From the Pastor (Page 3)

Hey McFarland! Pastor Wayne here! As I write this on Friday, November 18, 2022, we are entering the last week of the church year as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving here in the USA. This Sunday, November 20, we will give thanks together for the blessings that we have received. We have so much to be thankful for as we enter this season. This Sunday, November 20, after church, we will need a few folks to remain after church to…

Hey McFarland! Pastor Wayne here with an update! It is hard to believe that we are already in the month of November and that 2022 is almost over. We will celebrate All Saint’s Day in the service this Sunday, November 6. As I write this on Wednesday, November 2, we will remember a total of 5 persons who died since November 1, 2021. Our members who have moved from the church temporal to the Church Triumphant are Wendetta (Wendy) Shoulders,…

It’s hard to believe that we are already into the month of October. It marks the beginning of the 4th Quarter of the year. It also marks the season of Charge Conference and the buildup through Advent toward Christmas. My, where has the time gone? On Sunday, October 2, we began a lectionary-based sermon series that we’re calling “Not Ashamed.” We will spend the first 4 weeks of October in the text of 2 Timothy. There Is a lot to…

This Sunday will mark the Second Sunday of our new series, Having Words With Jesus. We hope that you can join us. We had grand time at Homecoming. Reverend Laura Trent brought the message and the food and fellowship that followed was grand. Thanks to everyone who made it happen. We have an opportunity to help and support the Wesley Center at UTC as we can. Here is some information on how we can help from their FaceBook page:  

Hello McFarland, Pastor Wayne here! What a wonderful homecoming we had this past weekend! We had 61 folks who worshipped with us in person and stayed for a covered dish lunch in Fellowship Hall. Reverend Laura Trent did a wonderful job as our guest preacher and it was good to welcome Reed Shell, our District Superintendent, as he joined us for worship and lunch. Thanks all of the folks who worked so hard to clean, to decorate, to cook, and…

Hey McFarland! Pastor Wayne here with an update. It is hard to believe that we are almost finished with July. I hope that you are staying cool in this heat. I want to share a few things with you for your consideration: Homecoming will be held this year on Sunday, August 28. The Reverend Laura Trent who was appointed to McFarland from 2000-2001. We will worship together at 11:00 a.m. and then we will gather in the Fellowship Hall for…

We are in a season of change in the United Methodist Church. Since our formation in 1968, there has been pressure from an outside group interested in disrupting all of the mainline Christian denominations in the United States. This outside group is named the Institute on Religion and Democracy (the IRD).  It is a group formed and financed by individuals opposed to the social witness of the church in the United States.  The Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church, The Presbyterian…

Hey McFarland! Pastor Wayne here! The Holston Annual Conference met at Lake Junaluska June 5-8, 2022. Ann Russell was the Lay Member from McFarland. She and I were there to represent you at this annual meeting (the first one fully together since 2019 due to COVID-19). We met together under the theme, “Pray Together.” And we did. We prayed. We worshipped. We celebrated. And we lamented. We sat under great teaching on prayer from the Reverend Dr. Tom Albin, former…

It was a good week at Lake Junaluska for Annual Conference. The weather was perfect. The prayer studies with Dr. Tom Albin were spirit filled. The preaching of Bishop James Swanson was inspiring (as always) and the non-anxious leadership of Bishop Wallace-Padgett was needed and welcome.  Unfortunately, I came home to a positive test for COVID-19. I talk about this in this video link  https://fb.watch/dAJC-W-VY4/ Be a blessing,Pastor Wayne

Hey McFarland! Pastor Wayne here! Today is May 25, 2022. Charlene and I are taking advantage of a last minute opportunity to take a few vacation days in Cocoa Beach, Florida thanks to some dear friends. It has been a good get-away. The weather is perfect with highs around 90 and lows in the mid 70’s with winds out of the East at 15-20 mph. This afternoon, we had the opportunity to watch a SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9…