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    United Methodists of Upper New YorkLiving the Gospel. Being God's Love.


    news article

    A harvest of riches at Ithaca St. Paul’s UMC

    December 9, 2024 / By Karen Kaufmann, member at Ithaca St. Paul UMC  / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    At the heart of the harvest season and the end of the liturgical year, Ithaca St. Paul’s UMC welcomed a new-member cohort of eleven gifted and generous souls—the largest membership cohort our congregation has received in at least five years.   

    The group ranges in ages, stages, church background, and life experience—from high-schoolers to retirees, from longtime United Methodists and transfers from other denominations (half) to new Christians entering on Profession of Faith (half), from native Ithacans to transcontinental transplants, from students to teachers (and many careers in between), married, single, with and without local family, and more. 

    As with so many previous membership cohorts, this group represents the broad diversity of The United Methodist Church and speaks to the centrality of God’s inclusive love in our congregational identity. In fact, working with the group as they prepared to take membership vows, St. Paul’s Senior Pastor the Rev. Beckie Sweet reported that, uniformly, they told her that it was the congregation’s spirit of welcome, affirmation, and inclusion that drew them into the St. Paul’s family. Andrew Hansen, who moved to Ithaca from Columbus, MO, told us that he’d always wanted to be a member of a reconciling congregation—and now, he is!   

    This group also represents new hope for the future of the Church—not only in numbers, not only in the presence of children and the richness of their lives, but as a sign that our newly-emboldened spirit-led and compassionate congregation (and our beloved United Methodist Church) is indeed making disciples of Jesus Christ for the life-giving, love-infused transformation of the world, one membership cohort at a time. 

    Thanks be to God for this rich harvest! 

    TAGGED / Communications / Youth / Districts


    United Methodists of Upper New York is comprised of a vibrant network of 677 local churches and active new faith communities in 12 districts, covering 48,000 square miles in 49 of the 62 counties in New York state. Our vision is to “live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God’s love with our neighbors in all places."