Outreach

Outreach Committee News

Announcements

WEBSITE ADDITION A new section is being added to the church web site starting in January, 2010: "One Hundred Years Ago This Month." The purpose of this new section is to inform you of our church history, linking you to the past in order to prepare you for all the future activities leading up to, and including, our Bicentennial Year: 2011. Tidbits of information from our historical documents will be shared each month in the Parish Paper. The full version of the monthly column – with more detailed information, quotes, pictures, footnotes – will be found online. Enjoy! (New chapters also will be added to our online chronological history of the church.) Send your comments and suggestions on the web site history features to Ruth Kreuzer: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu

Church Website Update - June 2009 On May 8 we kicked off the capital campaign to raise $200,000 by 2012 for the much needed roof renovations with a rousing shared buffet dinner. If you want to find out how we are doing on raising the money, what other events are planned (such as the "Yoga, Prayer of Heart and Body" fundraising class starting in June) – or even WHY we need a new roof, then go to the newly added "3rd Century Roof Renovation Capital Campaign" page. You will find the answers to these questions and more about this campaign, along with some photos. Also check out the newly created brochure promoting this capital campaign under the "Misc." category in "Publications." Links to the new page and brochure are found on the home page, "God's Church," "Buildings and Grounds" and on the "site map" (which lists all the pages on our web site). See more the "Archive of Web Site Updates" for more information about the web site - from web content to how to hints on how to use this site. From Web Site Manager, Ruth Kreuzer - rkreuzer@stlawu.edu

Welcoming Newcomers Please wear a nametag each week at worship to help newcomers (and the rest of us!) learn and remember names. Also, be sure to fill out registration pads on Sunday mornings so that the Outreach committee can use them for follow-up. If you are aware of newcomers to the community, invite them to church and/or let someone on the Outreach committee (Martin Walker, Julie Miller, Terry de la Vega) know about them. Outreach is everyone’s job, and with your help we can continue to bring others into the ministry of First Presbyterian Church.

Registration Pads Be sure to fill out the registration pads on Sunday mornings so that the Outreach Committee can use them for follow-up.

Our Webpage - a work in progress Bookmark the home page of our rweb page www.potsdampresbyterian.org. It is always a work in progress.  All Ideas and suggestions are welcome for content and additional ways to use the web page.  Your  Web Site Managers are: Ruth Kreuzer - rkreuzer@stlawu.edu and Dale Hobson - dhobson@stlawu.edu

Kids Korner Look for the  Kids Korner logo in the upper right-hand corner  of the "Home" page. Just click on the logo and you will fly over to the "Kids Korner" page where you will meet "Happy."  Happy pops up here and there and now and then on the web site with something special for the kids to do. Ideas and pictures for this new page are welcome! Send them to: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu

Committee Restructuring

The Congregational LIfe Committee and the Outreach Committee will be coordinating activities, with chairs working closely together.  Terry de la Vega and Julie Miller will now chair the Congregational Life committee, with help from Martin Walker.  Martin Walker continues to Chair the Outreach Committee, with help from Julie Miller and Terry de la Vega, as needed.

Volunteer to Host a Dinner for College Students!

The popular dinners for College students in our homes happen about every two weeks. There’s a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the Center; if you would be willing to be a host during the upcoming school year, SIGN UP! We’ll coordinate dates with your schedule, of course. Eleanor Hopke, or Amy and Martin Walker will be glad to answer any questions you might have, talk to any of these former hosts:

Amy and Martin Walker; Dave and Jane Wells; Pastor Rich and Laurena Will; Bob and Betty Fraser; Ruth and Jerry Kreuzer; Bob and Sharon Pickard; Pam and Jim Whittet; Linda, Victor, David and Daniel Caamaño; Eleanor Hopke; Eileen, Ken, Emma, Heidi and Scott Visser; Connie and Joe Zelinski;  Laura and Ray Toland. THANK YOU FOR HOSTING OUR LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENTS!!

