Seen Around Church: Week of December 21, 2025

Three Generations Sing at Festival of Carols

One of the best parts about Festival of Carols is that it’s an opportunity for people of all ages to come together to sing and play music for the glory of God! One SMPC family was blessed to have three generations singing in Festival of Carols! Rose and Kurt Weinheimer are members of our Chancel Choir, along with their daughters, Lisa (Ed) Kuszmar and Kristen (Marc) Angerer. Their grandchildren, Katherine, Courtney, Hannah and Caroline are members of the Jubilate Choir.

“I grew up with zero family in the same state other than my parents and siblings,” said Kristen. “I get so emotional this night each year. Grandparents, cousins, siblings, aunts. It’s just so special!”

Photo credit: Kristen Angerer

That’s a Wrap! SMPC Youth Elves Help with Holiday Hustle

Our SMPC middle and high schoolers wrapped 104 Christmas gifts on Sunday afternoon as a fundraiser. The group raised $560! These funds will help offset the costs of youth retreats and activities. Thank you to all of our members who dropped off gifts – we hope you know that they were wrapped with love and a whole lot of SMPC Christmas magic!

Photo credit: Rebecca Guzman and Rev. Lindsey Odom

Thank you, SMPC Angels! Angel Tree Gifts Delivered

Thank you to all who donated gifts to this year’s Angel Tree! SMPC collected 226 gifts for families in need in our community. Volunteer drivers delivered the gifts on Tuesday! A big thank you to the Sandeen/Colson families for leading this ministry for 10 years! Their love, dedication and joy for others are inspiring. It’s so wonderful to hear them bustling with Christmas cheer as they organize the “gift room” each year. Thank you to ALL who have been involved in this year’s Angel Tree!

Photo credit: Rev. Lindsey Odom

Thank you, Bob! Longtime Center of Hope Breakfast Ministry Leader Passes Spatula to New Leader

For 10 years (minus three years off for COVID), Bob Williamson has led the Center of Hope Breakfast ministry for SMPC with humility, compassion, grace, and a lot of heart. This past Saturday, December 20, Bob officially “retired” from this ministry and passed the leadership spatula to Lee Martin, a SMPC member and frequent Center of Hope volunteer.

Since 2015, on the third Saturday of every month, Bob and his wife, Donna Podgorny, have woken at o’dark thirty, driven to SMPC in the wee hours of the morning to meet fellow volunteers, loaded cars with breakfast items and driven the nearly 30 minutes to Center of Hope to prepare, serve and clean up a hot breakfast for hundreds of hungry guests. The Salvation Army’s Center of Hope is a temporary home for women and children. Breakfast includes freshly scrambled eggs, grits, pork bacon, turkey bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit, coffee and Tang.

By our (very) rough calculations, that’s nearly 84 Saturdays Bob has spent scrambling eggs, flipping pancakes, dishing out grits and doling out much-loved bacon slices to hungry guests. Last year, Bob estimated the COH Breakfast team cooked 336 lbs. of bacon. In 2023, he estimated they scrambled 4,000 eggs. Over seven years, that equates to roughly 2,352 lbs. of bacon and 28,000 eggs!

“Bob has truly enjoyed the fellowship, the joking, and the opportunity to support those in need,” said his wife, Donna. “This community outreach permits all of us to see, know, listen and better understand our neighbors. I am so proud of Bob and thankful to have been a part of these mornings”

Of course, Bob hasn’t done it alone. Countless volunteer servers have joined him over the years to welcome and serve; the Friday Morning Men’s Group often helps crack 360 eggs so that Saturday morning’s breakfast prep runs smoothly; and, food and financial donations by so many SMPC members over the years have enabled the ministry to thrive and flourish.

“Bob Williamson and Donna Podgorny have shown us what it means to serve with compassion and consistency,” said Lee Martin, who will be the ministry’s leader and point of contact beginning in January 2026. “I’m grateful for their leadership and look forward to continuing this ministry together as a church family.”

Meeting the women and children and the employees of Center of Hope have left an indelible mark on Bob and Donna, and they’ve left an indelible mark on all of us. As Christians, we are called to be the “hands and feet of Jesus” to those who need it most in our community, and Bob and Donna have been an example of this to everyone who has been lucky enough to serve alongside them at Center of Hope.

SMPC’s ministry partnership with Center of Hope dates back to July 2004, when SMPC volunteers served a monthly spaghetti dinner for guests. COVID changed a few things, and now the church’s ministry includes breakfast and dessert! If you feel the call to serve in the new year, the Center of Hope Ministry might be the perfect fit. The Center of Hope Breakfast Ministry, led by Terry Gaines, collects store-bought or homemade desserts on the second Sunday of each month before 10:10 a.m. worship. The next opportunity to bring a dessert is Sunday, January 11. Sign up here. The next opportunity to serve breakfast at Center of Hope is Saturday, January 17. Food and monetary donations are always welcome. Sign up here.

Photo credit: Donna Podgorny and Heather Carpenter

Scout Troop 119 Members Stay Busy Over the Holiday Season!

Members of Scout Troop 119 have been super busy this holiday season! Take a look at some of their projects below. Thank you to Dean Elledge and Steve Stevenson for these pictures!

SMPC member and Scout Thomas H. installed a beautiful border with rocks around our new signage as part of his Eagle Scout project. Thomas, 17, is the son of SMPC member Mike Harris. Thank you, Thomas!