A vision is just something to look at - until you decide to take action. First UMC Middletown is a church taking prayerful and thoughtful action towards building a future for faith in Middletown that incorporates the best of our beautiful traditions as United Methodists united with the best that people of all walks of life in today's Middletown area have to offer one another in faith.

​At our Church Council meeting on Sunday, our members and regular worshipers spoke thoughtfully to express their visions for the future of the church and concrete actions to fulfill them. Led by John Parent, our new Church Council Chairperson, Debbie Camp, our new Lay Leader, and Pastor Barbara Marks, a heartfelt discussion after a slide presentation by Seminarian Associate John Blossom led to two key decisions on how best to focus on church growth and discipleship formation.

The first key decision by our Church Council was to have our Board of Trustees report back to the Church Council by 30 March on available options for the acquisition of property for a structure that would be suitable for our church's mission and that would enable us to have a sensible working budget. It is possible that the recommendation of the Trustees might be to acquire land but to delay actual construction, as the church grows and refines its mission capabilities. More will be revealed by their research for the Church Council's further decision making. New people have stepped up to join the Board of Trustees to support them in these efforts.

The second important decision by the Church Council was to have our Sunday School add the teaching of traditional United Methodist music to our children. There's a strong recognition that many children today are not familiar with many basic songs from our hymnals, and that often children in schools today are not taught how to read music. Music literacy will help our children to enjoy both contemporary music and traditional music, creating a rich tapestry of worship experiences that unite all generations.

Slides from the Church Council presentation are below, and minutes will be produced in time for our next meeting. Thank you for everyone's heartfelt participation - it is not always easy to move forward, but, prayerfully and thoughtfully, it will help us to fulfill the gospel in the image of a loving God, who has never been afraid to take action for us.

Sometimes we talk about "not being in the loop" - that feeling that we've missed out on key information or decisions. Where do decisions get made? How do we get heard fairly on important issues? Our Church Council is the forum for discussing important decisions, keeping people updated on major projects and ongoing ministries, and for raising ideas and issues for general discussion. 

Anyone can attend a Church council meeting - and our next one is after worship and fellowship this Sunday, October 4th. Please come - and participate!