Personal Injury Attorney in Kingstree, SC

Kingstree United Methodist Church celebrated both the close of one chapter and the beginning of another over two Sundays, bidding farewell to the Rev. Dr. George Howle and welcoming its newly appointed pastor, the Rev. Grayson Fallaw.

The transition began on Father's Day as the congregation honored Howle, who came out of retirement to serve the church for a special year. Worship opened with the hymn "Faith of Our Fathers" and concluded with "Blest Be the Tie That Binds," reflecting both gratitude and the close of his ministry with the congregation.

In his farewell sermon, Howle spoke from Deuteronomy 31:1-8, drawing on the story of Moses' faithful leadership of the Israelites. He reflected on Moses leading God's people out of Egypt and to the edge of the Promised Land, where he saw it but did not enter before passing leadership to others.

Howle also celebrated the church's accomplishments during the past year, noting its long history of faithfulness. He recalled that the church building was constructed and its mortgage paid off within nine years and highlighted numerous milestones from the past year, including the baptism of Laurie, Tomi and Tavid, children of Thomas Mitchell.

Although he is stepping away from the congregation, Howle said Kingstree United Methodist will remain in his prayers. He encouraged members to continue moving forward as what he described as a "destination" church, expressing hope that its pews will be filled and that exciting ministry opportunities lie ahead.

His parting message to the congregation was to "Choose God; Love God; Listen to God; and Cling to God's promises."

Howle also expressed confidence in the church's future leadership, noting that the new pastor and his family are looking forward to becoming part of the Kingstree community for years to come.

The following Sunday, as the church entered the week leading up to Independence Day, the congregation welcomed Fallaw, his wife, Mackenzie, and their infant son, Eddie. The service began with the hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

Shannon Coker, chair of the church's Staff-Parish Relations Committee, introduced the Fallaw family to the congregation.

During the children's message, church youth welcomed the new pastor with a parade, each carrying a letter spelling "WELCOME." They also presented Fallaw with a booklet featuring photographs and information about each of the church's children. Before his first Sunday in the pulpit, Fallaw also visited choir practice to greet members and pray with them.

In his first sermon, Fallaw preached from the story of Samuel's call by God, encouraging worshippers to find their own "Whisper Spot" — a place where they can hear God's voice if they are listening. He reminded the congregation that, like Eli in the biblical account, fellow believers can help one another recognize and respond to God's calling.

The service concluded with the congregation singing "Here I Am, Lord."

Kingstree United Methodist Church is located at 510 N. Longstreet St. Worship services are held each Sunday at 11 a.m. The church welcomes visitors and members of the community to attend.

KINGSTREE, S.C. (WCSC) — The good book tells us: “Do not get tired of doing good, because at just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing, if we don’t give up.”

That is exactly what happened to a pair of nuns in Williamsburg County. They were blessed with a trip to meet the Pope, as a show of gratitude for their decades of service.

Sisters Johnna and Susanne met when they were in their 30s at a seminary for nuns seeking spiritual renewal.

“But when we talked in New Jersey, we said we wanted to do more than just projects that we really wanted to live among the people that we served and to actually be a presence,” Sister Susanne Dziedzic said.

That conversation eventually led them to Kingstree in rural Williamsburg County.

Their neighbors were mostly low-income, African American families. These women who had grown up in New York and Pennsylvania, say it was the perfect assignment.

“You fall in love with the people and the people call forth from you what they need. That’s what my sisters told me,” Sister Johnna Ciezobka said.

And it didn’t take long to realize the area needed a program for kids at the end of the school day.

The sisters say they hadn’t been in the house 48 hours yet when the first little girl came to their door. They gave her a snack and helped her with her homework. She came back the next day with a friend and by day five there were five little girls they fed all of them helped them with their homework and realized they had to open an after-school program.

These seasoned nuns credit two black women who were their neighbors with teaching them how to be missionaries.

Flora and Jeanette have since gone on to glory. But those two soul sisters always made their nun sisters aware when someone in the community needed help.

“And more than once they would they led us to the people. They led us to where the needs were,” Sister Susanne said.

Their community outreach expanded to include a food pantry, clothing closet, after-school program, hot meal program, cooking classes, medical care, legal advocacy program and home repair ministry. Their tireless service was recognized with a prestigious award from the Catholic Extension in 2012.

“It’s called the Lumen Christi award, which means light of Christ. And that award is a national award. And you can only be nominated by your local bishop,” Sister Susanne said.

Officials with the Catholic Extension paid a surprise visit in April to the 75-year-old sisters to invite them to Rome to have an audience with Pope Leo XIV.

Sister Johnna says meeting the Holy Father left her lost for words.

“You know it was like, it’s like overwhelming. I never met a Pope before,” Sister Johnna said.

“We said to him: We want to thank you, Holy Father for all that you’re doing on behalf of, you know, people and we pray for you,” Sister Susanne said.

“Sometimes you can meet celebrities, movie stars, or athletes. But this was different. You know, he is the successor of Peter. Peter who was the first Pope, the vicar of Christ,” Sister Susanne said.

They handed the Pope an index card and asked him to pray for the names of the people written it. In addition to their families and friends, the list included everyone in Williamsburg County.

For more information about the services provided in Kingstree, click here. To learn more about the mission of the Catholic Extension Society, click here.