Matt and Donna’s Retirement Celebration Weekend: The Big Wrap-Up!

Thank you, Matt and Donna!

What an incredible weekend of love, light and fellowship celebrating Donna and Matt’s retirement after 21 years at SMPC! We give thanks to God for Donna and Matt and will be forever grateful for the way they built us in faith and community.

This post is intended to give you a big wrap-up on the weekend—allowing those who could join us to relive the fun and letting those who couldn’t make it still feel like they were part of it! There are lots of fun videos and pictures, so take a minute to sit down and enjoy this good news!

SATURDAY’S PARKING LOT PARTY AND BLUEGRASS CONCERT

On Saturday, November 22, we celebrated Matt and Donna with a Parking Lot Party, complete with food trucks, games, face painting, tattoos (!), music and more! After the outdoor party, Rowan Junction, a bluegrass band from Rowan County, performed in the sanctuary. It was the most fun!

SUNDAY WORSHIP AND RECEPTION

On Sunday, November 23, Matt preached his last sermon at SMPC. If you missed his message of thanks and his sermon, you can listen to it here or watch the service’s livestream here. At the close of worship, SMPC member Nancy Metzler presented a special and lasting gift on behalf of the congregation. In gratitude for his faithful service, our chapel will now bear his name: the Dr. Matthew S. Brown Chapel.

Additionally, freelance writer Ken Garfield wrote a beautiful piece on Matt and Donna’s legacy at SMPC. You can download and print a copy here if you missed getting one on Sunday!

Our Music Ministry, which included the Chancel Choir, Chancel Ringers, Youth Choir and Children’s Choir, along with various musical accompanists, led our congregation in song and prayer in a spectacular way. Director of Music and Organist Zach Bowyer compiled the video below for us.

SUNDAY INCLUDED SERVICE!

Thanks to your generosity, we filled five SUVs with donations to UrbanPromise Charlotte to help our immigrant neighbors in need. Jimmy McQuicklin, UrbanPromise Charlotte Executive Director, said, “Your church showed up in such a big way with food donations. We thought we’d pack and deliver about 50 bags today, and it ended up being around 140! It means so much that your church would stand with our families in such a special way!”

SMPC volunteers Kurt Weinheimer, Amy Matthews, Krista and Charles Casey, Carla Jaynes and Kay Dano helped deliver donations on Monday! Thank you for your quick and generous support!

GIFTS FROM THE CONGREGATION

The congregation, including our children and youth, gave Pastor Matt and Donna some heartfelt gifts!

The congregation gave Donna and Matt a framed watercolor of the sanctuary by local artist Rachel Busby. Limited edition prints will be available for sale during the Alternative Gift Market on Sunday, December 7. Proceeds will support Alternative Gift Market agencies.

Our children created a beautiful piece of art expressing their gratitude for the lasting impressions Matt and Donna made on them! Thank you to Rebecca Guzman and all of our children for their hard work on this art project!

Our SMPC Youth, past and present, sent us sweet videos of their memories of Pastor Matt! Thank you to Rev. Lindsey Odom for her hard work on this project and thank you to ALL the youth who contributed videos! What a joy it is to hear firsthand how Matt and Donna touched the lives of so many of our young people.

A NOTE OF THANKS

Thank you to everyone who made the weekend such a success, especially to the Retirement Celebration Committee volunteers and its leaders, Patty Crawford and Kathy Graham. The time, love, baking skills, leadership, decorating, organizing, creativity…the list goes on and on! We couldn’t have done it without you all. Thank you!!