Category: Uncategorized

Good day to you, Church!

I hope you’ve been snug as a bug in a rug these past few days. Between the cold and the ice, we’ve been having a taste of old school January! Tonight, especially, is supposed to be brutally cold– so stoke up those fires and put an extra blanket on the bed! 

Here’s the news for the week: 

Going Remote This Sunday

If you haven’t already heard, we will be going fully remote for worship starting this Sunday. Please look for a bulletin and the hymns to be emailed to you from Claire on Saturday, and then plan to join us on the church’s Facebook page at 10am Sunday morning. 

Shalom Book Group via Zoom

Our new book group, facilitated by Monica Sandreczki, will begin this Sunday after our worship service. If you want to participate but didn’t receive the zoom link, just email me back and I’ll send it to you. We will plan to gather remotely around 11:25(ish). 

Lunch Groups

For the month of January, we will be putting our monthly men’s and women’s lunch groups on hold due to the recent spike in Covid cases. In a couple of weeks we can reassess the situation and decide whether or not it’s wise to meet up in February. Stay tuned for more details! 

Last Week’s Trans and Non-Binary Sunday

If you attended church last Sunday, you will know that the day was both educational and thought-provoking. Jamey Merkel did a wonderful job explaining to us about what it means to be trans, non-binary, or intersex, and they helped us to understand why it’s so important that those of us who are cis-gendered support these communities of people. We had 22 people in attendance at the church building for Jamey’s presentation, including a number of high school students, and 170 people watched online. 

I wanted to share with you a message we received on our Instagram page from someone we’ve never met before. They didn’t attend our Sunday events, but they had seen the message we’d written on our sign out front, which read “Non-Binary People are Beloved of God, Too.” After seeing the sign, this person went out of their way to look us up on social media and relay their gratitude. They wrote, “Hi! I’m a non-binary Jew who just moved to town recently and I wanted to say I saw your sign out front yesterday. Thanks for the love, neighbor! May the Eternal bless you and keep you. If there’s ever an opportunity for us to do some interfaith queer-affirming study together, I would love to come together.” 

Friends, if there’s ever a way to know if we’re following in the footsteps of Jesus, this individual’s message is it. To be non-binary, Jewish, and new to town is to live on the margins of our North Country society. Offering this quiet message to them might have been the most important way that we, as their neighbor, could have welcomed them to our larger community. Thank you for being the sort of congregation that is courageous enough to heed Jesus’ call to hospitality in such an unwelcoming world. 

*Also, if anyone is interested in coming together for an interfaith, queer-affirming study, please email me and let me know. If we have enough interest, we might be able to do something with the Synagogue at a later date!

Covid Concerns

Dear Hearts, how are you holding up this week? Has fear or anxiety crept into your house? I know that I am feeling alarmed at the state of Covid, and I would be lying if I said that waves of fear do not creep up on me sometimes. My dad caught the virus a couple weeks ago, despite being vaccinated and boostered. He’s been struggling with illness and having a hard time breathing, but I’m grateful to say that he hasn’t had to go into the hospital. When this starts to get the best of me, I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and find my spiritual balance. 

Even for those of us who are vaccinated, there’s still a decent chance that we will contract Covid. If this happens, I pray that, like me, you can work on turning yourself over to God’s peace. (There’s that shalom word again!) I pray that you can find this peace because you remember who you belong to. Friends, no matter how bad Covid gets, it’s never the end of our story. God’s ever-lasting love will always remain our story– it is the beginning of our story, this present moment of our story, and the end of it as well. 

This week I have had to root myself in Romans 8:38-39. The apostle Paul, writing to Christians living in Rome who were experiencing all sorts of trials and tribulations, wanted for them to keep their challenges in perspective. So he wrote saying: 

“I am convinced, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

May God’s peace, which passes all understanding, hold us together these next couple of weeks.

Pastor Katrina

Good afternoon, church!

Well, we’re fully into winter now, aren’t we? We’ve had below zero temps this week and right now the snow is falling outside my window. What do you love about this time of year? Anything? Everything? Does anyone actually enjoy shoveling snow? (I used to, but that was a long time ago.)

