Author: Rev. Katrina Hebb

Happy Snow Day to you Church! 

With the ice and snow outside, I haven’t been outside yet. How bad is the ice at your house? 

This last week Renee Stauffer saw a robin in her yard, my son saw a cardinal, and another friend spotted a red-winged black bird. No matter how yucky it is out today, let us remain confident that spring will come! 

Here’s the news for the week: 

It’s Girl Scout Cookie Time

The girl scouts who meet in our building on Thursday nights will be at coffee hour this Sunday to sell their delicious cookies. Aside from purchasing your yearly stash of thin mint cookies, this will be a chance to meet some of our neighbors who use our building during the week. 

Pizza and Game Night this Coming Thursday

If you’d like to join the game fun, meet some new folks, and laugh with old friends, come down to the Center Thursday the 23rd, from 5:30-7:30pm. We will be ordering pizza. You can bring a dish to share to accompany. 

Monica Sandreczki to Preach 2/26

A week from this Sunday Monica will once again bring us a word from the Word. 

Church Choir to Launch March 5th! 

For those of you who have interest in singing, we will be rustling together a choir to sing once a month, beginning on March 5th. Quinn Stevenson and Keilor Kastella will be leading rehearsal the Thursday prior, from 7-8pm, and then again that Sunday morning at 9am. Would you like to be part of this? If so, let either Keilor, Quinn, or me know! 

This choir will also have the opportunity to participate in PIC’s Sacred Festival of Sacred Word and Music, to be held on March 26. 

Church Potluck on Sunday, March 5

Our next church potluck will be held 2 weeks from this Sunday, on March 5th. 

Missing Keys?

Last Sunday someone lost a set of keys. They were found in the red chair that lives in the corner of the Center during coffee hour. If they belong to you, Sue Waters is holding them safely in the church office for you! 

Medical Fund for Ron Kaiser

This last week we collected $1,075 to give as a love offering to our custodian, Ron, who has continued to incur major medical expenses over the last year. If you’d still like to contribute, write Ron’s name on the memo line of your check and drop it in the offering plate this week, or send it to the church in the mail. We will wait one more week before we present him with our gift. 

Friends, thank you for being so generous and caring. I am bursting with thanks and gratitude for your kind hearts.

Intergenerational Fellowship

This last week at Bible Study we were reflecting on the beauty of what church creates in our lives– particularly the chance to make friends with people you might not ever have the opportunity to get to know otherwise. Last Sunday, for instance, during coffee hour, I was sitting at a table with twenty somethings, someone in their 30s, I’m in my 40’s, another individual in her 60’s, and two other folks in their 80’s. 

Living in relationships with people who live in different places and situations in their lives– crossing those boundary lines that normally keep us separate from one another– is part of what makes up the Kindom of God here on earth. 

This Sunday, I invite you to seek out someone to visit with who is different from yourself. How are they different from you? How are they the same? We become God’s family when we love and cherish each other for both our similarities and our differences. 

Keep Cherishing Each Other,
Pastor Katrina

Hello to you, dear Hearts!

It’s currently -21F at my house (counting windchill), but I’m sitting snug as a bug in a rug by my wood stove, soaking up the sunbeams that are pouring in through the window. 

Are you warm enough today? If you’re struggling with heat, please let me know. Seriously. Please let me know. 

Here’s the news for the week:

ONNY Concert Saturday Night!

The Orchestra of Northern New York is hosting a Winter Serenade concert tomorrow evening at St. Mary’s Church in Canton at 7:30pm. If you’re willing to brave the cold, it will be a lovely evening of music. 

Potluck and Congregational Meeting on Sunday

What delectable things will we have to eat on Sunday? You always manage to bring the most delicious food to our potlucks. I can’t wait to see what we have this time! 

If you have time between now and then, I encourage you to read through both the congregational report and the financial documents I sent out earlier this week. We will be voting on my terms of call for 2023 and the budget for the year. 

Game Night at Church Feb. 23rd

Our church will be hosting this year’s PIC Game Night, being held in the Center on Thursday, Feb. 23rd from 5:30-7:30pm. Folks from the 9 different congregations that participate in the Potsdam Interfaith Community are invited to attend. We will be ordering pizza and have a variety of games to play. You are welcome to come, to bring your own games to play, and to bring any other vegetarian appetizers or desserts that you’d like to contribute to the evening. It’s going to be a fun night! 

