Pastor Jeannine showed her family teddy bear-Teddy Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 08-08-2024 Pastor Jeannine showed her family teddy bear-Teddy. She asked the kids if they were afraid of anything. She showed the kids that she would hold and hug Teddy when was sad, and thinking of her Mom, who initially had this bear. She explained that Jesus is always with us when we are scared. Pastor Jeannine asked if we ever were afraid in school, as when the teachers came out with pop quizzes. Sometimes we are afraid when we are in situations without any warning. Our scripture reading today was from John 6: 16-21. The disciples had just watched Jesus feed over 5000 people and there were 12 baskets of leftovers. There were rough waters in the north east sea of Galilee as they made their way to Capernaum, which was about 5 miles. They had taken the only boat and Jesus was not with them. The waters were very rough and the disciples were afraid. Jesus made the disciples wait, he did the near impossible, walked on the waters and stillEd them. The disciples could not believe that Jesus stilled the horrific storm on the sea. God has called us to live a clean life and be disciples to others. Jesus also wants us to invite him into our boats when we are afraid. Don't forget to talk with Ron Miller and join one of our teams for the Hope Walk. It will be here before you know it. Where did July go? Now we are into August and the last hurrah of summer. See you back in church on 8/18 at 9:00am, after the 12noon service and picnic on 8/11 at the Keuka College athletic field pavilion.

Visiting granddaughter Roz Prinzivalli rang the bell, welcoming all to church. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 08-01-2024 We had Grady Bray and Stacy Wyant lead our service this past week, as Pastor Jeannine and Phil had a needed vacation. Thanks to you both! Thanks to Laurie Prinzivalli for a Children’s sermon on vacation and rest. Even Jesus needed rest! Sunday is marked as the day of rest. This past weekend a beautiful service was held for Dick Dibble at Whitesville United Methodist Church where he and Leah met, married and raised their family. Elly Stempien provided the musical ministry and Jeff Stempien sang a solo. Blanche Fingar wrote a touching poem about Dick. Dick, Leah, Blanche and Dor were great friends! We have missed Dick’s humor, friendship and kind ways. He helped so much with the Trustee work of BPUMC, where Leah and he have been members since moving to this area. Scripture today was Hebrews 4: 12-13. Paul wrote so much in the Bible which is still living and active in our lives today. Grady Bray gave us a lesson on body, soul and spirit. The body is composed of earth elements. The soul is present in biological life. Even a pig has a soul. God is a spirit. The spirit is an eternal gift. Grady’s take home message to us was the 5 G’s of prayer. The first is to begin prayer with gratitude- what we are thankful for! The second is to ask for guidance. Be still. Focus on your breath! The third element of prayer is grace. Learn to repent. Let things go. With the 4th prayer element, grants, we need to ask for what we desire. God however already knows what we need! We need to pray the gospel without ceasing! Gospel is the 5th element! Reading the Bible augments this. Thank you Grady. This was a wonderful message we can use every day in our prayers. We are forming our teams for the Yates County Hope Walk on 8/24. There are bags you can personalize for the luminaries located on the large table as you enter the back of the church. See you Sunday!

Last week we said our farewells to our brother in Christ, Dorwin Fingar. Prayers to his loving family. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-25-2024 It has been a busy July. Last week we provided snacks for the Wednesday Yates County Concert in the Park community musical event, which was held at the Penn Yan Baptist Church because of the rainy weather. On Thursday we celebrated the life of Dorwin Fingar in a moving service at Church. This past Saturday was the burial service for Ron and Jane Salyer, who we sadly lost last summer, and on July 20th, there was a memorial service for Dick Dibble, passed last fall. Prayers to all the families. We so miss our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our joint church service with Dresden United Methodist Church will be held on Sunday, August 11 at noon at the Keuka College pavilion area. Don’t forget to sign up for a team for Hope Walk! This will be on August 24th in Penn Yan! So good to see Pat and Don McQuay this past Sunday at church. They visit us when they can from their home near Rochester. We always enjoy having visitors join us! Scripture lesson this week was from Ephesians 1: 3-14. Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, and a young church. Lessons from this are that God made his church in Christ. God chose you! Pastor Jeannine looked at the story of little orphan, Annie. She initially had lived a hard knock life of neglect and abandonment, but this story had a happy ending. Daddy Warbucks changed her life. God wants us also to live in another level. We all have life choices. We have learning opportunities if we make the wrong choice however, some choices have everlasting consequences. It is a privilege to be saved in Christ. See you Sunday at 9:00 am!

