Onteora Ministries

02/10/2026

Memorial United Methodist Church, Shandaken, New York
Overlook United Methodist Church

30/09/2026

Memorial United Methodist Church, Shandaken, New York

26/09/2026

Lay Servant Ministries Courses Filling Fast, Register Today!

Something wonderful is happening across the New Hope Episcopal Area. Laity are stepping forward in numbers, ready to deepen their faith and discover new ways to serve their churches.

Several of our Lay Servant Ministries Fall courses filled so quickly that six of the thirteen offerings have already reached capacity, with waitlists open for those who want to be first in line for a future session. https://bit.ly/3Tn5rh5

The good news: seven courses still have room, and nearly all of them meet online, so distance is no obstacle. Join a course from your kitchen table in Manchester, your living room in the Adirondacks, or your office in the Bronx, learning and growing alongside fellow servants from across both the New York and New England Annual Conferences. Most courses run five sessions over five weeks, a manageable commitment that still offers substantive, meaningful formation.

Whether you're taking your first step on the Lay Servant Ministries path or looking to deepen a skill already in use in your congregation, there's a course built for where you are. Explore storytelling, preaching, spiritual gifts, worship planning, and more. Ready to find the course that fits your calling and your calendar? Explore all Fall 2026 course offerings here: https://bit.ly/3Tn5rh5



New England UMC Catskill Hudson District NYAC of the United Methodist Church NYAC Connecticut District New York - Connecticut District of the New York Annual Conference Long Island East District of NYAC Long Island West District

24/09/2026

Friends, please be aware of our policy regarding children in church:

If your kids are loud, please still come to church.

If you’re running late because getting everyone out the door was a battle, please still come to church.

If your toddler won’t sit still, please still come to church.

If your baby needs to eat, please still come to church.

If your child asks questions at the least convenient time, please still come to church.

If someone cries, drops a toy, needs a snack, or has to make their third trip to the bathroom, please still come to church.

If your child doesn’t know all the words, all the prayers, or exactly when to sit and stand, please still come to church.

If you feel like you spent the entire service managing your children and heard approximately 12% of the sermon, please still come to church.

If Sunday morning feels messy instead of peaceful, please still come to church.

If you’re worried your children are distracting the people around you, please still come to church.

Because children do not learn how to be part of the Church by staying home until they can sit quietly.

If your child has a disability, please still come to church.

They learn by being here.

They learn the hymns by hearing us sing them.

They learn the prayers by hearing us pray them.

They learn to worship by watching us worship.

They learn that church is home because we make room for them here.

The wiggles, whispers, dropped crayons, crying babies, and little voices are not interruptions to the life of the Church.

They are evidence that the Church is alive.

So bring the babies. Bring the toddlers. Bring the big kids. Come late. Sit in the back. Sit in the front. Step out when you need to and come right back in.

Just come.

Children are not simply the future of the Church. They are part of the Church right now.

21/09/2026

21/09/2026

Reservoir United Methodist Church
Phoenicia United Methodist Church
UMC of Olivebridge & Samsonville
Shady United Methodist Church
Overlook United Methodist Church
Memorial United Methodist Church, Shandaken, New York

21/09/2026

Amen 🙏🤍