Copy of May 24, 2026 Service
June 11, 2026
We recently had a great musical Sunday. Our choir performed five numbers, and the kids sang a beautiful patriotic song. We’re lucky to have musical talent and many groups to participate!
Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich
06-11-26
Pastor Jeannine asked children if they’ve ever known something that they wanted to tell the whole world about. She told him about people putting messages in a bottle. Harold Meyer put three bottles in the Caribbean. He put a dollar in each bottle with instructions to use the money to send a letter and let him know that the bottles had been found. She also pointed out scripture from John three verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. A better way than putting messages in bottles is to show by your actions and words the person that you are. It’s good for all of us to share God’s grace with others.
We had many participants in our recent music Sunday. Choir sang five numbers and the children sang God bless America, waving their flags
Visitors joined us, participating in music Sunday, including Bill Turner, Mindy Tortolon, Bonna McMahon and Kaylee Will. Kaylee played a beautiful music number by memory.
We also passed the buckets to collect donations for Yates County Habitat for Humanity.
Thanks to Dee Brezinsky for bringing and serving tasty snack for fellowship.
Happy summer. The weather finally is cooperating!
Happy birthday Pastor Jeannine! We celebrated after church Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 06-04-26 This past weekend we celebrated Pentecost Sunday- seven weeks after Jesus was crucified. Everyone in our congregation wore red to signify Pentecost Sunday. Pastor Jeannine spoke of the time. She told us how a servant came and recognized Peter as the man who was with Jesus. Peter denied that he knew Jesus and then went away and wept in the courtyard. He realized he had denied his friend. Peter lived with that guilt. At this time, after the crucifixionJesus was more life than ever. Over 3000 people had joined his movement. Christianity spread like wildfire. Just like Peter, God speaks to us in our moods and emotions. In moments of doubt. God is always there. This was also memorial day Sunday. Pastor Jeannine gave recognition to those that have served in any of the armed services. This next Sunday, we will pass the buckets for Yates County Habitat for Humanity, as it is music Sunday. Dick Smith gave us an overview of the program. In Yates County it started in 1991 with a home in Himrod, with land that a gentleman had purchased and donated. The 21st Home is being built currently in Yates County. People wanting a home through habitat need mortgage approval and need to individually have 250 hours of sweat equity. There are always a need for volunteers to come and help with the projects to keep the costs down as low as possible. It is a wonderful program that has provided an affordable house to many families throughout the years. In the sanctuary, we have baby bottles from CareNet to be filled with pocket change. CareNet is another organization Yates County that gives a lot of support to pregnant women and young families. Remember to sign your child up for summer Bible festival 9 AM Saturday June 6 at Church. This program is open to the community and we are hoping that many will join us.
Christy, Stacy and Chris help with our section of road clean-up on 54-A Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 05/28/2026 This past Saturday, we said goodbye to our friend in Christ, Sally Thomas, in a beautiful service at church. Pastor Jeannine gave me wonderful eulogy, and her grandchildren gave some outstanding memories of her wonderful life, citing her love of artistry, the Penn Yan area, and their camp in the Adirondacks. We will miss Sally and her smile! Thank you to the Reay’s and the Warrens for snacks after church. Music Sunday is May 31. Bring your friends and neighbors to join us. Pastor Jeannine asked the children if they had ever watched helium balloons float. She told them that Jesus ascended like helium balloons do. Our sermon was based on scripture from Acts 1: 1-11 Read by Stacy Wyant. Pastor Jeannine told his story traveling down Route 95 looking for hundreds of miles at the South of the Boarder signs. The motel and retail establishment was just over the border between north and South Carolina. She was reminded of the saying are we there yet? How many parents have not heard that in the car hundreds of times from their children. The disciples asked Jesus are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel? Is it almost time? Will it happen? She reminded us that we don’t need to know the exact time of when Christ is coming- only that he is coming again. The Holy Spirit is our bridge. Please join us in church 9 AM Sundays!
