The days of May are quickly filled up on our calendars with so many things; here’s a few more:
May Day on the First also recognizes Christian Home Month and Asian/Pacific-American Heritage Month.
On the first Thursday, May 2 is the National Day of Prayer (you can watch it live online at: nationaldayof
prayer.org).
May 3 is Good Friday in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Sunday May 5 is Orthodox Pascha/Resurrection Day, as well as Cinco de Mayo, and it’s also “Yom HaShoah,” which is translated “Holocaust Remembrance Day” for Israel to never forget the horrors of Nazi Germany.
The rest of the Sundays in May are also meaningful, such as May 12 which celebrates the Ascension of Christ, and also Mother’s Day!
Sunday, May 19 is when we celebrate the Day of Pentecost and the power of the Holy Spirit.
And lastly, on Sunday, May 26 we celebrate Trinity Sunday and the Memorial Day Weekend and be
reminded: “A graveyard is a school to teach the living how to live; it has a silent power to preach that
pulpits can never give.” Go see the flags on the graves of heroes!
There are a few more May days we need to mention for our Global Methodist Church here in Florida. Please be aware of the Special Florida Annual Conference that has been called as an online meeting for Saturday, May 18 at 9:30 AM for the purpose of voting to approve another District. We will celebrate the growth of the GMC in Florida!
And speaking of new growth, the Conference is inviting each Church to start Alpha Teams. If you’d like to know more about Alpha, please visit: AlphaUSA.org.
Why would we in Florida, with so many good things that claim our valuable time, want to be a part of something called Alpha? At a recent meeting of the Southern Florida GMC Clergy, the Rev. Dr. Jay Therrell, President of our Annual Conference Cabinet, answered this question with the words from our founder, the Rev John Wesley, in his charge to the early Methodist preachers and circuit riders:
“You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only
to those that want you, but to those that need you most. Observe this: It is not your business to preach
so many times and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can, and to
bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance; and with all your power to build them up in
that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord.”
Several Clewiston Methodists have already expressed an earnest desire to participate in Alpha USA Training. These will be provided for everyone in the Florida GMC at no cost. The Zoom training meeting will be on Tuesday, May 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. We just want to learn more about the nuts and bolts of starting our own local Alpha Team in Clewiston, so we can be trained and equipped to go full speed ahead in the Fall of 2024. If you’re interested in finding out more, please don’t hesitate to let me know…
We are all called “To Know Christ and To Make Him Known!”
Rev. Jonathan Singleton,
Pastor of the Clewiston & Moore Haven Global Methodist Churches