THE BELL TOWER

Ringing out the news from Valley Falls United Methodist Church

May 2026

Photo by Bill Bobear

All are welcome here. We are one of over 600 Methodist churches in the Upper New York Conference, whose vision is to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God's love with our neighbors in all places.

Pastor Dion's UPDATES and INSPIRATIONS

May God bless you with

the wisdom to notice the needs of your neighbors,

the inspiration to know how to act,

and the courage to lead the way in working for

justice and flourishing for all God’s creation. Amen.

(from UMC Miracle Sunday materials)

During the six weeks leading up to the Miracle Sunday Offering on May 17^th, United Methodist congregations around the world are invited to learn, pray, think and then act.

According to the Upper New York Conference website, “More than 70% of U.S. clergy hold a theological degree while fewer than 5% of clergy outside the U.S. do, creating a stark disparity in pastoral formation.

An offering from [y]our congregation – together with all others worldwide – will help close that gap by funding and sustaining theological education for emerging pastors in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines.”

This effort to create 500 permanently endowed scholarships each year to prepare pastors for ministry in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines is an opportunity to extend the vision of The United Methodist Church:

To form disciples of Jesus Christ who,

empowered by the Holy Spirit,

love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously

in the community and the world.

The UMC vision statement encourages United Methodists to not accept discipleship with a milquetoast mentality, but to engage in a passionate discipleship life of service: boldly, joyfully, courageously. We are invited to passionately climb into the fishing boat with Christ, trusting Christ to be beside us at the helm through the fog, waves, rapids, and storms.

As we are transformed by living a love path, so may the world come to value and practice the healing, compassionate, loving, inclusive, community-building ways Jesus taught his disciples so many years ago. May we do no harm, do all the good we can, and energize compassionate care and justice for all who are in the margins of society, sick, poor, in need, and vulnerable.

As The UMC continues to grow internationally and new generations of leaders emerge, it is important that potential leaders have an opportunity for transformative education, for pastoral formation, and to develop networks of support and service to strengthen and guide them in their efforts to do no harm, do good, serve Christ, love God and neighbor, and shepherd with integrity and wisdom locally and in connectional capacities.

May the liberating impact of education and opportunity help each person to grow into the fullness of their potential, and may hearts continue to be strangely warmed.

Our call to action this month: Love Boldly.

Take twenty minutes this week to walk or drive around your neighborhood. Before you go, pray for God to help you notice how your neighborhood needs you to love boldly. Commit to one small act of resisting injustice and loving boldly in the weeks to come.

(From Miracle Materials: Love Boldly, pg. 26).

Peace be with you.

WORSHIP

Worship services are held each Sunday at 9 a.m. and are followed by a coffee hour in Fellowship Hall.

Sunday, May 3 - Service of Holy Communion

Sunday May 10 - Mother's Day (See NOTE)

Sunday, May 17 - "Gifted for Giving." Worship led by Rev. Ralph Marino. A Miracle Sunday offering will be taken (See Pastor Dion's column).

Sunday, May 24 - Pentecost Sunday. Any regular attendees interested in taking membership vows on this date, please contact Pastor Dion at 518-915-3393).

Sunday, May 31 - "A Prophet in Hot Water." Worship led by Rev. Ralph Marino.

[NOTE: Let's fill the altar with love for our mothers! Again this year, Joan Anzola and the United Women in Faith will coordinate a display of pink (in honor of) and white (in memory of) carnations for Mother's Day.

If you'd like to designate a carnation for your mother, please email Joan Anzola at joananzola@gmail.com with her name and your choice of flower color.

A bulletin insert will list the honored mothers, and flowers can be taken home after the service. An envelope in the front entryway is available for your free-will donations toward the cost of the flowers.]

Do you play an instrument and are looking for a chance to play with others?The Music Gathering continues to practice after church on most Sundays.

