Campus Clean-Up Day Recap
Mar 19, 2025 | by Dr. Darren M. McClellan
What a day we just had!
A hearty word of appreciation is due to all who shared their time and talent at yesterday’s spring ‘work day’ here on church grounds. It was a beautiful day that the Lord had made, and thanks to the coordination of our new Building Steward, Mr. Danny White, a number of available church members, and the support of the men of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity at the University of South Alabama, we were able to rejoice in it all the more!
Together, we were able to accomplish more than expected. We cleared out a good deal of clutter from the building (filling a dumpster to the sky!), powerwashed entryways, trimmed trees, filled potholes, and generally began to rework a number of elements of the ‘garden’ that is under our charge here on Wisteria Ave.
It was a marvelous sign of stewardship–a communal act of reclaiming the vision of paradise that is Ashland Place.
Special thanks also go to those who helped provide for the meal at the end of the day. Naturally, it was a joyous sight to see our fellowship hall filled with hungry folks of all ages and stages.
After dinner, a special session of the charge conference was held to hear and affirm the church’s endorsement of Mrs. Lorie Evans as she responds to God’s call as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church. It was a sacred moment.
Here are just a few of the ways that Lorie has learned to discern and articulate the direction of God in her life at this time:
We are all broken sinners. God knows we will stray. The God I know is always willing and waiting with open arms ready to forgive…
God knows I have a big mouth, but it’s time for me to shut up and start listening. I am really working to listen with intent. Years ago, I started to remind myself as a teacher to look into a child’s eyes, and remind myself I was addressing a child of God. It is not always easy. I will also talk to anyone…
As an artist, I am a problem solver who thinks outside the box. I am very comfortable meeting new people and helping them make beneficial connections with others and services. I have always been comfortable with loss. It is difficult, but I know I have been a comforting presence. Since losing my husband, I started and facilitated a support group…I know God led certain people to my group even if just for one encounter.
My present call is as a deacon to be a bridge between the world and the church…
How grateful I am to have a friend like Lorie Evans. And how thankful I am to be able to serve a church that continues to cultivate the ground of our life together so that she (and others!) can not only hear this call clearly, but also pursue it with fullness of heart and mind.
All of us, of course, are called by God in one way or another. As United Methodists, we seek to affirm the ministry of all Christians. As the old hymn states,
to serve the present age, our calling to fulfill.
O may it all (our) powers engage to do (the) Master’s will!
This Sunday will be the 3rd Sunday in Lent. Once again, Jesus is inquiring about fruitfulness in the gospel. If we listen, we will hear Jesus cut through the clutter of the crowd’s shallow assumptions about how God really works in the world. Once again, Jesus challenges us to dig a bit deeper, or at least to give him the permission to get his hands into the soil of our lives. Remarkably, though he speaks with language that is as familiar as something you might hear at a country seed and feed store, there is always more to His Kingdom than we know to ask or imagine.
As another sign of this promise, we are excited to host a Ministry Fair this Sunday at 10 am (during the regular Sunday School hour) in the Fellowship Hall. I hope that you will make a particular effort to come and be a part of this opportunity for greater fellowship, discovery, and connection...
Where might God be calling you to serve?
Come and See!
Darren
March Work Day
Campus Clean-up with the KA fraternity from USA