We welcome Nancee Scott as a member of our congregation. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 05/21/2026 We had a beautiful Mother’s Day celebration Meridyn Whitford sing a beautiful solo about Mamas. What a gorgeous talent and voice for a little girl! Pastor Jeannine spoke to the children of how we should talk to God. Moms always pray for their kids. We first learn how to pray by saying the Lord‘s prayer and talking to God first asking for forgiveness. You can pray anywhere in nature at your bedside at the kitchen table, God hears us wherever we are. Pastor Jeannine continued on telling us not to pray just when we have needs. Life shouldn’t seem like chaos in the Wizard of Oz starting out in black-and-white and then full color at the end. We need to glorify God and rejoice when prayers are answered. Sometimes we need moments of silence when we plug into God through prayer- it changes our frame of mind. We have had so many losses lately in our congregation of our faithful servants of God. First, Meredith Nielsen then Sally Thomas, and most recently, Laura Hammond. Prayers for all the families in their loss. This week we think and pray especially for Jean Murdock and her family in the loss of Laura. Jean often brought her mother to church, most recently on Easter Sunday. Her service is planned at church on June 20. Here ye, hear ye! We are planning a summer Bible festival. This will be held on June 6 from nine until noon for children ages 4 through 12. Activities include a bounce house, arts and crafts, waterfun, food, bubbles, fishing, and games as well as learning about Jesus. Please call to register: (315) 521–7619). On June 14 will be taking pictures for our new church directory followed by a pancake supper. Lots of things going on at Bluff Point UMC! We welcomed Nancee Scott to our congregation this past week, who transferred her membership into our church. We are glad to have her join our fold! Come visit and come worship with us. 9 AM Sunday.
Here’s our Waneta passionately, reading scripture of the week. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 05/14/2026 Our scripture and lesson this week was based on the scripture of John 14. Pastor Jeannine showed us that Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, in that whomever believed in him would have everlasting life. He asked us to obey his teaching and his commands. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them. This is a foundation of our Christian faith. Our sincere condolences to the family of Sally Thomas. Sally was a faithful member of our congregation whom we will miss dearly. Her memorial service is planned at church at 2 PM on Saturday, May 16. Sally always had a smile on her face and a good word for others. We also send condolences to Sharon Jenks and family in the recent passing of Wes Jenks. Wes was our pastor for many years in the 1980 and 90s. After his retirement, he and Sharon settled in Florida. We will always remember his guitar playing, and the trips that he and Judy White Wunder planned to many places, including Pigeon Forge! We will be replanning the date of our pancake supper to our next brunch Sunday, the second Sunday in June, at church. Road cleanup is May 15 at 9 AM. Others are welcome to join us. It usually only takes an hour and beautifies our road near the church on 54-a. Please meet at church at 9 AM where we will divy up the route. Pray for no rain, but if it does rain, we will reschedule. See you at church on Sunday! Remember music Sunday is May 31!
Thank you, Ron Miller for all you do musically for us. Our choir always sounds awesome! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 05/07/2026 Pastor Jeannine gave our lesson today about the good Shepherd. She started with the kids telling them that Jesus was there to protect them and all of us. The sheep know the shepherd‘s voice and come to him, but scurry away from other people if they do not recognize them or their voice. Pastor Jeannine continued on, showing the adults that Jesus was the gate to the sheep. Whoever enters the gate will be saved. The Shepherd knows all his sheep by names. He knows all of us too, our names and even the hairs on our head and chest. Jesus rose again to be the shepherd for all of us. We are saved because of him- he gave his life not only for his sheep, but for us. Max Lucado‘s study on taming your thoughts begins with Bible study at 9 AM Saturday. All are welcome. Trish DeMondfort will be leading the Bible study. Road cleanup of our section on 54-a will begin at 9 AM on Friday, May 15. All are welcome to join in. We meet at the church at 9 AM and split up for our assignments. All are welcome to join. Several of us traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania recently for the memorial service for Bruce Westerdahl. The family did an awesome job with the service with plenty of memories and videos of both Bruce and Nancy. Bruce was our pastor for many years during the 1980 in 1990s. He lived a long life passing in December 2025 at age 94, in joining his beloved wife, Nancy in heaven. The memorial service for Meredith Nielsen will be at church at 11 AM on Friday, May 8. Our dear Meredith was a lifelong member of our church and is so missed! Another music Sunday! There are five Sundays in May so our next music Sunday will be May 31. The kids will begin practicing their numbers. Come and join us. Thank you to Warren and Melissa Kinsey for after church snacks this week!