Here’s the news for the week:

Trans and Non-Binary Sunday

This coming Sunday is going to be a special one. Not many of us know much about the transgender and non-binary community, so this will be a chance to listen and learn. This particular community is one of the most loathed and despised communities in our entire society, and because of that, it means that we as Christians need to pay special attention to supporting them.

During the worship service I will be preaching about one of the places that non-binary people show up in our Bibles, and after the service Jamey Merkel will be teaching us more extensively about what it’s like to live in the world as a trans person. I know that we have a few guests coming to worship, and others who don’t normally attend our church plan to tune in on-line, so I hope that you will join us too!

This Sunday may really stretch our understanding of the world– mine included. The transgender and non-binary communities ask us to re-consider the stability of things we’ve always thought were unyielding. Because of this, you may find yourself feeling confused, frustrated, and/or uncomfortable, but I want to invite you to practice being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

At the end of the day you may or may not agree with everything that is said, but while we are together, I ask that we do our best job of listening and prayerfully consider what is said. We may not understand (or agree with) being trans or non-binary, but God loves trans and non-binary people as much as God loves us–and for that reason alone, it’s our job to love them too! (Well, that and because they’re pretty amazing people in their own right!)

Returning to Cantors for Singing

Friends, Omicron is now hitting the North Country hard. We’ve had record days of active Covid cases all week long and because of this, Session feels that it’s best to return to no congregational singing for the time being. There are a number of immuno-compromised people in our congregation and the best way that we can show them our love is by doing what we can to keep them safe.

With that said, I’d like to check in with you about our services. Do you feel safe enough coming to church in-person? How do you feel about the idea of returning to fully on-line worship? At least one other Presbyterian church in the area has shifted back to being fully on-line and Session is discussing whether or not it’s prudent for us to do the same at this time. I’d really love your feedback on this. If you have a moment to drop me a line, I’d appreciate it!

Shalom and the Community of Creation

It’s almost here! Starting next Sunday, Jan. 16th, those of us who are interested in joining our brand-new faith-based book group will be gathering together after worship to read and discuss this book written by Rev. Randy Woodley. Those who gather in person will meet in the conference room. If you plan to join us via zoom, please drop me a line so that I can send you a zoom link!

For Jan. 16th you won’t need to have read anything ahead of time. The plan is to read the introduction together the first week, and then read one chapter a week after that.

Annual Congregational Meeting

Our annual congregational meeting will be held after worship on February 6th. More details to follow.

Covid

Well dear Hearts, Covid is hitting us hard right now. According to St. Lawrence Public Health, over 11% of the county is experiencing an active case at the moment. That’s a lot of sick people. Thankfully, hospitalizations and deaths seem to be lower with the Omicron variant than with other variants. (Yesterday there were only 19 people hospitalized for Covid, which is 20% of the beds at CPH. This is down from 36% of CPH’s beds being Covid patients, which was the case a few weeks ago.) Because Omicron is so contagious, it’s extra important that we be diligent about mask wearing, social distancing, and getting vaccinated. (If you want to get a booster shot, here’s the link for how to sign up at Kinney Drugs: 
https://kinneydrugs.com/pharmacy/covid-19/vaccination-scheduling/

Friends, this is a good time to offer an extra prayer for our healthcare workers, frontline workers, teachers, students, and anyone who lives or works in a prison. It’s a stressful time for all of us, but particularly so for these specific groups of people. I went through the drive-thru line at the Taco Bell the other day, and a sign read “We are woefully understaffed at the moment. Our employees are doing their best. Please be kind.”

So here’s my challenge for you today: How can you offer an extra gift of kindness to someone today? If you know a nurse, can you drop them a note and tell them that you’re thinking about them? If you know a teacher, can you send them a virtual hug? When you’re in line at the drive-thru, can you think to look the person in the eye and tell them thank you for their work?

Let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus this week, ok?

Holding You in prayer, too,
Pastor Katrina

Good day to you, Church:

We had another hefty windstorm last night. Did you make it through it ok? Anyone have a downed tree in their yard? 

