Seen Around Church: Week of July 20, 2025

High Schoolers Reflect on Their Time at the Montreat High School Conference

Our SMPC high schoolers spent last week at the Montreat Conference Center for the 2025 Youth Conference, “Light My Path,” in Montreat, NC. They were kind enough to write short reflections on how the time they spent at Montreat impacted their faith and friendships. These are a must-read! Also, check out all of the great photos from the week.

We pray that after spending a peace-filled week, our high schoolers are ready to spread God’s joy and peace to everyone they encounter! A big thank you to our parent chaperones, Associate Pastor of Youth and Missions/Outreach Lindsey Odom and all of those who donated food and supplies!

SMPC Serves Breakfast at Center of Hope

We had a lovely group of dedicated volunteers serving breakfast at Center of Hope on Saturday, July 19! We were excited to welcome SMPC members Jackson Carpenter and his mom, Heather, on Saturday. Jackson is a student at the University of South Carolina. We love seeing our college students come back and serve our community! Bonus points for waking up super early!! Way to go, Jackson!

The next opportunity to serve breakfast to Center of Hope guests is Saturday, August 16. Sign up here. Donations are accepted at any time and are extremely important, as we serve a hot breakfast every month that includes homemade pancakes, freshly scrambled eggs, bacon, turkey bacon, grits, and fresh fruit.

Photo credit: Donna Podgorny

First Scout Leaders, Now Friends

These Scout leaders became friends and have built an awesome community through Scouts! They recently went on an “adults only” camping/backpacking trip. Great photos!

Photo credit: Terry Gaines

Stitched with Love: SMPC Handiworkers Honor Nancy Metzler

Nancy Metzler, a longtime SMPC member and recently retired staff member, was given a special gift by the women in the Handiworkers Group (formerly known as the Persian Pickles). On Tuesday, July 22, Carol Morgan presented Nancy with a beautiful, handmade quilt as a token of appreciation for her many years of service to SMPC. The best part? The quilt carries a rich story of creativity, love, and community—just like SMPC!

Many years ago, someone donated a hand-sewn quilt top, made up of countless fabric scraps, to the Persian Pickles. One day, Nancy stopped by to say hello to the group and admired the quilt top. Since the members were all working on their own patterned quilts, they decided to give the donated quilt top to Nancy to enjoy. And enjoy it she did! The quilt top rested on one of Nancy’s office chairs for years, until her retirement at the end of 2024, after serving on staff for nearly 20 years.

“When Nancy announced her retirement, I remembered the quilt top and thought the current Handiworkers Group (which now includes several quilters!) could finish it for her as a thank-you gift for her years of service to SMPC,” said Carol. “Nancy brought the quilt top to me, and the process of finishing the quilt began.”

It was truly a team effort! Mrna Dibble took Carol to a wholesale shop in Monroe, where she purchased the batting; Joyce Highsmith and Carol went to Joann’s to choose a backing for the quilt and other needed supplies.

Since each piece on the quilt top was hand-sewn and not entirely square, the group couldn’t finish it on a sewing machine. Instead, the backing, batting, and quilt top were brought to one of the Handiworkers’ gatherings, where Maria Varela, Mia S. (10 years old), Jill Page, Joyce Highsmith, and Carol pinned the three layers together.

Maria, Jill, Joyce, and Carol later met to hand-tie the quilt, and Carol took it home to complete the hand-tying. A few weeks later, Maria Varela helped cut the binding, and Carol hand-stitched the binding to the front of the quilt. She also stitched through all the layers near the binding to stabilize the quilt.

Carol presented the finished quilt to Nancy this week, catching her during a break from volunteering at Vacation Bible School!

The Handiworkers Group meets on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. in the Palmer Building, Room 104. While they are on a break for the summer, they’ll reconvene on Tuesday, September 2. All are welcome!

New Signs Coming Soon!

We are thrilled that the bases for SMPC’s new monument signs at the upper and lower entrances were installed this week. The company installing the signs is planning for an August installation date for the two new monument signs and new campus signage. We are looking forward to making our campus even more welcoming to newcomers with fresh, visible signage!