Good Day to you Church!
It is a gorgeous summer day out there! The hermit and wood thrushes were calling this morning, a downy woodpecker is looking for a snack on the white pine a few paces away from my chair on the back deck, the sky is blue, and the day is long. Hallelujah! I wait all year for this sort of day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Here’s the news for this week:
Bible Study Resumes Tomorrow Evening with the Book of Esther
We’re gearing back up for Bible Study, Saturday evening, July 6th at 6:30pm at Diamante Maya’s house. If you’ve ever wondered about the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Scriptures, this is your chance to learn about it.
Coffee Hour Host for This Sunday??
We’ve done a great job of filling out the coffee hour list for the next few months– minus the first Sunday of each month. Usually, we have a potluck on those Sundays, and it seems that people don’t realize they can sign up for those days. Consequently, we don’t have anyone scheduled for this Sunday.
That said, Session decided to cancel our monthly potlucks for July and August because it’s summer. But we still don’t have anyone to host this coffee hour. If you’d like to take a turn for this Sunday– July 7th, that would be great! We also need someone to sign up for the first Sunday in August.
Keilor Kastella and Brian Dunbar Offer Flute and Piano Concert, Thursday July 11th
Our very own Keilor will be playing piano in a free concert at the Childwold Presbyterian Church with his husband, Brian Dunbar, on flute this coming Thursday. The concert starts at 7pm.
Sanctuary Open House and Art Exhibit, Saturday July 13th
We plan to throw open the doors to the sanctuary during Potsdam Summer Fest for folks to come in and rest, explore our beautifully renovated sanctuary, and peruse our art exhibit from 10am-4pm. If you’d like to take a turn hosting, that would be fantastic! We’ve already got a few people signed up to help, but we’d love more people to be there to welcome town folks and chit chat. Cookies, water, coffee, and tea will be served. If you’d like to host for an hour or so, just email me back and let me know.
Pastor Katrina on Vacation
I will be on vacation July 15- July 21st. A big shout of thanks to Jeff Mitchell for preaching on July 21st.
You are Invited to Birdsfoot’s Annual Garlic Festival, July 20th
If you are curious about Birdsfoot Farm– the intentional community that I live in– this is your chance to visit. Every year, farmer Dulli plants 15,000 cloves of garlic, throws a big work party on harvest day, and invites the greater community to come and help peel it all.
If you’d enjoy sitting outside in the shade, visiting with folks while peeling the outer layers of newly grown garlic bulbs, and listening to live folk music, this day is for you! A free vegetarian lunch is served around 1pm for those who participate, and everyone who helps peel gets to take home a bunch of freshly dug and peeled garlic as a thank you.
Address for Rosalie Hunter, widow of Chip Hunter
Some of you have asked for Rosalie’s address, to send a card now that Chip has passed away. Brian Wilkinson was kind enough to get it.
Rosalie Hunter
5301 Creedmore Road, #316
Raleigh, NC 27612
Further Thoughts on Last Saturday’s Installation Service
If you were there last Saturday for my installation service, you know what a special day it was. Not everyone could make it however, so I thought I’d offer a few more details. People from all over our (and my) community were there– folks from the Potsdam Interfaith Community, people from all over the Presbytery (from Watertown to Ogdensburg and everywhere in between), the Tai Chi folks who practice in our building sent a huge bouquet of flowers, my Birdsfoot family was there, my kids came, and many good friends and neighbors from the last 20 years of my life here in the North Country attended. Even my dentist came!
All week I’ve been hearing comments from folks who participated in the worship service and then stayed for the Indian dinner afterwards. Over and over again, I’ve heard about how uplifting and hope-filled that time together was; about how special our congregation is; and how grateful people in our surrounding community are that we exist in the world.
The majority of the people who attended do not come to our church, but that doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate our presence in the community.
Friends, we may not always realize it, but we have a presence. May we continue to use that presence to bear light to God’s love and grace in the world. May our presence be experienced as open and welcoming arms in what can otherwise be a cruel and biting world.
We’ve come a long way over these past 213 years, and the journey continues, but let’s pause for a moment and take stock of who we are, what we are to others, and to whom we belong.
With presence,
Pastor Katrina