06/02/2026
From the Pastor's Desk
God Be with You ‘Till We Meet Again…
June is the final month I will be serving as your pastor. Our last Sunday before we begin our retirement will be June 21st. At this time, I will have completed seven years of ministry with you, and 36 years under appointment in the United Methodist Church. The first sermon I gave was as a seminary student in the fall of 1986, at the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, NY, 40 years ago this fall.
Joy and I are looking forward to the opportunity to begin this new chapter in our lives. We are grateful we can retire at this point and do some things together while we are still healthy and able to do so. Our youngest daughter will be getting married in July, so we’ll be busy right from the start. I have been asked to officiate and there will be much to do to get ready. Many of you know, in addition to playing in the New Horizon’s Band of Cape Cod, I’ll also be playing with the Chatham Town Band on Friday nights at Kate Gould Park this summer. I also hope to finish the siding of our house (a six-year journey) and complete some other projects as well. We are also looking forward to the trip we plan to take this fall, traveling across this country in our car, and spending time at many of our nation’s national parks, especially in the northwest. When we return to the Cape, we’ll be getting ready for the holiday season, and then we’ll consider what God has in mind for us. I may pick up a part-time job doing something different. We hope to volunteer, and find new ways to give back, as a way of continuing to express our gratitude for the gift of this life.
While we are looking forward to this new chapter, we do so with mixed emotions. We are grateful for the opportunity we have had to serve with you these past seven years and for the relationships which have developed. We will look back on our time together as one of rich life and ministry shared. Even though we will continue to live on the Cape in our home in Dennis during retirement, we won’t be able to remain active at South Yarmouth UMC, at least for some time. It will be important to give Pastor Victor and all of you, the space needed to continue to grow and be the church God is calling you to be.
Perhaps one of the largest changes in retirement for us will be not having a consistent community of faith through which we can actively participate. All during our married years and as individuals before that, we were deeply involved in the life of the church. While there are congregations we are interested in visiting, we don’t see ourselves investing in a community of faith in the way we have for most of our lives, at least not at first. We trust God is leading us into this new future, but it will be different.
Please know that it has been a privilege to serve as your pastor, and we trust you will continue to build upon what we have been able to do – and be – together. I believe God is waiting to share many good things with you, as you begin this next chapter with Pastor Victor as your spiritual leader. Remember, you have much to offer, and the richness of the life you share in Christ is a deep blessing.
Pastor John
