In the last few days, I have once again been reminded of what a remarkable church we have here at DUMC. So much gets done behind the scenes and so many lives are touched in ways that only occasionally become visible, but nevertheless reflect the love of Christ.

Earlier this week, our church hosted a Clergy Day Apart requested by Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson. At last count I heard there were 333 clergy from all across the North Georgia Conference who gathered here for the entire day.

I watched as staff and laity greeted and welcomed these clergy. I watched as Ed Trundle oversaw the extensive audio-visual needs for the day. I watched as Debbie Collins along with her team (Jewel King and Christina Stevenson) made available refreshments and took care of whatever needs arose. I noticed that even before the day began our maintenance and custodial team had everything in place.

Later, I had numerous colleagues tell me how warm the reception, facilities, and especially the people of the church were to them. I smiled a big broad smile, grateful for the chance to work with such an amazing group of people.

You may also recall that last Sunday morning, seventy-one of our students were confirmed and became full members of Dunwoody United Methodist Church. The night before a number of them were baptized. One of the parents was baptized and confirmed into the church as well.

I thought about all of the work that had gone before that had brought these young people to that point. I thought about the teachers and leaders of the confirmation classes that have worked so hard since last fall to provide these young people the foundation they would need to be ready to confess their faith in Jesus Christ. I thought about the clergy who met with each one of them prior to joining the church to make sure they were ready and to answer questions with which they might still be struggling.

I thought about Brooke Freeman and the wonderful job she did under the direction of Josh Amerson. Despite challenging circumstances these last few weeks, she stepped up and helped organize the banquet on Saturday night and the worship services on Sunday morning.

These things set my mind to thinking about things that go on virtually every week… Worship Services, Bible Studies, Leisure Ministries, Children’s Ministries, Young Adult Ministries, Senior Adult Ministries, Singles Ministries, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Missions, Wednesday Night Suppers, support groups of various kinds, other groups that meet here, and on the list could go. I thought about the people who work so hard to organize these things, and the staff and laity who quietly go about their responsibilities to make sure it all happens with excellence and in a way that reflects the love of the One who loved us most – Jesus Christ!

In our staff meetings, I regularly tell our team that there is no one on staff that is any more important than anyone else, and there is no one on staff that is any less important than anyone else. We’re all in it together and we just have different functions. I believe that is true of the whole church. We all have a role to fill and when we do so lovingly and faithfully, we make possible the church that Christ dreamed we would be!

Thanks for being that kind of church here in Dunwoody!

Your Pastor,

Dan