Bicentennial 2011
Announcements |
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Events are being planned to take place during our celebration time - September 2010 to June 2011. Please see Dawn Bartow if you have suggestions or questions.
KICK OFF EVENTS (involving everyone in our church family)
CHURCH FAMILY PHOTOS for our Bicentennial photo directory. WE WANT A PHOTO OF EVERYONE IN THE DIRECTORY. (20 slots are left on the sign up sheet as of Aug.24 and still 50 folks who haven't signed up! Call Cindy Bowen at church 11-12; 1-4 M-F phonw: 265-3494 or sign up yourself on the bulletin board outside of the church office.
The Olan Mills Company here Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11 to take photos of our Church family for a Bi-centennial Church Photo Directory. There is NO COST to anyone for the photo AND everyone will receive a free 8x10 photo plus a free directory. The company will make its profit from the reprints they make of photos. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for you to block your time for a sitting. All reprints of photographs will be available for holiday gift giving. Please be a part of this directory and sign up for a sitting. We will schedule additional dates if necessary. Any questions regarding this should be directed to Dawn Bartow: 265-2146 (home) or at 265-7230 (work)..
ANNUAL BAR-BE-QUE PICNIC - SUNDAY, September 12
The Welcome Back / Kick-off event for the Bicentennial year of celebration will not be our usual annual bar-be-que... We will kick off our bicentennial year with an old fashioned church picnic. Congregational Life will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, condiments, rolls, lemonade, and ice cream for dessert. We ask you to bring your favorite picnic side dish, salad, pickled vegetable, and such and, of course your appetite. Anyone who loves to make pies and cakes is encouraged to bring one to be auctioned at the end of the picnic.
The festivities will begin immediately after worship, with an old fashioned hymn sing. Outdoor games, such as three legged race and rope pull, will be organized. . Stroll through the Committee Fair in the community center to see displays and to talk with committee members about church activities. Learn how you can get involved.
Come as you are, or, step back into the old days and dress in a costume. Outfit your self to look like a Potsdam Presbyterian from 1811, 1911, 2011 or any year in between. Don't be shy, invite a neighbor or a friend to join the fun!
A listing of celebration events is below (and printed in August 2010 Parish Paper). Each event will have some "bicentennial spin" to it. |
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(1912 postcard view)
 100 YEARS AGO
THIS MONTH - 1910
links to .pdf pages of a
month to month history of our church
January, 1910
February, 1910 |
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IN 2011 WE CELEBRATE OUR 200th YEAR!
A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF POTSDAM FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
(excerpts from documents and photos in our archive)
 Chapter One: Establishing Our Church, 1811-1820
The history committee is looking for any documents and photos that pertain to church activities that occurred between 1981 and the present. If you have something that would be of interest, please contact Ruth Kreuzer. |
| COOKBOOK IS FOR SALE!
COST: $12.00. GET YOURS NOW!
Please bring cash (exact amount is appreciated!) or a check made out to "First Presbyterian Church, Potsdam, NY" with "cookbooks" on the notation line. Cookbooks may be bought at coffee hour, or at the church office 1-5pm M-F.
Cookbook co-chairs Rosalie Hunter and Pam Whittet think that you will be very pleased with the cookbook. Besides nearly 150 delicious recipes from current and former members, there is a brief history of our church with drawings of the 4 church buildings, color pictures at the beginning of each section, and a few other surprises. The sections correspond with the importance of food in our church life, such as coffee hour, brunches, potluck dinners, community dinners, Mission Market, and fancy teas and receptions. We're sure you will want to buy one for yourself, your grown children, and friends of the church that have moved away. |
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Bicentennial Quilt News - see Ladies Guild News
(bicentennial quilt topics) |
Bicentennial News  Our bicentennial logo - created by Dave Beck
The Bicentennial Calendar
September 10 & 11 - Photo taking in Church Center for Directory. Sign up sheets are on bulletin Board outside offices, questions call Dawn Bartow (265-2146)
Septermber 12 - Welcome Back Bar-be-Que / Old Fashioned Church Picnic to kick-off our 200th Celebration
September 18 - Potsdam Museum sponsored Sandstone Festival with our Church being highlighted in the community tour
September 18 - Annual golf tournament 25 Choir workshop
September 25 - Choir Workshop
October 7 – 9 - Rummage sale, an “old established tradition”
October 16 & 17 - Pipes & Patchwork (organ music & quilt show)
November 23 - Community Thanksgiving Service to be held in our Sanctuary
December [tba] - Lessons & Carols
December [tba] - Brass Quintet Concert
And much more to come in 2011 with our Heritage Sunday Bi-Centennial worship service to be held June 12th.
Please mark these dates on your calendar. This is a time to celebrate --- our heritage, our friendships, our commitment to the community and, most importantly, our commitment to God.