Lydia Stauffer’s Newest Flick!

If you didn’t know it already, Lydia Stauffer has been making short, black and white films set in the 1940s with her friends for a couple of years now.  

Their first film was called The Jewel of Venice, and our church’s sanctuary is featured in the film. The 26-minute film tells the story of “a discontented journalist looking to break free of her impecunious circumstances, who seizes her opportunity when she’s assigned to interview a fabulously wealthy fashion designer who owns an incredibly valuable necklace. She teams up with a shady crook and a skilled jeweler, and the dubious trio of thieves hatch a plan to appropriate and sell the pricey pendant.” 

Here’s the link to the film on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKa8ntDDCm8

That should entice you to watch the trailer for their newest production coming out next week, called A Date with Deception. It’s “a tale of treachery, brimming with bitterness… and that date with deception!” If you like a good old fashioned drama, this is for you! (Our sanctuary is also featured in this one too!) 

YouTube Link for the Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EspI8oRv6Bw

Way to go Lydia, Sarah, and the rest of the crew!!!! 

Racism and Brutality in America

This last week was another grievous one for both Black Americans and for our nation as a whole. The funeral for Tyre Nichols was held yesterday– the Black man who was fatally beaten to death by Memphis police after being pulled over for a traffic violation. 

Friends, the Black community deals with trauma after trauma, while we continue to allow racism and brutality to rule our cultural values and national policies. I don’t have any easy answers for how to respond to the situation, but we have to put effort into changing our culture. Do you have any ideas of what we as a church can do locally to speak out? I’d really love to hear your thoughts. Where do we go from here? 

God calls us to acts of love, and this includes standing up for justice in our country. But here’s the thing– standing for justice makes us terribly uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Offering acts of charity to others often makes us feel warm and fuzzy in the world, but standing up for social justice means that we are challenging the way things are done, and this invites us into the realm of social conflict– something we typically desire to avoid at all costs! But this work is too important. People’s well-being is are at stake. 

If we’re going to be faithful to God’s desires for us as Christians, we have got to learn to become comfortable with being uncomfortable– because fighting for social justice is what love looks like in the public realm.   

Last Sunday Jeff Mitchell preached on Micah 6:8, a powerful scripture verse that reminds us that God calls us to do this hard work in our faith– of standing for justice in the face of discomfort. Let us continue to spend a little time with this verse this week, shall we?  

  “With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?

 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
    and what does the Lord require of you–
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God.  

~Micah 6:6-8

May we prayerfully consider what justice work God might be calling us to,

Pastor Katrina

A Snowy Afternoon to you, Church!

Well, we are definitely walking in a winter wonderland today, aren’t we? I think we got close to a foot of snow at my house yesterday and the flakes are still gently falling to the ground today. 

Here’s the news for the week:

Jeff Mitchell to Preach this Sunday

Jeff has been preparing his sermon for weeks, and I hope that you will come out to join worship and support him, as he brings us a word from the Word.

Congregational Meeting and Potluck, Sunday, Feb. 5th

Early next week I hope to send out our congregational report and other corresponding documents, so that you have time to read through them before we have our meeting on the 5th. It’s been a good year for us, and it’s a joyful endeavor to read and remember all that happened in 2022! 

At our meeting, we will have time to discuss the year in review, as well as look through our financials and vote on our 2023 budget. 

I hope you will join us! 

Your Charitable Giving Report

If you gave any sort of donation to the church last year, you would have recently received a tax document in the mail from the church reporting on your giving. Unfortunately, when Sue Waters graciously drafted these documents for us, she did not have all of the pertinent information needed to generate correct documentation of your giving. 

The error has been noted however, and Sue is currently redoing all of our tax forms. She hopes to have them out by next week. My apologies for this mishap, and thank you for your patience!

Gifts Sent to Ukraine!

On Wednesday of this week Renee Stauffer boxed up the various items folks in our congregation purchased to help support the soldiers in Ukraine. We sent 2 sleeping bags, 6 sleeping pads, 1 waterproof coat, 16 pairs of wool socks, 3 fleece pullovers, 2 wool hats, 1 fleece balaclava, 2 pairs tactical gloves, 2 pairs of long johns, and 7 winter insoles. A big thanks to everyone who bought items, helped with shipping, or contributed money! 

