St. Andrews UMC Recognizes our 2010 High School Graduate

Brandon Wyatt graduated this year from Gretna High School. St. Andrews UMC presented brandon with a new Bible. With Brandon we had his mom and dad, Bill and Stacey, and his brother Wesley. Brandon will be attending Virginia Tech this Fall, where his brother is in his third year. Congratulations Brandon.

Mount Airy Charge 2010 High School Graduates

Kevin and Heidi with their son Cody Dawson

Kim and Kent with their son Brandon Saunders.

The boys with their grandparents, Betty Jo and Walter Dawson. Brandon and Cody graduated from Halifax High School.

Brandon Wyatt with friend at Gretna High School graduation.

Brian Daniels graduated from Galileo Magnet High School in Danville Virginia.

Haiti Program with Timberlake UMC UMW

Joanne and I had the opportunity to share about Haiti with the United Methodist Women at Timberlake UMC, where I served as Visitation Pastor before coming to serve as pastor for the Mt. Airy Charge. The ladies were very gracious, even though I ran well over our alotted time. I have always found it hard to stop talking when speaking about something that is important to me. Joanne kept trying to get me to finish, but I was totally oblivious. These are a few of the photos we used in the program.

These pictures are from children's program we did when we took some of our teenagers to Haiti.

Just in case you were wondering if it was warm in Haiti. The thermometer had been in the shade until we took this picture. 

Thomas and Taisie, our first grandchildren, were much younger when we visited.

Thanks to the Timberlake UMC UMW for allowing us to talk about something that is important to us. Hopefully, it was informative and motivating.

The Pumpkin Patch 2009

Well, its Pumpkin Patch time! A.J. and Lisa Nuckols, the owners of White Fall Farm in Mount Airy near Gretna in Pittsylvania County of Virginia http://whitefallfarm.com/ , have again set up a wonderful pumpkin patch. They have literally acres of pumpkins of all sorts and sizes.

They have a variety of farm animals for the kids to see, along with farm equipment that they will be more than happy to tell you about.

Every year I am amazed at all that they do. This year when I drove up I was blown away. They had built a hay bale castle, 3 levels high.

But its also a maze, where you have to find the entrance and stairs to the next level. Fortunately I had A.J. as a guide to tell me which way to turn.

This is a look at level 2. The bales are fitted together and stacked atop one another.

This is the view from the third level, looking back at the entrance. That's the hay bale maze on the right and the picnic tables on the left under the trees.

This is the "King of the Mountain" hay pile. I think they had planned it for the small kids, but it looks like the bigger kids like it, too.

This is the picnic area where you can eat or just rest with a soft drink.

This is looking up the hill towards the castle, with the hay maze on the left. The tractor is for hay rides and takes folks out to the pumpkins to make their choices. Now, I didn't make the walk back to the corn maze, you'll have to see it later. But, it covers several acres all by itself. On Saturdays and Sundays they have pumpkin hunts and then bonfires after the sun goes down.

On Saturdays, Saint Andrews UMC sells hotdogs, chips, and drinks. So if you think you might get hungry, drive on down on a Saturday. Joanne and I will be working the stand on October the 17th, stop by and say hello. The hours are 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 3:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. They also do age appropriate group visits during the week by appointment. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, on Saturdays when the sun goes down and the bonfire blazes, the live music starts at the Pumpkin Patch. So, don't plan on running home when it gets dark, it isn't over until late, stick around. They have several performers scheduled:
Oct 17th - Matt Marstin and Lance Meadows & maybe others!
Oct 24th - Pier 19 (Josh Crew and band)!
Oct 31st - Bridget Rowles, the current "Miss Gretna"!

This my third year of being able to enjoy the pumpkin patch. I honestly look forward to it all year. If you're looking for something fun to do and not only for the little kids, you need to come on down. You take route 29 South or North to Gretna, then take Route 40 East for ten miles. The Pumpkin Patch is then 1/4 mile South on Route 640. If you have a GPS, just plug these directions in; 6001 Riceville Road, Gretna, Virginia 24557. When you get there tell A.J. that you saw it on the blog and that Charlie sent you. Come on down and enjoy the day.

District Stewardship Workshop

I went to a stewardship workshop yesterday at Court Street UMC, titled "Strengthening Stewardship in Challenging Economic Times". There were maybe about 60 to 75 people there. Some pastors but more financial or treasurer types, at least it seemed that way to me. I guess there a some people that already know this stuff, but its new to me. I've made it a special point of not getting involved with the money side of the churches. My policy had been that if bills, Conference and District apportionments, and ministry needs are all met, why add the finance concerns to my plate.


The speaker was from an organization that helps churches with their annual stewardship campaigns and capital campaigns for major projects. I've learned to listen closely at the beginning of these workshops to find out whether I need to try to get it all down or glean from the information what would be helpful. The speaker started off by saying that they primary work with large churches with annual budgets in the multi-millions of dollars; first sign to glean. But, he added, they also work with smaller churches of 100 to 150 members. Well, it was gleaning time, find the real stuff that my churches might be able to use and disregard the rest.


The workshop covered topics like; Pre-Campaign Planning, Readiness Assessment, Campaign Leaders (This was another part that made me laugh. They had enough leaders that the leaders would up half of 2 of my congregations), Spiritual Emphasis Committee (There goes the other half of the congregation.), Campaign Materials, and the Personal Visit. I will admit that I did get some good information out of the workshop, but I also left a lot behind.


It wasn't a wasted morning though. They had some really delicious BBQ for lunch. I got to sit and talk to Tim Earnhardt, who was the pastor at Fairview UMC when I was the youth pastor there. We sat a talked for over an hour. We were the last ones to leave, they were cleaning off the tables while we were still talking. Tim will be our guest speaker at St. Andrews' Homecoming Sunday in October. All in all, a good morning.

