The scripture Lesson for this Sunday is from Matthew 14:22-33

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’

²⁸ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ ²⁹ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. ³⁰ But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ ³² When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

Thank You, Church Family

I left church on Sunday feeling completely overwhelmed – and so very full of joy and gratitude. What a beautiful homecoming celebration and an incredibly meaningful way to recognize 20 years of ministry together at First United Methodist Church.

Thank you for celebrating this milestone with me and, even more, thank you for allowing me to serve alongside you for these past 20 years. It has been a true gift and blessing to walk this journey with you.

When I look back, I am amazed at all that God has done through our church family. We have dreamed, served, grown, laughed, worshiped, and accomplished so many wonderful things together. Through every season, God has provided, directed, opened doors, and moved among us.

And we have done it together. 

Thank you for serving hand in hand with me — through the joyful seasons and the challenging ones, through celebrations and struggles, through times when the path was clear and times when we simply had to trust God and take the next step.

I am grateful for every person who has shared in this ministry—for your prayers, your encouragement, your willingness to serve, your gifts and talents, and most of all, your love for Christ and His church.

Twenty years is a long time, but when you are surrounded by people you love and serving a God who is faithful, it truly feels like home.

Thank you for making Sunday such a special celebration and for reminding me once again what a blessing it is to call First United Methodist Church my church family.

Thank you for 20 wonderful years. Thank you for serving beside me. And thank you for continuing to walk this journey together as we trust God for all that is still ahead.

With a grateful heart and so much love,

Kristin

Homecoming Thank-you

The old saying tells us that home is where the heart is. Allow me to say that your heart was wonderfully evident on Homecoming Sunday. It was a joy to see the congregation so full of worshipers and the Fellowship Hall so full of food and fun. Each Sunday morning I see how slow many of you are to leave after church as you spend time talking with your friends. It was even more evident on Homecoming Sunday. I could tell for each of you that it was good to be home.

Please understand that any list of folks to thank for the success of Homecoming will be incomplete. So many of you did so much behind the scenes that I may not fully know who did what. But your hard work shined through in a powerful way, and my gratitude is sincere.

I will say a big thank you to Rev. Wes Judy who blessed us with a lovely sermon, reminding us that, in Jesus Christ, there is a place for us. Many thanks to Jane Hill, Roger Lowe, and all the Choir for all of the music that always makes our worship so special, especially on Homecoming Sunday. The tech crew does so much that goes unnoticed (until my microphone battery goes dead!), but I am grateful to George Holleman, Mark Holmstrom, and Neil Danner for their efforts each and every week. I greatly appreciate Leigh Danner, who plays an important part each week taking worship attendance for us, which along with the pew pads, helps me tremendously in my work. And there are all the ushers, greeters, acolytes, cross bearers, and other worship volunteers who do so much every week, and were indispensable on Homecoming Sunday. A big thank you to each and everyone of these worship leaders!

And I haven’t even gotten to the food yet! Of course there is Patti Hopper who keeps the kitchen running throughout the year, and even more so at Homecoming. She did so without two important team mates: Sandy Kelly, who was unavailable for Homecoming, but who is such a good right hand to Patti in all her work; and the other missing teammate was the ice machine, but volunteers like Matt Hopper, Felicia and Beaver came to the rescue and ice was plentiful.

There was so much good food because so many of you took the time to prepare special dishes that we all enjoyed so much. I thank you for preparing such good food and for looking the other way as I came off my diet for this special day.

Of course, it would be a great oversight not to mention Kristin Holmstrom. Yes, we celebrated her twenty years of service to the church on Sunday, and I cannot match Judy Toney’s wonderful words of praise, but I want to echo again what a gift Kristin is to this congregation through her faithfulness to God and to each of us, especially to our children and youth. Roger Lowe’s wonderful video, put together with the help of Michelle Okpych and others on the Staff Parish Committee and throughout the church, beautifully illustrated Kristin’s generous heart and her love of God and God’s people. I pray that I might be the same blessing to her that she is to me each and every day.

If your name is not listed here, please do not think that your are not appreciated. So many people did so much for Homecoming and likewise, do so much throughout the year to support me, the church, and all of our ministries. One of the greatest privileges of my life is serving as your pastor, and I do truly thank each and every one of you. In this first year of my ministry among you, you have made me feel welcome, so that on Homecoming Sunday, I could say with a sincere heart, “I have come home to this place.” I hope that each of you can say the same.

The Lord be with you!

Rev. Bill Roberts