About Our Church
Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. | Love Spoken HereWUMC MISSION STATEMENT:
We are a welcoming Christian Fellowship who celebrate and share God’s love with everyone. We seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. Inspired by His Example, we strive to be God’s hands in this world. Empowered by God’s word, we proclaim the Gospel and serve through worship, study, mission and community support.
WUMC VISION STATEMENT:
To be a more thriving, open-minded, spirit-filled Christian fellowship growing in faith, love, and service.
Vision Focus Areas:
Congregational Vitality & Growth
Evangelism
Communication
Missions
Affirmation & Inclusion
Who We Are
The United Methodist Church - The Connection
Welcome to this United Methodist congregation! It is one of the nearly 35,000 similar congregations spread across the United States, which, together, make up the United Methodist Church. Our denomination is often described as “the connection.”
The United Methodist structure and organization began as a means of accomplishing the mission of spreading scriptural holiness. Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, recognized the need for an organized system of communication and accountability and developed what he called the “connection,” a network of classes, societies, and annual conferences.
Today, our denomination continues to be organized in a “connectional” system, which “enables us to carry out our mission in unity and strength” (Book of Discipline, ¶ 701). Every local church is linked to an interconnected network of organizations that join in mission and ministry, allowing us to accomplish far more than any one local church or person could alone.
United Methodism is a diverse denomination with neither a “typical” congregation or an “average” United Methodist. The UMC connects more than 12 million members across four continents engaging in ministry around the world united in our faith in Jesus Christ. As our hymn, “We Are the Church,” UM Hymnal #557 states “The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people”
Our Beliefs & Values
- We are a welcoming Christian fellowship who celebrate and share God’s love with everyone.
- We seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Inspired by His example, we strive to be God’s hands in this world.
- Empowered by God’s word, we proclaim the Gospel and serve through worship, study, mission, and community support.
What We Believe
Our United Methodist heritage is rooted in a deep and profound understanding of God’s grace. This incredible grace flows from God’s great love for us. Did you have to memorize John 3:16 in Sunday school when you were a child? There was a good reason. This one verse summarizes the gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, described God’s grace as threefold: prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace.
United Methodists insist that faith and good works belong together. What we believe must be confirmed by what we do. Personal salvation must be expressed in ministry and mission in the world. We believe that Christian doctrine and Christian ethics are inseparable, that faith should inspire service. The integration of personal piety and social holiness has been a hallmark of our tradition. We affirm the biblical precept that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” James 2:17
A Welcoming Christian Fellowship
Our June 16, 2024 congregational meeting saw 34 attendees approve a motion to affirm action of the Woodbury United Methodist Church Council. The motion was affirmed by voice, with 32 voicing “Yes, it’s time,” one voicing “No, not yet” and one abstaining. The motion read:
Whereas, the 2020 General Conference (postponed) of The United Methodist Church, meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina April 23 – May 3, 2024, has removed over a half-century of restrictions regarding the ordination or marriage of persons who identify their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), and
Whereas, the Woodbury United Methodist Church (WUMC) has studied and discussed its position on this matter openly over some years, and
Whereas, there is no longer any Church prohibition or risk of reprisal for WUMC to embrace a full welcome to our LGBTQ siblings, and
Whereas, the WUMC Mission Statement begins “We are a welcoming Christian fellowship who celebrate and share God’s love with everyone,” and
Whereas, the WUMC theme statement is “Love Spoken Here,” and
Whereas, the WUMC Church Council voted unanimously at its May 9th, 2024 meeting to affirm “the action of the General Conference…”
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Woodbury United Methodist Church congregation, gathered June 16th, 2024 at 11:30 a.m., affirms the action of the Church Council, celebrates the actions of the General Conference in removing language that excludes LGBTQ people from marriage and ordination, and will be proactive in seeking ways to incorporate these changes in the life of Woodbury United Methodist Church.
OUR STAFF
Rev. Dr. Brian R Bodt, Pastor
The Rev. Dr. Brian R. Bodt is not quite older than dirt, but close. After 47 years as an ordained United Methodist pastor, he came out of retirement in March 2024 to serve Woodbury UMC half-time. He also infiltrates Congregationalists in Fairfield by working for them part-time in pastoral care. Blessed with four wonderful sons, two “daughters” and three grandchildren, he is doubly blessed by being married to Carol Galloway, a physical therapist in Fairfield. They reside in Woodbridge. Brian likes to sing, ski, run and play with all kinds of trains.
Christopher Shay, Minister of Music
Christopher Shay graduated from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a Bachelors degree in piano performance and a Master of Music in Teaching with a focus in choral music. His choirs at Shepaug and Greenwich High School won top awards and toured internationally including performances at St Paul’s, London; Notre Dame, Paris; Honolulu, Helsinki, Carnegie Hall, and the White House. Chris retired from teaching in the public schools but continues to teach at the University of Connecticut.
Chris directed the 90 voice Connecticut Choral Society for 12 years. Chris began working in churches while he was a college student and never stopped. Carolyn joined the church choir and that changed everything. They’ve been married for 47 years and have two sons and 6 grandchildren.
Matti Paparazzo, Administrative Assistant
Mathiah “Matti” Paparazzo is a native of Bethlehem who moved to Woodbury when she met her husband in 2018. She started working here at WUMC in 2022 alongside her other church job in Bethlehem. Besides work, Matti enjoys her favorite hobbies of horseback riding, hiking, cooking, and spending time with her husband, daughter, 2 dogs, 15 chickens, and a British Shorthair cat.