Good Grief Support Group Offers Healing Through Community Grief is a strange companion. It shows up uninvited, stays longer than expected, and can feel like a weight too heavy to carry alone. Whether your loss is recent or long past, whether it came suddenly or after a long goodbye, grief doesn’t follow a schedule—and it rarely makes sense. That’s why the Good Grief Support Group exists; to find strength through shared loss and to offer healing through community. Meeting every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. in the St. Andrew's Conference Room—or by Zoom for those who prefer to join from home—Good Grief is a welcoming, open support group for anyone mourning the loss of a loved one. There’s no need to sign up, no timeline you’re expected to follow, and no expectation that you’ve “moved on.” Each session stands on its own, and participants are welcome to join at any time they feel ready. Led by Gary Uremovich and Viveca Yoshikawa, a married couple and members of St. Andrew's, the group brings both compassion and personal experience to the table. Both have walked through widowhood and now draw from six years of experience facilitating grief groups. They’ve also co-authored a book titled "Good Grief," which explores how grieving—done intentionally and in community—can lead to healing, connection, and even unexpected growth. “Grief is painful,” Gary explains, “but how we grieve matters. Done well, grief can lead us back to wholeness. That’s what we mean by Good Grief.” Each group session is interactive, creating space for honest sharing, listening, and support. Whether you prefer to talk, listen, or be present, the atmosphere is respectful and kind. No pressure. No judgment. In addition to the Sunday group, Gary and Viveca also host a Thursday Night Together dinner at their home in Brandon from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. It’s a casual, welcoming space to share a meal with others—no cost, no agenda, just community. Feel free to bring family or friends and come as you are. An RSVP is appreciated. For more information or to RSVP, contact Gary Uremovich at 813-727-7078. Gary Uremovich and Viveca Yoshikawa Leaders, Good Grief Support Group #saumcbrandon #reachcreateserve #goodgriefsupportgroup #loss #grief #healing #hope

United Women in Faith at St. Andrew's United Women in Faith is a 156-year-old national organization begun by eight women in 1869. At St. Andrew’s, it is a community of women who are driven by God’s love and united in sisterhood. With a focus on women, children and youth, we act for justice and transform communities. We inspire, influence, and impact the world with our love in action. St. Andrew’s has three circles that meet monthly: Friendship Circle: Meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month @ 10am Seekers Circle: Meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month @ 6:30pm Wesleyan Circle: Meets the 3rd Monday of the month @ 2pm We come together quarterly as a whole unit. We sponsor Wonder Walk, Granny’s Attic, and the Fall Craft Fair. These fundraisers help support our local, national and international focus on women, children and youth. The Florida Conference of United Women in Faith has just had their Annual Mission u at the Westin Hotel in Lake Mary, FL. It is VBS/Summer Camp for United Women in Faith throughout the state of Florida. We had six members from St. Andrew’s in attendance. The Mission u photo (below) is Communion on Sunday, July 20. The theme this year was "Practicing Hope" with an 8-hour Bible study, three elective activities about Hope, and a Spiritual Speaker during plenary. Seek & Find Worship band inspired us through the three days. We had great fellowship with our “sisters” from across the state…a fun sleepover! State of Florida United Women in Faith at Mission u, Communion Service (Westin Hotel, July 20, 2025).. All women from youth to beautifully wise are welcome. Join us because love in action can change the world. If you are interested, contact Shari Gillis, Wesleyan Circle Leader of United Women in Faith-St. Andrew’s UMC at sharimgillis.umw@gmail.com . Click HERE to learn more about the world changing work of United Women in Faith. Shari Gillis Wesleyan Circle Leader-United Women in Faith St. Andrew's United Methodist Church #saumcbrandon #reachcreateserve #unitedwomeninfaith

