The flower cross on Easter Sunday, March 31. Photo by our Communications Director.
Greetings from your newly installed Chair of the Glenn Church Council! My name is Bill Clark and, along with my wife Robin, we have been members of Glenn for more than 15 years. One of my goals for this new year is to do everything I can to help tell our story, the story of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, who we are, what we are, and all that is going on at Glenn. To that end, I intend to put together emails from time to time – at least quarterly – to share with you, with our community, and with the world at large the good news about all that Glenn offers. So, for this first quarter of 2024, I am pleased to report as follows:
Following a glorious December holiday season in which we celebrated the birth of Jesus – God in the flesh among all of God’s creation – we began 2024, yet another year of worship here at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the corner of Emory University’s beautiful Atlanta campus. And, in doing so, we got back to the daily business of being the church in many ways. The Nominating Committee created a new slate of lay leaders for Glenn and the outgoing Church Council voted to approve that slate. That meant that at our first meeting in February, we recognized and expressed our gratitude to several lay leaders who rolled off of the Church Council and out of other leadership positions within a number of our ministry areas. We also welcomed new members to the lay leadership of Glenn. Together, we look forward to serving the Glenn community.
Additionally, the Church Council thanked Cheryl Griffin for her two years of service as Chair of the Church Council. This position was just the latest leadership role in which Cheryl has served our faith community. And your Church Council made clear our affection for, and appreciation of, all that Cheryl has brought to Glenn. And here’s a little secret: we do not intend to let Cheryl ride off into the sunset any time soon. She will continue being a great resource for all of us and will help lead our Visioning and Planning efforts in the year to come where we will reassess all of our ministries and our facilities and discern what more we can offer to Christ’s Kingdom from our little corner of the world.
At this first meeting, the Church Council had a unique opportunity to approve a member’s candidacy for ordination. Won Yeong felt his call to the ministry as a young man several years ago. He joined Glenn two years ago and has worshiped with us regularly. As he prepared to take steps toward official approval as a candidate for ordination, he came first to us for our affirmation and support. He shared with us more about his call to the ministry and the Church Council voted unanimously to approve his candidacy. It was a special moment for Won Yeong and for all of us on the Council.
Also, at that first meeting of the 2024 Church Council, we considered and approved an annual budget of slightly more than $2 million. This budget will enable Glenn to continue providing excellent pastoral services, moving worship services, informative Christian education programming, and an impressive and wide-ranging litany of services to our community, the metropolitan Atlanta area, to regional organizations, and to efforts extending across the globe. All of this is possible only through the truly Christian practice of generosity demonstrated by hundreds of members of our beloved Glenn Memorial. For those who have committed to being a part of the financial support of our Church this year, we thank you deeply. And, for those who have not yet reached that decision to support Glenn financially, we encourage you to help us do a better job of telling our story so that it inspires you to experience the joy of being a part of this effort that is bigger than each of us.
2024 Financial Report:
2024 Budgeted Expenses: 2,060,107
Year-to-Date March Contributions & Other Income: $501,462
In this first quarter of 2024, Glenn has offered a cornucopia of ministries, opportunities for service, opportunities to learn, and opportunities to experience blessings emanating from our ministers and from our members here on our corner of the Emory campus. Just a few of those most recent offerings included Caregiver Support Group meetings, Lenten Bible studies, Snack in a Backpack, an “Eggcellent” Saturday for our children, Palm Sunday worship services, Sunday School classes, a Lenten Music program, Confirmation, Club 1012, and UM Youth Fellowship. Wow! What a meaningful selection of worship, fellowship, and service!
Oh yeah, and then there was Holy Week. Following a celebratory Palm Sunday that Rev. Mark Westmoreland called “the Sunday that leads to THE Sunday that leads to everything else,” we experienced yet another inclusive, inviting, introspective week of remembering Christ’s Last Supper on Maundy Thursday; His trial, conviction, and crucifixion on Good Friday; and, finally, wonderfully, mercifully, Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday! Whew! What a week! What a quarter!!
