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Hello Everybody,

There’s a little nip in the wind today, even while the sun is shining brightly, as autumn announces her presence among us. 

Last night some of us gathered together– mostly over Facebook’s livestream– to listen more about the history of our county, as it pertains to racism and slavery. Bryan Thompson told us stories of the slaves who were first brought here in the early 19th century– of the buildings they constructed, and the men who owned them. Did you know that Ford Street in Ogdensburg is named after a wealthy slave owner? Or that Judson Street in Canton is similarly named? 

He also told us about the brave Black men who preached freely in our county in the 19th century (mostly in Free Baptist churches); and that of all the larger towns in the area, Potsdam was one of the few that wouldn’t run you out of town for being an abolitionist. We learned that in the 1820s the minister in our congregation preached from the pulpit about the sin of slavery, and in 1837 our church forged ahead (against popular sentiment) to establish the Anti-Slavery Society in Potsdam. 

I am glad to know that fighting against racial inequality is part of our church’s history. It means we’re continuing to carry the torch that our ancestors once held. 

We also learned about the courage of those Black freedom seekers, who defied the laws of men and their own fears of violence and brutality, to seek their God-given right to being human– how they snuck under heavy loads of hay in hay wagons, hid out in people’s homes, and walked long stretches of wilderness as they headed towards the St. Lawrence river, and eventually to freedom in Canada.

We also heard a few words from Dr. John Youngblood, and a final word from Jen Baxtron, the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in the North Country. Both conveyed to listeners that the violence and brutality that Black people lived with in the days of slavery are not something that existed exclusively in the past. Each spoke of the intimidation, fear, and threats of violence that hover over the Black community in America today, and particularly in the North Country. And Dr. Youngblood encouraged us, as a primarily white audience, to consider that our work of helping to establish a safe and peaceful existence for Black folk is not yet over.

I don’t know about you, but by the end I left with a renewed sense of dedication to continuing on with our church’s tradition of seeking racial justice in the world. 

In like manner, I left with a renewed awareness of how hard the pandemic is on all of us. It saddened me greatly that I could not see your faces out in the audience last night, and it frustrated me with how hard it is to figure out the technological bugs that always jump up when you’re trying something for the first time. I know that on your end of the screen, the problems we were having with sound must have been irritating. I’m thankful for your patience though– all of us are doing the best we can in the moment we have before us, aren’t we? 

Speaking of which– how are you doing in these moments before us? Was this week any easier than the one before? How is your stamina holding up? I am struggling with exhaustion right now. It takes more energy to get through a normal day, doesn’t it? And that extra spent energy is then not available for dealing with the challenges and problems that always arise. Do you get grumpy when you are frustrated and tired? I’ve been a bit snarly lately, I’m afraid. 

When I get this way, I know I need to pull out Psalm 46, and breathe in the words:

God is our refuge and strength,
 a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
 though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
 though the mountains tremble with its tumult….

10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
 I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
 the God of Jacob is our refuge.

May the refuge of God find you this week. May the strength of God go before you. And may the rest of God comfort you. 

Keep breathin’ (even on your snarly days),
Pastor Katrina

p.s. I hope to see you this Sunday at noon for coffee hour out on the lawn. Bring a jacket, your mask, a lawn chair, and perhaps a knit cap for if your ears get cold– it will be sunny, but the high for the day is only 58.

Good Day to you, Church family!

Fall has landed, hasn’t it? Were you as chilly as I was this morning? What a rude awakening these cooler temperatures have been the last couple of days. I’m sure we will see some warmer days again in September, but I pulled out all of my winter wear and swapped it out for my summer things yesterday. It’s back to long sleeves and sweaters for this lady!

If you haven’t spent much time in town recently, you might like to know that the renovation project to Snell Hall (across the street from the church) is coming along nicely. I’m sitting in my office as I write this, typing to the rhythmic pounding of jack hammers. It will be exciting to see what they turn that space into, won’t it? 

Before I jump into all of the going’s on, I wanted to give a big shout out to those of you who have come to work on the church grounds all summer long. Thank you Gail Schaberg, Brian and Robin Wilkinson, Neil Johnson, Charlene Speiler, Beth Grace, Dave Wells, and Bob and Sharon PIckard! (Did I miss anybody? If so, please let me know!) It’s such a wonderful gift to come to the church each week and see what new things are blooming. Right now the pink flox are out, with their intoxicating fragrance. 

