A Word from Pastor Matthew
On Wednesday, September 28th, the called Church Conference of the Yorktown Methodist Church voted to disaffiliate as a local congregation of The United Methodist Church effective December 1, 2022. This has been a hard season. We have done our best to discern the right decision for our church for the present and for the future.
I would like to thank members of the Leadership Council as they have led the congregation through the discernment process. The have spent countless hours discussing the options, listening at the various cottage meetings, and praying for the wisdom to lead. I would like to thank Lance Estep, Ron Fauquher, Amy Fowler, Gayle Gernand, Michelle Miller, Ron Sloan, and Roland Walker for their tireless efforts.
I know there are people in the church who believe that the result of the vote is the wrong decision. I want you to know that your voice has been heard and will continue to be heard within the life of our church. In my opinion, there are not any “winners” when a decision like this must be made. But I also believe that for the church to move forward, a decision on the way to go was necessary. Now that we have made the decision, we must work together to make our future what God has in for us to become.
What this decision means in the short-term is that the Leadership Council will be working to incorporate the church as a non-profit organization to have a legal entity with which to transfer the ownership of the properties. We will need to select a name for our church. On December 1, 2022, we can no longer use the name Yorktown Methodist Church. Also, we will begin the process of calling our next pastor. This is only the highlights of the work to be done. We have work to do to set the stage for what God is calling us to become in this new era of ministry.
In the long-term we cannot lose sight of things that make our church special. Most of us do not attend this church because it is a United Methodist congregation. We attend because we have found a church home. We have deep friendships and deep connections with the people who make up this body of believers. Even if there are people that do not agree with how you thought the future of the church should go, they are a significant part of the family of God and the church where you have found a home.
Over the next several months, we are going to make an emphasis on creating a sense of community in our church. We are going to try and introduce times of fellowship. You may have engaged in one as a member of a cleaning team at the parsonage. We are going to restart the Third Sunday Fellowship time after the Worship Service (beginning October 16th). We are also going to have a Carry-in Dinner on October 23rd.
I want to leave you with the following thought. As Jesus was preparing to head to the cross, he gave his disciples this last command:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NIV).
As we move forward in ministry, may we cling to this. Let us love one another. Let us continue to be an example of Christ’s love to the town of Yorktown.
In Christ!
Pastor Matthew
