I am Tom Atkins, part-time pastor of two United Methodist Churches in South Central Vermont: Rupert United Methodist Church and Rutland United Methodist Church. When I began this blog, my churches were indeed tiny. Today they are somewhere between small and average, but I have hung on to the original name.

My original tiny church is Rupert United Methodist Church in Rupert, Vermont. It a beautiful neo-gothic gem of a church with a pipe organ, beaded board walls and ceiling and a rich history in the community that goes back to 1883. (THat is it in the photograph) When I started there in 2013 or so, there were five of us. I was pretty sure, when they asked me to preach that I would be their last pastor. There’s about 25 of us now, even with so many of our older members passing away. We average 15 most Sundays. It is a small, tight-knit, incredibly welcoming church family with the most amazing loving heart to anyone who visits.

My other church is Rutland United Methodist Church in Rutland, Vermont. A city church that began in 1881, they moved from their huge old church building to a facility that once housed a building supply store. It sits right on the edge of downtown Rutland, and seven years ago, when members saw homeless people walking past the church each day, they began serving coffee and donuts and providing a warm, safe place for a few hours. That has grown into a feeding ministry that provides a hot meal to over several hundred people per month, along with a food pantry, a clothes closet, and relationships with other local organizations that provide housing help, help with finances, mental health and recovery programs. We use the sanctuary as the cafeteria, and on Friday, we pack up the tables and turn it into a sanctuary. Sunday afternoon, we make it a cafeteria again.

You might think this large a ministry means a big church, but no. We average 35-45 most weeks. But big hearts can do amazing things.

So I am blessed with two churches full of love. My experience and my nature have helped me coin my central theme in my ministry: Love. No exceptions. No wonder I fit in well with these two church families!

If something touches you, drop me a note . Everything great starts with a conversation.

Be well. Travel wisely.

Tom