Summer officially begins on Tuesday, June 21, but it feels like summer already on Merritt Island. I understand that a number of folks have been busy preparing for our upcoming VBS week, scheduled for June 27-July 1. There are more than 100 children registered, so we certainly appreciate our volunteers! Special prayers for Ms. Niki as she leads the team in preparation.  Please remember…

I am writing this Gracevine early, during Memorial Day weekend, because Colleen and I will be on a Florida Conference UMC-sponsored trip to England from May 30-June 8. Called the Wesley Fellowship study, this trip was made possible by a generous endowment given by Bernie and LaVonn Simpkins. The goal is to help pastors become more knowledgeable about the life and faith…

This Sunday will be Pentecost Sunday. We will celebrate what we traditionally view as the birth of the church. But is it? We believe that the church began at this point because this is when God’s Holy Spirit came down and as Luke describes it: “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of…