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What a delight it is to be your pastor on the occasion of the church’s 175th anniversary! Your faith is a testament to the longevity of this precious body of Christ, especially in a time when two other congregations in town have recently shut their doors and we are all facing decline. Though the storms rage round about us, God sustains and protects us as beloved children. Though the nature of church is changing rapidly, and in places the larger society lacks the good moral leadership that is necessary for stability, our faith will endure and so will God’s unending love. Oakdale’s superpower is its resilience—its ability to endure difficult times with grace. I have no doubt that this precious congregation will persevere in strength and joy into a future filled with love, warmth and welcome for all. At our recent Church Council meeting I shared some of the things that we’ve accomplished in the past four years and I’d like to share those with you too. We’ve gone on three mission trips: two to Kenya for medical and school missions and one to Northern Vermont for a construction mission. We’ve welcomed 18 members and after June 14th, we will have baptized 6. There have been several weddings and too many funerals but we give thanks for the opportunity to gather in their memories to commend them to God’s arms. We participated in and hosted several community services for Thanksgiving and Good Friday. We’ve worshiped at The Old Stone Church and at Lake Waushacum and on 208 Sundays in our beautiful sanctuary. We’ve had guest speakers from the United Methodist Foundation of New England, the Committee on Native American Ministries and most wonderfully, our dear Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar before his retirement. We celebrated Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, midnight Christmas Eve, Pajama Sundays, Holy Humor Sundays, All Saints and Kickoff Sundays. We’ve blessed pillowcases and prayer shawls, pets and motorcycles. We’ve held 18 Bible Studies and launched Pub Church. We’ve baked and sold innumerable apple pies and held spaghetti suppers, strawberry festivals and potlucks. We received and dedicated and gratefully accepted beautiful carpentry of a new pie booth. We hosted birthday parties, wedding and baby showers, girl scout meetings, community choir rehearsals, a new clothing shed, the CFCS preschool and the Pakachoag music school. We updated our website, enhanced our Facebook group and page, began projecting worship and announcements to TVs and changed our newsletter delivery twice. We developed new brochures and brought them to the Fall Fest where we invited the community back to our church. We participated in Memorial Day ceremonies at High Plains Cemetery. We held numerous fundraisers including Pizza Drive, Sneaker Drive, Swedish Meatball Dinner/Silent Auction, Tag Sale, Pinecroft, Pampered Chef party and an extravaganza featuring other vendors like Avon. We developed a strategic plan and met many important goals. We held a leadership retreat. We sought and received Mission Share Relief. Leaders participated in trainings including SPRC, Finance and Lay Leadership, and the And….we celebrated 175 years of worship and ministry to the wonderful people of Oakdale with our craft and music fair and special worship service where we sold “church merch” and Breaking Bread cookbooks. We welcomed a beloved former pastor, Rev. David S. Hill who touched the lives of so many and 100-year-old Jane Erickson played piano and also cut the celebratory cake along with 77-year active member Betty Hendrickson. Well done, good and faithful servants. This precious church is alive and vital and ready to move onto its next chapter with faith and hope. |
| In Christ’s Love, Pastor Cheryl |