Vitality Respite Center Vitality Respite Center provides an environment of well-being for our “friends” living with memory loss by creating a nurturing space of belonging for them and their care partners. Volunteers share their talents and gifts through structured socialization activities (music, dance, singing, exercise, games, conversation, helping others, working on community service projects); thus, providing for their spiritual, mental and physical needs. Volunteers make our “friends” feel that they are still a valued part of the community. By providing a safe and friendly environment, their care partners can enjoy valuable free time. At Vitality Respite, we are all about “engagement and ice cream”. Our family of friends meet weekly to share good times together. You can feel the camaraderie and excitement! Volunteering is the “gift” that keeps on giving and our volunteers know how to give. They give with their time, compassion, love and understanding. Kindness goes a long way. It is challenging but truly rewarding. We have added three new guests this month, which brings our total number to nine. We are currently integrating our new volunteers (over the summer) into our core group of volunteers. Your continued support and consideration make our efforts as volunteers worthwhile. There is a real need for our outreach ministry program. This was definitely witnessed by eight of our volunteers who attended the recent Alzheimer’s Caregiver C.A.R.E.S. Workshop at USF Health (Byrd Alzheimer’s Center & Research Center).  If you know of someone who could benefit from this program, or if you would like to be a volunteer to help in a fun and exciting environment, Vitality Respite Center is the place for you! Contact Terri Hartney, Vitality Director at (813) 689-6849, option 5 or email at vitality@saumc.net about volunteer opportunities, program participation, and/or how to support the work of Vitality Respite Center. Visit our website  for information and resources. Terri Hartney, Director Vitality Respite Center Vitality Respite Center is a Ministry of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church. This center is made possible by a grant from the Brookdale Foundation. #saumcbrandon #reachcreateserve #memoryloss #dementia #alzheimers #caregiver #respitecare

GALS: Growing & Loving Servants All ladies are invited to join with GALS (Growing & Loving Servants) to watch Season 5 of “The Chosen”. We will begin Thursday, July 24 at 9:30 a.m. in Disciples’ Hall-Room 421 promptly. Each week, after the video, there will be a discussion of the scripture the video was based on and the characters and their actions/words in the episode. We are a very open group and there is a lot of voluntary sharing of thoughts and feelings each week. If you are looking for a place to connect, you are welcome- regardless of age. The group is currently led by Carol Wetherington, Dawn Wagner, and Laura Evans. We have single ladies, married ladies, retired ladies, grandmothers- really, all ladies will fit in with this group. Following watching “The Chosen”, on September 18 we will begin the study “More Messy People” by Jennifer Cowart. The Participant book is available on Amazon. If the study involves 5 days of ‘homework’, we usually split that into 2 weeks per lesson, and the ‘homework’ is always optional. We do encourage people to at least read the lessons because doing so always blesses you in some way! Warmly, Carol Wetherington GALS Group Leader . Interested in joining GALS? Click HERE to sign up. #saumcbrandon #reachcreateserve #women #smallgroups #ministry #TheChosen

Sometimes it is good to make a change. Starting next Friday, July 11, we are shifting our approach to the space in the Friday Connection we used for a devotion each week by the pastors. It turns out that we did not have many people opening and reading the devotions. Yet, the Friday connection had a very large readership each week. That means this newsletter is our primary source of information for what is happening in our community of St. Andrew’s. Going forward, we are going to use that same space to tell you more about what is occurring here at the church. All our groups and class leaders have been invited to submit articles or videos telling us about their group or ministry. Each week we will hear from a different voice about what is happening in our community. Our prayer is that this space will become another vehicle to promote community and invite others to find a group or ministry to join. It will be fun to see and hear more from the wonderful group and class leaders of St. Andrew’s. #faith #transition #ministry

