Open Door Policy
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. - John 12:26
A lot has changed at CHUM since the beginning of 2022. For starters, our gifted choir director, Ben, was offered a position at a church closer to home. By “closer to home”, I mean in his community where both he and his wife, Molly, teach, as well as where their children go to school. It truly was a job that he could not turn down. God opened a door and the invitation was accepted. We found ourselves in a bit of a pickle at CHUM, but not for long. Fortunately, Rusty and others knew that two choir members had a background in music education and church music. Both these individuals had lots of prior experience and had been called on over the years to help in Ben’s absence, so the congregation was familiar with the potential to be brought to the table. Justin Banks and I were offered positions in our church as a “package deal” of sorts, combining our strengths to carry on and move forward with our music ministry. God opened a door and the invitation was accepted. Just when we thought it was safe to begin doing a little CHUM family planning for the future, we were hit with another unexpected change. Right on the heels of celebrating Rusty’s ten-year anniversary with us, he was offered a ministerial move to, of all places, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Rusty had planned on CHUM being his final appointment as a Methodist minister, but as the dominos began to fall, and conferences were being combined, our UMC Bishop asked Rusty if he would like to move. For those who don’t know, Rusty’s plan was to retire to Gatlinburg, where he and his precious mom, Irona, already have a home. It was never in his plan to preach in his retirement town! But this was an ideal situation for Rusty. With Gatlinburg UMC being a smaller congregation, there would be less responsibility with a parsonage only steps away in the event that his mom needed him. God opened a door and the invitation was accepted.
As ministers were being moved around to fill vacancies, Stephen Benefield, aka “The New Guy”, was approached about coming to CHUM. Stephen had been serving two churches in North Alabama but maintained a home here in the Birmingham area, specifically, Vestavia Hills. This was an answer to prayer for Stephen. (Hopefully, his new congregation won’t cause him to rethink his prayer.) Stephen graciously accepted the offer. God opened a door and the invitation was accepted.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. - Psalm 119:35
We as a church family will never forget our friends who have left to do God’s work in other places, but as we move forward, may we embrace our new leadership as we continue to be the hands and feet of Christ in our congregation, our community, and beyond. And to all who are able, we hope you will join us this Sunday, July 3rd, at 11:00 a.m., as we officially welcome our new minister, Stephen, and his lovely wife, Darla, into our church family. Many blessings to each of you from Cahaba Heights United Methodist Church, where our door is always open and you are always invited.
We may even leave the light on for ya!
Lisa Stewart Coleman
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." - Mark 16:15
