Meet Amy Royal
Amy Royal is our new Associate Pastor. She is currently leading services at Lexington-Westkill UMC on the first two Sundays of each month and the last one or two services of the month. On the third Sunday she leads services at East Jewett UMC at 9 and at Kaaterskill UMC at 10:30. She has provided the following brief statement to introduce herself to us.
I have been teaching art in Delaware County for 25 years, and I am currently a full-time art teacher at Roxbury Central School. I have also worked as a migrant tutor, an activity director at a retirement home, and an activity coordinator with Project Independence.
I have been an active lay servant in the United Methodist Church for more than 12 years. I began as a lay speaker at Grand Gorge UMC, and I continued when I joined Margaretville UMC.. I have become more active in lay ministry in the last couple years doing services in Margaretville, Andes, Roxbury, Fleischmanns, and Halcott Center United Methodist Churches, along with doing regular services at Mountainside Residential Home.
I am currently in Licensing School with the goal of becoming a local licensed pastor. I enjoy walking and hiking, cooking and the arts. I look forward to connecting my interests with ministry.
Greetings from Pastor Tom Kim
Dear Members and Friends of the Kaaterskill, East Jewett, Lexington and WestKill UMC.
Grace and peace to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
First of all, I am so delighted to serve all of you as the pastor of the mountaintop community. It’s been two months…, already? Yes! Time flies when you are having fun. Right? A new pastor means a new chapter in the life of our churches. As I said in my first sermon, “I am not perfect – far from it in many ways, but I will do my best 1) to be faithful to God’s call to serve and 2) to meet our congregations’ needs.” I also said “we are all called to be a blessing for others.” Being “blessed” means that we sense God’s presence and positive purpose for our life. Being a “blessing to others” means that our life serves a purpose that makes the lives of those around us better.
I hope I have been a blessing to others in a variety of ways in the various locations I have called home. I hope something other than my departure was a blessing at the churches I have served! It is my prayer that I may be a blessing to our congregations. I knew I would initially serve as a pastor here. But, I also want to be your FRIEND: I want to SING with you. I want to CRY with you. Of course, I want to PRAY with you. I want to LIVE with you. I want to SHARE my life with you. I want to be a blessing by living in this community. Especially, it is my hope and prayer that I will be a “blessing to our congregations” as we begin a NEW journey together. Then I pray that I would be there to enjoy the ongoing growth of our churches for years to come.
It is a true honor for me to work with you to reach out to the community, accepting people just as they are and ministering to their needs; to provide opportunities for spiritual growth and development as we nurture Christian discipleship. My brothers and sisters in Christ, we cannot succeed to do what we want to do with our own might. We need God’s help. We will work together, but Jesus is the commander… not the pastor, nor the lay leader, nor the chair-persons of various committees. Christ is our Lord and we are servants. And he asks of your discipleship, the full-fledged discipleship of service to build his Kingdom here in our community.
Again, it is a privilege and joy for me to serve as your pastor. I envision each of our congregations continuing to grow in the way it blesses our community. I thought about all the gifts you bring to be a blessing for others in our community and beyond and I am most grateful for all your support and participation in our ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service.
Blessings to you all!
Pastor Tom