Celebrating Snow

Today I got to wondering if snow shows up in our Bibles. Certainly, snow is used as a metaphor for cleanliness– “washed whiter than snow” shows up in many different places. But does snow itself have a presence? I did a little digging, and I found this lovely passage from Job that I wanted to share with you. I don’t think it needs any explanation. 

37 1-13 “Whenever this happens, my heart stops—
    I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath.
Listen to it! Listen to his thunder,
    the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.
He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon,
    lighting up the earth from pole to pole.
In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice,
    powerful and majestic.
He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back.
    No one can mistake that voice—
His word thundering so wondrously,
    his mighty acts staggering our understanding.

He orders the snow, ‘Blanket the earth!’
    and the rain, ‘Soak the whole countryside!’
No one can escape the weather—it’s there.
    And no one can escape from God.

Wild animals take shelter,
    crawling into their dens,
When blizzards roar out of the north
    and freezing rain crusts the land.
It’s God’s breath that forms the ice,
    it’s God’s breath that turns lakes and rivers solid.
And yes, it’s God who fills clouds with rainwater
    and hurls lightning from them every which way.

He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that—
    commands them to do what he says all over the world.
Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love,
    he makes sure they make their mark.

May we enjoy the extravagant love of God’s beautiful snow today!
Pastor Katrina

Good day to you, Church! 

As I gaze out the living room window next to my cozy wood stove, the snow is gently falling. It’s a welcome sight after last night’s rain–although, it sure would be nice to see the sun one of these days! The dark grey skies are starting to get to me a little. 

What are your tricks for overcoming the gloomy weather? I’d love to hear. 

Here’s the news for the week: 

Learn about Hospice Care Jan. 25th

If you’d like to learn more about the services that Hopsice offers in the North Country, join us this Wednesday night at 7pm for a special zoom session. The program is sponsored by the Potsdam Interfaith Community. 

ZOOM link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83921663734?pwd=aUcrMEM0MUVQc3lWQUdFbjBBR2U4Zz09

Meeting ID: 839 2166 3734
Passcode: 946215

Community Supper This Thursday Night 

There’s still room to help volunteer at this month’s community supper. If you’d like to participate, contact Jane Wells. 

Jeff Mitchell to Preach Sunday, Jan. 29

As you know, I have one Sunday a month off from preaching, and this month we welcome a new friend of the congregation to the pulpit, Jeff Mitchell. Jeff has taken courses from seminary and has some experience with preaching at his last church in Maryland. I hope you’ll join us next week as Jeff brings us a word from God’s Word!

We’re Switching to Local, Sustainable Electricity!

I recently learned that there’s more than one option for where we can purchase electricity from. Apparently, National Grid is not the only service provider in our area. There is also a small, local company called Northern Power and Lights that offers electricity to local residents and it comes from a nearby, renewable resource– the Sissonville hydrodam, located a couple miles outside of town on the Raquette River.

The cost for electricity from NP&L is exactly the same as it is with National Grid, so Session decided that we need to put our money where our faith is and switch electricity providers. 

If you’d like to join the church in supporting local, sustainable electricity you can switch your service over too. Click on the following link for more information and to learn about how to sign up: https://www.npandl.com/

Winter Blues

Friends, right now is a hard time to live in the North Country. It’s wet, icy, cold, and grey. 

If you’re like me, these are key ingredients for seasonal depression– otherwise known as The Winter Blah’s. 

When we get the Blah’s, we can either fall into that black hole and feed the sadness and the grouchiness that comes with it, or we can try something else. I’ve recently met a new friend who talks constantly about “flipping the situation”– about finding a way to reframe what you’re going through; to see hard things as an opportunity instead of a burden. 

Taking his advice, how might you be able to flip the Blah’s on their head? Can you get outside and do some fun winter activities? The World University Hockey tournament is still going on for a few more days. What if you leave the house and catch a game? Or head out into the yard to make a snowman? 

If you’re like me and can’t do outside activities right now, what fun, adventurous things are there to do inside? Can you find a new recipe and try your hand at cooking a fun meal? Is there a letter you’ve been wanting to write to a long-lost friend? Maybe there’s a craft project you haven’t had the courage to undertake. 

