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Pastor John’s Blog – September 2020

To state the obvious, 2020 has been a year people will remember.  I am already hearing about how some folks are planning significant New Year’s Eve celebrations; these are not so much to welcome 2021, but to say “goodbye and good riddance” to 2020.    The leadership team at North Fayette United Methodist Church is already looking ahead, too.  We are not just planning how we will celebrate Advent in the year of COVID-19, but next year’s January and February activities, as well.  Included in this planning are things like the annual church Leadership Retreat and continued work to develop a vision for how North Fayette UMC carries out its mission over the next decade.  Speaking plainly, planning anything right now is difficult and slightly stressful.  Populating a calendar with all the things that used to be routine is hard to do when routines have been, and remain, so disrupted. 

That is why it is with much joy that I express my appreciation for this congregation’s faithful and continued support for this church with its prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.  In August, the church expense to income deficit has shrunk considerably, while generosity for the annual Wesley Woods Offering and School Supply Drive, combined, exceeded $2700!  The volunteerism by people helping out with the food drive for Fayette Samaritans, lending a hand with our Sunday parking-lot worship and Sunday school, and getting our worship service recordings online have all been amazing. As we all prepare to undertake the annual Aramis Alvarez Memorial 5k, which we are combining with a parking lot Fall Festival on October 31st, these signs of life and activity encourage us that things are slowly returning to normal (even if “normal” has changed).

September is Stewardship month, and we are again asking that you share with church leadership your commitment for next year.  Planning is considerably easier when we have a good idea of what we have to work with, and your commitment of gifts, service, and presence are a blessing to many, many people in many, many ways.  As always, your prayers are felt and appreciated and your witness to the world about our Savior Christ Jesus is inspiring. 

Thank-you for your remarkable generosity,

Rev. John Tomlin