Welcome to 2021!
2020 was a challenging year for the world with the COVID-19 pandemic which upended our normal routines and plans as we were forced to social distance. While we have socially distanced, we have not spiritually distanced at NFUMC and our church family is more important than ever before.
Pastor John Tomlin along with our staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to re-invent our services to fit the latest COVID requirements to keep our church family together when it could be so easy to lose those connections. In so many ways we are stronger now than before the pandemic; the struggle to avoid spiritual distance opened new avenues for our church family to stay connected and worship God.
I also want to thank our congregation for your constant support of our church. Your prayers made a difference and whenever we asked for help, you were there with masks and gloves at ready. On the financial side we ended the year with a slight surplus, unlike 2019, which allowed to the Board to approve a partial payment of $5,000 toward our 2020 conference apportionment. The conference has supported us tremendously and I am proud that we can give back to the UMC.
Of course, the challenges are still out there as we continue video only services in January due to the recent spikes in COVID-19 cases. We are stepping up our online presence once again with expanded video services by Pastor John featuring the musical talents of our congregation and special contributors.
We will continue to monitor the local infection rates and hopefully with the recent introduction of COVID-19 vaccinations, a modern-day miracle, we will be able to resume in-person services later in the year.
Yours in Service,
Steve Justice – 2021 NFUMC Board Chair