A few Newberry County churches have a new face in the pulpit on Sunday mornings.
Central United Methodist, Mt. Pleasant United Methodist and Zion United Methodist have all greeted a new faces recently.
The United Methodist Church for South Carolina uses an itinerate system which essentially means that pastors are appointed to a church by a bishop.
The length of the appointment depends on the church as well as on the pastor. For example, a pastor may stay at a church for a year or many years depending on the appointment.
Central U.M.C. now has Rev. Tresco Shannon, Mt. Pleasant U.M.C. has Mat Brewington and Zion U.M.C. has David Taylor.
While the pastors are fairly new to their church, they all carry different experiences which have lead them down the ministry path, helping others.
Central U.M.C.
Shannon has been in the ministry for more than a couple of decades and says that there was a long series of events which called him into the ministry.
He is originally from Florence and is delighted to come to Newberry. His last ministerial position was in Aiken.
Shannon is excited for the upcoming fall when a new Wednesday night program for the entire church body is preparing to launch. There will be a meal to start things off followed by Bible studies, praise and choir practice and children’s programs.
There’s definitely something for all ages and many interests, Shannon says.
Shannon believes that in Newberry, there’s a “real yearning for intellectual integrity as well as a real yearning for sound spiritual growth.”
Zion U.M.C.
Taylor comes to Zion from Trinity U.M.C. in Fountain Inn and has been in the ministry for more than a couple of decades but he was born and raised in the Methodist church.
He describes Zion as a “hidden gem” among many of the bigger churches surrounding it and says he’s just going to listen to God and the folks when it comes to the church.
Overall, he’s just excited to be a part of something exciting going on with the Methodist churches all over.
Mt. Pleasant U.M.C.
Brewington comes to Mt. Pleasant from Ebeneezer U.M.C. in Abbeville.
However, this Brewington’s first full-time position as a pastor and he says he just answered the call to serve a rural church. Prior to working as a full-time pastor, he worked part-time as a pulpit supply person, filling in for pastors as needed.
He was a business owner in Greenwood which is his hometown. Now he’s getting to know Mt. Pleasant’s community.
“What’ exciting about serving at Mt. Pleasant is to be a part of a church that wants to move forward,” says Brewington, who explains that the church wants to be a service to the people. He says they aim to be Christ oriented, family oriented and community oriented.
He says there’s a sense of freshness at Mt. Pleasant that people may not normally find in older, rural churches because there’s a combination of all ages eager to serve.
While Brewington studied at Piedmont Tech and Lander University, he is working on a course of study through Emory University, which he is doing in person and not online, he points out.
For more information about the United Methodist churches, visit the official website for the S.C. Conference of the United Methodist Church at www.umcsc.org.
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