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also out to love one another. 1 John 4:7,11 Love, when embraced in its purest form, has the power to transform, heal, and unite. It transcends boundaries, mends wounds, and inspires acts of kindness that ripple across generations. Love is not only a desire, but an inherent need woven into the fabric of our being. It is this need that shapes our actions, choices, and even our moral compass. The power of love lies in its ability to lead us closer to God, for God Himself is love. A group of researchers in Montreal’s McGill University were doing a study on children who were habitual liars and trying to understand their motivation. So, they took a group of these children and ran a battery of tests to catch them in the act of telling a fib. Then they read different groups a couple of stories. First one was the classic story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf —the version in which both the boy and the sheep get eaten because of his repeated lies. Alternatively, they read George Washington and The Cherry Tree , in which young George confesses to his father that he chopped down the prized tree with his new hatchet. The story ends with his father’s reply: “George, I’m glad that you cut down the tree after all. Hearing you tell the truth instead of a lie is better than if I had a thousand cherry trees.” Now, which story do you think reduced lying more? When they surveyed 1,300 people, 75 percent thought The Boy Who Cried Wolf would work better. However, this famous fable actually did not cut down lying at all in their experiments. In fact, after hearing the story, kids lied even a little more than normal. The story just scared them to become better at lying. They simply learned how to get caught less often. Meanwhile, hearing George Washington and The Cherry Tree —even when Washington was replaced with another name, eliminating the potential that a famous person might influence the kids—lying was reduced by a sizable 43 percent in kids. Why? Well, it is simple – children will do whatever it takes to be loved. God has created in each of us an innate need to be loved. This research shows that. And what makes good parents is not simply whether we abide by a set of parenting rules. But how much we show love to our children. And what makes a good Christian is not simply what roles we have in the church, what programs we are a part of, but how much we show love. For God is a God who first and foremost pours out His love to his own children, you and me in a powerful way. #GodIsLove #loveourneighbors #unconditionallove #grace

None of us have all the spiritual gifts. Through our baptism, we each our given some. One that I lack is mercy. My husband has a lot of mercy. I do not. Yet all Christians are called to be merciful. Romans 12:15 says, “Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying.” The question then is how do I do that if I don’t have the gift of mercy? Well, you intentionally practice empathy. Empathy is simply putting yourself in the shoes of others. To do that you must learn to stop talking and begin to truly listen to another person. If you are a knower, and yes you know what I mean, you need to reshape your thinking to be a learner. As you begin to intentionally listen, you must push down your judgmental thoughts. People are smart and if you are not careful, your judgmental side will inflict personal shame on the person you are listening to. You must also try to understand the person’s feelings and then communicate your understanding to them. Just being silent can also make them feel judged. Listen with a balanced approach and set aside your judgment. Finally, be mindful of what can block your empathy. Surprisingly, expressing sympathy is the first thing that blocks empathy. The reason is you are feeling bad for someone, not with them. They need your companionship far more than your sad feelings. We also often make negative comments that we have maybe heard our whole life without understanding their impact. Questions like, “What were you thinking?” Erase that question from your vocabulary. It never helps. Diminishing their feelings by telling them, “It is not so bad” is also so much more destructive than we ever intend. We feel like those words will help. They do not. They simply add to someone’s suffering. Never gasp when someone is honest about a situation. Your gasp is only heaping on shame. Finally, never one-up someone by says, “You think that is bad…” You are only shifting your attention to yourself. None of us ever intentionally means to hurt people, but if you don’t have the gift of mercy, you probably need to take inventory of your response when someone is hurting. If no one ever shares their pain with you, it may be because of your responses in the past. We are all called to express mercy. For people like me and maybe you, we just need to work on it a bit and the Holy Spirit will gently help us improve. #innerwork #innerhealing #compassion