Blanche Fingar show some of the prayer shawls she has made this winter! We are so lucky to have her and our congregation, with all she does to help others! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 04/30/2026 If you were going for a walk, and Jesus came by and walked with you, would you recognize him? Two men, likely two disciples, were on the road to Emmaus were joined by a man who came to them as a stranger. They did not recognize him. They were full of grief as they walked along, having recently lost Jesus. When they came to Emmaus Jesus acted like he was going ahead. The two men urged him to stay for dinner. Jesus took a seat at the table. He took the bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. At that point their eyes opened; they recognized him as Jesus and they discovered that he had indeed risen from the dead. They returned to Jerusalem and told the other 11 what had happened and that Jesus had really risen. Pastor Jeannine showed us that the resurrected Jesus doesn’t promise us, wealth, health, or prosperity but he promises us peace. He changes us and how we see our current circumstances. We can face troubles, illnesses, and tragedy, knowing that with God trying times and events will never have the last word. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Pastor Jeannine asked us if we have ever seen Christ through the actions of others. What ministries are you involved in with a church where you can experience Jesus Christ through loving service? What ministries is God calling you to do? As you can see in this picture, Blanche Fingar is very involved in the ministry of making prayer shawls to comfort others in their sadness, pain, or grief. This is one of our churches important ministries, and Blanche and others have been called to help others in this way. Thank you, Christie Mosch and Marilyn Sands for our delicious treats after church this Sunday. We appreciate the time for fellowship and sharing. Remember, Bible study will begin on May 2 at 9 AM with the book by Max Lucado, Tame your Thoughts. We are planning a celebration of life for Meredith Nielsen at 11 AM on Friday, May 8 with a reception to follow. We so miss Meredith. She was active in our church and such a follower of Christ throughout her whole life. Nice to see the spring flowers, although coming to church today, we did have a little snow on the ground. Hopefully that’s the end of that for the year! Come join us in our Sunday worship at 9 AM!
Trish DeMondfort and Gene James share conversation and friendship before church began. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 04/23/2026 Happy spring! Finally, some welcome warmer weather! And two more of our snowbirds have returned, Blanche and Roger. Welcome back to the fold! We have missed you! Our Bible study time has changed to Saturday- beginning Saturday, May 9 at 9 AM. we will be studying Max Lucas- Tame your Thoughts. Books are available on Amazon. Pastor Jeannine asked the children if they had ever seen or heard of something that happened that you couldn’t believe. She cited the book Ripley’s Believe it or Not. A couple of things that were in there that she told the children was that a chicken laid a square egg and another astonishing event was that a teenage girl hula hooped with 68 hula hoops at a time. WOW! those are things that are hard to believe. In our Christian life, it might be hard to believe that Jesus was raised from the grave. In our scripture lesson, John 20: 19-31 we see that one of the disciples, Thomas doubted that Jesus had returned and was raised from the dead. He needed proof by seeing the marks on his hands from him being nailed to the cross. Do we often have worries. Pastor Jeannine said her mother was a perpetual worrier. She worried about the kids. She worried about what would happen to her things when she went to a smaller home. God is here for us. Stuff is not our life, but memories are- God never walks away. We had a wonderful brunch after church. It’s so good to see everyone participating in and enjoying the conversation and delicious food. Speaking of food, we are planning a church pancake supper at 5 PM on May 16. We will be taking pictures of congregation members at 4 PM on that date prior to our dinner for an updated directory. We will be taking pictures at other times if that date is not convenient. Our road clean up is scheduled for May 15 at 9am, weather permitting . This is one of our missions where we pick up trash on a 2 mile stretch of 54-A twice a year. Mark your calendars!
Easter Blessings from BPUMC! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 04/16/2026 Pastor Jeannine told us again about the Easter story. What an Easter surprise! Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. An angel was sitting on the stone, which was rolled away. The angel said to them- Don’t be afraid- He is Risen. The Mary’s must’ve been very afraid. But when they understood, they went into the town to spread the word. What are our fears? There are many things that we can’t do anything about. Pastor Jeannine told us that her mother was a grand worrier. She worried about the most minute things. Some of us worry about our health or other concerns. Don’t be afraid- we need to turn our worries over to Jesus. We have to have faith and believe. None of us get out of this alive, but Jesus did. Jesus was raised from the dead. The cloth that covered his face was folded and put on the tomb. This was a sign that Jesus is coming back. Death could not hold him down. Jesus was wrapped in a heavenly gown. Thank you to our choir for two beautiful anthems today. The choir also has been going to homes of some of those that are ill, and recently to the Homestead nursing home to sing to residents, including one of our own members. Happy spring. Hopefully the weather will soon cooperate!