Here’s the news for the week: 

Christmas Eve 

For those of you too old to care about counting down, there are exactly 8 more days til Christmas! Which means our Christmas Eve service is one week from today. I hope you’ll join us at 7pm next Friday night for a cozy evening of carols and Christmas cheer. It’s going to be a wonderful night of special music, singing, and to top it all off, our young people have prepared a Christmas skit for us to enjoy! 

Are you excited to be able to sing on Christmas Eve? I am! As we prepare to sing together for the first time in almost 2 years, please be aware that we will once again be partitioning off the pews for social distancing purposes and, as always, requiring everyone to wear a mask. Science seems to be suggesting that it is safe to sing in groups as long as people are properly masked and distanced. (Crane’s choirs are proof of this!) Session’s plan is to give singing a try for a while and see how it goes. Covid is on the rise in St. Lawrence County, which is definitely concerning, but also, we have to figure out how to live with this pandemic in a sustainable way. 

Shalom and the Community of Creation

Monica Sandreczki is excited to facilitate a faith-based book group, beginning in January. As I mentioned the other week, our first read will be Randy Woodley’s book Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision. The book costs about $20 to order online, and can be purchased for your Kindle (slightly cheaper, I think.) If you’d like to join the book group, but can’t afford the book, just let me know and I’ll be delighted to order you a copy. 

Our former pastor, the Rev. Holly Haille-Thompson, will be joining us for this read. I look forward to hearing her personal insights as a Shinnecock woman of Christian faith. 

If you’re interested in joining us, please email me back and let me know that you’d like to participate. We need to figure out when to meet, but that depends on who will be attending. Some folks who will be headed down to Florida have mentioned wanting to join the discussion. Consequently, we will figure out a way to do a hybrid version of both in-person and zoom attendance, so that everyone can participate. 

Here’s a link to buy the book:
https://www.cokesbury.com/9780802866783-Shalom-and-the-Community-of-Creation

Priscilla Knodle Memorial

An old, dear member of our congregation has passed away.  Priscilla Knodle, who was part of our church family in the 1980s and 90s, died this last week.   She had lived in the Boston area.  

A memorial service has been planned for Wednesday, December 29, 11 am.

Old North Church
35 Washington Street
Marblehead, MA01945

For information on how to attend from home, call Alisa Knodle Manning, 1-617-792-3844

Covid

Friends, if you haven’t already heard, the Omicron variant is on its way to us. In the communities that it’s already settled into, Covid cases are once again sky-rocketing. The New York Times is reporting that in Denmark, cases are doubling every two days, and in Britain 200,000 people are becoming sick each day. 

Wearing masks makes a major difference in the spread of Covid, but the most important tool we have at our disposal for avoiding getting sick is through vaccination. If you haven’t already gotten your booster shot, the CDC is highly recommending getting one. I myself am going this afternoon to get mine. An easy place to get one is at Kinney Drugs. Here’s their link to sign up, if you’d like to look into it: https://kinneydrugs.com/pharmacy/covid-19/covid-19-vaccinations/

Right now, without knowing what Omicron is going to do in our area, it’s easy to fall into hyper-fear mode, isn’t it? The part of me that lives in fear of Covid is telling me to hole up in my home and never come out again! But for those of us who are relatively healthy, we can’t go on living in isolation forever. It wreaks havoc on our mental health and prevents us from, well… living. So, we have to figure out how to function in the midst of this pandemic. But this is no easy task. 

The reality of our current situation is– if Omicron is as contagious as they say it is, some of us are going to get sick. Even some of us who are vaccinated. That’s scary to wrap our minds around. We’ve spent the last 21 months living in fear of getting Covid. Thankfully, the evidence so far seems to show that vaccinated people tend to get mild cases with Omicron, so most of us who are vaccinated will be ok even if we do contract the virus. 

But it’s our job as Christians to care both for ourselves and each other. So how do we balance the reality of our situation with our Christian calling to love one another? There’s no clear road map for this, and it’s challenging to constantly have to reassess the situation, but thankfully, every day we get to reassess things. If perhaps on one day an activity feels ok to engage in, we have the ability to decide on the very next day that that decision is not a wise choice for today. 

Friends, we have the power to pivot. God has given us the creative ability to reassess! Every day you and I get to make fresh choices for how we’re going to live. 

