Seneca Falls pastor retiring; open house Sunday

SENECA FALLS — When Val White decided to become a minister, it was not an impulsive decision.

White, who turns 70 this year, enjoyed a long career as a health educator before yielding to a second career as a pastor.

“The Lord called me, and I resisted that call for a long time,” she said earlier this week during an interview at the First United Methodist Church in Seneca Falls, where she arrived in 2017 at age 62.

White noted she’s been equally resistant over the past two years to making the decision to retire. But she realizes it’s time. She will preach her final sermon Sunday, June 15, and bid farewell the following Sunday, June 22, when the Rev. Judy Lieber-Butler assumes the reins. Lieber-Butler is coming from the Apple Valley United Methodist Church in Nedrow.

This Sunday all are welcome to an open house to wish White well (see box).

White joked that she was “a circuit rider” before coming to Seneca Falls from the Weedsport United Methodist Church and St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Mottville, a part-time gig covering both churches that she started in 2007 while simultaneously attending Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.

White lives in the Cayuga County town of Sennett with her husband, Rob, and said it’s time to slow down while she has her health and to be a grandma. She has three grandchildren ages 3 to 7; her daughter Colleen and family live in Buffalo and son Scott and family live outside Milwaukee.

“Pastoring is not a typical job,” said White, alluding to its unpredictable hours. “This is a wonderful church. It’s very difficult to leave and I’m brokenhearted even though it’s my decision.”

The church has about 150 active members, according to White, and an average in-person Sunday attendance of 55 which jumps to 67 when online viewing is factored in. The church’s mission statement is “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” and White said what she’ll miss most about her time here is the parishioners and their passion for “making disciples.”

The Seneca Falls church is part of the grassroots Reconciling Ministries movement in the denomination, which embraces full participation of all people in the United Methodist Church, regardless of sexual orientation. In 2020, the local church voted overwhelmingly 98-2 to be a reconciling church in response to a special legislative General Conference vote a year earlier to tighten United Methodist rules banning same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ clergy.

White said she was interested in expanding the church’s community outreach and is grateful a dedicated group of church volunteers helped. Among the programs bearing fruit during her tenure are:

• The Wednesday Rangers after-school program for children and youth grades K-5, launched this school year and based on a Vacation Bible School model.
• Quarterly family fun nights open to the public during which a free meal and program are offered. The pumpkin carving one is especially popular and White described the fun nights as “no strings attached events” without preaching, praying or asking for money. “It’s a gift to our community,” she said.
• Bicycle blessings in the spring, held for all forms of bikes in the Academy Square building parking lot, with coffee and doughnuts served.
• Drive-thru giveaways of holiday cookie decorating kits
• A more active youth group, thanks to the groundwork laid by former “phenomenal” youth group leader Liz Rhinehart and the Rev. Leah Ntuala of the nearby First Presbyterian Church. Ntuala secured a grant to fund supplies for “The Hangout” at First Presbyterian, where teens in grades 6-12 can do just that. White said the youth from both churches often meet together.

“This church has leaders that are amazingly skillful,” White said. “I was blessed to have people who picked up on the ideas and made them happen ... and readiness to step outside the four walls of the building and a little bit out of their comfort zone.”

White grew to love Seneca Falls and became involved by serving on the House of Concern board, and helping with the It’s a Wonderful Life and Canal Fest festivals. She believes the town’s ethos reflects the “It’s a Wonderful Life” movie.

“From my perspective,” she said, “it’s a George Bailey town, the way people are willing to help their neighbors. And by that, I mean people in need.”

Although sad, White said her final sermon on Trinity Sunday is apt because of its focus on the community of God. She may be leaving, she said, but “the love we have for one another here is eternal because it’s centered in Christ, not in one person.”

That doesn’t mean White won’t be missed by her church members. Diane Neal, the church’s missions outreach coordinator, said it’s been a joy to have White at the helm for the past eight years and called her “a warm, caring pastor who has a heart to serve the people who attend SFUMC along with the community of Seneca Falls and beyond.”

“She has a gift to hear and see people, and easily created bonds with them, sharing her wisdom, or just listening,” Neal said.

Maria Fowler, a 30-year-plus church member who serves on the Staff Pastor Parish Relations Committee, described White as an even-keel leader who facilitates with grace. Shortly after she arrived in Seneca Falls White had to contend with not only the greater church controversy but then the pandemic —and did so with aplomb. She’s also a very hard worker who had to be forced to take vacations, Fowler added, so this retirement is well earned.

“She puts her heart and soul into everything she does ... We are going to miss her, but I certainly understand it’s time for her and she’s ready,” Fowler said. “I just wish her the best. We will feel her loss for sure.”