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Rev. Missy Turbeville *From the June 2026 FUMC of Bartow Newsletter
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? -Isaiah 43:19
Did you know that we are in common time? Every year after Pentecost we enter what on the church calendar is called common time or Kingdomtide. It is during this time that many people go on vacation and life seems to slow down. While it is also a time of an Annual Conference, Vacation Bible School, and Mission Retreats, it can appear to be a time when the church isn’t doing much. Of course that’s not true. The church is always moving and growing. The Holy Spirit is at work, stirring us, breathing into us ideas, and gifting us with discernment.
Sometimes we hear about the “now and not yet” of the kingdom of God. This is a reminder that God is at work right now. God’s will is being brought to fruition right now. Yet, God‘s perfect will is still being fulfilled. It is both now... and not yet. Kingdomtide is a little bit like that. It is a time when energy is being gathered, when ideas are being discussed, when sometimes we rest as we prepare for the next thing God has for us. That is especially true for our church this year.
Recently, we have been in a time of now and not yet. There has been much that we have done right now, and yet with the further guidance of the Holy Spirit, we seek to continue to do God’s will in our church and community. One of the ways we discern how we are being led as a church is to understand our spiritual gifts. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us for the common good, which is the good of the whole body of Christ so that we can more fully be Christ in the world. With time, our gifts can change as what we are being called to do changes. As our church family has grown and changed, it is time for us to look to our Spiritual Gifts again to see how we are being called in this new time.
Toward the end of July, we will be challenged to take a Spiritual Gifts survey and share the answers with the church. Please prayerfully consider doing this. Some of you will have done this a few years ago and might think it’s not necessary to do again. Nothing could be further from the truth! Like a wind that rustles through the landscape and changes things in unexpected ways, the Holy Spirit is also moving and
changing things in you! Knowing what the Holy Spirit is doing in you is not only important for you to know in your relationship with God and how you are being gifted for the future, it is also important for the church family as we prepare for the future.
Watch for opportunities at the end of July and into August to talk about how God is calling you to work with our church family to follow the Holy Spirit. Many of us are called to specific individual tasks. That is an amazing gift that God gives us. Also as the church we are called to ministries that we are gifted to do together within the kingdom of God. Many of you have shared beautiful and challenging ideas that could be part of what our church is being called to in the future. In some cases, it will be a ministry that you might lead and the church will support. In other cases. your idea might spark conversation that leads to something else that is what someone feels called to do. And in still other cases, our conversation together could lead our church into a total, New or fully revitalized Ministry.
This is the gift of Kingdomtide and it is far from common. It is a beautiful season of preparation. Through worship, prayer, service, and generosity may we be preparing ourselves for these conversations. May part of our prayers include the desire to be a church of individuals who put God first as we love and serve in the world together.
With love in Christ,
Pastor Missy
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? -Isaiah 43:19
Did you know that we are in common time? Every year after Pentecost we enter what on the church calendar is called common time or Kingdomtide. It is during this time that many people go on vacation and life seems to slow down. While it is also a time of an Annual Conference, Vacation Bible School, and Mission Retreats, it can appear to be a time when the church isn’t doing much. Of course that’s not true. The church is always moving and growing. The Holy Spirit is at work, stirring us, breathing into us ideas, and gifting us with discernment.
Sometimes we hear about the “now and not yet” of the kingdom of God. This is a reminder that God is at work right now. God’s will is being brought to fruition right now. Yet, God‘s perfect will is still being fulfilled. It is both now... and not yet. Kingdomtide is a little bit like that. It is a time when energy is being gathered, when ideas are being discussed, when sometimes we rest as we prepare for the next thing God has for us. That is especially true for our church this year.
Recently, we have been in a time of now and not yet. There has been much that we have done right now, and yet with the further guidance of the Holy Spirit, we seek to continue to do God’s will in our church and community. One of the ways we discern how we are being led as a church is to understand our spiritual gifts. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us for the common good, which is the good of the whole body of Christ so that we can more fully be Christ in the world. With time, our gifts can change as what we are being called to do changes. As our church family has grown and changed, it is time for us to look to our Spiritual Gifts again to see how we are being called in this new time.
Toward the end of July, we will be challenged to take a Spiritual Gifts survey and share the answers with the church. Please prayerfully consider doing this. Some of you will have done this a few years ago and might think it’s not necessary to do again. Nothing could be further from the truth! Like a wind that rustles through the landscape and changes things in unexpected ways, the Holy Spirit is also moving and
changing things in you! Knowing what the Holy Spirit is doing in you is not only important for you to know in your relationship with God and how you are being gifted for the future, it is also important for the church family as we prepare for the future.
Watch for opportunities at the end of July and into August to talk about how God is calling you to work with our church family to follow the Holy Spirit. Many of us are called to specific individual tasks. That is an amazing gift that God gives us. Also as the church we are called to ministries that we are gifted to do together within the kingdom of God. Many of you have shared beautiful and challenging ideas that could be part of what our church is being called to in the future. In some cases, it will be a ministry that you might lead and the church will support. In other cases. your idea might spark conversation that leads to something else that is what someone feels called to do. And in still other cases, our conversation together could lead our church into a total, New or fully revitalized Ministry.
This is the gift of Kingdomtide and it is far from common. It is a beautiful season of preparation. Through worship, prayer, service, and generosity may we be preparing ourselves for these conversations. May part of our prayers include the desire to be a church of individuals who put God first as we love and serve in the world together.
With love in Christ,
Pastor Missy
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Worship on Sundays at 10:30AM both at the sanctuary and streamed online on our Facebook page.
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