Now is the time to seize the day! What creative joy is hiding inside of you that wants to come out? Winter is the perfect time for these sorts of explorations. 

Every single day God gives us the gift of new life– an opportunity to find joy in the hidden folds of everyday living, and winter, especially, is an opportunity for treasure hunting like this. 

May you find a way this week to “flip” the Blah’s and discover untold treasure in your everyday life! 

On the treasure path with you,
Pastor Katrina 

Good Day to you, Church–

Happy Epiphany– the day when some people celebrate the magi finding Jesus, others celebrate the birth of Jesus (The orthodox Church), some celebrate John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River, and others take down their Christmas decorations. Do you celebrate? If so, I’d love to hear what your traditions are. 

Here’s the news for the week: 

Moving into the Center for Worship

When you come to church this Sunday, make sure you turn into the Community Center instead of heading to the sanctuary. For the next few months we will enjoy the warmth and cozy feeling of the Center for worship. 

Also for this Sunday– Since we weren’t able to celebrate Christmas Eve together, the choir will be singing their special selections this Sunday, so bring whatever leftover stirrings of Christmas/Epiphany cheer you might still have for one final celebration of the Baby Jesus!

Congregational Meeting and Potluck February 5th

Plan to bring a dish to pass the first Sunday in February to share while we hold our annual congregational meeting. We will review the year 2022 and vote on both our budget for 2023 and Pastor Katrina’s terms of call for 2023. 

p.s. There’s really good news on our financial front, but I’m going to keep it secret for another couple of weeks and let it be a surprise! 

Festival of Sacred Music and Text Set for March 26th

This year’s Festival (sponsored by the Potsdam Interfaith Community) will be in March. Might those of you who like to sing in choirs be interested in singing a song or two for the festival? Let’s talk with Keilor and see what we might be able to come up with in the next couple of months! So far there will be representatives at the festival from Beth El, St. Mary’s, the Methodist Church, the Potsdam Masjid, the Church of Latter Day Saints, the UU Church in Canton, the Christian Scientists, and possibly the Quakers and the Orthodox Church. It’s going to be a great concert!! 

Tree Limbs Down

I was in my office yesterday and, looking out the window onto the church yard, I noticed quite a few tree limbs downed from the Christmas blizzard. Might a couple of you be able and willing to come do some clean up? Bob and Sharon Pickard are in Florida already, so they’re not around to organize this. Might there be a volunteer to gather some folks together? 

Still No Word on the Rock Grant

For those of you who might be waiting on bated breath (like me), we still have not received word on who this year’s recipients are for the grant we applied for. Fingers remained crossed! 

An Exciting Gift to the Church

Last week the church received a monetary gift from a friend of the church that I wanted to share with you. People who don’t even attend our congregation sent us $500 and a thank you note! The note explained that the gift was given as “an expression of our gratitude for your faithful ‘open and affirming’ witness to Jesus Christ and God’s inclusive love.” The note went on to say “We appreciate all you are seeking to accomplish in the greater Potsdam area.” 

If you ever wondered about whether or not it’s the right thing for us to support the LGBTQ community, let us be encouraged by this note. Whether or not we are aware of it, people are watching and listening. They see us throwing open arms of inclusive love. 

Thanks be to God! And to you! And to this gift giver! 

Maybe someday we will get to know the impact we are having on people who have always been told that God hates them. But even if we don’t, let us know in our hearts that we are living in God’s love. Truly– thank you– for being a congregation that seeks love above all else. 

Prayers and Rejoicing for Sabrina Petrie

Sabrina had surgery this week and would love your prayers and cards as she recovers. (I’m sure she wouldn’t turn down a meal or a plate of cookies either, if you felt so inclined.) 

We can be praying for her, but also rejoice with her as well! She was recently accepted into Buffalo’s Master’s Program for Social Work. Sabrina has had a tough couple of years lately, so this news is extra special. 

If you’d like to send a card:

Sabrina Petrie
8 Cedar St. Upper Level
Potsdam, NY 13676

A Word about Grace

As we move into a new year of living, I thought I’d share a special reminder about grace. The Greek word for grace, charis, means ‘gift.’ 

