Welcoming Pastor Tracy Moore

There’s a new pastor at the Center Moriches United Methodist Church, and her name is Tracy Moore.

One of her biggest goals for the church is to bring in new congregants, and she has her sights set on young families in the area. In the past, the church catered to young families by providing a church-run Sunday School program and social activities, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed all of that.

“COVID-19 decimated the young family portion of the church, but the dream of this church is to get back to that—a mixture of ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status,” she said.

After more than a year, the Sunday School program was rebooted on Oct. 24 and currently runs once a month. And that’s just one of the many outreach plans Moore has for getting young families back. 

Another happened this past Halloween, when the church opened its doors to trick-or-treaters during the March of the Goblins parade. Children were offered coloring books, crafts and healthy snacks.

“Halloween is kind of controversial with some churches. Some fully embrace it, some shudder at the thought of a jack-o’-lantern. This was a trick-or-treat break station, so we were there to offer families a break from all of the walking and candy,” she said.

COVID-19 changed how the church operates in many different ways, but Moore sees the changes as a way she can positively influence her community and show congregants that the church cares for their wellbeing. 

“As much as I was unhappy about not meeting in person and canceling initiatives, that’s how you can show you love your people. My congregation is largely older. I feel like I have to be super-careful,” she said.

Moore has quickly grown fond of her Center Moriches home and her life at the parsonage on Main Street. But she grew up far from Long Island, in the Midwest state of Wisconsin. During her childhood, Moore’s family went to church, but not regularly. 

“We weren’t every Sunday-type of people in my family, but I certainly grew up interested and wanting to know more,” she said.

As a young adult, Moore took it upon herself to find a church and get involved.

“When I graduated from college, I felt a strong need to find a church, and so I found a Methodist church because that’s what I new,” she said.

Later on in life, a pastor told Moore she should look into a career in the church. After that, Moore signed up for classes and began pursuing work as a deacon, but then she got a call that changed her life.

“Out of the sky blue I got a call from the district superintendent asking if I would be a pastor,” she said. “I was praying, asking God to open a door for me, and that’s what happened.”

Shortly after starting at the Center Moriches church, she was asked to take on another church, doing double duty as a part-time pastor at Trinity United Methodist of Coram as well. At the time, she was still in seminary school and considered herself to be an older student. She didn’t know, at first, if she wanted to take the second position.

“I had very little time to make a decision. It was between a Saturday night, and on that Monday morning, I had to give my answer. Do I say yes or do I say no? I didn’t know. So, I went to prayer group and asked,” she said.

She went back to her office and found a pile of notes. Written on one was a quote: “Do not be afraid to know. God will speak to you directly. Do not be paralyzed by fear.”

That’s when she said yes.

“And now I’m trying to navigate being pastor of two churches,” she said.

The church, which has been an active part of the community since 1839, has robust outreach programs, including a thrift shop and food pantry.

Recently, the popular church-run thrift shop had a change in focus and is now only accepting clothing. Before, people would drop off large items like furniture, but when they didn’t sell, the church had to pay for them to be removed.

“People have been wonderful since we changed the policy,” said Moore.

The food pantry was amped up during COVID-19 due to the high need in the area, but when they saw that things had slowed down after the pandemic, they cut some hours.

“We have a wonderful new director named Barbara Petrone. She started as a volunteer,” said Moore. 

For now, Moore has her sights set on working with the community, bringing in new families, and providing services for her current congregants. Asked to close out the article with a message to readers, Moore said:

“Center Moriches United Methodist Church would love to meet you. Our worship time is 9 a.m. every Sunday.”

Maybe she’ll see you there!