From the Desk of Pastor Kim
FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR KIM October, 2018
John the Evangelist said in 1 John 1:3, “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ”. Branchport is truly a blessed congregation as we come into the final months of 2018. As we look back on the past year with gratitude to God for His many blessings and appreciation for the love and help of all of you who support our church, we invite you into fellowship with us. Join us in looking back over our past year and know you are an important part of our future.
This year we faithfully invested in our building as much needed roof repair took place as well as new pew cushions purchased for the sanctuary. It was wonderful to receive letters from family of past members who had memories of the past campaigns (many, many years ago!) for the well-worn blue cushions that served their purpose well. The new ones provide a fresh appearance that seem to brighten up the sanctuary and welcome you in for a comfortable place to sit. As we move forward the Administrative Council is in conversation and prayer, prioritizing where our focus should be next. As you would expect in an old building, the list is long!
Throughout the year we opened our doors to allow God’s love to flow not only throughout our building but into our community as well. Our 6th Annual Red, White and Blue 5k brought about 200 people to run, walk and cheer on others - a morning that is becoming a part of the tradition for families in celebrating the 4th of July. I always enjoy our Memorial Day and Labor Day Chicken BBQ’s. I love that so many come together to not only cook and serve but also come and eat! This summer we hosted another successful Vacation Bible School as the kids Dived Deep and spent the week sharing Bible stories, music, crafts and snacks! In September we invited the community for an Outdoorsman dinner. Many wild game dishes were brought to share and it was a relaxing evening of conversation. I offered a blessing of thanks to God our Creator and for those who would be going out hunting and fishing this season. We look forward to doing this again next year.
In addition to all these events, our outreach efforts this year included helping support the Living Well with our presence, our prayers and our money. We continue to provide healthy snacks to the elementary school’s Snack Pantry. In the spring, we teamed up with Milo Center UMC and served a meal to Penn Yan Academy so that students could have food between school and their afternoon sport practices. We look forward to doing this again. We are coming to understand that when we faithfully come together and offer up what we are able that God will take it, bless it and make it multiply. By offering clothes pins and clotheslines we combined efforts with other area UMC churches and as a result helped send 48 flood buckets to the Conference in Syracuse. These will be used as the cleanup continues down south due to recent hurricanes.
I would like to extend an invitation to come worship with us as we approach the holiday season! I would love to hear from you in person why Branchport United Methodist Church is so special to you. We will be having our annual Christmas pageant on Saturday, December 1st at 5 pm. This is always a special evening as children help us remember the importance of the upcoming weeks leading to Christmas. We will also be welcoming the return of our outdoor nativity scene which is being refurbished as part of an Eagle Scout project. I look forward to fond memories and stories of this scene from years past and would really love pictures if there are any out there! We will enjoy pizza, chili and cookies afterwards. Please come, join us and embrace the wonderful history of our congregation and help us going forward into the future.
In Faith,
Pastor Kim