Our first Sunday is always Communion Sunday. Sherri Hunt assists Pastor Jeannine in delivering the communion elements. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-18-2024 Summer is a busy time for our church. Picnics, events, as well as several memorial services for our departed brothers and sisters in Christ. We always welcome visitors to join us on Sundays. We are forming a church team for the Hope Walk, under the direction of Ron Miller. The Hope Walk is an annual Yates county event that raises thousands of dollars for people affected by cancer. All of the funds stay in Yates County. At the end of the event luminaries are lit along the pathway, honoring or in memorial of those with cancer. This year‘s walk is on August 24. Our Bible lesson today was from Mark 6: 1-13. Pastor Jeannine asked the children if they ever felt sad because they weren’t included. Jesus had a time in his life where he was not even accepted on the street that he had played on as a child, and he also was always not welcomed in the synagogue. Pastor Jeannine told us to share the love of Jesus, even if it feels uncomfortable. How do you feel about telling others about Jesus? Pastor Jeannine told us that even in hard times we should not quit. She said that Thomas Edison tried 999 times to make a lightbulb, but he didn’t quit. How different would our world be if Edison had not perused his dream. Pastor Jeannine wants to learn to knit, but she is left-handed, and despite many attempts has not mastered this. She will continue to try! She feels that failure does not identify who we are. If we don’t succeed things we need to try again. Jesus came to us out of love. Jesus never quits, nor does his love for us. There are plenty of music and cultural events events around the area this summer. Madelyn Rose (Mosch) has many performing events at various wineries and other locations in the area- check her out! Noah Detar will be performing at the REV theatre in Auburn in the play NEWSIES from 7/10-7/27. Such talent we have with our young adults! See you Sunday at 9:00am!

Aimee Perry belts out the song Operator, calling to Jesus, on our recent music Sunday. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-11-2024 We just had a musical patriotic music Sunday. We celebrate music Sundays on the last Sunday of the months that have five Sundays. Our choir saying four anthems, Aimee Perry shared a powerful solo, and the kids sang two songs as well. Such musical talent, under the direction of our choir director Ron Miller! We had several visitors as well to enjoy this special occasion. The scripture reading this week was from Mark 5: 21-43, in which Jesus healed a woman who had been hemorrhaging over a long period of time, and came to Jesus and touched him. The lesson was that her faith had made her well. Pastor Jeannine explained to the children that touch was important, one of our five senses. The kids were asked to close their eyes and identify two objects by touch, which were in a paper bag - an apple and a paperclip. Our congregation was very saddened by the sudden death of one of our long-term members and friends, Dorwin Fingar. Dorwin has been a lifelong member of Bluff Point United Methodist Church. Our prayers surround Blanche, Sonya and family at this difficult time of loss. We will never forget Dorr’s effervescent smile. I don’t think any of us ever saw him angry. He was a friend to all. The congregation prayed over a prayer shawl made for Blanche by Leah Dibble. Dorwin’s memorial service will be at BPUMC on Thursday July 11th at 11:00am. We lost another one of our faithful servants last fall. Dick Dibble’s memorial service will be at the Whitesville United Methodist Church on 11/20. Leah and Dick grew up in Whitesville, and have belonged to our congregation since settling in Yates County. He is so missed. On July 10 Bluff Point our church will be in charge of the refreshment table at the Yates County concert series in the Penn Yan courthouse park. Come to listen to the beautiful chamber music and pick up some of the goodies the ladies will make for the concert!

This Sunday we celebrated our recent graduates! Madelyn Rose Mosch recently graduated from high school, recently completing her home school program. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-04-2024 Pastor Jeannine asked us if we were ever stuck in a storm. She reminded us to choose faith over fear. She reminded the children in her children‘s sermon to be still in times of fear-that Jesus gives us peace. How many times have mothers gone to their child, hearing them crying, waking up at night from a nightmare and tell them to hush and not to be afraid. Many of us adults also have fears, anxieties, and self doubt. In our scripture reading read by Stacy Wyant from Mark 4: 35-41 we see Jesus in the back of a boat after teaching about the kingdom of God at a nearby seashore. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat as a terrible storm came. The disciples with him feared the storm in the sea. Would Jesus save them? A angel appeared, telling them not to be afraid; Jesus did then calm the storm and the sea of Galilee. The winds and the waves obliged. Do you have faith? Our church will be in Penn Yan at the Yates County Wednesday concert series at the courthouse park on 7/10 with snacks! Please come and see us and support the Finger Lakes Chamber Music group performing that evening. This past Sunday we celebrated our students. Madelyn Mosch recently graduated from high school. She’s continuing to pursue her career, focused on country music. She hopes to have four gigs weekly, locally and throughout various towns in New York State. She is continued to release several singles in Nashville Tennessee. Her latest recording is called Cowboy. You can follow her and her schedule online! Emmaleigh Stempien successfully completed her first year at Nazareth University. She is majoring in social work with a concentration on mental health. She received a scholarship from the Lee Wiedrich memorial fund on Sunday for her accomplishments, also having been on the Dean ‘s list this year! This summer she is continuing to work at the Keuka Candy Emporium. Stop in, where she can make you a tasty milkshake or bubble tea! Several of us recently attended Tom Wunder’s retirement party at Yatesville UMC. He has been the pastor of Yatesville church for the past 17 years and is a good friend to many of us. We hope he and Ann will enjoy their retirement years and keep in touch! Happy Summer! See you on Sunday!