Right now we don’t get to know what’s going to happen in the next few months, but we have helpful tools for figuring it out as we go along—like vaccinations, mask wearing, and social distancing. And that, along with our faith, is going to carry us through. 

So keep breathe in the Holy Spirit, and stand tall in your courage and in your faith.

In Christ,
Pastor Katrina

Good Afternoon Church!

We’ve been having real winter lately– colder temps, gray days and on and off again snow flurries. Are you enjoying it? I’m not able to be outside in it, but it sure looks lovely from the window! 

Here’s the news for this week: 

Care Packages for Nurses

This Sunday you are invited to stay after church to write notes of encouragement for nurses at the hospital and to put together care packages, to be delivered later in the week. 

Lunch at Jake’s

This Wednesday the men’s group will be meeting up for lunch at Jake’s at 11:30am. Please let Bob Pickard know if you’ll be attending. And on Thursday the women will do the same– same bat time, same bat channel! 

Last Sunday’s Big Shift Convo

Last Sunday after church we met to watch a short, humorous video about what change can feel like. It was called Who Moved My Cheese?! After the movie, we discussed what it’s like to be each of the characters in the story– those who sense when change is coming and adapt right away (in the story these were two little mice named Sniff and Scurry), those who refuse to change at all (this was the little man named Hem who couldn’t get past being upset that his cheese was gone), and those who take time to come to the realization that change is ok and slowly learn to adapt (this was the little man named Hah who leaves his friend Hem to look for new cheese when they find that their cheese is all eaten up). 

We had a good discussion, and people shared about some of the changes they’ve had to make in their own lives. After that we moved into talking about change at our church. The big thing I took away from our conversation was that most of us have already moved past the roadblock of not wanting to change our church situation. Much to my surprise, we did not have a single Hem in the room last Sunday! We might still be fearful of needing to change when the time comes, but everyone was aware of the fact that change is coming, and accepted our reality. I was quite surprised by this. It means that we are further along in this process (psychologically and spiritually, speaking) than I had assumed. 

None of us– including me– knows what our next chapter is going to look like, but it felt like we were all on the same page of acknowledgement and acceptance. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but awareness and acceptance are the most important ingredients that we can add to the soup pot of whatever it is that God’s got cookin’ up for us. It means that we will survive. 

In the last few years, our church has lost quite a number of people from our congregation. I know that this saddens many of us, but in some ways, this reality works to our advantage. The people who have chosen to stay at our church have intentionally decided to stay on board, even with the trajectory that we’re headed towards. Those of us in the room the other day– we’re committed to this project. And we’re going to do it together. Being united in this effort is going to serve us well. 

Near the end of our discussion, Marty Weitz told a story about attending a class in seminary taught by Abraham Heschel, the influential Jewish rabbi. In this class, Heschel was of the opinion that building a temple in Jerusalem was possibly the worst thing that ever happened to Judaism. He pointed out that prior to that, God’s presence traveled with the people in the Arch of the Covenant in a tent. It traveled in the wilderness with them, and went wherever they went. Marty pointed out that if we end up selling our building, we will be going back to the way that the Israelites used to know God. And he suggested that this might end up being the best thing to happen to our church in a very long time. 

When we left the room last Sunday some people said they felt hopeful, while others felt worry and concern. All of these feelings are natural and normal. They mean that we’re human! The helpful thing to remember is that we can be both at the same time: It’s possible to be confident that God will take care of us but also hold some worry for how it’s all going to turn out. And it’s also possible to be worried, but still decide to move forward with change. The key thing is to stay open-hearted and not let our fears overrun us. 

There are many stories in the Bible of God asking people to change how they live, or to trust God in the midst of great change. The story of Abraham and Sarah is one of these stories. In the midst of moving to a land they’d never seen before, and uncertain of how God would give them descendants (since they were childless):

“the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’”

~ Genesis 15:1

Like Araham and Sarah, we don’t know what’s going to happen to us next, but like them we can also choose not to be stifled by fear. 

During our very own season of Advent– of waiting for what comes next— let us lean into God along our journey of hope and worry. 

May God be our shield and our greatest reward!
Pastor Katrina

Good evening, Church family!

