Canton United Methodist Church Pastor Headed To Clinton

pCANTON — God will be leading The Rev. Michael Terrell, pastor of the Canton United Methodist Church, to a new chapter for he and his family./ppThe pastor’s final service at the Canton church will be at 10 a.m. Sunday. /ppThe next day, the Terrell family — wife Jennifer and children Willow and Noah — will embark on a new assignment, the Clinton United Methodist Church in Clinton, capping a nearly seven-year pastoral stint in Canton./ppFor Rev. Terrell, the move is bittersweet, leaving a community he calls “home.”/pp“My heart hurts because we have to leave. At the same time, the same God that led us here and helped us with tremendous growth is the same God that will lead us into the future,” he stated. “The Canton community has blessed me and my family in so many ways. I now have their love and support and I like to think I did the best I could. My gifts and graces are needed elsewhere. I trust God will provide for us here.”/ppRev. Terrell’s first service in Canton took place July 1, 2012, replacing Rev. Thomas Jones who retired. His first service in Clinton will be July 1./pp“This church really knows hospitality. They embraced us the day we came. They even built us a garden before we moved in,” he said./ppRev. Terrell will be succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Nancy Hale, who will make the move to Canton from the Cobleskill United Methodist Church. Her first service in Canton will also be July 1./ppSince coming to Canton, Rev. Terrell wasted no time get involved in the community. He immediately joined the Grasse River Players crew and has performed in more than 16 shows. /pp“As I was unpacking boxes on the second day here and someone stopped by and whipped me a script for a production at the Edwards Opera House,” stated a grinning Rev. Terrell. /ppHe also created church dinner theaters in 2014 and founded Cub Scout Pack 11 in Canton, serving as Cubmaster and Den Leaders. He has served as a T-ball coach, baseball and soccer coach with the Canton Pee Wee Association and has assisted at various school functions./pp“The same God who provided for Canton by placing me here in this beautiful community and church is the same God who will guide the appointment of the new pastor,” the pastor said. “The hard part, or course, is knowing that saying yes would mean saying goodbye to a church and people we love. A good thing about an adventure is that we are better people because of people here in Canton.”/ppThe pastor sends a personal invitation to the community to join him in his final worship service on Sunday./p