Starting the Course of Study at Duke University

Last weekend I started my Course of Study for the United Methodist Church. The Course of Study is required for all local pastors and is essentially to make sure we're all trained as proper United Methodists.The classes are held at Duke University. There is a total of twelve classes, each requiring three weekends at Duke. The weekends are in September, November, January, and March. The class time is Friday night and Saturday morning. So, if you haven't done the math, if you go straight through with no breaks, you can finish in three years. But, it seems that they give you twelve years to finish, so I could take one class a year and retire before I finish.


The class I'm taking in September is titled "The Pastor as Bible Interpreter". The Professor is Mickey Efird, who has apparently written more books about the Bible than I've ever read. I like the class, it reminds me of some of my undergrad classes. But, it sure is a lot of info in eight hours each weekend. I think I had better get my hands on a digital voice recorder. I can't write as fast as I did years ago.


There are five of us in this first class from our Licensing School class. A few got a jump and started last year. I have to admit that it was a relief to find known friendly faces in the class.


Duke is a nice campus, seems well laid out, but I got lost anyway. When we got out on Saturday I started walking back to my car and realized that I didn't have a clue where I was or where I was going. I wandered around for about 45 minutes before I found the parking lot and then I had to find where my car was in the lot. I think next week I'll leave a trail of bread crumbs to find my way back.

Brian's Play

Brian's play was "All American" by Mel Brooks. It centers around an immigrant professor who uses football to teach students engineering and gets caught up in the fame and popularity until he realizes being a coach is interfering with his true goal of being a good teacher. The play ends with him gaining American citizenship, winning the hand of the Dean in marriage and returning to the classroom. Brian played one of the football players and sang the solo "It's Fun to Think". One of his lines made reference to the fact he was not the missing link, thus the picture of the cave man.




Brian has been in several productions and continues to be a blessing to us at Providence UMC with his reading and singing. Keep it up Brian!

Michelle Adams Graduation Party

Michelle Adams graduated this year from Gretna High School. She was her class Valedictorian, pretty impressive, eh?

We had folks there from Saint Andrews UMC where Michelle attends, along with a lot of family and friends.

There were a lot of Michelle's friends there, a bunch had also graduated this year.

Mark Adams was the cook on the grill. He rolled in with a custom grill on a trailer.

They played badminton, croquet , and a bean bag toss game.

It was an evening to celebrate Michelle's accomplishment. Michelle will be going to the University of Virginia this Fall.

Fray Education Center Graduation 2009

In June the Fray Education Center had their graduation. It was held at Rustburg Elementary School this year. Once again, the Principal's family and friends ( many are members of Republican Grove UMC) prepared and served dinner to the graduates and their families. Doots Abbott, the mother of the principal, Janeen Abbott, prepared the desserts. The peach cobbler was wonderful. If you've been reading this blog for long you'll have noticed my affinity for desserts. The dinner is a gesture to the grads to make this a very special day and it does. Joanne and I sat and ate with some of the families, you could see that they were impressed.
Again this year I was asked to be the speaker for the graduation. It was unquestionably an honor to be asked. I told them about a guy I served with in the Air Force who described going back to college as joining the "Last Chance Club". The idea was that for those returning to college after being away, most of them realized this was their last chance to make it. Most people probably thought that the students being sent to Fray was their last chance as well. The point was that for my friend and for them it wasn't the "Last Chance Club", but the "New Beginnings Club". I even used John Mark from scripture as an example of someone who got that second chance, overcame, and made good. Expectations do not determine Outcomes.

Graduation at Fray is an exciting thing to watch. The students first got to choose whatever color robe they wanted to wear, it did not have to be their home school colors. Secondly, each student could ask whoever they wanted to give them their diploma. Thirdly, principal, Janeen Abbott, before each presentation, shared something special about each student. Sometimes what she shared was funny, but sometimes the story was heart wrenching. Most all the graduates had had to deal with some hardship to make it to graduation day. Finally, each presenter would share something about the graduate. It impressed me that each one mentioned how bright and intelligent the young person was and how they expected great things from them.

You see, Fray Education Center is an alternative school and the students might be termed as "problem " students by some. They are sent to Fray from other high schools in Campbell County. But, as one teacher told me after the ceremony,"The only difference between these students and 90% of those back at the high schools is that these got caught." I look at it like this, these graduates have endured and triumphed, they've already got a step up on other graduates. Well done, Fray Class of 2009.

Androcles and the Lion

Brian Daniels, from Providence UMC, had the lead role in the play Androcles and the Lion. Brian attends Galileo Magnet High School. The play was performed at the North Theatre, an old theatre in Danville.
The following is a synopsis of the play.
Set in ancient Rome, this story that is filled with laughter dances and conquering fear tells of a young man, Androcles and his bickering wife, Hermione as they take a vacation across the Macedonian desert to the city of Rome.

But when a lion comes across the pair and begs Androcles to remove the thorn from his paw Hermione runs away assuming Androcles has been killed. Androcles and the Lion soon become friends and Androcles learns to be brave.

He soon puts his bravery to the test by being captured by the slave traders and sent to Rome. After reuniting with his wife, they are sent to Caesar's palace where Androcles is thrown into prison for failing to soothe a headache for Caesar, played by Brian Daniels. At the Colosseum Androcles is reunited with the Lion in the arena. When the Lion doesn't kill Androcles Caesar grudgingly release Androcles, Hermione, and her Mother from slavery.

Brian reads the scripture passage each Sunday. His skills at the theatrical are an addition to his readings. There are days that I wish I was able to hear him read before I have my first service. More than once his reading has given me new perspective on the message for that day. Brian is an asset to our church and its pastor.