strengthen our ministry within and outside of our membership. Our Meals on Wheels team continues to deliver every week. And you — our members and friends of Parkway Heights — continue to give, share, care, pray and serve in a thousand different ways.

The church of Parkway Heights is most definitely OPEN!

Though we know that we will get through this and we will meet again when it is safe, let’s all make a promise to one another that we will never go back to “normal.” With God’s help, let’s remain “open” when we are able to gather again.

Peace,Bruce

Building Is Closed; Church Is Open!

This was on a church sign in an illustration inside one of this month’s ministry magazines to which I subscribe. It made me pause to think about all the ways our church is still very open despite our not being able to fill our building.

I’m nervous even mentioning some of the ways this is true for us. At the risk of leaving out some great examples, let me share a few. Our online worship, as well as our online children’s worship, is reaching hundreds of people all over the world. Our North of 70 Ministry is connecting over 100 people during this period of isolation. Our youth are connecting online in various weekly groups. Our committees continue to plan, pray and communicate through Zoom. More than a few of our members are sewing masks as fast as they can to distribute to members, retirement homes, cancer clinics and other medical facilities. Our children are forming new pen pals with our older members by sending cards. Our staff is finding new ways to

Bruce Case

A PUBLICATION OF PARKWAY HEIGHTS UMC • MAY 2020

missioninLet’s Remain Open!

Calendar Updates• WesleyClub-This month’s Wesley Club gathering planned for

Thursday, May 21, has been canceled.

• VacationBibleSchool - In light of the uncertainty surround-ing COVID-19, our staff and the Children’s Ministry Planning Team have decided to cancel our traditional VBS this summer. Please stay tuned as we seek new ways to minister to our chil-dren and families during the summer.

• SeniorAdultVacationBibleSchool- We have also decided to cancel the Senior Adult VBS planned for August, in an effort to protect our older adults, who may be more vulnerable.

Thank you for your prayers and your continued support of our Children’s Ministry and Older Adult Ministry at Parkway Heights!

More Callers NeededWe want to thank our many North of 70 Ministry volunteers for sharing God’s love with our seniors by making phone calls and running errands.

As time has progressed, this ministry has realized that it needs more volun-teer callers — especially male volun-teers! Please consider serving in this way and calling a senior once or twice a week. We want our older adults, who may feel lonely or frightened, to know their Parkway Heights family loves them. To learn more, please call Susan McCall at 601.543.9149 or Marty Woodall at 601.466.2911.

FYI

Get to know your Church Council! This month’s Church Council Spotlight is on our staff parish relations chair, Mack-enzie Crutchfield. The following is a letter from Mackenzie:

Hello, Parkway Heights! I miss you. I’m Mackenzie Crutchfield, the SPRC chair. (I didn’t know what SPRC was either until I was voluntold to join.) I am married to one of our tallest members, Mason Crutchfield. We have one daughter, Sawyer Blaine, and I’m expecting her little sister, Cory Hayes, to arrive this August. We live in “The Avenues,” as the locals say. (We still say, “Hatt-EES-burg” instead of “Hatt-iss-burg,” so I’m not sure if we’re considered local yet. We’re from Dothan, AL.) Mason and I visited PHUMC because it was the Methodist church closest to our house. It’s the only church we visit-ed, and we’ve been here one week longer than Bruce.

I am an occupational therapist in the Rehabilitation Center at Forrest General Hospital. I help adults regain their functional independence and quality of life after they’ve experienced a stroke, amputation, life-threatening illness — you name it! Despite my lifelong love for adults, I first dove into PHUMC by

volunteering with the youth group. After all, I too, am a millennial. I was still somewhat cool before I became a mom. Now I’m in the Young Adults class with some members approach-ing 40 (cough, Drew Rhian). I’m be-coming less cool each day, taking on motherhood and SPRC. But, before COVID-19, I was still eating dinner with four of the cool kids each month. (Shout out to Anna Weston Burks, Susannah Case, Nellie Ar-rington and Sarah Grace Arrington.) They keep me young.

SPRC’s purpose is to serve our clergy and staff — checking in on their personal needs and making it known that they too are cared for when they grow weary of car-ing for us. To be honest, I feel I am struggling as SPRC chair, especially during this time of COVID-19. How do we truly care for a clergy/staff team who spoon-feeds us Christlike availability? How do we really exude the same amount of Christlike love for the team who has worked more hours from home during this pan-demic than ever before, just so we could have an Easter experience? I don’t have the answer, but I’m sup-posed to lead the SPRC in doing so. My goal for SPRC this year has been reshaped by COVID-19. I hope that a

Mason, Mackenzie and SawyerCrutchfield

Wesley ClubAnniversAry

Wesley Club celebrates its 40th anniversary this year! In our

InMission newsletters throughout 2020, we’ll share some pictures of

Wesley Club over the years. Wesley Club singers performed at the Christmas party in 2005.

In this picture from 1988, ladies prepared the meal for a Wesley Club gathering.

