On July 1, 2022, Pastor Anne Bracket retired. Pastor Martha E. Vink joined us here in Yalesville.
Her first service with us was Sunday, July 3, 2022.
Here’s an introduction:
A Brief Bio, from Pastor Martha E. Vink
I was born in New Milford, CT, where my Dad was the Pastor of the Methodist Church. While there I
gained 2 younger siblings, a brother and a sister. Like many pastor families, we moved around a little
while I was growing up. From Connecticut we went to Great Neck, Long Island, then to Bushwick, in
Brooklyn, and back to Long Island, to St. John’s UMC in Elmont. Every church had its blessings for
me, and I still have connections with people from every community in which we lived.
After attending High Point College in North Carolina and Yale Divinity School in New Haven, I
became a pastor in Westhampton Beach, on Long Island. While there I also started doing campus
ministry at Suffolk Community College, and enjoyed that. Six years later I moved to Delaware County,
New York. I served three small churches in Grand Gorge, Gilboa and Conesville from ’92-‘99, and
picked up the quarter-time campus ministry job at the State University of New York (SUNY) Delhi in
’96 as well. I felt God calling me to fuller time at the college, and became pastor of a part-time church
in Andes that was part of a cooperative ministry in ’99, and did campus ministry half time. In 2004, the
job of “Community Service Coordinator” opened up at SUNY Delhi, and I knew God placed it before
me like a gift. I worked for four years with non-profit agencies in the area, supplying them with student
volunteers. I love the energy that young people have. It gives me hope for the future! Being involved
in community service was and is a great way for me to put my faith into action, and help others do so
too. I love that I had the opportunity to do my part to make the world a better place through my work
at SUNY Delhi, and feel very blessed that I had such meaningful jobs.
I thought I’d be working at SUNY Delhi for a long while, but I discovered that God had some
unexpected plans. In 2008 I was asked to become the interim pastor at the United Ministry of Delhi, a
Presbyterian/United Methodist Church, which I did while continuing my jobs at the college. But I
realized that God was calling me to serve as their pastor, and left the Coordinator’s position to do so.
I continued with the Campus Ministry until 2011, “retiring” after 15 years as Campus Minister. After 6
wonderful years with United Ministry, and 22 years in Delaware County, God graced me with a new
adventure, and I moved to Binghamton, NY, where I served as the Associate Pastor for a large
United Methodist Church in Vestal, which is part of the Upper New York Conference of the United
Methodist Church.
After three years, feeling too far away from my family, I knew it was time to come home to the New
York Conference. I was asked to come to Carmel and serve with a 5 church Cooperative Parish. In
some ways it was coming back to some family roots, as my Dad had grown up in Carmel, and my
Grandfather was the area doctor for 50 years. People still recall “Doc Vink” with great fondness. The past
5 years have been filled with blessings and, of course, some challenges. I have enjoyed being part of
this community, but know that God has new opportunities ahead for me.
For fun, I love to travel (in normal times), enjoy reading and listening to stories, playing word games,
and spending time with my family and friends, both my two and four legged ones. My household
currently includes my Goddaughter, Ana and her husband, Frank, a parakeet, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. My
Mom and Dad live in Milford, not too far away, which will be a treat for all of us, and I’m looking
forward to reconnecting with friends in the vicinity. I have always loved working with community
groups, and look forward to discovering new ways to be engaged in mission and ministry, locally and
beyond. I enjoy finding ways to connect with our communities, with people of faith and with
community service organizations, and look forward to discovering the ways we can be together in
service to others in our area.