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…" Matthew 28:19 CEB This Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost, is traditionally Trinity Sunday. You will find some churches that will focus their services on the Trinity. But not many. At St. Andrew’s we will be continuing our series on Summer At the Movies this Sunday and just highlight that the day is commemorated as Trinity Sunday. The term Trinity is fundamentally a theological term. Defining the Trinity is rather simple. It is the notion in Christianity that God is a unity of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a way of saying something about who God is and the way we experience Him. Although the definition is simple, understanding what this means is the hard part. If it were possible to look at a portrait of God, we could see a Father, who would mirror the almighty author of creation. We would also see the Son whom the Father sent to our world to make Himself known to us as a human. And we would see the Holy Spirit who is working His invisible power, transforming us to be more like Christ. Yet what you would see is clearly one and only one God. It is sometimes easier to explain what it is not. The Trinity does not mean there are three Gods. There is one and only one God. Nor does it say that there is the Father with His subordinates, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same and equal in standing. Some have tried to explain the Trinity with the comparison to water. Water is water, but it can be a solid in the form of ice, a liquid in the form of water, and as a gas in the form of steam. But even this is not a precise comparison. Water cannot be ice, water, and steam at the same time, but God can be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time. This is why when you hear people try to explain the Trinity they always use the word ‘mystery.’ There are no words to describe precisely how it is to be understood. But it does reveal to us that God is a unique and intricate being. And it tells us of the character of God. Just as He is one being of three persons, He is a relational God, relating within Himself and desiring to relate to us. At the beginning of this devotion, I stated that the term Trinity is fundamentally a theological term. But it is really not. It speaks of our experience of God. The God we worship is a God who chooses to be known in relationship, and therefore, it is about us as well. Trinity Sunday is not about the concept of God, but the experience of God. For that, we give thanks and praise. #TrinitySunday #faith #God #Jesus #HolySpirit

Practice Supporting Your Church Financially   As United Methodists, we believe in supporting our church financially.  The biblical understanding of giving is the tithe which is an Old Testament teaching about the law given through Moses requiring the Israelites to give a tithe or one-tenth of the produce of their land and livestock to support the Levitical priesthood (Leviticus 27:30-33). Today, we view giving not as a rule, but as a way of living with the understanding that God teaches us that a generous life is the best life to live.  Giving is about acknowledging that God is the source of all things, including our possessions.  In a consumer culture, this is especially important to understand.  To give is about faith.  It is about growing in our trust of God, even with our finances.  To begin to give, choose a percentage and give it consistently. If you share your finances with a partner, talk to them about your desire to give and come to a consensus that you are both comfortable with.  Allow God to challenge you when it is time to increase your giving.  Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the whole tenth-part to the storage house so there might be food in my house. Please test me in this, says the Lord of heavenly forces. See whether I do not open all the windows of the heavens for you. ”   What you will learn when you give is that you cannot outgive our God and this act of giving will help you grow in your faith and feel closer to your God.  #connectionalchurch #faith #giving

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another… Hebrews 10:24-25 I recall a science fiction movie back in the early 1980’s which featured a fictional company where everyone in the entire organization was named John. Suffice it to say, it made for a very confusing atmosphere. You can almost say the same thing about the organization of the United Methodist Church, where it seems that everything is called a “conference.” A conference can refer to a geographical area, a body of people or an actual event. Let me explain. A local church, like St. Andrew’s is part of a group of churches organized in a geographical area called a district. A District Superintendent (DS) is an appointed clergy that provides administrative and spiritual leadership for the churches for that district. We have a wonderful DS in Rev. Emily Hotho. All the districts in a particular geographical area make up an annual conference. We are a part of the Florida Annual Conference, which includes all the state of Florida, except the panhandle. And this is where it gets a little confusing because “annual conference” can refer to either the geographical area that makes up the grouping of local churches or to the annual meeting of lay and clergy members within that geographical area of the annual conference. A bishop presides over an annual conference. Our current bishop is one of the best, Rev. Tom Berlin. The reason that I am giving you this quick tutorial of the UMC organization is that on June 6, we are in the midst of the Florida Annual Conference event in Lakeland, which started Thursday and ends on Saturday, June 7. This is a time when an equal number of lay members and clergy members gather to conduct the business of the conference organization. Yet the conference is more than just a business meeting. It is a time to worship together, pray together, hear the achievements of the many agencies and ministries that make up the Florida Conference- its youth ministries, associated colleges and seminaries, mission work, and initiatives. It also is a time to ordain new ministers, celebrate church anniversaries, announce church appointment changes, remembering those who have passed, and honoring those who are retiring. Including me, this year. For the United Methodist Church is said to be a connectional organization. Connectional simply means that all United Methodist churches are linked to all other United Methodist churches by organization and by purpose as they go about the work of making disciples. The structure of the UMC encourages conferencing. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, considered Christian conferencing among the spiritual disciplines through which God’s grace may be made known to us. Conference may seem to be an overused term in the UMC, yet we understand as we conference together, serve together, worship together, and fellowship together, we can more fully experience and realize the grace of God that is offered to us through His son, Jesus Christ. What a blessing this is! #FloridaConferenceUnitedMethodistChurch #connectionalchurch #faith