Church Council Spotlight: Mackenzie Crutchfield

genuine concern for our clergy/staff is felt from our congregation — not just our SPRC. I want all of us, myself especially, to be more intentional in assuring Bruce: “It’s ok that you always mess up names,” by asking Julie: “How are you so kind and calm if you live with Sid?!” or telling Wes Ingram: “Thank you for toler-ating our teens!” I want all of us to know and pray for Joe, Wes A., Sam, Brooke, Amanda, Susan, Lesley, Greg, David, Avril and Clair weekly. I want all of us to remember how we missed church during this pandem-ic and never take for granted the ones who kept it running.

As your SPRC chair, I ask that you text, email, write, Zoom (whatever the cool kids do these days) our clergy/staff to encourage and thank them. As a pregnant healthcare professional, I ask that you safely practice the recommended precau-tions for COVID-19, so my babies may get baptized in front of all of you this year. Stay safe!

OUTREACHEdwards St. Fellowship Center UpdateFrom early March to mid-April, nearly 300 NEW families have been served by the Edwards Street Fellowship Center food pantry. This is in addition to the regular number of clients served by Edwards Street. This increase is mostly due to job loss or a drastic reduction in work hours for those in our community. Edwards Street anticipates that this number will continue to grow. If you can contribute non-perishable food or make a monetary donation, it will be most appreciated. For more information, visit https://edwardsstreetfellowship.org.

Edwards Street would also love for you to send notes with Scripture verses or drawings that include hope-filled messages. Mail these to ESFCU, P.O. Box 17532, Hattiesburg 39404 or email them to spreadhope@EdwardsStreetFellowship.org. Your note will be included in a client’s bag of food. Please be sure to include your first name and hometown. Your email address will be removed. Thank you for helping spread faith, hope and love!

Assisting Storm Victims Mississippi UMC Disaster Relief and UMCOR have been working diligently to assist those affected by recent severe weather. There are several ways you can help tornado victims:

• Preparedmeals. To provide a meal or even individually wrapped sandwiches for volun-teers or storm victims, contact Hope Staples at 601.323.4862.

• Cleanupefforts.Contact Brandon Halford at 601.320.5244 to help with yard cleanup, chain-saw work and tarp placement in Covington or Clarke Counties.

• Amazongiftregistry. Click on the Amazon link found on our Facebook page to send items directly to tornado victims.

• VolunteeratFEMAregistrationsites.Training will be provided, in-person and through Zoom, of how to help. Personal protective equipment (masks, gloves and hand sanitizer) will be provid-ed. To sign up, visit https://mississippi-reg.brtapp.com/UMCORTechnologySupportCenter.

FYITake Advantage of Christian Media Resources During this time when we can’t meet together, we want to make sure you’re aware of resources you can use at home to continue personal Bible study and worship on your own or with your family.

Amplify Media is the media platform offered by the United Methodist Church. For a limited time, Amplify has several free resources for adults and children to help keep you engaged in the Bible. To look over the free content, visit https://amplifymedia.com/free-amplify-content.

And, as you hopefully already know, all members of Parkway Heights have free access to RightNow Media, which provides Christian books, de-votions and videos. These resources are great for a small group, but they are also wonderful for individual and family studies. Parents of young children will also enjoy all the children’s videos, such as Veggie Tales, that are available. If you’ve never utilized your free membership, visit parkwayheights.org/news for the link.

Senior Sunday: May 24On Sunday, May 24, we will honor and bless our graduating high school se-niors during our Facebook live service at 10 a.m. We are asking everyone to send letters of encouragement and blessing to each of our six seniors by Wednesday, May 20. The seniors are: Emily Collins, Will Eaton, Colin Hughes, Austin Lane, Meredith McCall and Kaitlyn Schock.

Please mail the letters to: PHUMC, c/o Wes Ingram, 2420 Hardy St., Hatties-burg, MS 39401; or you can drop them off in the basket outside the church doors on Mondays and Thursdays be-tween 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Wes will present these letters to the seniors on May 24.

YOUTH

Congratulations to Our 2020 Seniors!

Emily Collins Colin HughesWill Eaton

Austin Lane Meredith McCall Kaitlyn Schock

Youth online GatherinGs

Our youth are continuing to meet online on Sundays at 6 p.m. Wes

and others go live on YouTube with some fun and a short devotion.

Following YouTube Live, everyone is invited to join a small group discussion over Zoom. If you

use your phone, you’ll need to download the Zoom app. Watch

the youth’s Facebook page for more announcements.

Senior SN@P & SignsFour of our seniors joined Wes for SN@P Live on YouTube on April 26 for a discussion about their time at Parkway Heights. They ended the night with the annual “Senior Pie-Eating Contest.” To recognize our seniors, we are giving them personalized yard signs.

children

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH OUR PARkWAy HEIGHTS kIdSBella, Bo and Adrianna Bass waved their palm branch on Palm Sunday.

Emilia Birdwell posed in front of the greenery on her door for Palm Sunday.