Today has been a lovely fall day, offering the full array of possibilities— sunshine, a brief smattering of snow, and a spectacular full moon. Did you get excited to see snow falling from the sky? I must admit that I did!

Here’s the news for this week.

Pledge Cards

Pledge cards were mailed out to your homes this week. Please be praying about what God might be asking of you, as you consider your finances for the coming year. A church functions financially on the giving of its people, and we are no exception. Every dollar counts! And so do you! 

To return your pledge cards to the church, you may either drop them in the mail or in the offering plate on Sunday. We ask that you send them in by December 15th.

Learn to Sing

For those of you who showed up to PIC’s zoom event “Learn to Sing” only to find it had been canceled, not to fear. It was postponed due to illness. More details will be forthcoming.

Singing in Church

Since returning to the sanctuary for worship in May, many of us have still felt a partial emptiness in our hearts. The reason being? No singing. One of Covid’s cruelest consequences has been that singing has been a dangerous form of viral spread. 

Some have wondered, however, why we have continued to refrain from singing even while most of us are vaccinated. We have kept to our rule this long because we have a number of immuno-compromised people in our congregation. But both science and lived experience seem to be showing that masked singing in smaller groups is less dangerous than once thought. Session met last night to discuss all of this, and after talking with the most immuno-compromised people in our congregation, we have decided that the risk is worth taking to begin singing once again!

We will hold off a few more weeks, just to be sure Covid numbers aren’t going to spike through the roof with this more recent uptick in numbers (our county is still at at 6.48% infection rate), but barring any massive new transmissions in our area, we will begin to sing again starting on Christmas Eve.

Won’t that be wonderful?! Just in time to sing Silent Night! 

Giving Thanks 

Friends, this next week is Thanksgiving, and I wonder what you will be doing to celebrate. Getting together with family? With friends? Staying home for a quiet, restful day? No matter how you spend your day, I pray that you will nurture an awareness of gratefulness in this time. Life is still hard for many of us right now, but God’s presence remains with us– offering us hope, joy, and peace. 

Psalms reminds us: 

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

~Psalm 100:1-5

May we revel in the goodness and the steadfast love of our God this week. 

In Joy,
Pastor Katrina

Good Morning, Church!

It’s a soggy, wet morning today, but it comes at the end of a full week of sunshine. I hope you enjoyed the string of sunny days we had. I have to admit, every morning I woke up this week, I couldn’t believe that we had yet another day of blue skies to enjoy. It’s funny how our bodies grow accustomed to the usual rhythm of cloudiness. But I love it when the sunshine interrupts “business as usual!” 

This is going to be a busy week! Here’s what’s ahead: 

Thinking about Pledging

This Sunday, Dale Hobson will be talking to us about deciding what we are able to pledge to our church family for the coming year. Following that, pledge cards will be sent out to your home. Please be praying about what God might be calling you to give in this coming year. If you have means to give, we’re hoping that you can turn in your pledge card by Dec. 15th.

Men’s Lunch

This month, the men will be meeting at Jake’s in Hannawa Falls, this coming Wednesday, the 17th at 11:30am. If you plan to attend, please let Bob Pickard know so that he can make the reservation.

Women’s Lunch

The very next day, Thursday, Nov. 18th, at 11:30am, the women of the church are invited to meet up at Jake’s as well. If you plan to attend, please let Sharon Pickard know so that she can make the reservation. These lunches are a chance for us to visit and socialize together. 

*If you need a ride, please either email me back or get in touch with Sharon Pickard, so that we can arrange for someone to come pick you up. 

Learn to Sing Like a Professional

A one-hour online program featuringDr. Colleen Skull, assistant professor of voice at the Crane School of Music, sponsored by the Potsdam Interfaith Community.

Many faith traditions provide opportunities for congregational singing, but most congregations don’t sound like the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square, or the Sistine Chapel Choir. For any individual who sings in a congregation or a choir, or for those who want to learn to sing, Dr. Colleen Skull, assistant professor of voice at the Crane School of Music, will provide you with the tools necessary to develop or improve your own singing voice.

