Thank you Christie and Marilyn for tasty snacks! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-30-26 Our lesson this past Sunday was about weeds among the wheat. Gathering the weeds before harvest would upset the wheat. Pastor Jeannine lamented about the English garden. An English garden is a design of the master gardener. There are no weeds to detract from the flowers. Pastor Jeannine asked us if this would be nice if our world was like this. Christian life is a journey. Church is like a messy garden. We welcome all…a hospital for sinners, not a museum. Jesus welcomed the tax collector and prostitutes. He felt they would enter the kingdom of God first. We will be selling cookies at the community concert in the park on July 29th. We also will be selling the Oak Hill barbeque chicken on August 22. Lots of opportunities for service. Come worship 9am Sundays with us!

Thank you, Dick Smith for reading our scripture this past week! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-23-26 Pastor Jeannine asked the kids if they had ever grown anything. She talked about planting seeds. If you sow seeds on the carpet, will they grow? If you spread them on the ground, will they grow or will they grow better with water, sunshine and if they are covered with dirt? God hears us like we nourish and tend to our plants and seeds. God nourishes us and tends to the heart of our souls. In addition to tending to our plants, we need to tend to our friendships. Sometimes we don’t see someone for a long period of time and when we catch up it is like we never had been apart. Whatever the situation, we need to cultivate our friendships and relationships with active communication and love. God touches us and we touch the lives of others. Please come worship with us. You are new to the area or just even visiting we openly welcome you to our worship services at 9 AM on Sundays.

Here are two of our 4th of July firecrackers! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-16-26 This past Sunday was our Fourth of July Sunday as we celebrated our 250th birthday of America almost everyone in the congregation wore red, white, and blue and celebration of the day. Pastor Jeannine showed the kids a jar of elbow macaroni and shook it. She has the kids if they like to eat dried macaroni or would eat macaroni with macaroni and cheese or with butter if it was cooked. The macaroni comes to life when it’s cooked. She also told them about dried bones. Can these bones live again? God brings life into us with the power of the Holy Spirit and calls his people back to himself. She told them about a vision of dried bones. The dried bones represent the nation of Israel in history they represented bones on the floor of the valley. Pastor Jeannine told a story of the Statue of Liberty with the torch and book message. One little girl asked her parents if they could help the lady hold up the torch. She felt that her arm was getting tired. And on the Fourth of July, we celebrate freedom, justice, and mercy just like our church bell, we need to ring freedom’s bell. Happy summer and we hope that you all enjoyed the Fourth of July holiday as we celebrated our Country’s special birthday! Our sincere condolences to the family of Dana Schillinger. Dana and Helen have been long-term members and supporters of Bluff Point United Methodist Church. They are both in church almost every Sunday. Dana was in church last Sunday before he passed rather suddenly this past Tuesday. On military occasions, he would often wear his uniform which still fit him. We will miss his kind ways but know than our brother in Christ is with Jesus. Please keep Helen in your prayers.

Leah Dibble helps with fellowship after church. We enjoy our social time. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-09-26 School is out for the summer! We have many enthused children that are happy about summer vacation, although this year we do not have any graduates. We do have two students in college. Pastor Jeannine recognized many members of the church that have helped with nursery and Sunday school through the year. We love our kids and are glad that we have active programs to support their growth and learning about Jesus. They also get to have some playtime and crafts while in Sunday school. Pastor Jeannine told the kids and the adults the story about Abraham and Isaac. Isaac was born when Sara and Abraham were very elderly and he was very much loved. God told Abraham to go up the mountain and build an altar. The idea was that Isaac would be sacrificed, sadly, is Sarah and Abraham had waited many years to be parents. Abraham listened to God, and believed God would provide a sacrificial lamb. Abraham trusted God and believed that he would provide, and not have to sacrifice his son. This lesson shows us that we need to believe and trust in God. The lesson is based on scripture from Genesis 22: 1 through 14. God meets us in our times of need, however, sometimes we need to ask him for his help. Our church has had several recent passings of elderly congregation members, which has tested many of us with these losses. We need to trust and obey God- it’s not blind faith but trusted faith, that he will provide for us in times of need. Snacks this week or courtesy of Joyce Wiedrich and Leah Dibble. We do enjoy our fellowship after church! Please come join us at church at 9 AM on Sundays. We have a loving congregation and a very caring minister.

