Dear Church Family,
Summer is finally here. School is out. Our snow birds have returned home. The sun is shining. Travel plans are underway. While it seems like the world around us is taking a vacation, summer marks a busy time at Hoffman United Methodist Church. We have all sorts of ways for you to be involved at Hoffman this summer. Lunch Bunch begins on June 23rd. The Church Garage Sale is on June 12th. In July, we have the Art Show (18th-20th) and the Dayton Dragons came (12th). The church picnic will be in August. We have lots of plans, and we hope that you will make Hoffman a part of your summer plans.
Annual Conference is June 8th-11th. This year, I am excited to say that Hoffman UMC will be well represented at Annual Conference. As you may know, each church sends their pastor and a lay delegate (Nancy Curry) who have the opportunity to vote on matters for our conference. Well, this year, our district selected three additional lay delegates from our church—Julia Circle, Devin Mitchell, and Kim Petty. Rev. Tim Benkert and Chris Miller will also be representing Hoffman. So, we will have 7 voting delegates (not including Pam Hitchcock, who goes as a representative of Potsdam).
On June 1st, we will be taking up our special offering to take with us to Annual Conference to support Imagine No Malaria. We are looking forward to being part of the solution to this problem that is affecting the lives of so many people in our world today.
Also, on June 13, our Haiti Mission Team will fly out of Dayton. You have already supported them overwhelmingly through your financial giving. Now, let’s support them with our prayers as they travel to build a home for a family in need. The members of the team are: Cheyenne Barnes, Brett Beard, Evan Beard, Teesha Beard, Bethany Benkert, Tina Mathews, Denise McCuiston, Chris Miller, Lauren Miller, Levi Miller, Liam Miller, and Paul Miller. Unfortunately, Matison Jackson is unable to attend due to medical reasons. They will return on June 22nd. You will want to make sure to be in church with us on June 29th, where the Haiti Mission Team will be “taking over” the service to share their experience with us.
As we move into June, we are beginning a new sermon series called “3 in 1”. In this series, we are going to be looking at the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a doctrine that is foundational for Christians, and yet it is one of the most difficult to understand. How does this whole three in one thing work? What does it mean to call Jesus God? The series will last four weeks. We will look at each “person” of the trinity separately first. Then, we will explore the doctrine as a whole.
We had 13 people in our membership class last month. We are excited to welcome those who decide to join into our church family. For those who are able, we will be taking in new members on June 1st. We have several who need to be baptized prior to joining the church. We have scheduled another River Baptism for July 27th. If you have never been baptized and are interested in discovering what this means, please talk with me. I would love to have the privilege of baptizing you
This June is a special month for Chanda and me because June 20th marks our fifth anniversary. I thank God daily for having Chanda in my life. Not only am I blessed with an amazing family at home, but I am also blessed with an amazing church family. I am blessed!
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin
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