Here is just a brief listing of the offerings to come in the weeks and months ahead:
Young Adults Weekly Meet Up; Men's Bible Study; Wednesday Afternoon Youth gathering; Youth Bible Study; Single Moms’ Support Group; and Life After Cancer Support Group.
And, here is a more detailed explanation of even more choices to enjoy at, and around, Glenn:
· The Candler Foundry Class at Glenn will offer “Science and Faith: What does Athens Have To Do With Jerusalem?” – a five session study considering the relationship between what we learn about the world by our own efforts (through science) and what God has revealed to us (through faith)? This course will explore that question by looking at areas where the conclusions of science and faith intersect, whether they conflict, and how the scientific discoveries bear on the content of Christian faith.
· CHaRM Train is a monthlong effort in April to collect and bring to Glenn an array of household chemicals to be taken to the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM), in an effort to keep hazardous materials out of our air, water and soil.
· Youth In-Town Mission Week.
· Black History Book Study led by Rev. Brent Huckaby on Michael Harriot’s “Black AF History - The Un-Whitewashed Story of America.” Harriot’s “searingly smart and bitingly hilarious” retelling of American history corrects the record and showcases the perspective and experiences of Black Americans.
· Glenn Summer Camp.
· Monthly Caregivers’ Support Group for all family caregivers of aging loved ones, including those with memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease.
· Glenn Children’s Ministry.
· Clean Up the Creek Concert – join the Glenn Justice Team at the “Coca-Cola Clean Up the Creek Concert” at Emory Village on April 20th from 5-9 p.m. The concert will celebrate – and raise additional funds for – the upgrades planned for Peavine Creek, which runs through Emory Village, just a short stone’s throw from Glenn.
· Glenn Youth Ministry.
· Family Faith & Fun Day @ Red Top Mountain State Park on April 27th where you can join us for a potluck picnic dinner and music by the Druid Hills Billys band and enjoy optional hiking, fishing, boating, archery, games (hula hoops, parachute, bubbles, etc.), fellowship, devotion, and dinner.
· Participation in the Glenn Chancel Choir.
· Family Vacation Bible School for Toddlers thru Rising 5th Graders with their grown-ups!
· Glenn Young Adult Ministry.
· Summer Lecture Series 2024 – “Faith in Action: How the Scriptures Guide Us Today.” Each summer, our adult Sunday School classes take a break and combine for the Summer Lecture Series led by faculty of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. This summer’s lectures will include: Migration/immigration and the Church's Witness; Methodism and Disability Justice: From Wesley to the UM Social Principles; The March on Jerusalem: Considering Jesus’ Journey Through the Lens of Nonviolent Action; Ezra-Nehemiah as Migration Literature: Reflecting on Present Realities; Biblical Witness in a Biblically Illiterate World ; What the Bible has to say about Poverty; Wesley’s Primitive Physick and UM Social Principles: Christian Faith and Public Health.
All of this and a whole lot more! Oh yeah, and there’s a pretty good chance we will gather in person every Sunday at 8:30am, 11:00am and 5:00pm. And, if neither of those times fits your busy schedule – especially during the summer – you can catch up on all that is going on at Glenn by visiting our website at glennumc.org and by watching our regular services on Facebook and on YouTube. You also can get an in-person update on what’s happening at Glenn by attending the next meeting of our Glenn Church Council on April 21, 2024, beginning at 12:30pm at the Glenn YAAB (Youth and Activities Building) located at 1669 N. Decatur Road.
There is so much to do together as a community of faith and as followers of – or seekers of – Jesus Christ. Come join us. We are all in this together. And, at Glenn, together is an awfully nice place to be. I hope to see you around at Glenn Memorial.
In Service Together at Glenn,
Bill
William T. Clark
Chair, Glenn Church Council