A Glorious, Beautiful Day to you, Church!
Well friends, today is my birthday, and even the sunshine is singing! (Am I a lucky birthday girl, or what?) I hope you have the chance to get outside today, soak up some sun, and enjoy the breath-taking foliage. This is a glorious day to be alive in God’s creation!
Here’s the news for this week:
Committal Service for George Davis
Tomorrow, Oct. 9th at 2pm we will be holding a committal service for George Davis, down at the George Davis Park on the Clarkson campus. The entrance is on Clarkson Ave., just past the main entrance to the campus, at the turn for the Riverside apartments. Please park along the roadway and then walk down the path to where the large rocks have been planted by the side of the trail overlooking the bay. (Please note: It’s a 2-minute walk, so walking shoes are recommended and high heel shoes are not recommended.)
Care Packages for Nursing Staff
On Wednesday of this week, Sharon Pickard delivered the care packages we made up for the nurses on the 3rd floor Med/Surg unit at the hospital, and we’ve already had a nurse find us on Facebook to send a note of thanks and appreciation. She was deeply touched by our care of them. Thank you for your generosity and your kindness. You’ve made someone’s life a little better this week!
All of the other congregations participating in this effort will have turned in their care packages by this coming Monday, as well– meaning that over 145 nurses and janitors will be feeling our love and support of them. Wow! Isn’t that amazing?
Men’s Lunch
Presbyterian Men will be holding their monthly lunch on Tuesday, Oct. 19th at 11:30am at the Village Diner. Please let Bob Pickard know by the 18th if you plan to attend. The diner has asked for a head count.
October’s Big Shift Conversation
Mark you calendars for October 24th, for our next Big Shift conversation following the Sunday worship service. As a way to relieve worry and tension, we will spend a little time brainstorming ideas of what the future might look like. It’s too early to be putting a plan of action together, but having a visioning session will at least give us ideas to hold in our minds of what things could look like as we discern God’s call for us.
COVID
Friends, we have good news. America is beginning to see a decline in the number of COVID cases around the country. The New York Times has suggested that there seems to be a 2-month cycle to the various variants, and it looks like we’re coming to the end of that cycle with the Delta variant. This is great news for the country as a whole. But! It’s important to recognize that we in the North Country aren’t at the end of that 2-month cycle yet– because Delta hit here later. Right now the active COVID count is still in the 400s for St. Lawrence County, with 24 hospitalizations (as of yesterday, according to St. Lawrence County Public Health’s website). What this means is that we still need to remain vigilant in mask wearing and social distancing. We’re not out of the water yet– although it does seem that a reprieve will be coming fairly soon!
I know that we are tired and weary right now, but let’s stay strong for a little while longer. And let’s remember to pray for one another this week. At the end of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes:
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
~Ephesians 6:18
We could all use that extra grace in our lives, couldn’t we?
Soaking Up the Sunshine,
Pastor Katrina