Office Hours for Pastor Marti Swords-Horrell : 

8:30 - 11:30 Monday and Tuesday, and 11 – 1:00 on Friday

Pastor Marti's day off is Wednesday.   Please note that at times Pastor Marti is called away from her scheduled office hours because of conference meetings, pastoral care needs on the part of the congregation, and other unforeseen events.  Anyone wishing a conference with the pastor is welcome to call her on her cell phone (315-569-9156) or contact her by email (mswordshorrell@gmail.com) at any time.                                                                                                               Thanks very much!

“Seasons of Love”

 Dear Members and Friends of Fayetteville United Methodist Church ,

  Most of you know by now that Bishop Marcus Matthew has reappointed me as of July 1, 2010.  I will be finishing my work as your pastor on June 30, 2010.  On July 1^st I will become the pastor at Brown Memorial United Methodist Church , Davis and Geddes Streets, Syracuse , and West Genesee United Methodist Church , West Genesee St. and Milton Ave. , Syracuse , as well as Project Director for the Syracuse Westside Urban Mission.   My reappointment was announced in worship on January 31 by our Staff Parish Relations Committee Chair Randy Cooke .  I want to extend my deep gratitude to the entire congregation but especially to the SPRC and to the rest of our able lay leadership for their openness to my ministry and for what we have learned from each other during this brief time we have shared together.

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes: how do you measure, measure a year?”” is the poignant opening line of the theme song from the Broadway musical Rent of a few years ago (songwriter Jonathan D. Larson).  The song answers its own question:  “In daylights; in sunsets; in midnights; in cups of coffee; in inches; in miles, in laughter and strife…”

In my case, make it two.  How do you measure two years?  We’ve certainly had much laughter; we’ve also had some strife, as all human communities have from time to time.

I’ve enjoyed many cups of coffee, sitting with some of you in coffee shops, in my office at the church, at your kitchen tables, in cafeterias at your places of work, in waiting rooms of our local hospitals.  We have taken time to share holy conversation.  These have been precious times indeed.  I have been privileged to walk beside some of you on your spiritual journeys and to marvel with you at the extravagant grace of God in good times and bad.  We have joined together in worship, in learning, and in mission opportunities.  We have challenged each other to give.  We have learned about visioning and about the variety of generations among us.  We’ve celebrated the lives of some of the saints among us and we welcomed newborn Christians through baptism.  We’ve had our disagreements but for the most part conducted them agreeably.  I am grateful for all I have learned from you, and humbly and sincerely ask your forgiveness for the mistakes I have made.

After July 1, I will no longer be your pastor.  I will gently refer any requests for pastoral services or involvement that may come from members of this congregation to whomever the Bishop will appoint as your new pastor.  Changing hats as gracefully as I can, I look forward to deepening my relationship with those of you who are already involved in the work at Syracuse Westside Urban Mission, and welcoming those of you who may feel led to join the effort as volunteers, in the SWUM summer program or the tutoring program that operates during the school year, at the Food Pantry or the Clothing Closet.

In a way that is unique in our wider community, Brown Memorial belongs to all the United Methodists in the Syracuse area.  Think of me as an urban missionary.  This is my calling.   My formative years were spent in urban parsonages in New York City , and my first appointment was to an inner city congregation in Chicago .  I am excited about new possibilities in urban ministry in Syracuse .   I will need all your prayers, and will continue to keep this beloved congregation in mine, as you make your way forward into this next chapter of your life together.

“How do you measure a year in the life?”  Larson’s song ends with this counsel: “Measure in love.”   I give thanks for all the love, given and received.  In the end, as Paul the apostle reminds, us, “Love is the only thing that lasts” (I Corinthians 13:13).

Recent Sermons

Out into the Deep
February 7, 2010

Comfort Ye
December 6, 2009

Abide With Us
November 29, 2009

“All Our Trials” 
November, 22 2009

The Widow's Might
November 8, 2009

A New Heaven and a New Earth
November 1, 2009

For Such a Time as This - Esther 7
September 27, 2009

Baptism

The following is a link outside of this web site that might answer questions you have about Baptism in the United Methodist Church.  If you want to return to the Fayetteville United Methodist Church web site, use the Back button on your web browser.

Baptism in the United Methodist Church:  Frequently Asked Questions

What is “membership” in Fayetteville United Methodist Church …
and why is it important?

“A member is bound in sacred covenant to shoulder the burdens, share the risks,  
and celebrate the joys of fellow members…” UM Discipline, 2008, para.219ff.

When we think of “membership” in a church, what may come to mind is what it means to join a club, or a community organization, or a fraternal order.  There are similarities and differences between these experiences and church life.  The church, like every human organization, exists to provide community, friendship, and relationships of care and support with those outside our immediate family.  But with other organizations, “membership has its privileges”.  In the United Methodist Church , we join to serve others, not to arrogate privileges to ourselves.   For instance, a health club may reserve the closest parking places for members.  In the church, members who are physically able may consider taking the farthest parking space to make room for those who are new to the community or the faith.  “Membership” is in this sense roughly equivalent to “leadership”.

When we join a United Methodist Church , we are received in the context of a service in which we reaffirm and reclaim the baptismal promises that we made, or that were made for us, at our baptism.  We “acknowledge what God is doing for us.”  Joining the church is our response to the movement of God’s grace in our lives.  It is an act of profound gratitude, and a commitment to make growing in grace central to our daily lives.

Research has shown that if a new member does not join a small group (a Bible study, the choir, a prayer group, or a new group committed to ongoing discipleship) within six weeks of joining the church, the likelihood of that person “grafting” into the trunk of the tree diminishes greatly.  We are blessed with a new Membership and Hospitality Team that will be addressing the whole process of welcoming and assimilating new persons into the community of the church, following our new Vision (Jeannine Parks, chair.)

If you are interested in becoming a member of Fayetteville United Methodist Church (or an affiliate member, leaving undisturbed a prior membership in a “home church”), please contact Pastor Marti at mswordshorrell@gmail.com or 569-9156, or note this on the blue Celebration of Fellowship sheet in worship.

Online Course on United Methodism in Preparation for Membership

Updated on March 6, 2010