Archive of Web Site Updates - Outreach to our members, outreach to our community 
email your comments/info/photos to: Ruth Kreuzer rkreuzer@stlawu.edu

Our church web site has two main purposes: to reach out to our neighbors, telling them who we are and what we do; and to be a resource of information for our own church community. The left-side navigation headings help our web site visitors find general information about our church; many also proclaim to the world those things our church holds most dear: Spiritual Life, Worship and Music, Serving Others, God's Church, Education, Youth, and College. Navigation links to our church community information pages (i.e. links to Session, Deacons, Committees, and Groups) can be found on the page "Who We Are." Announcements (from bulletin inserts, the "Parish Paper," etc.) are found on the "Church Family" page. Events are noted both on the "Home" page (linked from the Presbyterian logo in the upper left corner) and also on the "Calendar" page (linked from the calendar in the upper right corner). The link "More…" wherever it appears, takes you to more information.  Bookmark the home page! Use our website! 

NOTICE: Looking for a few volunteers to help maintain and keep the web site up-to-date – training available. Interested? Contact Ruth. NEEDED: Your photos of church people and events. Give or send them to Ruth: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu

Navigationally Lost? Select the "site map" view (link is located in the upper right hand corner); this allows you to see the location of every single page on our site!

Did you miss Church last Sunday?  Do you want to know what is going on in Church this Sunday?

• View the SUNDAY BULLETIN from last Sunday or read it online the Saturday before the service. Sunday bulletins are linked from the "Home" page and posted as well on the "Publications" page.
• Read the Pastor's SERMON in full on the "Spiritual Life" page. Sermons are posted midweek after they are delivered. Note: Several earlier sermons are found on the page "Sermons by Pastor Rich."
• Check the NEWS of what is going on in the upcoming week on the "Home" page, "Church Family" page, or on the "Calendar." Details are often posted elsewhere, so follow those "(More…)" links.
• Enjoy the most recent photos taken at church or at the coffee hour after church on the "Home" page or "Church Family" page. Note: Some of the older Sunday photos are retired to the "Photos" page.

Did you know that on the church web site:

• you can get more information every time you click on (More…)?
• you can not only can find out what book the Book Group is currently reading, but what books they have read—along with reviews of all the books on the "Book Group" page (and you can do the same for the "Movie Group")?
• the Session and the Deacons, and every church committee and every church group has its own page to feature its work and to post
• you can find links to all the pages at once by going to the "site map".

Want to find a copy of the printed Parish Paper or the church service bulletins? 
Go to the .pdf version of the Parish Paper and bulletins in the "Publications" section of the web site. There is also a link to the Parish Paper  in the "Announcements" section on the "Church Family" page. (There too you will find a link to the web site where you can download a free version of "Adobe Reader," if you don't already have it on your computer – you need this program in order to read .pdf files). In the "Publications" section of the web site you will also find "Worship Bulletins," copies of "E-Wind" (the newsletter of the Presbytery of Northern New York), and some misc. publications as well.

Did you find a picture on the church web site you want for your own files?
None of the pictures on our site are copyrighted. So, just right click on the picture you want, then choose your next action step. If you “Save Picture [Image] As…” as a jpg (or picture) file to a folder of your choice on your computer, then you can do with it as you want. However, check out your options when you right click on a picture. You may be able to do your desired task with just one more click, e.g. set the picture as your desktop background, print it directly from the web site, e-mail the picture - or send a link to it - to your sister in Seattle, or copy and paste it directly into a document. Have fun!

Reminder: information for the church web site comes from YOU!
Do you have a great photo or document to share? Attach it! Is there a change in a meeting time/place? E-mail it! See an error on the web site? Report it! Do you have a great idea for the site? Disclose it! Something happening at the last minute? Publicize it! Do you have a complaint? Voice it! . 

Contact Information
Misplaced your phone book and don’t know where to look for the pastor’s phone number? Don’t remember who is the chair of Buildings and Grounds? Want to e-mail the church secretary with a question? Have lots of old yarn you want to give to the knitting group, but don’t know who to give it to? Use the "Who We Are" page to find out who is in charge of what.  Use "Contact Us" on the church web site as a resource for contact information: the web site is there for you 24 / 7. Use it; you won’t lose it.

Reminder - YOU are responsible for the content on the web site
Are you a committee chair? Are you a leader of a group? Do you see something on the church web site that is out of date or incorrect? Do you have something in mind that you would like to see on the church web site? If any of these apply to you, then you should be sending your committee/group information or your suggested changes/ideas to Ruth Kreuzer.