Join Dr. Skull online on Thursday, November 18 at 7 p.m. for “Learn to Sing Like a Professional,” for a one-hour, interactive program that will be held via Zoom.

The program is sponsored by the Potsdam Interfaith Community as part of its online learning series. It is free and open to the public.

 ZOOM LINK: https://potsdam-edu.zoom.us/j/84183265650?pwd=V2o3d3VtZXh2NnRhaXFKL0JUSWJRQT09

Last Call for Books for Kenya

If you still planned to bring in a book to donate to Rev. Enoch’s children’s library at his church in Kenya, this is the Sunday to bring it in. We’ve got a nice cache of books to send, and Sue will be packaging them up next week to ship off. 

Looking Ahead: 

Our next Big Shift Conversation will take place after worship on Sunday, December 5th.We’ve been meeting on the third Sunday of the month, but since Thanksgiving is coming, Session decided to move it to after the holiday. 

PIC Game Night: We will be hosting a game night at the church on Thursday, Dec. 9th at 6:30pm. 

Care Packages for Nurses on the 3rd Floor Med Serg Unit: On Dec. 12th, following the worship service, we will be gathering to put together Christmas care packages for our nurses one more time. We will need to bring granola bars, dried fruits, nuts, candies, and crackers to put together these small gift bags. If you plan to donate items, please either let me or Sharon Pickard know. (Each bag has a $5 cap for goodies.) 

Praying for Each Other

Friends, there are many of us who are struggling right now– in our bodies, our minds, our relationships, and our circumstances. As a church family, we are called to care for one another, and that includes lifting each other up in prayer. Will you spend some time this week praying for someone you know? Will you take a moment to reach out to this person with a kind word or deed? (Our actions are as much a part of our prayers as our thoughts are.) 

Ecclesiastes tells us that:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 

So let us care for one another this week! 

Holding You in the Light,
Pastor Katrina

Good afternoon, Church!

It’s a beautiful sunny day outside. Are your cats laying in the sun beams? Are you sitting in the sun beams? 

Here’s today’s news: 

Daylight Savings Time

Tomorrow night daylight savings time ends. Make sure you turn your clock back an hour– otherwise you’ll be an hour early for Sunday worship! 

2022 Pledges

It’s time to start thinking about your pledge for the coming year. Next week Dale Hobson, our trusty stewardship chair, will be sending a letter to you in the snail mail asking you to consider your giving for 2022. Will you be in prayer about what God is calling you to give this coming year? 

We’re hoping that you’ll be able to return these pledge forms by the end of November. The reason being– Session will be putting together a budget in December for the coming year, and we need to know what we have to work with financially. 

PIC Game Night

The Potsdam Interfaith Community, which we participate in, will be hosting its annual Game Night at our church on Thursday, December 9th at 6:30pm. Folks from the congregations that participate in PIC are invited to come and play board games in the Center. Would you like to join in the fun? We’re going to spread tables out across the room and have different games going on in all the corners. 

*Masks will be required. 

Another Round of Care Packages for Nurses at CPH

Remember the wonderful care packages we put together for the 3rd floor Med Serg unit at the hospital last month? PIC has decided to do one more round of appreciation for nurses and janitors at the hospital for the holiday season. Would you be able to bring in a few more granola bars, nuts, candies, chocolates, and dried fruits on December 12th? (There’s a $5 limit per bag, so we don’t need to go crazy on items.)

We will stick around after the service that Sunday to assemble the care packages and write our notes of appreciation. 

If you remember, one of the nurses from our unit actually came to church the next Sunday to say how much they appreciated this gift– so we know that we’re bringing joy to their lives! 

Holiday Blues? 

Friends, the holidays are growing near. Sometimes this season is welcomed in our lives, and other times it’s not. If you’re one of those folks who isn’t looking forward to celebrating the holidays, just know that you’re not alone. This is a time when our greatest sorrows often rise to the surface. And it’s a time when our family conflicts can start to rub in uncomfortable ways. 

Today I invite you to consider what you need to do to help care for yourself in the next six weeks. Do you need to work on a relationship? Do you need to say “no” to an invitation? Do you need to say “yes” to doing something different? If your current holiday traditions don’t serve you or the needs of your family, you have the opportunity to do something that does. God gives us the ability to make changes for ourselves when we need them. God created us to be adapters! So put some thought into what would be life-giving this holiday season, and then may God give you the courage to seek it out. 

