New Pastor Joins Katonah United Methodist Church

Sometimes old, familiar words can be heard in a different way when a spoken by a new voice.

In her second Sunday sermon since joining the Katonah United Methodist Church as pastor, Rev. Melissa Boyer spoke the opening of the Lord's prayer: "Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name." 

Just ten words— yet enough for Boyer's full sermon exploring how her congregation--both as individuals, and as a community connects with God.

Boyer believes that God and community go together. "In a culture that has become so individualistic, it can be difficult to connect with a community," she said in a conversation after worship. "The church has so much to offer both as a community and to the community. For example, it's so valuable for kids to have a place where they are safe and supported; a place that helps form their identity, their values and their faith. Church can provide that."

A native of Arkansas, Boyer served churches in New York City, Dallas, TX and Buchanan, NY before coming to Katonah.

"After I was commissioned by the Methodist bishop, I moved to Texas," Boyer said. "Even though that might seem like closer to home for an Arkansas girl, I found I really missed New York. The people are so direct and I missed the diversity."

An active youth ministry is one of the things that attracted Boyer to the Katonah Methodist congregation. "Appalachia Service Project runs out of this church," she noted. "This summer we sent 75 people to build houses and assist those in need in Appalachia."

That's a big group from a modest-sized congregation, but Boyer said she's not surprised, given the Katonah Methodist congregation's attitude: welcoming, flexible and open to creative ideas. "This church wants to become even more involved in the community," Boyer said. And she's looking forward to that.

But she's not naïve about the challenge. Church seems irrelevant to so many today, she said, and her goal is to help people appreciate all that church offers: opportunities for service, support for environmental justice and sustainability, and more.

"Some people will never come to worship, but they can still be enriched by all the church has to offer," she said.

Boyer's ideas for future programs include events open to the community, such as thought-provoking speakers or a music concert series. "We have a tremendously talented music director in Keith Burton. Music is certainly something we have to share."

It's shared in abundance on a Sunday morning. Each week, the Katonah Methodist service starts with a "warm-up:" congregants shout out their favorite hymn (by way of the hymnal page number) and everyone sings; three selections a Sunday. Worship is filled with more hymns and, music director Burton noted, a choir on non-summer Sundays.

After church, Boyer said she's drawn to the idea that God wants us to call God father or mother—"It's a familial term, and church is like a family," she said. "Yes," she laughed, "it has dysfunctions like any family, but also tremendous strengths."

What about today's sensitivity to "gender neutral" language? "Thanks to my daughter Caleigh, we've solved that problem at home," Boyer said. "We pray the Lord's Prayer together every day and use 'father' one night and 'mother' the next. My two children (Caleigh and son Connor) always know whether it's an 'Our Father night' or an 'Our Mother night'," she added.