It’s so good to gather with our friends on Sunday morning!!! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 06-27-2024 Pastor Jeannine spoke with the children before they went off to Sunday School. She told them that Jesus was their first father. Some people don’t have dads that are always there. The kids helped pass out cookies several women made for our men to celebrate Father’s Day, and also a Pocket Jesus for each man, and also for the kids. The scripture was from Luke 15: 11-32, the Parable of the Prodigal and his brother. The Father represents God. God does not stop his Sons. God lets us make choices of our free will. In the story of the prodigal son, the father divided his inheritance between his two sons. One son hurt his father by leaving, and squandered his property and money. When he returned home, his father welcomed him through a celebration. He ran to him, like God waiting for us. The other brother had a chip on his shoulder because he had carried a larger burden. He was angry at his father and brother. That brother decided not to celebrate. This Father loved both of his sons. The father did not love either son any less. He loved them both unconditionally. God is always there and waits for us to come home. He also loves all of us unconditionally! We will be forming teams to support Hope Walk. Hope Walk is August 24th. All monies raised stay in Yates County to support those affected by cancer. Pastor Jeannine will be starting a prayer ministry. This will be a ministry where people pray for at least 15 minutes daily. Bible Study will restart again in September.

Noah Detar Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 06-20-2024 Our Noah Detar has recently recently returned home from performing this past year on a Disney cruise ship. He played the lead role of Peter Pan as well as several other roles while on this Disney job assignment. From the musical theater program at Nazareth University to his current employment he has come so far. Congratulations Noah on a job well done! You now have a break before going back to the boat and another year of performing! The topic for worship this week was looking at people working together. Pastor Jeannine showed the children that a pen does not work without ink. And in Jesus’ time, some people did not work well with him or the disciples. Even for a time Jesus’s family thought he was insane and were willing to have him taken away. They felt he had too much religious fever. He was not eating well or taking care of himself. His brothers did not initially believe he was the Messiah. The family wanted to take custody of him. Fortunately James and Judas did change their minds and see their brother Jesus as the savior. Grady Bray gave us much insight into the scripture reading from Mark 3: 20-35, a rather complex passage! Jesus went To teach the multitudes. He went into Satan’s house to free those possessed by Satan. Satan did not know God’s plan for redemption, or for Jesus to die and be resurrected. The lesson: A house divided cannot stand. A kingdom divided against itself can also not stand. We learned that Stacy and Chris Wyant were awarded the Sharing the Light award from Catholic Charities. Thank you both for all you do for the community. Noah Detar spoke with us about the 231 shows that he did this past year on the Disney Magic cruise ship. He met members and passengers from all over the world, and will return again from October to June next year working with Disney! He shows his love for acting, singing, and dancing! He will enjoy the summer at home with family and friends.

Communion Sunday as we worship together. Sunshine, communion and love! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 06-13-2024 Today’s topic was on the Sabbath. Pastor Jeannine spoke of the Jewish Sabbath, which was from Friday evening through Saturday evening with visualization of the three stars. They gathered in the synagogue for worship. Jewish Sabbath was for was both for rest and worship. The Jewish worshipers gave thanks and celebration, and an invitation to rest after creation, and thanks for their rescue from slavery. Pastor Jeannine asked the children if they had ever done anything in their lives that they weren’t supposed to do for a good reason, like going into the house when mother told you not to, to get a Band-Aid for a friend that skinned their knee? She was sure that mother would not criticize them for breaking a rule to help someone out. Jesus healed someone with a withered hand on the Sabbath. Although you are not supposed to work on the Sabbath you should not let anyone be hurt or hungry, if you can help them. Jesus was being scrutinized as he performed this act, although this was legal in Jewish law, because Jesus was healing and doing good. The sanctity of life takes precedence over the rules of Sabbath. We learn how important it is to do God’s work no matter what day of the week! Don’t forget music Sunday coming up! Check with Ron Miller if you wish to participate on June 30th! Come worship with us 9 AM on Sundays. We are a loving congregation, and a true church family.