Spring Newsletter 2025

The Grindstone Island United Methodist Church

P.O. Box 411
Clayton, NY 13624

April 2025

Dear Fellow Grindstoners,

Once again, we see our glorious River spring to life. The ice is gone, the weather finally trying to turn, boats braving the waters as stalwart Islanders return to our beloved Island (to join those sturdy year-round folks). Soon we will all be back with family and friends to renew the bonds that tie us to Grindstone.

We will come together as a community to share in the spiritual leadership and ministry of the Reverend Jeff McArn, aided by Art Couch and Charlie Moehs. Jeff will also host his wonderful Parsonage Dinners and the Blessing of the Animals so that no one is left out from the umbrella of the Church’s caring and prayer.

The Island Church and Community Calendar project a very busy summer. Dodge Memorial Hall, the Research and Heritage Center, the Heritage Museum, the Church, and the Winery have all worked together to minimize schedule conflicts while blending all the activities into a full summer calendar. Thank you to Caroline Larson for her hard work in pulling it all together. You will see we have listed the websites of each of the entities as Island activities are very fluid and these websites will give you access to the latest and greatest Grindstone goings on.

This will be a challenging and creative year for the your Church. As you know, our physical Church has been declared unsafe so we must pivot to a temporary Church Service solution until we can raise the money to make the repairs that will Save Our Sanctuary. Your Church Council is examining the options and costs of how to do that best. We have agreed that May, June, and September services will be held in the Carriage House as our usual attendance will allow that to work. Our challenge is July and August so we are looking into possible outside services with tents, other locations, and other creative solutions that will allow us to come together in worship and comfort. If you have thoughts to add to the mix, please feel free to contact me to share your ideas.

I’d like to also share an update with you on the progress we have made on our Church restoration. We have hired Mike Aubertine, Registered Architect, to prepare the actual structural requirements necessary to restore the Church. He will complete that assessment in the next few month. We know the cost will be in excess of $300k, but Mike will give us the final basis to bid out the project, then we will find at least 3 bids and select a company to do the construction. Given scheduling challenges, if lucky, we would hope construction could begin late Fall and well into Spring. That means we will have to ensure we have raised the money for the full project by completion. Tom Davison is heading up the Capital Campaign and has been working tirelessly to get us to our goal. Through the generosity of at least 70 of you we have surpassed $100k so far. But we certainly need more. Reaching out for other sources, and through many, many hours of work answering 50 essay questions and providing reams of documentation, Cindy Rusho Hagemann has helped us apply for a $150k 1:1 matching grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places.

We have no idea if we will be awarded this grant, as the competition is fierce, but it changes our donation strategy in case we are successful. Grant winners will be notified in October and their rules state that matching funds cannot begin to be collected until then. So, we are asking for pledges now for funds to be delivered after October, and even over multiple years, whether we get the grant or not. If lucky, this will give us a dollar-for-dollar match on your donations. If not, we will still need your donations to meet our goal, it just will be much harder. If you can, please send your pledge to Tom Davison (davisonlakemills@gmail.com) to help us meet this enormous challenge.

Thank you for helping Save Our Sanctuary.

See you in Church!

Betsy Fitter, Church Council Chair

Rev. Jeff McArn, Summer Minister

Jim Helpinstill, Church Treasurer

Useful Sites:

Grindstone Island United Methodist Church

Facebook: www.facebook.com/giumc

Website: www.giumc.org

Grindstone Island Research & Heritage Center (and Heritage Museum)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GrindstoneIslandReseachAndHeritageCenter

Website: www.grindstoneisland.org