Malone and Mary Makenzie Walker drew chalk art to celebrate Easter.

Caroline and

Annabelle Yates also did chalk

art on Easter.

Reese Ward snuggled with her stuffed animal during the children’s Pajama Party on April 26.

Sue Brown’s granddaughter, Aliegha,

had a lot of cuddly friends during the Pajama Party.

Keep Showing Love to Your GrandfriendsDuring this time of social distancing, we have encouraged Parkway Heights’ children and youth to reach out to church members over the age of 70 every few weeks with a card, picture or email. So far, our children and youth have made 34 new Parkway “grandfriends”! Is your child interested in making a new “grandfriend”? We would love to help your child make that connection; to receive the name and address of a “grandfriend,” email lesleyellison@parkwayheights.org.

Layla Lee and her drawing for her grandfriend

Sunday Morning Children’s TimeWe are having so much fun with Chil-dren’s Time each week! Whether you have children or not, please join us on the Parkway Heights Facebook page at 9 a.m. on Sundays! Special thanks to Sid and Julie Collins, Cheryl Mueller, Kenny Christensen, Bruce Case, John Burks, Chris Ellison, Lindsey Lewis and Andy Gilstrap for helping to make this a special and fun time for our children. Parents, remember to email your child’s good news and prayer con-cerns to Lesley during the week!

LOFT UpdateZoom, Zoom, Zoom... Our LOFT kids are “Zooming”! While we can’t meet physically, our fifth and sixth grade children are connecting with one another and encouraging each other over Zoom at 4 p.m. on Sunday after-noons. If your 5th or 6th grader has not received Zoom meeting invita-tions, please contact Lesley.

Camp Wesley Pines UpdateAfter much prayer, consideration and reflection among the Camp Wesley Pines staff and board of directors regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Camp Wesley Pines has made the difficult decision to cancel its sum-mer camps for 2020. If parents have already sent in payments for summer camp, options for transfers, donations and refunds are listed on wesleypines.com under the COVID-19 button. Please continue to pray for the minis-try of Camp Wesley Pines.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

Phone calls are answered Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Limited staff

members are in the office on Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Mail RoomDear Parkway Heights friends,

Your generous year-round support of Edwards Street Fellowship Center is a blessing. We are grateful for your faithfulness in caring for neighbors in need.

Since early March, nearly 300 new families have been served by our food pantry — mostly due to job loss or a drastic reduction in work hours. We anticipate that number growing in the weeks to come. Your compassionate gifts help ensure our food pantry shelves remain stocked to help these families and individuals as they navigate this tough season of life.

Our free medical clinic remains open, providing high quality health care to uninsured adults in our community. God’s blessings abound as the body of Christ continues to care for the community. We thank God for the support, encouragement and prayers of your congregation. Thank you for helping us shine the light of God’s love and spread hope during this difficult time.

Blessings, Ann

Ann McCullenExecutive DirectorEdwards Street Fellowship Center PhuMC Finances

March 2020 Income .................................... $140,060 Expenses ................................. $135,998 Net ................................................... $4,062 YtD actual Income .................................... $413,392 Expenses ................................. $417,494 Net ................................................ $(4,102) YtD Comparison Budgeted Income ............ $436,852 Actual Income .................... $413,392 Budget Deficit ........................ $23,460

Prayer Concernsall healthcare providers, Helen Paul,

Billy Slay

sympathy to - Jennifer James, on the death of her husband, Richard - Ray and Roberta Daniels, on the death of their son, Ryan - Marie Curry and Jamie Russell, on the death of Marie’s father and Jamie’s grandfather, Jim Dooley - Nevil Barr, on the death of his mother, Betty Barr - the family of Anne Lackey - Cindy Re, on the death of her sister, Donna Mason

Praise - for the birth of Benjamin Cole Maurer, born to Greg and Rachel Maurer on April 3, 2020.

Parkway Heights UMC2420 Hardy Street

Hattiesburg, MS 39401www.parkwayheights.org

601.544.7873

Bruce Case, Lead Pastor

Julie Collins, Executive Pastor

Susan Eaton, Associate Pastor

David Sellers, Pastor, The Open Door Community

Wes Ingram, Pastor, Youth & Families

Lesley Ellison, Children & Families

Wes Arrington,Outreach & Facilities

Worship with us online• SundayWorship:10 a.m. live on

our Facebook page

• Children’sMoments: Sundays at 9 a.m. live on our Facebook page

• ConversationswithSusanEaton: Mondays at 10 a.m. live on our Facebook page. On Monday, May 4, Susan will speak with Rev. Andy Stoddard about forgiveness.

• OpenDoorCommunity:Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. live on The Open Door’s Facebook page

this & that

4 Send us your good news to parkwayheights@parkwayheights.org!

4 Do you know someone in our church family who is graduating from college or graduate school? Let us know, so we can pray for him or her!

4 Coming soon... Another set of special music in the Choir Suite Series.

A behind-the-scenes view of our live services