Happy Friday to you, Church!
It’s grey, and wet, and blah outside today, but it’s still Friday. Huzzah!
Here’s the news for the week:
Medical Fund for Ron Kaiser
At our congregational meeting last Sunday, it came up that our custodian, Ron Kaiser, who has worked for our church for over 20 years, has been struggling to keep up with medical bills after a dicey year with heart problems. Julie Miller suggested that we start a fund to help support him. If you’d like to contribute something to this effort, please put Ron’s name on the memo line of your check, or indicate in some way on an envelope that it’s meant to help him out.
Food Pantry Request
The other day Keilor Kastella was chatting with someone in the breezeway who was coming to use our food pantry and they offered a suggestion for what would be helpful for us to stock: toilet paper and paper napkins!
SNAP benefits can only be used to buy food, so if someone is on a fixed income, it can be hard to keep toiletries in the house. This is why stocking things at the pantry like toilet paper, shampoo, feminine hygiene products, soap, paper napkins, and tooth brushes is important.
Welcome Dale, Our New Clerk of Session!
If you weren’t at our congregational meeting this last Sunday, you would have also missed that Sue Waters stepped down from both being an elder and our clerk of Session and Dale Hobson was voted in to replace Sue. Our Session for this next year is composed of Dale Hobson, Renee Stauffer, and Terry de la Vega. Thank you Terry, Renee, and Dale for serving the church in this way!
PIC Game Night, Feb. 23rd!
Come in from the cold and enjoy an evening of games, pizza and fun on Thursday, February 23, from 5:30 – 7:30pm!
The public is invited to enjoy an evening of board games and fun with neighbors, friends and others from the Potsdam community. Pizza and drinks will be served. Folks are welcome to bring desserts or snacks to share, too. Come to play and enjoy some (very) friendly competition with folks from our church as well as friends from all over Potsdam! This event is being sponsored by the Potsdam Interfaith Community.
Food Insecurity Map
Here’s something you might be interested in– The Adirondack Health Institute and the Adirondack Food System Network have created a cool, interactive map that explores data and resources related to our local food systems.
The map navigates you through relevant information on aspects of the regional food system, including food insecurity rates, eligibility for nutrition assistance programs, trends in agriculture, SNAP and WIC. In addition to this, the Story Map now includes data on chronic disease and social determinants of health, and offers side by side comparisons to explore patterns, relationships, and potential correlations. As you scroll through the site, maps will appear and change, each telling a different piece of the story of the Adirondack Food System Network.
It looks like a pretty cool resource, if you’re interested in this sort of thing. To open it up, to:
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f7cc793c10e84b268f81630439033b1a
When Joy Sneaks In
A few days ago my friend Rajiv Narula posted the most wonderful poem and drawing on Facebook, and I wanted to share it with you today:
JOY CHOSE YOU
Joy does not arrive with a fanfare,
on a red carpet strewn with the flowers of a perfect life.
Joy sneaks in, as you pour a cup of coffee,
watching the sun hit your favourite tree, just right.
And you usher joy away,
because you are not ready for it.
Your house is not as it must be,
for such a distinguished guest.
But joy cares nothing for your messy home,
or your bank-balance, or your waistline, you see.
Joy is supposed to slither through the cracks of your imperfect life.
That’s how joy works.
You cannot invite her, you can only be ready when she appears.
And hug her with meaning,
because in this very moment,
joy chose you.
by Donna Ashworth
May God’s great joy sneak her way into your imperfect life today!
Blessings,
Pastor Katrina