St. John's AUMP Church, Goshen, NY

AWESOME NEWS, friends! Thanks to the kindness of a very special Goshen area resident who committed $1,000 to the St. John's AUMP Church Building Fund this morning, and another family that said they're sending $250, the fund is just $516 from its $16,900 goal! Thanks to all who have made this happen! God bless!

ST JOHN'S AUMP CHURCH FEB. 25 UPDATE: BUILDING FUND AT 74 PERCENT OF GOAL! Thanks, everyone!... Dear neighbors: Thank you. When we asked the Goshen community three weeks ago to help the tiny congregation of St. John’s African Union Methodist Protestant Church, 207 W. Main St., raise $16,900 to match a state Sacred Sites grant, we knew it was a big ask. We did it out of faith. We KNEW the Goshen community has a heart of gold. Once again, you’ve shown that. Pastor Brazley Young, St. John’s lead local missionary Mary Sumter and the rest of the small congregation thank you, profoundly, for your kindness. They’ve been praying the church will receive $16,900 in donations by Feb. 29 because, in early March, they’ve got to demonstrate to the state Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation they have the funds to match a state restoration grant. As of today, thanks to the 110+ donors listed in the attached image, there's $12,590 in the bank 74 percent of the money the church needs. We’re pretty sure by this weekend they’ll reach their goal. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. At the same time, the church, which has served people of color in Goshen since 1869, is hoping to have a revival itself. You’re welcome to join the congregation for worship any Sunday at 11 a.m. Please keep them in your prayers! With the matching funds from the state Sacred Sites grant, the church will spend $33,800 to repair and re-shingle the church roof; totally repair and repaint all the sanctuary windows, inside and out; and repoint the 110-year-old stone foundation and reface the brick. The church - the only church in New York of a Christian denomination established by a freed slave, and one of just a handful of such churches in the nation - has less than a dozen active members. Their bills are paid. They have no debt. They’ve done 10 years’ worth of restoration work through the loving generosity of friends and Goshen neighbors. You can give by sending a check to St. John’s AUMP Goshen Building Fund c/o The Indy, P.O. Box 628, Goshen, NY 10924 (put anonymous in the memo line if you don’t want your name published), or by going online to the Community Foundation of Orange & Sullivan (www.cfosny.org) and searching for St. John’s AUMP Goshen Building Fund. (Please see link in comments.) https://cfosny.org//p/st-johns-aump-goshen-building-fund/ Please consider a gift in honor of Mary Sumter or someone you love. Thank you! - Tom Leek, editor