I hope to see you at worship this Sunday!

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Katrina

Good morning to you, Church!

It’s real fall out there– nippy and frosty this morning! Thankfully the sun is shining today, but jack frost is still frolicking in the shaded areas. 

It’s a sure sign that winter is on its way. Are you ready for it? I hope you’ve located your ice scraper and that you’re beginning to button up your homes for the cold weather coming. (I’ve got the wood stove going this morning in our house, so it’s toasty warm.) 

Here are this week’s announcements: 

Last Week’s Big Shift Conversation

Last week we had 18 people stay for our second Big Shift conversation, and it went well. This time we talked about harder things. We brainstormed possible ideas for what we might do to alleviate the financial strain of living in a building beyond our financial means. Here were some of our ideas: 

Could we sell the whole building and meet as a church in a different (less expensive) location? 

Could we sell the sanctuary and keep the community center, and meet as a congregation in the center? 

Could we raise enough money to create an endowment that would keep the building going? 

Could we sell our organ and use the money to start that endowment? Or sell the organ and stay in the building for a few more years? 

Could we find other congregations that might want to move into our building and split the costs of maintaining it? 

We don’t get to know right now which of these ideas might be the right choice for us, but at least we’re starting to think about it. Dick Lunt, who has attended a Quaker church with his wife Lora for many decades, explained to us that their Quaker congregation has lived its life in Potsdam for over 50 years without actually owning a building. Over the years they have met at the Newman Center, our church building, and are currently housed in the Christian Science Church’s building. In his explanation to us of how the Quaker church operates, he offered a model for how we might be able to find a different way for ourselves in the future. 

At our meeting we also talked about our finances. Back in December of 2020, Session put together a budget for this year. Because there were so many unknowns with Covid at the time, we planned for a worst-case scenario, which included an $80,000 deficit. Thankfully, now that most of 2021 is over, we’ve discovered that our deficit currently stands at less than $10,000 for the year (with two more months of the year to go). This is good news!! Because we haven’t been spending our assets at such a high rate, it means we will have more time to figure things out. At the beginning of 2021, it looked like we had a 2-3 year time frame to make a substantive shift, but that time line extends further when we don’t dip into our endowment at such a high rate. 

One thing we do know is that our deficit spending will increase by about $25,000 at some point in the “near” future. Currently, because of my physical conditions, the PC(USA)’s Board of Pensions offers me disability pay, which offsets my part-time pay from the church. (This has been a contributing factor to our lower deficit spending than was anticipated.) I don’t know yet when I will be able to return to full time work, but when I do, I will go off of disability and the church will have to pay for my entire salary. In the meantime, we give thanks for this financial silver-lining, which has cushioned our finances! 

During our meeting, a woman who has recently started attending, brought up the possibility of inviting more folks to join our congregation. She had some helpful ideas to offer– like starting up with Sunday School again! (She and I are on the same brain wave!) Right now however, because of Covid, we’ve had to put this idea on hold. But she’s definitely right! We can work towards inviting new folks to join our family. My hope is that when the Delta virus dies down we will be able to make a concerted effort towards this goal. 

In all reality though, even if we do get a number of new folks coming (and pledging), it won’t be enough to boost our finances to the point that we could afford to stay in our building as we have been. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t put ourselves out there and try! We can certainly do both things at the same time– work on making a Big Shift and invite folks to join us! I hope that when the time comes, we can start having bi-annual “Bring a Friend to Church Sundays,” where we celebrate our friends and neighbors and share a delicious meal together afterwards! Would you be up for that?  

Office Administrator

Our office administrator, Claire Geagan, has come down with Covid and will be out of the office for the next 10 days. Please be patient with us if phone calls are not returned in a timely manner until she returns. If you need to get a hold of someone in the meantime, the best way to do it is via email. The church’s email is p1presch@gmail.com. 

Bell Ringers! 

