP and Georgia
FBLA in Salt Lake City, Utah next June.
The next FBLA meeting will be Wednes-
day, Aug. 28 at 3:05 in the Mary Persons
media center. It will be an informative
meeting with current members and the
officer team,
Hbmea)ming 83 South,
Rocky Creek Baptist Church everyone to its Homecom-
225 Rocky Creek Road,mg Anniversary on
,es fighting
Gleam Cleaning Pros has been offering
free interior house cleaning since 2012 for
women with cancer. They have now taken
this service a step further by offering free
power washing to any household suffering
with cancer.
Monroe County depu-
ties charged a Mize
Street man with traf-
ficking meth and pos-
session of other drugs
after finding 28 grams
of meth at the junkyard
where the man lived.
Deputies raided a junk-
yard off of Mize Street
where James Allen,
right, lived and found
the meth plus ecstasy, heroin, cocaine, crack
cocaine and marijuana. Allen was charged with
Trafficking Meth, Possession of MDMA (Ecstasy),
Possession of Heroin, Possession of Cocaine, Pos-
session of Crack Cocaine and Marijuana with
Intent to Sell. Sheriff Brad Freeman said Allen
lived in a camper by the junkyard. Syringes, at
right, were also found. (Photos/MCSO)
services,
nvtes everyone to ceb
McArthur
e
q-his new benevolent service is for wom-
en, men and children. Go to the Gleam
Cleaning Pros website at glearndeaning-
pros.cam and fill out the form to apply for
this free service, or call 478-994-0515.
9
ee
Lee Smith
994-1666
Mon - Fri 10 to 7
Unless Playing Golf
FREEMAN FUNERAL HOME
A name that can be trusted for funeral and burial arrangements
Brentwood Place Forsyth
994-6483 " 994-6576
Boarding Bathing
Medical Management
Wellness & Preventive
After Hrs, & Emergency
60 S. Jackson St. Forsyth, GA 478-994-4986
Voted 20i4 Beet Veterinarian !~ readers of the Report
"Servicing Each Family With Equal Respect"
,1
