It is my pleasure to announce that Rev. Dr. Byron Thomas has been appointed to Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church as our senior pastor, effective July 1. His first Sunday in the pulpit will be July 13, and we will welcome him with a reception following the 11 a.m. worship service.

The Revised Social Principles of the United Methodist Church state that “[o]ur involvement in political systems is rooted in the Gospel imperative to love our neighbors, to do justice, and to care for the vulnerable. As United Methodists, we acknowledge that love requires responsible political action and engagement aimed at the betterment of society and the promotion of the common good.” The Social Principles further affirm that “every form of government stands under God’s judgment and must therefore be held accountable for protecting the innocent, guaranteeing basic freedoms and liberties, protecting the natural world, and establishing just, equitable, and sustainable economies.” 

This Lent, I’m issuing a big challenge. I’m inviting you to tithe.

Wait! Wait! Please don’t stop reading quite yet. I’m not talking about dollars (as essential as those are to the work of the church). I’m offering a tougher ask. I’m inviting you to be here.

Yesterday in worship I announced I will be retiring in June, the close of this conference year. My last Sunday in the pulpit will be May 18. It is a strange moment for Kathy and me, of course, an end and a beginning. Counting back to my earliest days as a student pastor, I have been in ministry for almost 44 years now. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine life away from the pastorate, but it’s also exciting to move forward and discover what the years ahead will hold. I’m grateful for this unique life in ministry I’ve known and for my seven years here at Glenn.

Glenn Memorial UMC raised nearly $59,000 through its 2024 Alternative Giving Catalog – all for programs and projects that reach out to people in need. From global schools to benevolences for the unhoused and hungry to victims of wars, Glenn cares. The catalog announced approximately $35,000 in wishes at the beginning of Advent, but generous contributions resulted in gifts far beyond that wish.

Sutton Smith has joined Glenn as the interim Young Adult Ministry Coordinator! In this part-time position, Sutton will provide support to our young adults through Sunday worship, Tuesday fellowship nights, and more.

Hi everyone! My name is Olivia Starks-Ulrich, and I’m the new Communications Director at Glenn. 

I’m no stranger to the UMC - my father has been a pastor in the Holston Conference for nearly 50 years! I grew up being the only kid who went to youth group without missing a Sunday, and I attended every choir tour in my tenure as one of the very few altos in our church youth choir. I am in fact so Methodist that I served on Holston’s Conference Youth Council, an organization where youth are elected to plan events and make changes across the conference, for four years.

As part of my spiritual formation role, I plan to send out a congregational email about once a month. This month I am stealing an idea from some old Pastors’ Schools, when our Bishops would share what they had been reading in the past year. This doesn’t cover a year, but here are some books I have read recently.

Seen online:  "I'm currently doing this challenge called January. Where you just try to make it through every day of January."  Or another favorite meme: "January has been a long year." There is so much going on in the world, our nation, our state, our communities, our schools and our church... the winter weather and flu season have made for long days and nights full of worries.

With our Glenn Staff-Parish Relations Committee, I’m delighted to announce that the Rev. Jimmy Moor, a retired elder with the North Georgia Annual Conference and, with his wife Julie, a faithful participant, in the life of our church, has agreed to step in as interim part-time associate minister. Jimmy will take on some of the Rev. Brent Huckaby’s duties in Brent’s absence, focusing his work in two areas—Spiritual Formation and Justice.  I invite you to read Jimmy’s New Year invitation.

(What follows is a slightly modified version of my Hanging of the Greens meditation.)

Heading home to Atlanta after Thanksgiving, Kathy and I saw two different cars, separated by miles, each with Christmas lights carefully strung to cover the whole body.  It was daytime, so we didn’t get to see them in their glowing (twinkling?) glory, but we were impressed nonetheless (Oh Christmas Car, O Christmas Car, how lovely is your fender).

I’m writing on Election Day with a simple question: How are you holding up? That I should need to ask is itself a sign of today’s anxiety, that we should be so worried, wound up, and wounded within … even before all the votes are cast, much less counted.

From the Kids @ Glenn archive: circa 2019:

If we could all be in touch with our feelings as authentically as a two-year-old, we'd probably have healthier grieving. (Though it may make daily life a bit more awkward when we throw ourselves on the ground in a fit if a Mexican restaurant doesn't serve a hamburger.  Hypothetically.) 

During the last few months, anytime our little guy sees anything that reminds of him of his great-grandfather who died this summer (for example, an American flag like he saw at the funeral), he cocks his head to the side and sweetly says, "Papa. Died.  Saaaaad." Complete with exaggerated sad face.

Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church offers engagement for the mind, nurture for the soul, and training in the practices of the heart for anyone who wishes to attend.  Show me another institution of higher education that reaches higher than the heavens, while serving folks from infancy to infinity.  The church’s goal is lofty—to offer the “breadth and length and height and depth, [that you might] know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, [and] be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19 of our academic catalog).  Mind, heart, and soul—that’s a well-rounded education.

We Christians are strange people in the world.  We care for each other, for strangers, even for enemies.  We offer grace and welcome to all people.  We know that God has proclaimed all creation good; we know that Christ, lifted up, embraces all people. 

Thank you for three wonderful years. Signing off for now!

Do you want to explore God and beauty in a way you have never thought about before or anchor yourself more fully in your United Methodist identity? Well, do I have some deals for you.

"We are one in sorrow. Surely, in humility and hope, we can be one in seeking answers. Those whom pain has brought together, let no one put asunder."

Your pledges and gifts to the Alternative Giving Catalog enable Glenn to continue to support education for children.

We will not forget. We will not lose this day in all the days to come. We stack our stones at the riverside. We were here.