Disney Concert

Tuesday afternoon I took off with Amy for a little Disney magic trip. We checked into Pop Century and then went over to Epcot. We had dinner and then went to the Ben Rector concert. We actually caught the tail end of the 2nd show from outside the theater as we were lining up for the last show. 

We were so close in the 4th row and he gave a great concert, full of favorite music and lots of energy. 

Afterwards we hung out to see the full fireworks show, Symphony of Us.

And then we caught the Skyliner back to our resort. Parker was working the unloading portion of the main station. He saw us and waved - and then his supervisor got his station covered for a few minutes so I could get a hug and say Hi! It was so good to see him at work. He just recently got the offer to extend his time and will be staying at Disney through next June (instead of ending in January). 

 

Cars + Disney

Friday we took Davis to the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital for his annual cleft team clinic appointment. And then afterwards we met up with Parker at Epcot for a little bit. We rode Test Track and Davis loved seeing all the cool cars in the display area at the end, especially this awesome Corvette. And one of the very first electric cars from the 1990s. 

 

Orlando - Bradenton - Venice - Lakeland

I spent last Friday and Saturday at St. Luke's UMC in Orlando at the Beloved Community Summit. We had some great presentations and worship and conversations about how to help churches look more like the diversity of God's kingdom. We had about 8 churches represented from our district there including some clergy and laity and worship leaders. 

Sunday morning I worshipped with Emmanuel UMC and First UMC Bradenton. They are nesting together while they both work on some redevelopment projects. Both churches honored their pastors at the end of the service for Pastor Appreciation Month. 

Then in the afternoon I was at First UMC Palmetto for their West Manatee Mission Field Charge Conference. Six churches gathered together for worship and their church business. 

We introduced our newest district co-lay leader also - Donna Jungman on the right, who will be helping Nancy Metz on the left. 

Monday I spent at Grace UMC Venice to meet with the Sarasota County clergy 1:1 conversations. And in the afternoon I took a walk down to the beach to sit and talk with my spiritual director on the phone. 

Tuesday through Wednesday I spent at the Conference Office in Lakeland for meetings. I got in a couple of walks around the lake. 

 

Furry Friends

Caspian and Fergus really love each other. 

 

Saturday Fun

After a conference in Orlando this weekend, I got to spend a couple of hours with Parker in Epcot. We enjoyed several great food stops at the Food and Wine booths. 

We got to see the drummers in Japan and catch a couple of rides - Figment and then Nemo. 

 

After I dropped him off, he headed to InterCo stadium to see Orlando City play. He got to hang out with his college roommate Eddie and his family at the game. And OC won! 

Port Charlotte to Sarasota to Bradenton

Sunday I visited Gulf Cove UMC in Port Charlotte for worship as they celebrated their 42 anniversary and the completion of their Hurricane Ian repairs this year. Their pastor is Mike Weaver, who went to seminary with Daryl; they also started candidacy together in the old Fort Myers district. 

In the afternoon I was back there as they hosted the Charlotte County Mission Field Charge Conference with five churches total. 

As I left, I discovered this bird perched on the fountain in their lake. 

During the rest of the week, Lynn and I made visits to three smaller churches in the district to have some growth planning conversations. First stop, Friendship UMC in Punta Gorda. 

And I discovered they had a labyrinth near their prayer garden out back. 

Then we spent a day in Bradenton. We started off visiting at Faith UMC in the western part of Manatee County. 

And we finished up the day meeting with the folks at Manatee Life UMC in the central part of Manatee County. 

And in between we stopped off at Trinity UMC for some lunch and planning time. And I filmed the next several reels for the district social media pages. They had this awesome chalkboard art in the hallway - this is a line from a contemporary worship song that I love.