Pastor Jeannine asked the kids if they had hobbies, like birdwatching! Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 07-02-26 Pastor Jeannine asked the kids if they had hobbies like building things, reading, taking pictures or birdwatching. Did God like birdwatching? Maybe his hobby was looking after us. We are more precious to him than a whole flock of birds. God loves all the sparrows and all the birds and takes care of them, but we’re more precious to him, and he will take care of us. Pastor Jeannine is overwhelmed with her love for children and her grandchild, with another one on the way soon. God, his unexpected blessings. God creates possibilities when everyone else sees impossibilities. If God promises it, he will perform it. Our promise is not dependent upon the economy, gas prices, rising grocery prices. God promises a future. God loves us. Remember the story of Ishmael. He was seen as an outcast but God saw him as a leader. You may be overlooked but God sees you as a promise. God sees us and hears us. We celebrated Father’s Day. The kids passed out cookies to all the guys. Our men love baked goods! School is out- be careful of kids running around and riding their bikes! See you in Church on Sunday!

Marguerite Miller gave the children’s sermon with a telephone game and message for them to share, all about Jesus Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 06-25-26 Wow, this year is half over already- where does time go? This past week Pastor Jeannine and Phil were out of town and Stacey Wyatt gave the message based on faithfulness. We’ve been talking about love, joy, kindness and faithfulness. We need a divine faith. Our scripture reading was from Matthew 9: 35 through Matthew 10: 8. The disciples made Simon Peter start a church. Our church of Bluff Point was started in 1838 and moved to its present location in the 1890s. One of our congregation members had a grandfather whom helped dig the basement by hand for the current church. Stacey Wyatt told us about several people who have had a divine faith. One was Horatio Spaddord,a businessman from Chicago. He had a very successful business and he and his family planned a journey to Europe. His wife and children went ahead because he still had business to complete. And November 22, 1873, the vessel that his family was on struck an obstacle and sank. His four daughters perished, however his wife survived. After learning of this tragedy, he wrote the hymn- It is well with my Soul, which we sang as our last hymn. Despite unimaginable tragedy he was able to praise the Lord. Despite any obstacles in our life, we need to keep our faith and realize that God will look after us in any circumstance. Faith gets us to heaven and while on earth we need to grow our faithfulness.

Chris Wyant helps Merik Whitford make a magnetic tile castle. Article by Joyce L. Wiedrich 06-18-26 Pastor Jeannine got out of stethoscope and asked kids what that was. She told them that Jesus helped to make people well, not only those that were lame or blind, but also those who were hurting. She told the story of Jesus asking Matthew to follow him. Matthew was a tax collector and not well liked by people, but Jesus welcomed him. Matthew watched Jesus heal many people. He left his job and spent his time following Jesus. Pastor Jeannine’s sermon followed in this vein, reminding us not to judge others, even though it’s hard, we should be showing kindness and repentance. We need to meet people where they are. God made disciples of all nations. Jesus saw Matthew for who he was in his heart, even though he was an outcast being a tax collector. He left everything and committed his life to Christ. We had a wonderful carnival for the kids this past weekend. They were outdoor games, a bounce house, tie-dying T-shirts, painting and crafts. In the sanctuary, the children learn songs and had a message from Pastor Jeannine, focusing and love, kindness, and self-control. Thank you to Marguerite and Ron Miller, Chris Wyant, and all the others that helped make this a reality for nearly 20 children. Hopefully we can do this again next year! The day was capped off with pizza and ice cream sundaes.

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.