Final Sunday

Eleven years ago on May 18th Dennis preached a message as he candidated for Sr. Pastor at Spring Lake Wesleyan. This past Sunday, May 18, he shared his final message as Sr. Pastor at SLWC. The morning services were not without tears, laughter, hugs and thoughtful words.

We certainly felt loved and celebrated by the staff and the people that make up SLWC. Here are a few of the happenings of that morning:

• a lighthearted drama - a couple of "senior ladies" (Rose Grimes & Lisa DeLass) reminisced about the past 11 years
• Pete and Dave shared the top 10 lessons they learned from Dennis
  
• a heartfelt video with greetings that ranged from the Beers in Australia to our own Watermark church plant, Steve Deur
• a surprise visit from Jim and Cindy Dannenberg - wonderful prayer partners who came up from FL - it was great to hear Jim pray over us as many gathered around us at the altar
  
• a final presentation, which was a total surprise to us, was a new Yamaha scooter (we have an older one we love to bum around on)

Dennis always carries 3x5 cards in his pocket and so the congregation wrote notes to us on 3x5 cards. There are so many...we haven't finished reading them all yet.

Thank you SLWC for 11 wonderful years! We will miss you! I'll say again what I shared on Sunday morning... it has been a joy and privilege to love you, grow with you, and to serve along side of you, all because "he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 1:1-13)