Nurture

May, 2025

Dear Tryon United Methodist Church Family,

I want to express my deepest gratitude for your unwavering support of our Shepherd Program over the past nearly two decades. This initiative has been a beacon of love, care and connection, as we’ve faithfully cared for one another in Christian love. Your dedication to this ministry has been a testament to the spirit of community and the heart of Christ within our congregations. While the Shepherd Program will now be put on hold, this doesn’t diminish the importance of continuing to care for one another individually. We are all called to love one another as Christ has loved us in a shepherd flock relationship with or without an intentional ministry area.

Should God lead our church to grow once more, I trust that this ministry can be re-imagined and restructured in alignment with His will and vision. Thank you for being part of this journey, and may we continue to walk together in faith and love.

With heartfelt thanks, Pam Monterisi

We know that becoming part of a new church can be challenging, probably in ways that long-time members haven’t even considered. Our goal is to hasten the day when new members feel completely at home in the “loving, caring family of faith” that is our vision for Tryon UMC. Much of our activity is informal and interpersonal, interspersed with opportunities for new members to learn more about who does what and why, to find their own niche, and, we hope, to make some lifelong friends. We will always benefit from the perspective our newest members bring to the congregation.

Handmade shawls symbolize the love Christ gives no matter what life experiences we happen to endure. The whole process from requesting the prayer, making each shawl, and its delivery is a beautiful recognition that Christ abides in our lives. Prayers have been said from the beginning stitch to hands laid on the shawl in prayer by members of this ministry. Over 450 shawls have been prayerfully made and presented/ delivered since its beginning. The group has grown from 5 to 12 women and meets every other Tuesday at 10:00 AM in the Comfort Shawl Ministry room. We welcome all to our group which includes Tryon UMC members, women within the Tryon community, and as far as the Charlotte and Chapel Hill areas. Shawls are personally delivered within a 10-35 mile radius and others sent via USPS.

A soup meal is readily available for anyone in our church family who is ill or anxious. Referrals are identified by the Pastor, shepherd, or Nurture leaders. Coordination and delivery of each meal is done with a timely and discreet response. The new initiatives this year will be to improve the delivery process and encourage donations of soup. Five or six homemade meals are usually delivered each quarter. Meals are donated by church volunteers with additional items purchased from the Tryon UMC budget. We always need fresh homemade soups and welcome you to provide some for this outreach. Containers for the soup are given to you to fill with soup and are then are placed in the locked Food for the Soul freezer.

One annual two-hour fellowship gathering which includes a well-selected program/meal is planned each year for the members of LA where each is encouraged to bring a friend. Additionally, people are visited, given individualized attention, and are sometimes driven to medical appointments during times of need. The coordinators connect with all LA members by various means: regular visits, phone calls, sending handmade birthday, holiday, get well, and thinking of you cards at multiple times throughout the year to each LA member, sharing one-on-one lunch or dinner. Focused attention is paid to those living under skilled care.

This group of people who like to read meets the 3rd Monday of each month. The one hour discussions are held in the church library at 12:00 noon. Every 12-18 months, members of the group bring recommendations of books for us to choose for the future; we discuss the titles, and the leader of the group makes a list of the books we are considering, along with a short summary of each. At the next meeting we discuss the books on the list and choose the next 12-18 months of titles to read and discuss. Then the leader makes a calendar of dates with the books for each monthly meeting. The fellowship we enjoy as we gather is as important as the book discussions. Frequently we share personal stories that may be connected to what we have read. The group is open to all –members and non-members of the church. Usually five to ten people participate in each meeting, but there is no limit in number. Occasionally we meet at a person’s home or a special event such as watching a video of the book. We also invite local authors to join us when we read their book.

This is an extensive Christian email ministry which prays for the needs of our church family, community and beyond through requests from our Pastor, church members, prayer cards in the pews and anyone outside our church community. There are 40 + people who receive prayer requests 24/7 via email. These prayer partners pray when they review their email. The prayer requests are then placed on the Pastor’s Prayer List to be lifted up each Sunday. There are times when specific names are withheld for confidential reasons and presented as Unspoken Requests .

This ministry connects church members. Those who are longtime, new, or even newer church members make excellent shepherds of their flock. Each shepherd has between one and four families in his/her flock. A shepherd’s primary responsibility is to pass on any helpful information to the Pastor as she provides for the needs of her congregation. A shepherd is also the Pastor’s point of contact should a need be identified with one in the flock. Each shepherd has a flock to care for, but, each shepherd is also a member of another shepherd’s flock. The circle of care is unbroken. What are some other ways to be a good shepherd? Be a good listener…Pray regularly for flock…Encourage flock to contact you in times of need or joy…Be a one person welcoming committee to greet members of your flock at worship and church events...Send a card during holidays…Help flock feel cared for, and better connected to fuller church life.