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV Although not an official season of the church calendar, I have also felt that May was the official “fatigued” season of the church year. It’s the end of the church programming year -- the time when events are drawing to a close, studies are concluding, small groups are stopping for the summer. And if you are like me, living in a society where we over-commit to everything – it’s the season of the year when you are downright exhausted, burned out. You can’t wait for the summer to start so you can get some rest. Summer is a time when you get a new attitude and get refreshed for the new season – albeit to say that each year the summer seems to go by so fast. But it is the end May – and we are running on fumes, just trying to get through this month. I read something recently (on the Internet as usual) that caught my attention. In ancient times, when people visited a shaman because they were sick inside, the shaman asked four things: 1. When in your life did you stop singing? 2. When in your life did you stop dancing? 3. When in your life did you stop being enchanted by stories, and particularly by your own story? 4. When in your life did you start being uncomfortable in that sweet territory of silence? We may be exhausted from all the activity, but when we lose that passion in our lives and try to answer these questions, we may notice that it happened when our devotional life transformed into busy work and routine. It happened when we moved away from God and toward hustle and bustle activities. Maybe it’s time for a re-orientation. Let this time before summer starts to be a time for new energy and not an energy zapper. Take time to get oriented toward the Christ who has come, the Christ who is here, and the Christ who will come again – toward the living Christ. #rest #sabbath #play #faith

If you attend a traditional service at St. Andrew’s, you may have noticed that the paraments on the altar and pulpit have been white since Easter. No, we haven’t forgotten to change them. The colors of the paraments change depending on the church calendar season. Right now, we are in the season of Eastertide which is white. Eastertide is the period in the Christian liturgical calendar that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, beginning on Easter Sunday and lasting until Pentecost which is June 8 this year. On that day the paraments will switch to red for one Sunday celebrating the day the Holy Spirit came and filled a room of Jesus followers, and they were changed forever. Whenever we are in Eastertide, I always wonder about what the followers of Jesus were thinking those 40 days before Jesus ascended into heaven. Individual disciples, family, and even two strangers on a road called Emmaus had encounters with Jesus. Once a group of about 500 saw him and another time He showed up in the middle of a locked room where the disciples were hiding. For about 40 days Jesus kept appearing and disappearing until one day He told them He had to leave them so the Holy Spirit could come to them. Strangely, this is the good news of Jesus leaving. Because if Jesus goes, the community of believers will grow because of the arrival of the Holy Spirit. The believers will also have an even closer relationship with Jesus and will go great things in His name for the kingdom of Heaven. John 14:12 says this, “I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father.” Still, I bet they were scared and confused as they watched Him disappear into the clouds. Aren’t we always a bit unnerved by change. Even when we know the change is for a good reason, we can still feel uncertain and afraid. Maybe that is a good time to remember we never go through change alone. Jesus left the disciples physically so He could eternally live within them and they in Him. The same is true for us. Regardless of any change in our lives, we are never outside of the presence and comfort of Jesus. #Eastertide #PentecostSunday #HolySpirit