Smithtown United Methodist Church

Rev. Dr. Huibing He - Pastor

Email Rev. Dr. Huibing

Dear Congregation,

A warm Greeting to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Since July 1st, 2011, I have been in my ministry with you in the Smithtown United Methodist Church, meeting with many church members and friends in worship services and in fellowship.

During this short period of getting to know you, I realized I was coming into a warm, friendly and dedicated congregation with a motivated and enthusiastic lay leadership. On July 12^th, I moved into the parsonage. I am very grateful for the SPR Committee and the Trustees.  They worked very hard cleaning and repairing the house and made it an inviting parsonage for me. With the new appointment of the pastors and church employees, we also realize our church life is going through a time of transition. It warms my spirit when I see many individuals in the congregation diligently volunteer, working together to make this transition smooth and effective.

 Recently I took some time to be in the Sanctuary alone, savoring its beautiful architecture with the colorful stain glass windows and the metal statues of Moses and Jesus on its back wall.  These images and symbols led me into a deep meditation. What are these images saying to all of us as we worship here and as we are facing the great challenges of a culture today that is dragging us away from our rich spiritual ground and heritage of our Faith? How do we share the Good News with our young people and those around us who are seeking the meaning of life? We are all called to ponder on how we would answer these questions and respond to the call of God.  I trust the Lord for spiritual strength, and I am confident in the lovely congregation of this church.

On November 20^th, we will celebrate our church’s 50^th Anniversary.  This is a very exciting occasion.  I feel blessed to be with you at such a significant time.  I believe that the anniversary is a joyous time when we celebrate and give thanks to God for leading us through the past 50 years in ministry.  It’s a time to renew our faith in responding to the calling of God - to make Disciples of Jesus Christ.  I hope to have all the members and friends, new and old, to join me in singing and worship.  I especially invite the young people to join our celebration activities. It is also a time that our church is made known to the community by our witness. Let us share God’s grace and blessings to all through this event.

 I am thankful for being appointed to this church and look forward to meeting and getting to know each of you in Sunday worship, at the Annual Church Fair and all the church functions. Let us walk together in our faith journey exploring the meaning of our ministry and discipleship. I hope to see you all on the coming Sundays and at our church activities.

Please feel free to contact me at: huibingh@optonline.net  and let me know your full name so I can see your face in our church directory and remember your name when I see you.

Blessings,

Rev. Dr. Huibing He

Heather Wilson loves being the music director at the Smithtown United Methodist Church where she has worked since September, 2006.  She prepares music for the 10:00 traditional Sunday service, where she especially loves performing a capella with the other choirsters, and she leads the Praise Band on Wednesday nights for the Open Door Praise service at 7:30.  She also loves preparing the children for the Christmas pageant and the spring play every year.  She believes that God gifted everyone with a unique voice that can be shared with others in praise, and welcomes anyone and everyone into the music ministry.

Heather began playing piano in 2nd grade and singing at church in 3rd grade.  Church music has always been an integral part of her life and she feels it has been the key factor in shaping her spirituality.  Before coming to Smithtown United Methodist Chuch, Heather served as the primary organist for Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church, in Deer Park, for three years.  She also played organ and piano as a substitute in many churches on Long Island and in New York City.

Aside from church music, Heather's greatest passion is teaching.  In May 2006, she graduated from New York University with a Bachelor's Degree in music education.  Currently she is teaching elementary school music/chorus in the Sachem School District and absolutely loves it.  Heather also enjoys traveling the world, scuba diving, skiing, and writing her own music.

Mae has been a member of the Smithtown United Methodist church since 1962.  She and Ted have been married for 47 years and have 3 children and 5 grandchildren.  She has been secretary since June of 1997.

Pam Tarry became the Director of the Wesleyan School in July 2005, but began her association with Wesleyan long before when her own children were students from 1991 to 1995.  Prior to coming to the Wesleyan School, she worked for the Bayport - Blue Point School District for 34 years as a teacher and taught 2nd grade, 1st grade, and Kindergarten.

Mrs. Tarry loves the Wesleyan School, the staff, and the welcoming families who have all made this a very positive experience for her.  She is dedicated to the the school philosphy of hands on learning.

Mrs. Tarry's academic background includes a B.A. from Molloy College and a Masters of Education in Reading from the University of Nevada at Reno.  In addition, she has attended numerous conferences, workshops, and post graduate courses in early childhood education.

Mrs. Tarry has been married for 28 years to her husband, Hal.  They have two children:  Matthew, 19, who is an engineering student at the University of New Haven and Juliana, 15, who is a student at Smithtown West.

Mrs. Tarry enjoys cooking, reading, working out, and yoga.  She also enjoys skiing with the entire family, and hopes to get back into long distance bicycling which is how she first met her husband!

Julie Garofalo was born in the Bronx, NY and was raised in Mahopac, N.Y.  Her family moved to Long Island after she graduated High School.  She is married to a wonderful man named Anthony and has a delightful boy named Vinny.  She is a Registered Nurse and graduated from the Suffolk Community College Nursing Program.

Julie's hobbies include bike riding, walking, going to the beach, traveling and dining out.