THE LAMPLIGHTER Newsletter of the

July 2020

Running the Race

Greetings beloved, brothers and sisters in Christ! In this

year of turmoil and unknowns and unexpected, I am

excited about Unlocking the Future with you at Spring City.

In the coming months, you will hear me refer to that

phrase, Unlocking the Future, as we begin to unlock the

church doors and reset who we are as a community of faith

that has been locked up for too long. As we unlock the

doors to our future, you probably want to get to know who

your tour guide is.

First of all, I am a child of God. I am also a husband to

Bobbie and a father to Meredith (Meri, 16), Ashley (Bird,

11), and Karis Sophia (Sophie or Mini, 7). And I am a

pastor, a health nut, and an athlete. I grew up in

Chattanooga and the family of White Oak United

Methodist Church in Red Bank. I loved music,

photography, riding my bike, playing in the woods, and

going to Camp Lookout. I went to high school at

Chattanooga City High, then off to college at Tennessee

Tech. I majored in biology with an emphasis in

environmental microbiology. In the summers, I worked as

a counselor at Camp Lookout. Then I went to East

Tennessee State for a master of science in environmental

health, spending summers volunteering at Buffalo

Mountain Camp and working for Tennessee Tech and the

US Forest Service on a bald eagle relocation project.

Of all the things I never expected, I landed a job as a

paralegal in the environmental law department at Grant,

Konvalinka, and Harrison in Chattanooga (no real relation

in that name) where I lived the world of law for 13 years.

During that time, on a forced blind date, I met a girl named

Bobbie Stringer, who was a math teacher at Westside

Middle School in Dalton, Georgia. She now goes by Bobbie

Grant, and she’s a math teacher at Rhea County High.

While we were living in Ringgold, Georgia, I came to realize

that I wanted more than what I was doing. Bobbie and I

agreed to fast and pray for a week, and at the end of that

week, we talked. We both had discerned a call to full-time

ministry for me.

About that same time, the youth director at White Oak

moved on to another church, and it seemed natural for me

to step in for the next four years until I moved to finish

seminary on campus at Asbury Theological Seminary in

Wilmore, KY. The rest has been a progression to Jacksboro

and Caryville UMCs and then to St. Mark in Clinton,

serving as the chair of Holston Conference Camp and

Retreat Ministries and the registrar of the Tennessee Valley

District Committee on Ministry. Now here I am, eagerly

anticipating the unlocking of the future with you at Spring

City.

You will find that I still love to ride my bike, and I still love

being in the woods running trails. More importantly, I have

a heart for evangelism and a passion for being a pioneer in

fresh expressions of church for the 21st century. I see my

work with you as a tour guide on this journey of growth into

sanctification as you become equipped to proclaim the

kingdom of God right here right now. I anticipate that we

will Gather together, Grow together, and then Go together

to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of

the world.

WALK WITH THE KING AND BE A BLESSING!

Rev. David Grant

Barbara Hardy

Chuck McIlwain Walt Morse Linda Mullins

Carol Price Liz Stair

Remember in Prayer

Jeannette Long Spring City Care & Rehab, #201, 331 Hinch St. Fred Mullins Golden Years, 301 Keith Dr., Spring City Kathleen Reece Spring City Care & Rehab, #306, 331 Hinch St. Imogene Robbins Golden Years, 301 Keith Dr., Spring City

Jay Sweat

(cousin of Connie Roberts) Bob Simpson

(friend of Richard Cole)

Gina Cook

(friend of Jerrie Patton)

Karen Young (friend of Susan Maddux and

Wendy Thurman)

Jay Elam

(friend of Connie Roberts)

Abram Bartley

(cousin of Connie Roberts) Bobby Randolph

(friend of Jerry & Rayna

Henley)

Tom Kolb

(friend of Terry McBrayer) Luke Bolton

(grandson of Jim & Wanda

McCarter)

Sue Carter

(sister of Clyde Thurman, Jr.)

Malachi Price (friend of Angie Rose)

Tammie Phillips

(friend of Rayna & Jerry

Henley)

Ethan Rector

(friend of Caren & Bill Ruffner)

Kathy Shoopman

(daughter of Stella Ray)

David Thurman

(friend of Norman & Peggy Bowman)

Sue Smith

(friend of Pat Douglas) Mary Frances Goodson

(friend of Bennie & Susan

Arp)

Clara Gossett

(friend of John Conroy) Randy Gass

(friend of Cindy Hill)

Grace Lamprecht

(Bill Ruffner’s niece)

Alesia McNelly (friend of the

Bowmans & Henleys) Mary Heimel

(Tom Heimel’s mother)

Lillian Shaffer

(Kathy Heimel’s mother)

Dominic Ciero (grandson of Cindy Hill and

nephew of Jerrie Patton)

Kennedy and Lincoln Ladd

(friends of Peggy Bowman)

The Family of Cathy Lauer (sister of Clyde Thurman, Jr.)

