LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C – The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center will continue its 2011 Summer Worship Series, “The World is My Parish,” on July 31 with two great worship opportunities. At the 8:30 a.m. Service of Holy Communion, The Rev. Dr. Mike Slaughter, lead pastor at Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio, will preach on Isaiah and preside at Holy Communion in Memorial Chapel at 8:30 a.m. The Rev. Grace Imathiu, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Neenah-Menasha in Wisconsin, returns to the Lake to preach a sermon titled, “When to Back Off” on Matthew 14:13-21 at the 10:45 a.m. service at Stuart Auditorium.
“You do not want to miss either worship service this Sunday,” said Dr. Jack Ewing, Executive Director of Lake Junaluska. “Both Mike Slaughter and Grace Imathiu are gifted storytellers and offer great gifts of teaching and leadership to the Church.”
An ordained Elder within the United Methodist Church, Dr. Mike Slaughter, lead pastor at Ginghamsburg Church, has a call to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted will challenge attendees to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. In 2005 and 2006, Ginghamsburg was named as one of the top 50 churches in the U.S. by The Church Report magazine and in 2007 The Church Report listed Mike as one of the top 50 most influential Christians in America. He is also the author of multiple books with the most recent being Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus and Upside Living in a Downside Economy.
The Rev. Grace Imathiu, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was born in Kenya and raised in the city of Nairobi. She is an ordained elder in the Methodist Church of Kenya and has served in congregations in Kenya, Washington, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin, as well as Germany, Denmark, Australia, Malaysia, Brazil and England. She currently serves as senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Neenah-Menasha. As a preacher and Bible study teacher, Grace has ministered in Germany, Denmark, Australia, Malaysia, Brazil and England, as well as the United States. She is the author of Words of Fire, Spirit of Grace and Matthew's Message: Good News for the New Millennium.
This worship service is a partnership with the South Carolina Laity Convocation and Lake Junaluska Ministry Events. The Laity event runs from June 29-31 and includes a weekend full of spirit formation and teaching by Dr. Mike Slaughter. For more information, please visit www.lakejunaluska.com/sclaity.
All services are free and open to the public and will be streamed live every Sunday at www.lakejunaluska.com/streaming. For additional information on this service or any of the Summer Worship Series, visit www.lakejunaluska.com/summer-worship, or contact Kimberly Jenne at 1-828-454-6752 or kjenne@lakejunaluska.com.
Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is an agency of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. The mission of Lake Junaluska is to be a place of Christian Hospitality where lives are transformed through renewal of soul, mind, and body.