Praising Our Staff

In the last ten months, we have not had "church" as usual. We have had to adapt, be flexible, and exercise additional caution at most every turn. Through it all, we have found a way to move forward with many of Shalimar United Methodist Church's ministries. This has happened for three reasons: the remarkable work of God's Spirit, our amazing congregation who have been steadfast in such times, and the incredible staff we have who worked tirelessly and steadily to keep what we have "up and running." I praised our amazing congregation a few weeks ago in the Beacon for their steadfastness. In this article, I want to praise the exceptional work of our staff.

• Church Administrator, Scott Newbold. Scott has been terrific with small and large matters exercising patience at every turn. His contributions have been immeasurable for the last 11 months.
  
  
• Worship Pastor, Dr. Brad Bradford. Brad has been tireless in keeping our worship moving forward. His leadership over all our music groups and teams remain excellent even in such times.
  
  
• Communication Pastor, Rev. Faith Parry. Faith has taken our church to the next level with communication and technology. She has been the major force connecting with our large constituency that has not worshipped in person in the last ten months.
  
  
• Associate Pastor, Rev. Matt Langford. Matt has not been with us the entire ten months but has quickly impacted our 11:07 service and congregation, helping us build some positive momentum in such a time.
  
  
• Worship Ministries Associate, Ben Savage. What a difference Ben Savage has made this year! He has been an unbelievable asset for our staff and church on many levels with technology and worship leadership for 11:07.
  
  
• Finance Office, Pat Brantley, Denise Heath, and Tony Mallini for their remarkable productive work and resourcefulness in such a needed time. They have been relentless in keeping the church on solid financial ground in these adverse times.
  
  
• Church Office, Julie Covert. Yes, you read just one name. Julie is doing the work of what has previously been done by two and even more. Julie has, too, been amazing in her resolve in these times.
  
  
• Youth, Rev. David Garvin. David has risen to the challenge to reach our young people in these challenging times. He had to start anew with how to connect with the youth in such a time as now. He begins the year with some positive momentum with the youth group, even with all the challenges.
  
  
• Children: Preschool Director Karen Jaden and After School Director Dawn Rozofsky. There are not enough superlatives to describe what Karen and Dawn do five days a week in these unusual times. Their work and staff are astonishing. The sound of children on campus is music to our ears.
  
  
• Our Campus Facilities Staff Joe Sorace and Deb Steele. Joe is truly remarkable at the number of tasks (large and small) that he gets done. Deb is such a hard worker and somehow keeps our buildings clean and set-up. They are doing the work of previous years of three or more.
  
  
• Our part-time staff:  Mary Jo Horner, Organist, and Tracy Mank, Accompanist. We are so blessed to witness the remarkable gifts and winsome spirit of Mary Joe Horner each Sunday as she brings a "joyful noise." We welcome our new accompanist, Tracy, who has already transitioned into her new role so seamlessly.
  
  
• Chef, Heyward McKenzie. COVID-19 caused us to pause major food events in our church. Heyward has been adaptive in recent months and has returned to our Sunday morning schedule with better choices in coffee and COVID-friendly treats.

Truly, Shalimar United Methodist Church is blessed by such wonderful staff! I have the pleasure of working with them every day and know individually and collectively they have "stepped up" big time this past year! I am so grateful for each one of them.

Shalom,
Philip