The Family of Jim Reid

(father of Linda Osborne)

The Family of Jerry Smith

(husband of Lynda Smith)

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Church, District, & Conference Offices Closed for the 4th of July Holiday.

7:00 Trustees

*Church office closed

10:00 TLC

6:00 TLC

11:00 Worship Service

10:00 TLC

12:00 Church office closed

10:00 TLC

6:00 TLC

7/5 USHERS

Don Hinely

Walt Morse

7/12 USHERS

Bennie Arp

Mary Drinkard

7/19 USHERS

Margo Hinsdale

Don Hinely

7/26 USHERS

Rachel Heimel

Madison Hinely

1 Manuel Christi 1 McKenzie Lemons 1 Ali Smith 4 Sonya Bolton 4 Meaghan Maddux 6 Morgan Owensby 9 Angie Burkhardt 10 Ryan Lisa 11 Sharon Baker 11 Silas Booker

11 David Wyrick 14 Vickie Snyder 16 Margo Hinsdale 17 Tom Fricke 17 Margie Kane 19 Will Boles 20 Karen Fine 20 Lesia Garrison 21 James Couch 22 Bridgett Phillips

22 Andrea Solomon 23 Randal Gibbs 24 Diani Gales 24 Deborah Wilson 26 Laura Messimer 27 Kathy Heimel 27 John Maddux

10:00 TLC

11:00 Worship Service 3:00 Ministry Team

11:00 Worship Service

11:00 Worship Service

4 Dell & Virginia Bond

8 Bennie & Susan Arp

14 John & Susan Maddux

17 Frank & Vickie Snyder

20 Ralph & Mary Brockett

20 Doug & Pat Drake

28 Luke & Cathy Barnes

*Vacation 1/2 day for Sharon

Monthly Report

MAY 2020

CURRENT PERIOD

YEAR TO DATE

ANNUAL BUDGET PERCENTAGE

15,590.00 103,553.51 363,700.00 28.5%

0.00 11,030.00 25,310.00 43.6%

95.20 473.13 1,200.00 39.4%

15,685.20 115,056.64 390,210.00 29.5%

7,455.35 64,572.45 205,929.00 31.4%

5,583.07 21,105.76 78,000.00 27.1%

145.19 1,755.96 9,700.00 18.1%

100.00 881.06 5,000.00 17.6%

0.00 207.50 1,700.00 12.2%

81.93 381.93 1,900.00 20.1%

1,568.52 13,021.67 42,108.00 30.9%

0.00 1,473.79 8,263.00 17.8%

0.00 199.48 5,300.00 3.8%

0.00 -12.88 1,000.00 -1.3%

0.00 1,447.81 6,000.00 24.1%

0.00 8,953.00 25,310.00 35.4%

14,934.06 113,987.53 390,210.00 29.2%

751.14 1,069.11 0.00 100.0%

Giving & Money Disbursed

FINANCIAL & ATTENDANCE REPORTS

5/24 5/31 6/7 6/14

General Budget 4,145.00 4,017.00 6,130.00 3,953.53

MDO

Memorial 30.00

Special 100.75 3,775.00 100.00

TOTAL

4,245.75 7,822.00 6,230.00 3,953.53

Walt & Linda Morse gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Don & Naomi Hinely gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Jerry & Rayna Henley, Charles & Rita Ellison, and Bill & Julie Lyons gave to the Memorial Fund in memory of Jerry Smith.

Max & Pat Douglas gave to the Community Ministries in memory of Jerry Smith.

Dan & Rita Uhler gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Michael & Connie Pile gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Jan Henley gave to the General Budget in memory of her uncle, Jerry Smith.

Gena Hassler gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Gray & Sharon Cowart gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Walter & Terry Hooper gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Glenn & Freida Jones gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Silas & Linda Booker gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

John Conroy gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Jim & Wanda McCarter gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Pat Cook gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Joe & Ryan Lisa gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

T.C. & Lauretta Cash gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Myra Galloway Tatum gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Tommy & Loretta Hale gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Bill & Donna Barber gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Kevin & Lesia Garrison gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Helen Kincannon gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith, Cathy Lauer, Polly & H. B. Rankin, and Jim Reid.

Josh & Kim Wheat gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

JoAnna Thompson gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Bob & Angie Burkhardt gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Helen Walker gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Steve & Ann Dillard gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith. Paul & Teresa Cate gave to the General Budget in memory of Jerry Smith.

Congratulations to church members, Ronnie &

Judith Barger, on the birth of their twin great-

grandsons, Eli & Jude Ross, who were born on

May 22, 2020. Proud parents are the Bargers’

grand-daughter, Davinity, and husband, Ben

Ross. Eli and Jude have a big sister, Nora, and

an older brother, Andrew.

May God continue to bless Davinity and Ben and

their four beautiful children!

Did you know that studies have shown that turning off fluorescent lights if you are gone longer than 5 seconds saves energy? By turning off lights in unoccupied rooms, thousands of dollars can be saved each year.