This Saturday (the 30th) at 6pm you are invited to come and take a turn at pulling the giant rope in the bell tower that rings our church bells. From 6-6:30pm, churches all over the world will be ringing their bells to warn our communities about climate change. This is in anticipation of the next Climate Change Summit happening in Glasgow, Scotland, which begins on Sunday the 31st. 

As people of faith, it’s our spiritual duty to work on reducing our emissions. God has given us this earth to care for and tend to, and we need to start making some big shifts in our fossil fuel consumption, if we’re going to have a healthy planet to live on in the future! 

Reformation Sunday!

This Sunday, October 31st, we celebrate our reformed heritage and Pastor Rich Hinkle will be preaching and leading worship for us this Sunday! 

Making Changes

Friends, whether it’s at the church level or the global level, we are on the brink of needing to shift how we live in the world. Our habits, our institutions, and our social structures all need to shift in new ways if we’re going to live into this moment of history in healthy, life-sustaining ways. Fortunately for us, we serve a God who is always doing new things, and who has created in us the capacity to adapt and to change. Did you know that you’re capable of doing things differently? 

When we are little kids we’re always trying new things, but by the time we get to be adults, it’s easy to turn our habits into ruts. Ruts are ok to live in as long as they nourish life. But when we find that our ruts do not nourish us, and when they do not nourish our planet, we have the power to make new patterns and habits– ones that will create well-being. 

Today I wonder if you’re stuck in unhealthy ruts in your own, personal life. Are there things that are not sustainable in your life? Relationships perhaps? Financial patterns? Eating habits? Do you need to make some changes? God’s good news for today is that we can change!!! We have the ability to make things better for ourselves, if we decide we want to. Making changes comes with consequences, of course, and sometimes those consequences can be uncomfortable and even painful at times. But we serve a God who can help us over the hump of consequences, and help us to thrive. 

In the book of Isaiah we read that the people had been banished into exile because of unhealthy choices they had made for themselves. But God wasn’t going to let them languish in despair forever. God had a plan for change! God told the people:

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

~Isaiah 43:19

This is always God’s promise to us– to help us to do a new thing; to make a way in the wilderness and create life out of death. If only we would choose to join God in the effort. Will you join me in stretching out your “change” muscles? Together, with God by our side, we can do this! 

Stretching Out My Own Change Muscles, 
Pastor Katrina

Good Afternoon, Church!

Well, we’re finally having some typical October weather. Today is cold and rainy. Are you snuggled up inside on this damp day? I hope so!

I’ve got a few things to tell you about this week.

Memorial Concert for Lonel Woods

Tomorrow night (Saturday, 10/23), at 7:30pm, there will be a special musical event being held at Hosmer Hall to remember the late Lonel Woods, the man of “peace & love.”

Big Shift Convo

This Sunday after the worship service, we will pick up with our monthly Big Shift conversation. This month we’re going to do some preliminary brainstorming— getting creative and imagining what options might exist out there for our future. I hope you will join us for this conversation and bring your creative minds with you! When we’re faced with a major unknown, sometimes it’s helpful to fill the worry that that blank space creates in our minds with an imagined idea of what could be. The “could be” might never materialize in real life, but in the interim period of time, it can help to calm our nerves.

Hospital Fundraiser

In November, the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Guild will be using our Community Center to organize for their holiday fundraiser. This year they’re selling holiday wreaths and swags. If you’re already planning to purchase a wreath for your home, this is a great way to help support the hospital. If you’re interested, orders are due by November 2nd. (See the flyer.)

Free Yoga for Healthcare Workers at Trillium

Terry de la Vega is teaching a special Yoga class at Trillium on Fridays, 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm, and making it free for any healthcare worker. If you, or someone you know, is a healthcare worker, feel free to take advantage of this special gift! (See the flyer for details.) 

Check In

Friends, how are you holding up today? Are you finding joy in your pandemic life? What are you doing that is meaningful and brings purpose to your life? If you feel stuck in a rut, I encourage you to offer yourself up in prayer to God. Ask for guidance. Ask for what you need. In his letter to the Phillipians, Paul explains the secret of how to make it through life. He says:

“I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

~Philippians 4:10-13

When we lean into God for our strength, we find our way! 

Holding You in the Light,
Pastor Katrina