Heritage Sunday - June 14, 2010
DISPLAYS AT COFFEE HOUR. To begin raising the congregation’s awareness of our history, the Bicentennial Committee again offered a special presentation during coffee hour on June 13, Potsdam First Presbyterian’s Heritage Sunday. Ruth Kreuzer set up a display and also presented a PowerPoint with three parts: 1) some history (and photos, of course), of our beautiful stained glass windows; 2) "Living Pictures" - a showing of slides of our church history acted out at the Sesquicentennial in 1961 (many of our current members who were the "actors" are still active in our congregation); 3) archived photos and newspaper clippings of how we celebrated our centennial (100 yrs), sesquicentennial (150 yrs), and dodransbicentennial (175 yrs).
OUR NEW 50+ YEARS MEMBER HONORED in 2010 is Alice Serfis Cullen who became a member in 1960.
NEW 50+ YEARS MEMBERS HONORED in 2009. Five people who have been members of our church family for 50 years, were honored: Dawn Bartow, Gary Bartow, Charles Hunter, Rosalie Hunter, and Betty Smith. All became members of Potsdam Presbyterian in 1959. Congratulations! (View the list of all our 50+ years members)
CHURCH FAMILY BULLETIN BOARDS PUT ON PERMANENT DISPLAY. Church Family Bulletin Boards have been installed in the hall outside of the church offices. Congregational Life invites all members and friends to bring a picture of themselves to post on the boards. The Church Family Bulletin Boards are now a permanent display of our growing and changing church family.
Items Under Discussion:
- A Picture Directory of Church Members (The Olan Mills Co. will be our developer of the directory. Photos will be taken September 2010, in plenty of time for reprints to be given as Christmas gifts.)
- Fund raising items such as: coffee mugs, tiles, soup mugs available for purchase during the bi-centennial year.
- The annual bar-be-que in September 2010 will be the kick-off event for the bicentennial year.
- Special musical events to acknowledges our musical talents and heritage.
- Special anthem to be composed by Art Frackenpohl. (He needs a text for his musical composition. If you have an idea for a text to use, or wish to offer an original poem or prose text, please talk to Art about it.)
- A quilt will be made by our Ladies Guild
- A banquet to commemorate the founding of the church (To be held in June 2011. It is hoped the many former pastors, members who have moved away and friends of the Church will be able to attend.)
Be Part of the Planning. It's not too late to volunteer to be part of the planning and carrying out of the various projects. Talk to Dawn Bartow if you are interested in offering your help to the bicentennial committee.
Bicentennial Committees. The following committees were formed:
Cookbook: Rosalie Hunter & Pam Whittet chairs; Radmila Zuman, Joanne Partch, Shirley Baylash, Ruth Kreuzer
Music: Laura Toland, chair; Mary Ellen & Art Frackenpohl, Eleanor Hopke, Pam Whittet
Historical: Dawn Bartow, chair; Ruth Kreuzer, A. George Davis, Jerry Gravander, Dale Hobson
Directory: Dawn Bartow, chair; Joanne Partch, Shirley Baylash
Bicentennial Activities - Bill Charging
Preparations for our church’s Bicentennial celebration are in full swing. Many thanks to all the hardworking members of this subcommittee of Congregational Life. Dawn Bartow is your contact for ideas and efforts toward making our Bicentennial celebration memorable. To avoid cost overruns and duplications, every activity and purchase related to the Bicentennial celebration must be discussed with Dawn first. Her email is dbartow@potsdamlibrary.org Dawn will approve proposed expenses first, then there will be further review of the bill or receipt before sending to the bookkeeper. Any purchases made without prior authorization are subject to refusal of reimbursement from the church budget. Thank you all for your efforts and cooperation, from Finance and Congregational Life!
2009 Annual Report - Bicentennial Committee
The bicentennial is fast approaching. The cookbook sale started the emphasis on celebration of 200 years! The sale will continue throughout the celebration.
The kick-off event for our 200 years will be in September 2010 at the annual Welcome Back Bar-be-que. From this time on through to June 2011 events being planned for each month of the celebration, which will end June 2011.
The planning committee has met throughout the past year to not only discuss possible events but to suggest dates for special events. Those persons working on this committee have been most generous of their time to attend meetings and take part in serving as chair or coordinator of events and projects. A very big THANK YOU is sent to each of you...Ruth Kreuzer, Rosalie Hunter, Shirley Baylash, Art & Mary Ellen Frackenpohl, Terry de la Vega, JoAnne Partch, Laura Toland, Jane Wells. Radmila Zuman, A. George Davis and Eleanor Hopke.
Dawn Bartow, Co-chair with Pam Whittet
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First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam, New York