If you are the last one to leave a room anywhere inside the church or the Family Life Center, please turn off the light(s). Let us all remember to be good stewards in our church family.

Thanks to the musicians/singers that have brought

special music to our Livestream services when our

choir could not be a part of worship. We will

resume our tradition of summer specials. If you

wish to share your talents, the sign up sheet will

once again be posted outside the office door.

(Remember we need your information by the

Wednesday morning before your musical offering.)

Judy Ezell

Dear Rev. Mike Hubble,

You have blessed us during the time you have served as our interim pastor, and we want to express our gratitude to you and your wife, Margaret. God knew you were the right pastor we needed to guide us through this unique time of coping with the COVID-19 crisis and serving as our pastor until our new minister arrives.

We will always remember your time with us, and even though we could not assemble in the sanctuary due to social distancing, your Sunday messages on Livestream have sustained us. And your visits to the church office every rainy Tuesday afternoon made those days seem so much brighter! We will miss you and Margaret!

Much love and appreciation to you both!

Members and Staff of SCUMC

especially for your prayers which were greatly

needed. We also want to give a special thank you

to Rev. Dale Wyrick and Rev. Mike Hubble for

conducting the service for Jerry.

Lynda and Steve

Thank you to everyone who donated Health Kits and five

dollars postage for each kit for our 2020 Mission Project

for Liberia. Spring City UMC contributed a total of 25

health kits to minister to so many in great need living in

Liberia.

The kits contained 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth, 2 tooth-

brushes, 2 tubes toothpaste, 1 bottle shampoo, 1 bottle

lotion, 1 bottle roll-on deodorant, 1 bottle spray

perfume/cologne body mist, 1 tube antibacterial

ointment, and 1 bottle Tylenol/acetaminophen 500 mg.

We are so grateful for Rev. Mike and his wife, Margaret

Hubble. They picked up the kits at the church office,

Tuesday, June 2nd

, and then delivered them to the First

United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Wednesday

morning, June 3rd

.

The boxes shown above in the church office contained the 25 health kits that were soon loaded in the back of the Hubble’s car on Tuesday, June 2

nd. May God bless

you for donating the health kits for Liberia!

Crash bars were installed by Hiwassee Glass, Athens, TN, on the front doors of the Sanctuary beginning on Wednesday, June 3rd, and they were finished, Friday, June 5th. The new doors are for the safety/security of all attendees of events held in the sanctuary, especially for worship services.

Thank you to Tommy Hale who gave of his time to be here at church to open/unlock doors and oversee the installation of the crash bars. We also express our gratitude to the Trustees.

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Thank you for your donation following the March tornadoes. With your gift, we are able to come alongside our churches and neighbors and offer comfort and assistance in their time of need.

We ask for your continued prayers during this lengthy recovery process and thank you, again, for your generosity and support.

The Nashville Area Disaster Response Team

We want to express our

sincere “thank you” to

all who have given

donations to our church,

who prepared food for

us, who have sent

cards, made phone

calls, made visits, and

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Thank you to our Staff/Pastor Relations (SPR) Team for handling the important relationship between our staff, congregation, and the district superintendent so that the mission of our church moves forward. Listed below are some duties of the SPR:

- encourage, strengthen, nurture, support, and respect the pastor and staff and their families, including advocating for a healthy work/life balance

- promote unity in the church - confer with the staff on the effectiveness of ministry and impediments to effectiveness, including conflict of interest and sexual misconduct

- confer with the staff about the effective use of their gifts, skills, time, and priorities

- conduct annual staff evaluations - teach the congregation about itineracy, steps into ordained ministry, the value of diversity in staffing, and the ministerial education fund

- write job descriptions for the staff - confer with staff about continuing education and spiritual formation - confer with the district superintendent about the clergy leadership for the congregation

- recommend staff positions to the church council - consult on matters of staff support, including housing, vacation, insurance, pension, and other matters outlined in the Discipline.

The administrative function of the SPR includes both leadership and management. Leadership is the role of “keeping an eye on the big picture.” The SPR Team must remember they are part of the body of Christ with a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for transforming the world.

Our SPR Team members are featured above left to right: Caren Ruffner, Jay Maddux, Chairperson; Silas Booker, Wanda McCarter, and Chris Haerr.

The Lay Member to Annual Conference, Patty Crowder, Lay Leader, Billy Ray Patton, and Reed Chapel Representative, Pat Horton, and our new pastor, Rev. David Grant, also attend the SPR meetings.

We are blessed and happy to welcome our new pastor and his wife, Rev. David & Bobbie Grant, and daughters, Meri, Ashley, and Sophie, featured above as they were enjoying being in the great out-doors with the beautiful waterfall in the background.

Rev. Grant’s first Sunday to share his first message with us in the sanctuary and on Livestream is July 5th. Please read his first news-letter article on the opposite side of the calendar. Let’s all give Pastor Dave & his family a special, loving SCUMC welcome!