Archived Material
Archived material on the church web site comes in various forms: photos are archived in the “Photos” section;  a month of sermons by Pastor Rich are also archived in the section "Sermons by Pastor Rich"  (these latter are linked from the “Spiritual Life” section). In the “Publications” section are archived a year’s worth of: Parish Papers (including the current one); worship bulletins from special seasonal programs (along with the most recent Sunday worship bulletin); newsletters from the Presbytery of Northern New York and also from the Synod of the Northeast. The “Publications” section also contains some miscellaneous items: forms, information on prorams and workshops, our church brochure and other items. Such archived material not only helps us keep up on what’s been going on in the church, but also gives those outside the church a wider perspective on what we are about.

The Daily Lectionary - an idea for the Readers at worship services; and an idea for a home practice
Are you going to be the reader in church on Sunday? Here’s a suggestion. Once you get your reading assignment, go to the “Daily Lectionary” link on the “Spiritual Life” section of our church web site (http://www.potsdampresbyterian.org). When you click on that link you will be taken to the PC USA site. Navigate your way from the "Daily Lectionary" link to “Next Sunday” and find, copy and paste what you are assigned to read into a WORD document. Increase the font size so that it is easy to read from. Print out your assigned passages and annotate them (e.g. mark the places to emphasize as you read or where you want to pause, or write in phonetically those names that are hard to pronounce, etc.) and practice your readings at home. Consider using your printout instead of the reader’s Bible on the lectern when you read in church. You can find and practice your other readings at home ahead of time as well. Each Sunday’s worship bulletin is posted on our web site as a .pdf document the Friday or Saturday before the service; it is linked from the “Home” page and also from the “Publications” section. P.S. You don’t have to be the lay reader to appreciate the online lectionary at PC USA. Bookmark the site and go to it every day; take a “devotional break” to renew your spirits.

Church history
In 2011, our church will be celebrating its 200th anniversary. Our church web site has a page dedicated to the upcoming Bicentennial; you will find a link to it on the main page. In this section, you will find a growing number of installments on our church history, as well as some interesting pictures and documents. 

Many more photos were added to the church web site - and how photos are added
Look for them in the “Church Family” section, or just go directly to the “Photos” section of the web site and follow the thumbnail picture links from there. The process of getting pictures on the web pages goes something like this: 1) take photos, 2) transfer them to an appropriate folder on your computer, 3) adjust the images (crop, lighten/darken, remove red eyes, etc.), 4) rename and resize – removing bytes - the ones you want to use on the web site, 5) upload them to the server one at a time, adding a gallery description, 6) finally, place them one at a time where you want them on the site, physically resizing them to fit the available space. Done! If you see a picture you like, “right click” on it and then do a “save as” into an appropriate folder with a name you’ll recognize later.

The preying-camera-woman
Some of our good church people have fallen victim to the "preying-camera-woman" (who shall remain anonymous).  She is accosting people after church and at coffee hour asking them to "step outside" (or into the stairwell) to have their picture taken.  So far there have been no refusals to comply.  The results are some new and rare "mug shots" now posted on the "Church Family" page of the web site.  When asked about why she is chasing down people, the preying-camera-woman replied, "I'm hoping some day to establish a password protected online contact info / photo directory of our church members and friends."

The "Publication" Section
The "Publications" section of the web site is a useful place to find information you saw in print somewhere, but can't find now. A Year's worth of the "Parish Paper" is archived there, with the most recent on top. The "Worship Bulletins" from special services (Christmas, Easter…) are archived there, as well as the most recent bulletin. There are sections for the news from the "Presbytery of Northern New York" and the "Synod of the Northeast." Under "Misc" you will find flyers with information about various events  and opportunities both at the church and outside. Using  "Publications" link  can save you time. These documents are in .pdf form. If you don't have the Adobe .pdf reader installed on your computer, download the latest version free from Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/

The church web site disappears!
Did you ever wonder what happens when you go to the church web site and it is …GONE!? Well, someone finally reports it to someone else, and eventually it is reported to your web site managers – Dale Hobson and Ruth Kreuzer. Then e-mails fly back and forth and the web host (he's a real person, named Bill) is contacted. Bill goes to work to see if he can pull up a back-up copy; Dale goes to Google and starts copying cached code, one page at a time; and Ruth goes back to enjoying her vacation. A few days later, everything and everybody is back in its/his/her place. And if the web site ever really disappears forever, what then? Well, then we will just start building it all over again. If you should happen to go on the church web site and find only a very brief old home page and nothing more, report it!