Thank you, Marguerite Miller for directing the children and providing us with several cute songs as we celebrate music Sunday and Easter week beginning today with Palm Sunday. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 04/09/2026 Pastor Jeannine related to the children and the congregation the story of Palm Sunday. Jesus entered the city with great cheers of Hosannah and a parade. Coats were put on the ground for the donkeys to walk on. As the week progressed . the cheering of Palm Sunday turned to proclamations to crucify Jesus. This week reminds us what Christ went through for us. The tomb could not keep him or his message from us. Pastor Jeannine showed the children how Jesus is their living hope and has set us free. Please save any bed sheets, mattress, pads, or blankets for quilts that will be made by the group from My Brothers Keeper. These quilts are distributed at Christmas time for Yates County Christmas. Michele Covert read a beautiful poem entitled- God Speaks to us, written by Blanche Fingar. This past Sunday was also Music Sunday. The choir performed several numbers and Meridyn Whitford provided a beautiful solo entitled Sunday Sermons. In addition, Meridyn has been singing with the adult choir! Thank you, Meridyn, and our wonderful choir under the direction of Ron Miller. Our children also had two choir numbers. They are such an addition to our service. They also passed out palm crosses to the congregation members. Several of us will be traveling to Gettysburg for the memorial service of Bruce Westerdahl to be held there on April 25th. Bruce was our pastor for many years and a devoted member of our church along with his wife Nancy. He spent most of his growing up years in Gettysburg. For years, several of us joined the Westerdahl’s to decorate wreaths to put on the Gettysburg national Cemetery, and also the military cemetery at Quantico. We participated along with school children in the wreathlaying ceremony at Gettysburg. It’s nice to see the spring flowers popping up. It’s been a long winter. The sunshine and warm temperatures are so appreciated. It’s also good to see our snowbirds returning from the south. Norm and Sherri Hunt were back in church with us on Palm Sunday. See you in church at 9 AM on Sundays!
Deaconess Connie Glover gave us a presentation telling us of some of the programs that she has created in the Penn Yan area, including the PY Community Cafe. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 04/02/2026 Our Bible study this week centered around the scripture from John 11: 1-45. Pastor Jeannine first ask the children if they ever cried when they fell down or when they were sad, or even because someone else cried. It was mentioned in the Bible three times that Jesus cried, including when his best friend Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha died. When Jesus arrived after being summoned when Lazarus was taken ill, he had died and already was in the tomb. Jesus was able to raise Lazarus from the dead and then rejoiced. This was another one of Jesus‘s miracles. We were fortunate to have a wonderful presentation from Deaconess Connie Glover in church this week. Connie started the Penn Yan community Café out of the PENN United Methodist Church 17 years ago. The community café has dinners twice monthly with takeout in addition to a sitdown dinner. She also had started community Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners. Through Keuka advocacy services, Connie helps people in need with utility, housing and enrollment in programs, including finding and obtaining birth certificates and identification when needed. People need these items to sign up for many services. She also has started a weekend, food pantry, and a senior meal program with seven meals a week at Saint Marks in Dundee. Miss Connie‘s house is in progress which is going to be a woman’s shelter. There also is a warming and cooling center in progress. Connie needs not only financial support but volunteers to help with these many programs. One of her main goals is in helping people find jobs and financial independence. Thank you, Connie in enlightening us in ways that we also can help. On this coming Sunday we are passing the bucket for the community café. We’re invited to join the Tenebrae service on Monday Thursday, April 2 at 6 PM at Dresden UMC. There are many services and opportunities during Lent in our community. Our sincere condolences to the family of Meredith Nielsen who passed away recently. Her memorial service will be later this spring. Meredith was a lifelong member of Bluff Point United Methodist Church. She was able to come to church with us as recently as this January. Meredith remained active in church throughout her lifetime. She participated in many church activities and events including Bible study, church committees and road cleanup. Meredith was loved by all and will be missed. Our Easter service will be at 9 AM Sunday, April 5. Please come and join us as well as all of our other Sunday services.