The Grindstone Island United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 411
Clayton, NY 13624
December 2025
Dear Grindstone Island Church community,
This has been a challenging but rewarding year for our Grindstone Island Church. The closing of our Sanctuary for repairs has tested your Council’s fortitude and creativity to ensure Services continued. Through the yeoman efforts of Jeff McArn, Joan Flint, Lloyd and Weezie Edwards and many others, our physical Church ebbed and flowed to the Carriage House, The Turkey Dinner tents, Aunt Jane’s Bay, The Cardamone’s barn and back again to the Carriage House. Chairs were borrowed, moved, set up, taken down and set up again, hymnals carried, sound systems transported, Altars moved, Coffee pots and supplies carried back and forth, and signs created to get our congregation to the right locations. No small feat. Everyone flexed, everyone schlepped, and Church persevered.
We continue to be blessed by the spiritual leadership of Jeff McArn, the meaningful guidance of our visiting and Lay ministers, the exceptionally creative musical direction provided by Joan Flint and several of our talented Grindstoners who have lifted their voices to raise us all up in song.
Special thanks also go to our Trustees, particularly Lloyd Edwards and Will Wolverton who have been leading the charge on the Restoration of our Sanctuary. Meeting with construction experts, moving us forward on architectural plans with Mike Aubertine and planning the logistics of preserving 11 stained glass windows plus storage of the organ and pews during construction. Of additional note is the services of Lloyd and Weezie Edwards who, as a team, quietly address the many issues that come up to maintain our Church campus. Often with hammer in hand, without fanfare, things quietly got fixed to keep our Church buildings in good repair. We couldn’t do it without their service to your Church.
Additional thanks go to Cindy Rusho Hagemann who continues to support our Social Media presence and helps in so many additional ways, Debby Smith who has led the Mission Committee and got our Church notice in the TI Sun every week all summer, as well as Caroline Larson, my right-hand invaluable person.
We were able to hold our Turkey Dinner through the collective efforts of Kay Kolle, Eric and Nancy Lewis plus all our wonderful volunteers where 140 people broke bread together and enjoyed the long-established tradition of a community gathering. Through the generosity of Dodge Hall and Clay and Kay Kolle and their team of volunteers, we held a delicious Pancake Breakfast in August.
Joan Flint and Mary Taylor led a squad of epicurious volunteers to provide an hors d’oeuvre feast for our Mission Fundraiser. Through their efforts, your generous donations and weekly Mission collections, we were able to provide $3644 to the Clayton Fireboat, $3071 to the World Central Kitchen and $171 to the Clayton Food Pantry. Thanks to Joan for her many years of leading this effort. Mary Taylor will continue her leadership, joined by Karen O’Connor and Weezie Edwards next year.
Jeff McArn prepared Pastoral Dinners where friends, new and old, gathered to share stories and reflect on their spiritual journeys. He also led the Blessing of the Animals service at the Squash Court where two and four-footed family members could share a blessing and a meal. Despite the logistical obstacles. your Church and Council continued to find ways to “feed the multitudes” as part of its commitment to the community.
Much of the effort over the past year, under the exceptional leadership of Tom Davison, has been to raise the funds to Save our Sanctuary. Tom has driven the Capital Campaign and many of you have risen to the challenge and dug deep to ensure we can rebuild the structural integrity of our Church plus provide improved air flow, sound systems and accessibility to the building and fix the belfry to convince the bats to find another home. We are grateful that donations, small and large, have moved us closer to our goal. Some have given pledges that cover multiple years. Families have come together to pool their resources to help. Some with limited means have still found a way to be a part of saving our church as every donation helps.
We are in the final push of our Capital Campaign as well as our imperative Annual giving. We ask you to consider a donation if you haven’t made one as of yet, or if you can do more to help. As you look at your year-end charitable contributions, please think of your Church. We want to restore our Sanctuary for the next 100 years so that your families and the Grindstone families to follow have a safe place to worship, hold baptisms, weddings and Celebrations of Life for all the years to come. You can go to the Donate Page on our website, giumc.org to donate or send a check or pledge to GIUMC, P.O. Box 411, Clayton NY 13624 and indicate it is for Capital Campaign and/or Annual Fund.
Blessings to All in this Joyful season of Christmas. Let the Circle be Unbroken.
With gratitude,
Betsy Fitter-Council Chair Rev. Jeff McArn-Minister Jim Helpinstill-Treasurer
Grindstone Island United Methodist Church
Facebook: www.facebook.com/giumc