Special Page for Christmas
Christmas is a rush of activities, especially at the church. To help you keep organized there is a "Christmas 2007" web page with information on all the seasonal goings-on at our church. You can find a link to it on the home page. Help keep the Christmas page accurate and up-to-date. Let Ruth Kreuzer know of additions, omissions or corrections that need to be made on any of the pages, including the Christmas page. 

Pictures, pictures, pictures!
Everyone loves looking at photos – especially if they find themselves in one of them (…well, maybe not always). Lots of photos have been added to the website. You can see some new collections of them on the photos page: Mzuzu Youth Choir, Presbyterian Golf Tournament, Youth Group/Children’s Halloween Party, Christmas Jubilee… Other photos will be added in the coming weeks. Enjoy! And keep those photos of church people and events coming in!  

Lent and Easter Resources on the web
This year Lent and Easter come early: Ash Wednesday is February 6th and Easter Sunday is March 23rd. On our web site you will find a link on the home page to the new Lent and Easter page. There you will find information and photos from our past and present celebration of this holy season. There is also a link there to "Resources for Lent" from PCUSA: http://www.pcusa.org/lent/. We are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Their web site provides wonderful resources for both the individual and the Church. Included in the their Lenten resources you will find: Bible studies, worship resources, ideas on things to make and do for Lent and Easter, Lenten quotations, and more.

Helpful documents on the web
The web site is meant to be "helpful" as well as informative. Recently Terry de la Vega sent a very helpful document to post on the web site: "Coffee Hour Host Instructions 2008." I am sure some of you are, as I am, very much a "in the dark" when it comes to doing coffee hour. Where are the supplies kept? How do you work our new coffee machine? What do you need to bring besides juice and healthy treats for adults and children? And what do you do when you have no idea what to do? Terry's instructions include the answer to such questions. Her answer to the last question: "When in doubt, don't be shy, ask for help." If you have a document or an idea of something "helpful" that can be added to our web site, e-mail it to Ruth Kreuzer.

What's new on the web for the month of May?
Recent items added to the "Photos" page of the church website: photos of our bell choir performing on stage at Hosmer (with the bell choirs from Crane and the Unitarian Universalist Church); Laurena Will's recipe for Boiled Chocolate Cake; links to audio recordings of Greg Mortenson talking about his book Three Cups of Tea (our churchwide read this year); photos of college dinners at the Zelinski's and Kreuzer's (where the group came early to make "Pysanky" style Easter eggs), and photos of the recent quilt show. While checking out these additions to our website, look around – you may find some interesting photos, articles or announcements you may have missed.

Pictures again!
Pictures are a wonderful thing to add to our church history archive, especially as we are fast approaching our bi-centennial year (2011). If you have any old pictures, please loan them to Ruth Kreuzer. She can scan the actual photograph, but having the actual negative or a slide to scan would be even better. Also keep in mind the photos don't have to be old! Great pictures you have taken recently or in the last few years also have a place in the archives—if we don't gather them now, we won't have them in the future. Email digital photo files, if you have them, or loan your print photos so that they can be copied. Be sure to put your name on anything you want returned. Also write down and include whatever information you have about each photo (when the picture was taken, what event, what place, and who is in the picture). If you have a nice photo of a current or former church member which was not taken at church, do we want to copy that too? YOU BET!! Give or send photos to Ruth Kreuzer: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu

Identify those new members!
Do you know who the newest members of the church are? Can you recognize them and put a name to their faces? No? Well, you can now see pictures of many of them on the church web site in the "Photos" section on their own page "New Members 2008".  When you see these folks, call them by name and welcome them into the church. Many other members of the church of been photographed in recent years and their pictures have appeared on the web site too. Want to know where those pictures end up? Just look again in the section "Photos" – a repository for those photos which have appeared on the home page, on the church family page, or in special event photo collections. Do have photos to share? Send them to Ruth Kreuzer: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu.

Spread Your Announcements Further.
Every Sunday, before we start the church service, there are announcements. During the service we share our joys and cares so that we can add them to our prayers. It's so great to get the latest information and to draw closer in our sharing of the good and bad times. But there always are members who are NOT in church that day, or who did NOT quite catch the details of what was said. The church web site is a great place to pass on such information. Use it! E-mail your latest announcements and the prayer requests you wish to share to Ruth Kreuzer: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu. 

