CHURCH BRIEFS

Penn Yan Methodist

PYUMC has a warm-hearted, welcoming women’s group, called United Women in Faith, that meets once a month for mission projects, spiritual growth, and friendship. We met on January 17 and made plans for upcoming mission and events, including the annual Palm Monday Women’s Breakfast which many women in our community have enjoyed. The devotional time and the program focused on how to develop a deeper, more life-giving relationship with God in 2023, then we had fun making Valentine’s cards for church members who are sick or homebound. All women are welcome to join us on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 10:30 AM.

Come Worship with Us! 9 a.m. Sunday Break Contemporary Service: 9 a.m. Sunday School (grades Pre-K through 5th): 11 a.m. Traditional Service. Nursery is provided during both services. We are handicap accessible.

Saint Mark’s Episcopal

This area is known for its summers. Think of how many conversations you have had with people who indicate that they “summer here.” “To summer” is somehow a verb. What about winter? Is winter a verb? A book by Katherine May called Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, suggests that it is indeed. When you think of winter here in the Finger Lakes, you might think dark or grey; very unlike the vibrant greens and colors of the summer. But there is so much life happening! Imagine a tree, dormant in the winter. No leaves, no sap, nothing visible indicating life. But underneath – ohhh – the tree is working hard storing energy and preparing for the end of winter, ready when the spring comes, the sap runs, and the leaves spring forth.

Here at Saint Mark’s, we support “wintering” all year round with our Bereavement Group which meets the first Thursday of each month at 2 p.m. All are welcome as they come to terms with whatever they might be struggling. Equally as importantly, all are welcome at God’s table, as we share a brief moment of wintering, summering, or whatever your mood might be, every Sunday at 9 a.m. Please join us no matter the season of the year or the season of your heart.

Bluff Point Methodist

This past Sunday Laurie Prinzivalli led our service. Her sermon was about the Potters House. The potter used his hands to remold the clay. The clay is rolled, pounded, spun and put into the oven before it is painted, and then fired again. The finished works are beautiful. If the process was not followed, the clay would have dried up, cracked and crumbled. Like clay in the hands of the potter, we are the work of Jesus’s hands. We are what he had in mind and are made in his image.

Bruce Westerdahl read the scripture from Jeremiah 18: 1-8, and Isaiah 64:8. Bruce is planning a future move to Virginia after 54 years in Penn Yan, and 15 years as pastor of our church, in the 1980s and ‘90s. We will miss him! Chris Wyant and Laurie Prinzivalli performed a Daisy and Marcie puppet skit on dreams of being a shepherd and leading their flocks. This is a message to both kids and adults.

Please remember to pick up your end of year church giving statements and make your pledge for the 2023 church year if you already have not done this. See you in church or Zoom next Sunday!

Penn Yan First Baptist For the last Sunday of the month, we will welcome Matt Bleiler as our guest speaker. Looking ahead to February, the first Sunday is Scout Sunday around here. We will welcome Scouts and their leaders as they model for us what it looks like to serve as a Scout. We also honor their leaders who sacrifice their time to guide our youth. Then later in February we will hold our annual meeting to look back on 2022 so that we will have a better vision for what we want for our 2023. Our worship service is on Sundays at 10 a.m. Come join us!

First Presbyterian

Pastor Paul’s sermon last week included a remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s ability to “view injustice through the eyes of Christian faith and the biblical truth that every human being is a child of God,” thus making us all created equal. This Friday is International Holocaust Memorial Day (IHMD). On Jan. 27, 2000, the Stockholm Declaration was signed to “commemorate all victims of the Holocaust and to honor those who bravely stood against it.” It is the hope of the IHMD Trust that it will prompt “…ordinary people to perhaps play a bigger part than can be imagined in challenging prejudice today. Allowing people to come together to learn lessons from the past, to create a safer and better future.”

On Jan. 15, our country and FPC lost one of those brave men, Dick Gillespie, who stood for “freedom for all.” Dick was honored by the United States with the greatest distinction for aerial valor, after 21 combat missions in Nazi territory during World War II. Most recently, in 2022, Dick was inducted into the NYS Veterans Hall of Fame. Yet he always remained humble. He returned to his wife safely and back to civilian life, completing his college degree. Dick ran a growing family business with Jean by his side. They raised four sons and watched their extended families grow and succeed. Dick and Jean retired to the Penn Yan area in 1999 and became members at FPC. Over the years, Dick was on numerous church committees, sang in the choir and still found time to volunteer in community organizations. Much has been written about Dick’s military accomplishments. Yet family, faith and friends remained at the core of his life. This Saturday, January 28, First Presbyterian Church will hold calling hours from 1-2 p.m., followed immediately by Dick’s Memorial service and a reception. Dick will be remembered as one of those “ordinary people” who made our world a far better place. Our community and church offer heartfelt condolences to Bob and Char and all of the Gillespie families. His legacy will never be forgotten.

Branchport Methodist Join us for an evening of food and fellowship at our monthly free community dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Branchport United Methodist Church fellowship hall. We will be serving lasagna, salad, bread, and dessert. All are welcome - come as you are and bring your family and friends!

CHURCH BRIEFS

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