St. Luke’s Rev. Phil Thrailkill writes book about Mary, the mother of Jesus

A Methodist minister for more than 30 years, the Rev. Phil Thrailkill is a scholar and a theologian who hit the ground running when he moved to Hartsville during the summer to become pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church.

His energy and enthusiasm are apparent whether talking to him about his next sermon, his newest book, his radio broadcast in former Yugoslavia or his return to the Pee Dee.

Thrailkill, a graduate of Wake Forest University and Chandler School of Theology, Emory University, grew up in Cheraw where his father, Dr. Jim Thrailkill, was a medical doctor.
Thrailkill has served as a police, fire and hospital chaplain and has a weekly sermon broadcast, “Pastor Phil’s Message of Hope,” in Serbian in former Yugoslavia through a partnership with Trans-World Radio, the largest Christian radio broadcaster. Thrailkill has made four mission trips to Kazakhstan with the Mission Society for United Methodist and has also visited Ghana, the Fiji Islands and other places. He served five years as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Mission Society for United Methodist.

Rev. Thrailkill came to Hartsville four months ago from Duncan Memorial UMC in Georgetown with his wife, Lori. They have two grown children, Daniel, a PGA Club professional and Ellen, a junior at MUSC Dental School. Lori is a third-grade teacher at Thornwell School for the Arts.
“It’s good to be back in the Pee Dee. I am so glad to be in Hartsville, and it is a privilege to be at St. Luke. It is a happening place,” said the minister. “I’m sitting on a mountain of riches and opportunity.”

Thrailkill said he has found many links to his past in Cheraw where his Dad practiced for 50 years.

“It is good to re-connect with names I haven’t heard in years,” Thrailkill said.

He said he has discovered people living in this community who knew his father and were his patients.

One of the first things Thrailkill did when arriving in Hartsville was to set up lunch dates with other ministers to bounce ideas off of and to begin building a relationship within the community.
One of the biggest issues in the ministry that Thrailkill has witnessed since moving to Hartsville has been a “disconnect” between members of the clergy, largely due to a huge turnover in the last few years.

He said he has been working with fellow Methodist minister Terry Martin to reestablish the Hartsville Ministerial Union and to get the clergy in Hartsville working together.

One who believes strongly in enriching marriages through counseling, Thrailkill suggested The Marriage Course that was quickly adopted by St. Luke, St. Bartholomew’s, Wesley UMC and First Presbyterian churches.
“On the Friday after arriving in Hartsville, we went to Charleston for a training day with Nikki and Silla (Nikki and Silla Lee, co-founders of the course). There we met Raggs and Suiter Coxe from Hartsville who’d been sent by their priest from St. Bartholomew’s,” Thrailkill said. “‘This is no accident,’ we said to one another. ‘God must want us to do this together.’”

The four churches started the eight-week course, which met with 21 couples on Mondays at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, that ended Nov. 17.  They hope to offer others.

A published author, Thrailkill has written a book, which delves into the role of Mary, mother of Jesus.

The title of the book is “Mary – Lessons In Discipleship from Jesus’ Earthly Family” with a foreword by William J. Abraham.

Thrailkill said, “Besides the name of Jesus, there are two other proper names recalled in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds: the Virgin Mary and Pontius Pilate, the first an essentially powerless Jewish peasant girl in her early teens, and the second a powerful and brutal Roman administrator intent on keeping peace and advancing his career. Because the creeds are brief summaries and not intended to replace the content of the four Gospels, Mary and Pilate serve as the bookends of Jesus’ earthly life. Mary gave him birth, Pilate death.

“Several years ago while preaching through Luke 1-2 during Advent, I decided not to stop when the Christmas season was over.”
Thrailkill said he was intrigued by the figure Mary.

“So I turned the series into an exploration of 11 New Testament passages that deal with Mary and the family of Jesus,” Thrailkill said. “Nine of those manuscripts were published by Bristol Press last November.”

Each chapter opens with the prayer that was used the Sunday that message was preached in Georgetown and closes with a series of study questions that make the book useful for Bible studies or Sunday school classes.

Thrailkill said, “As Protestants, we have honored the Lord’s mother at Christmas and ignored her the rest of (the) year. This book is an invitation for Protestants to reconsider the role of Mary in scripture and theology. Mary is one of us; she needed the salvation her Son came to offer.”

Thrailkill said the book has already sold well among Roman Catholics.

“They have the greatest appreciation,” he said.

Upon arrival in Hartsville, Thrailkill said someone asked him hadn’t he recently written a book. He told them he had, and they wanted to know why he hadn’t made it available. His reply, “I just arrived at Saint Luke, and I’m a bit reticent about setting up a book shop in the lobby.” He said they told him to get over it, and so he did. Last Sunday was the first Sunday the book was available to his congregation at church. It will be available this Sunday, Nov. 23, also. If a card is left with the book, he will sign the book or will write a personal note for a friend as a Christmas gift, and the book may be picked up the next Sunday. After this Sunday, the book may be found at the church office. It is also available at Burry Bookstore. Thrailkill said he hopes to have a book signing after the first of the year.

He said he is also working on two other books for Bristol. One is on the Sermon on the Mount and the other is on the Miracles of Jesus.
Thrailkill has given many lectures and speeches on the Bible.
“I am an expository preacher and mail my weekly manuscript to subscribers around the nation,” Thrailkill said.
He said he has about 300 subscribers.

After each sermon, Thrailkill makes available the text of his sermon for his parishioners to take home and reflect upon.
“Researching and writing keep me mentally sharp,” Thrailkill said.

Thrailkill said it takes about 20 hours of research and 10 hours to write each manuscript. He has written 75 manuscripts on the Book of Matthew. Each sermon is like writing a chapter in a book.

“Writing is a good discipline,” said Thrailkill, who takes the Christian faith very seriously.

“I am so glad to be in Hartsville, and it is a privilege to be at St. Luke,” he said.

Thrailkill said there are so many wonderful things happening at St. Luke with 1,050 members on the roll. He said they have wonderful youth ministry, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, support two world missionaries and so much more.