Winter Guard Meets Wesleyan Warmth
When a high school winter guard team needed practice space, a local United Methodist church opened its doors — and its heart.
Editor's note: UM News publishes various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not the UM News staff.
It started with a simple request: "Do you have a gym we could use?" The winter guard coach at a nearby high school was desperate. Their school's gymnasium was double-booked, and competition season was approaching fast.
Our church — a mid-sized United Methodist congregation in Rock Hill, South Carolina — had a fellowship hall with high ceilings and a smooth floor. We said yes without hesitation.
More Than Floor Space
What happened next surprised everyone. Church members started showing up to watch rehearsals. They brought snacks. They learned names. Before long, the winter guard students were helping set up chairs for Sunday worship, and church members were attending competitions with handmade signs.
John Wesley taught that there is no holiness but social holiness. He didn't mean religion should be public spectacle — he meant that faith grows in community, in the messy, beautiful intersection of people's lives. That's exactly what happened in our fellowship hall.
The Wesleyan Connection
Wesley's three general rules — do no harm, do good, attend upon all the ordinances of God — seem simple. But lived out, they create a framework for radical hospitality. Opening a door is "do no harm." Bringing snacks is "do good." Showing up at a Friday night competition when you could be home watching TV? That's attending upon the ordinances of God in the form of a teenager spinning a flag.
UM News publishes various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not the UM News staff.
Rev. Emily Vader
Senior Pastor, Rock Hill First UMC · South Carolina Conference