2011, the bicentennial year of our church, is fast approaching.
Committees have been formed, searches of the church basement for "historical treasures" have taken place, research at the local libraries is going on, celebration ideas are floating around…AND the web site now has a page devoted solely to the upcoming bicentennial. The link to this new page is from the home page on the left side above "Announcements" (or you can use the "site map" in the upper right corner of any page to find your way there (hint: the new page is filed under "God's Church"). If you would like to post any items on the bicentennial page, or if you have ideas for what should be on this page or questions that could be answered there, pass them on to Ruth Kreuzer: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu.

Navigationally Lost?
Are you lost when it comes to finding things on the church web site? Have you found the "site map" button in the upper right hand corner? Site map is an organized list of links to all the web pages that make up our church web page. If you need some coaching on how to use the church web site, look above on this "Outreach" page and find a compendium of these Parish Paper Website updates. This month the links mentioned were turned into live links: just click on them to go the page talked about in the update. Free tours of the web site are available from: Ruth Kreuzer: rkreuzer@stlawu.edu  Just ask!

Photo Boards
The photo boards of our church members and friends outside the offices in the Church Center make a welcoming statement, both to us and to outsiders: the church IS the people! Jesus did not say go out and build beautiful buildings, but go out and love one another. How can we do that without first knowing each other? If you haven't looked closely at the photo boards yet, do so. Learn the names of the people you see at church; figure out who is whose significant other? Match parents up with their children and grandchildren. Is your photo on the board? If not, put one up. If you don't like the one that is there, substitute it with one of your own choosing. There are many pictures of people on the church web site. If you find one you like of you (with or without your family), just right click on it and 1) in Explorer choose "print picture," or 2) in Firefox choose "Save image as…" and save it to a folder on your computer; then retrieve, print and post it. One of our categories on our web site is "Church Family" – let's work together to make that label apply to us even more firmly.

2008 Congregational Life and Outreach Committee Report

The Congregational Life and Outreach committees continued to work closely together this year. Terry de la Vega, Martin Walker and Julie Miller were the chairs, ably assisted by Eleanor Hopke, Amy Walker, Vernice Church, Kristin Brown, Sue Waters, Dawn Bartow, Phil Paro, Ruth Kreuzer, Barb Baker, Fran Stowe, Shirley Baylash, Bob and Fran Shaw, Helen Dunstone, Eva Barrett, Laura Toland, Helen Brouwer and Pam Whittet. We planned activities to knit together our congregation, as well as reach out to newcomers and visitors. We were blessed by many new church members, as well as a large group of college students. The Ladies Guild continued their caring and creative ministry, and the entire congregation continued to reach out to old and new friends.

The following is a list of some of our activities for 2008:

• The web site was kept up to date throughout the year and new features and pictures were added from time to time.
• Coordination of coffee hour hosts - Our congregation supported this activity faithfully, providing enjoyment and nourishment every week.
• Parish paper - Ladies Guild prepared the paper for mailing.
• Dinners for college students - Martin and his team had great fellowship with these outstanding students.
• Prayer calendar - So that we held one another in prayer daily.
• Weekly knitting group - This faithful group provided tangible comport to others.
• Welcoming visitors with letters and emails - Pastor Rich sent letters to all newcomers.
• Transportation to church for college students - The students appreciated this, especially on cold days!
• Ladies Guild quilts: for new babies - The baby boom continued, bringing joy to everyone. Also, two new liturgical quilts were made for hanging in the sanctuary.
• Ladies Guild - 2 successful rummage sales as well as an Elegant Tea held in the Spring as a roof fundraiser
• Committee Fair
• Final exam treats for college students - Amy was master cookie chef.
• Fair trade coffee sales
• Valentine potluck luncheon
• Palm Sunday breakfast
• Easter egg hunt
• Recognition of high school and college graduates
• Welcoming nametags in the fall
• Fall Picnic
• Lunch for Presbytery meeting
• Halloween/UNICEF party for children
• Recognition of A. George Davis for 50 years as an ordained elder
• Thanksgiving potluck lunch
• Reception for new members
• Christmas caroling - 6 adults and 7 children caroled some dear ones.
• Soup luncheon following children’s Christmas pageant - January and December!
• Ladies Guild Christmas luncheon

Respectfully submitted,
Terry de la Vega, Julie Miller and Martin Walker