Charleston Church Reaches Community with Seminars

West Virginia Annual Conference - The United Methodist Church

March 2007

 

"Coffee with an Attitude" is what they call it. The congregation at Morris Memorial UMC, Charleston, holds learning seminars periodically and invites the whole neighborhood. On a recent Saturday morning the guest was motivational speaker Deb Copeland.

 

“It’s easy to have faith after you’ve experienced a miracle,” she said. “The real test of faith, however, is keeping a positive attitude when things aren’t going well.” Ms. Copeland has personal experience with the lows of life. Divorce, poverty, deadly illness, and the challenges of rearing children are all part of her resume. So is creating a successful business out of one room and a copy machine and ending with thousands of employees.

 

Many times in her life she was forced into survival mode. It was during those times that she developed her “attitude therapy” concepts. “Church folk need attitude therapy as much as anyone else,” she said. Basically, Ms. Copeland’s is about having a positive attitude. “It’s not about the bad things that happen,” she said. “It’s about attitude—what’s going on from the neck up.” She said she begins every day listing five things she’s thankful for and recommends an attitude of gratitude.

 

Ms. Copeland said the simple truths in the Bible help her the most. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” she finds most helpful. She said we must prepare for the tragedies of life, but believe that God will act. “Expect great things,” she said. “Don’t stay awake worrying,” Ms. Copeland said, “there’s no reason for both you and God to be up.”

 

Pam Moll, president of the United Methodist Women’s unit, coordinated the event, which, she said, is part of an ongoing ministry of outreach at the church. “Our church calendar is a wonder to behold in itself,” she said. “We feel Deb’s seminar was a success, and it reached out to people far beyond our church walls.”

 

Morris Memorial has been making a concerted effort to reach out to the folks in the local community, as well as the greater Charleston area, with a variety of ministries. The church has invested in a satellite dish, which gives access to many programs and seminars. A marriage enrichment simulcast was held a couple of years ago, which was very well attended.

 

A “Good News Team” has been involved in canvassing the neighborhoods around the church with fliers for events in the church.

 

For a study on the Book of Revelation, the team canvassed a ten square block radius with fliers inviting everyone to the study.

 

Every couple of months the Team picks a four to five square block area and distributes color fliers with upcoming events at the church, as well as general church information.

 

The Revelation study was a multi-media presentation with visual and sensory settings to foster interactive experiences and worship. For instance, one week he had the “river of life” running though the middle of the classroom.

 

Before the Revelation study the church hosted a study that responded to the DaVinci Code misrepresentations of church history.

 

Everyone was urged to read the book, and then Rev. Moll and Lay Leader Dr. Ed Eskew led the study.

 

The church mailed an invitation to everyone in the church zip code area. It was attended by more than 70 persons. People of different faiths were there who had lots of questions.

 

The vision for Morris Memorial is that it truly would be a church which reaches out to the community and all persons, and that they would find a warm and welcoming community there. To that end, they are trying to find all kinds of events, which will speak to the public.

 

The Vacation Bible School reaches out to the community with advertising and invitations. This past year, more than 160 children from the church and the community attended VBS.