Covenant Partnership A missionary couple, Bill and Diana Upchurch, in Guyana, South America are provided with funds, communications and prayer. A covenant relationship has been established with The Mary and Martha United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg, Russia. The covenant is for financial support as well as exchange of visits between congregations. This ministry assists in providing spiritual nurture, and emotional and physical support, as is appropriate, to those members of the congregation who are unable to attend on a regular basis because of some debilitating condition, residency in a nursing home, or confinement in a hospital. Lay members of the congregation agree to visit assigned members who are homebound or in a nursing home, or to visit members who are in area hospitals on a given day or two of the month.
Training is provided twice a year.
The Pumpkin Patch is jointly sponsored by the United Methodist Women, the Missions Committee, and the Lay Visitation Ministry. During the month of October, a pumpkin patch arranged on the front lawn of the church yard requires the attention of all the volunteers we can gather. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children are bussed to the patch from area schools for story time, refreshments, and decorating demonstrations. The community is invited to come to the patch, walk through it, take pictures, and purchase pumpkins. The proceeds of the patch go to the outreach ministries of the three sponsors.