2025 Pastor's Report

5. The Pastor shall give a report on the state of the church and an account of pastoral ministry as it relates to (¶ 340): providing support, guidance, and training to the lay membership in the church; ministering within the congregation and to the world; and administering the temporal affairs of the congregation. Include as a part of the report a statement outlining the pastor's program of continuing education and spiritual growth for the past year and plans for the year to come (¶ 349).

 

This year marked continued development and implementation of lay-led programming at Cobleskill UMC.  Building on groundwork laid in prior years, CUMC furthered its plan to align its programmatic structure around its mission statement: Beloved. Belong. Be the Difference.  By assessing the gifts already present in our congregation we formed the third and final team left to be formed, the Belong Team.  We also built up and implemented more of the Beloved Team’s work.  The Be the Difference Team has become a well-oiled machine ready to handle the many needs this year brought.

 

The Belong Team was formed as a pop-up team for a one-year trial in 2025 and included five congregation folks who have experience with the church’s ministries of belonging.  This team constituted the first time a group of leaders within the church gave intentional thought to small group programming, recruitment and implementation in recent memory.  This group began their work in the spring when they put together a Belonging Survey that gauged interest in the congregation. By the start of the fall program-year, they had a slate of new belonging opportunities lined up.  A sermon-series on “invitations” kicked off the program year and a Belonging Moment in each series’ worship service gave opportunity to promote a different small group opportunity.  Small group opportunities currently running include a Covenant Discipleship group, Fellowship Tables, two Bible Studies (one on Zoom), Confirmation Class, Suddenly Sunday Youth Group, Sunday School, Parent Group, Prayer Group (new) and a Grief Group (new).

 

Outreach ministries from the Be the Difference Team have been extremely active this year as economic hardships increase for our community.  A church garden was started in our backyard to supply fresh vegetables to the Summer Lunch Program which ran for a sixth consecutive year.  This fall, Food Pantry usage increased dramatically as funding programs were slashed by the government.  The Be the Difference Team rallied and found ways to both increase hours of food distribution and donations received.  As increase in usage has doubled, giving and hours spent helping have also nearly doubled.  A witness to God’s provision and this church’s faithful service.

 

Summer looked different this year at CUMC.  During July, I took four weeks of sabbatical time off (plus a week of vacation) and traveled with my family to National Parks out west.  It was a restorative time for myself and my family.  Following our return, I led a group of 10 church folks on a pilgrimage to the Isle of Iona in Scotland for a week of spiritual renewal and exploration.  This pilgrimage culminated a year’s long study of Celtic Christianity and our week together at on Iona helped us to better understand how our modern ethics of eco-theology, respect for all, and full inclusion have connections to this ancient thread of Christianity still alive today.  I stayed for a second week in Iona to participate in a Peacebuilding Program led by the Iona Community.  This week-long intensive course focused on reimagining peace education in our local communities. 

 

Despite the pastor’s absence, Compassion Camp was still a vibrant ministry this summer welcoming about 25 children in an earlier-than-usual week before July 4.  Operation: Home Repair also worked well implemented by laity across the Mosaic after a year of preparation. 

Youth Group continues to flourish here as we begin a formal partnership with Mosaic to create gatherings that are shared between churches and co-led by myself and Pastor Alisyn Klock.  We are excited to have begun a Confirmation Cohort this fall that will journey together over the next year including 8 youth from Cobleskill UMC.

 

Our church continues to prioritize events and worship services that emphasize welcome to all people.  Our special community events thrived this year with a lay-led planning team.  Additionally, our Inclusive CUMC team reformed and led several new efforts including a Pride Sunday Celebration in June, new nametags for weekly worship, and several informative workshops.