OF SPECIAL NOTE

United Women in Faith

Thursday, May 7, @ 10:30 a.m. Enjoy a salad bar lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt! Phyllis Chapman, a popular interpreter of women in American history, will share highlights from the life of this remarkable first lady, who supported her nation and its people through the Great Depression and World War II.

Thursday, June 4, @ 6 p.m. UWF will hold their annual picnic at the home of Susan Stover, 410 Stover Rd. Bring your place setting and a dish to share.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

Monday, May 18, at 7 p.m. "Living with Cancer," a support group led by Rev. Ted Wright, meets via Zoom, "ready to listen, encourage, pray, and share wisdom and resources." Email Ted at wrightsafrica@gmail.com to request the link.

Wednesday, May 20, @ 6 Building Beloved Community Book Study will begin online and meet two Wednesdays per month. Please be sure Pastor Dion has your best email address and phone number.

Thursday, May 21, @ 6 p.m. The annual Memorial Day observance will be held on the VF library lawn. The traditional service includes flag raising, wreath placement, special music, reading of the memorial roll, and "Taps." The event is free and open to all.

Thursday, May 28- Saturday, May 30—The Upper New York United Methodist Church Annual Conference meets at the OnCenter in downtown Syracuse.

Saturday, June 13 - Villagewide Garage sale... at the library and around town. Watch for details about our annual chicken barbecue!

OUTREACH

Sunday, May 10 - Joseph's House donations due at church. Current needs:

Sunscreen - small or travel sizes

Chapstick

Men's clothing, size M-XL (all can be gently used except for underwear)

T-shirts

Lightweight jackets

Jeans, size 34-42

Men's underwear (new)

Baseball caps

Monetary donations for bottled water

***

Community Outreach Committee

From Carol Eddy, committee chair:

Do you have ideas for reaching our goal of being more responsive to the needs in our local community? In particular:

· How can we be more visible in ways that might encourage others to experience the blessings of church involvement that we enjoy?

· What needs and services in our community do you know about that are currently not being met?

Please send your thoughts and suggestions to me at careb107@gmail.com, and I will share them with committee members.

OUR METHODIST CONNECTION

Celebrating Rev. Dr. Georgia Harkness

By Tara Barnes

“Hope of the world, thou Christ of great compassion, speak to our fearful hearts by conflict rent …”

Have you ever opened your United Methodist Hymnal to #178 and sung those words? They were written by the Rev. Dr. Georgia Harkness, a big name in Methodism: The first woman to become a full professor at a U.S. seminary, author of more than 30 books, six-time General Conference delegate, teacher, preacher, pacifist, poet, trailblazer, and human rights advocate. She even once stood up to famous theologian Karl Barth to publicly challenge his sexist theology, and her writings inspired the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And she’s from Upper New York. Georgia Harkness was born April 21, 1891, to Lillie and Joseph Harkness in Harkness, New York, which is just south of Plattsburgh in the Adirondack District. Her family came to Methodism when her great-grandparents were shunned by the Quakers because of her great-grandmother’s “scandalous” red coat.

Her New York roots run deep. After graduating from Keeseville High School, she attended Cornell University on a scholarship (one of the few colleges to accept women at the time) and joined the faculty at Elmira College in 1922 after getting her PhD at Boston University. She taught at Elmira for 15 years.

Marking History

On the corner of Hallock Hill and Harkness Roads in Peru, New York, is a blue and yellow roadside historical marker that reads “Harkness Church.” Erected in 2020, the sign stands beside Harkness United Methodist Church, where Georgia Harkness was a member for more than 70 years.

In 2025, the Upper New York Annual Conference supported a resolution to declare the church a United Methodist Historic Site as well. You can find a marker on her grave in the Harkness Cemetery as well, placed by the Upper New York Commission on Archives and History in 2010.

Harkness was ordained a local deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1926, and 12 years later she became a local elder. She knew women were called by God to full participation in all leadership of the church, and, after tireless advocacy for women’s ordination rights, she saw her advocacy come to fruition as a delegate at the 1956 General Conference, when the Methodist Church finally lifted its ban on women’s full ordination.