Dear Gobin Family,
What a year of blessings in our church community! As we lean into this season of giving, we cannot help but reflect, celebrate and give thanks for all of God’s gifts this past year.
To kickoff 2021, we welcomed Joel and Tosh Everson and their Harvest House Church community to our Gobin family. Pastor Joel and Pastor Bryan have been collaborating for several years now, and this uniting of spiritual communities has proven quite a blessing. One of those blessings includes the emergence of Gobin Collective featuring talented musicians from the DePauw and Greencastle communities.
In the spring, we finally returned to in-person worship with the launching of Gobin Beginnings. This worship experience draws heavily from the traditions of the Methodist Church and allows our beloved Lilly organ to sing once again. In April, after completing a 10-week class, Gobin recognized and confirmed four outstanding young people for their commitment to live in the vows of the baptismal and membership covenant of the United Methodist Church. To close out this season of renewal, Gobin Church joined Churches around the World and celebrated Pentecost Sunday with the inaugural PENTESTOCK. What a joyous occasion full of music, singing, dancing, and sunshine as we gathered and shared a meal on the Everson Farm.
The summer season brought warmer weather and even more blessings. The Summer Enrichment Program, a five-week day camp for at-risk elementary students, once again returned to Gobin Church, serving over 50 students. In-person gathering and worship continued to grow with the addition of a second service, Gobin Mosaic, accompanied by a weekly brunch. And in August, our DePauw students joined us once again. This Gobin College Group includes a cohort of young people meeting regularly for shared meals while supporting each other through college ministry.
There was much to be thankful for in the season of fall. Our Transformers ministry celebrated its mission of changing lives through an on-line week of giving campaign. The four Transformers programs, CIRCLES, Kids Hope, TALKS and Pay It Forward continued to serve youth and adults in Putnam County while growing its programs in 2021. Serving others continued in November when Gobin partnered with Greencastle Christian Church for the first time, working together to prepare and deliver Thanksgiving meals to those in need. And on Christ the King Sunday our beloved Prayground returned. What a joy to see the children back in this interactive space engaging in worship!
As a final blessing, many of our Gobin family members responded to a call to ministry this year. Some individuals entered the process of Certified Lay Ministry while several more completed coursework to continue on as Certified Lay Ministers. One individual has become a Certified Lay Speaker, and two of our members are now assigned to serve neighboring Methodist churches as Certified Lay Ministers. Several others have entered the United Methodist candidacy process to better discern a call to ordained ministry as elders, deacons, or lay ministers.
As we look forward to 2022, we do have much to be thankful for and celebrate, and yet there is still so much more to do! Join us in faith as we honor our membership vows to faithfully participate in the life and ministries of Gobin Church through our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. As you choose to show generosity in this season of giving, please give prayerful consideration to making a year-end contribution to the Gobin General Fund. Your contribution will allow us to continue changing lives as we enter a new year filled with hope and love.
Blessings and Peace,
Rev. Bryan Langdoc
GIVE HERE