At the heart of our religion is the unending belief in gift giving– gifts given by God to us and gifts we are to share with others and ourselves. But here’s the thing about a gift. By definition, a gift must be received. If you earn it, it is considered a wage. If you win it, it’s a prize. If you qualify for it, it’s a reward. 

Grace is amazing, but it’s also terrifying to accept. Grace also means that we have to decide to believe that we are worthy of receiving such love and consideration. (And who of us actually believes that?) This is the catch with grace. It cannot save, empower, or bless us if we close ourselves off to it. If we refuse to be receptive of wondrous love. 

This week, what would it look like for you to open yourself up to discovering the gifts of love that God sprinkles in our lives? 

Not only big gifts– like the $500 gift someone sent to the church– but the small gifts too. Grace, you see, comes in all shapes and sizes– jokes worth laughing out loud at, hugs, kind words, beautiful music, and yes, grace sometimes even comes disguised as challenging experiences. 

Dear Hearts, may we open ourselves up this week to being receptive of God’s gifts of amazing grace and abundant love! 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast! 

Ephesians 2:8-9

Stretching My Grace Muscles Too,
Pastor Katrina

Happy Day to you, Church! 

Yesterday I found myself listening to Christmas music and I laughed. “O, the weather outside is….” well, it’s not frightful outside, is it? What mild temps we’ve been having lately! 

Do you think we might actually get snow for Christmas this year? I’m not so sure we will. Hopefully some of us are wearing our snowflake pajamas to bed at night. What are other “tricks” for bringing on snow? 

Here’s the news for this week: 

This Sunday, December 11th is a Busy One!

*Wear your favorite, festive red and green attire to church this Sunday to celebrate the season. 

*We will be celebrating communion together this week.

*Christmas Joy Offering: This week we will be collecting the Christmas Joy offering, which goes to support struggling ministers and church workers in our denomination. If you plan to contribute, please make your check out to our church, with Christmas Joy on the memo line. 

*After the service, during coffee hour, Ivette Herryman-Rodriguez will be leading a Christmas hymn sing along. If you love singing Christmas carols, this is your chance to fill your Christmas cup to overflowing!

Pledge Cards

If you’ve received your pledge card this week, will you be prayerfully considering what you might be able to contribute next year for your giving? 

Vernice Church is Home

After being gone for 2 months, Vernice Church has finally made it back to the North Country! She’s currently recovering from surgery at Maplewood and would love to receive cards from us, but isn’t quite up to having visitors yet. 

If you’d like to send her a note in the mail, send it to:

Vernice Church 
205 Canton-Madrid Road
Canton, NY 13617

Moving into the Center for Sunday Worship in January

Given the spike in heating costs, Session has decided that we will once again move our Sunday worship to the Center for the coldest winter months. Beginning in January, you can shed your winter coat and hat for worship, as the Center will be comfortably warm! 

Advent Tidings 

We’re about halfway through our Advent season and I wonder how you’re faring. Have you been able to quiet your spirit and listen deeply? 

This can be a difficult time for some. The sorrows we carry silently with us in our everyday lives seem to magnify during the darkest days of the year. Our grief for loved ones lost feels heavier, our feelings of disconnection and depression intensify, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all there is to do to prepare for Christmas. 

As you quiet your spirit this week, I invite you to consider that the comfort and joy that the Baby Jesus brings into the world is also meant for you. This is certainly a time of year to think of others, but our giving needs to live in balance with caring for our own aching souls. What is it that brings comfort to your sadness? What compassion might soothe your despair? What tenderness can speak to your sense of hopelessness? 

This coming Sunday we will be sitting with Matthew 11:2-6. In it, John the Baptist wants to know if Jesus is really the Messiah that everyone has been waiting for, or if they should keep looking elsewhere. Jesus responds in the affirmative, but indirectly. All he says is that “The blind can see, the lame walk, the dead are raised, and the lepers are cured.” 

Dear Hearts, Jesus has come to bring healing into the world– into your world too! 

Let us remember to pray for our own healing, even as we work to create wholeness for others. God’s tender compassion is meant to reach our own broken places and offer a soothing balm. 

May you find God’s peace and tenderness amidst these darkening days,
Pastor Katrina