Now for the news! If you hadn’t heard, our History of the Anti-Slavery Society and the Underground Railroad in St. Lawrence County event did not end up taking place yesterday. The weather was not good enough to be outside, and we had a communication problem that resulted in needing to postpone. Thankfully, we will have a chance to make it happen this coming Thursday, the 17th, at 7pm. If it’s good weather, plan to come with your mask, your lawn chair, and a jacket. If it’s too cold or it’s rainy, we will broadcast the event from the fellowship hall and ask everyone to stay home and watch from the comfort of your own home. 

Anytime we try new things (as COVID is prompting us to do hither and yon’), sometimes it can take a couple of tries to get all of the kinks worked out. I appreciate you having patience and riding loose in the saddle while we practice at having outdoor events. 

Speaking of which, Sunday the 20th, at noon, we will again host in-person coffee hour on the lawn–or, at least we will attempt to host coffee hour on the lawn! If the weather does not permit, we will just wait and try again next month. It is my hope and prayer that our COVID numbers continue to stay low enough that we can attempt to return to the building before Christmas, to be able to see each other again on a more regular basis. We will have to wait and see how the next 4-6 weeks play out, however, now that all the schools are back up and running. 

Dear Hearts, if you have students in your life, or if you are a teacher, you will know what an exhausting week this has been. Are you feeling as spent as I am? There are so many changes to deal with! And new protocols to follow! And new schedules to acclimate to! And I’m only saying this as a parent trying to wade these waters… My mother sometimes comments that she feels like a wilted box of vegetables. Is that how you feel, too? If so, what will you do to care for yourself this week? And if you still have some spring in your step, what can you do to support those around you who have wilted some?

Even if you haven’t been deflated from the return to school, all you have to do is turn on the TV to feel like the end of the world is upon us. Between remembering 9/11, the pandemic, fires out west, our nation’s racial pain and the call for social justice out in the streets, and the upcoming election…. do you just want to stay under the covers and hide in bed all day? If so, please know that you are not alone. 

This is hard… what we are doing right now is hard. And it is scary. And it is OK to acknowledge that. If you need to let yourself have a good cry, or sneak a cigar out in the garage– or whatever it is that opens your emotional release valve, give yourself permission to let it out. 

And then listen to Jesus as he speaks these words to us–

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

(Matthew 11:28-29) 

You have permission to turn your burdens and your heavy loads over. You don’t have to carry the weight of them around with you, if you don’t want to. Jesus offers us rest for our weary souls. 

And so, let us pray together–

God, you promise your care and your comfort to us on the hard days. Please take this load, and help us to carry it. We cannot do this alone. We cannot walk this road without you. Be near to us now, as we draw near to you. Give us strength, courage, and wisdom, we pray. Amen. 

May God bless you even today,
Pastor Katrina

We’ve definitely shifted into early fall mode, haven’t we? The sun is warm, but it’s softer than it was even a week ago– just in time for Labor Day! Do you have special plans for the weekend? I think I may try to take a nap out on my back porch on Monday. That sounds luxurious! 

This has been an exceptionally busy week at church! The Head Start teachers are back in the building gearing up for the start of the school year, and for the first time in 6 months the tai chi classes offered through Trillium resumed meeting. In order to meet the new safety standards for such gatherings, the building has been buzzing with folks updating the ventilation system, cleaning and disinfecting, and marking the floors with tape (to mark spots 6 feet apart for standing in the fellowship hall and to show class participants the newly-designed directional flow of traffic patterns). If you see our custodian Ron this coming week, let him know that you appreciate the extra effort he’s been putting in these last couple of weeks. He’s gone above and beyond to make sure that our building is as safe as we can possibly make it during the pandemic.

This week the grant writing team also finished writing the 41-page grant application we’ve been working on for a month now, and sent it off to the Northern New York Community Foundation! We won’t hear back until December if we were chosen for some of the $100,000 being offered, but we made a strong case for ourselves. I want to offer a big shout out to Dave Wells, who put serious time into this project, and also to Dale Hobson, Terry de la Vega, and Cynthia Coleman, all of whom added their parts.

Aside from this huge accomplishment, we also had a very successful event out on the south lawn Thursday night. Nearly 100 people showed up with lawn chairs and their masks, and spread out across the yard to listen to Bryan Thompson share his detailed knowledge of the history of the KKK in St. Lawrence County. Right before we started, I walked around to say hello to folks. I saw a number of familiar faces but there were plenty of people who attended whom I did not know– including a number of college students. Everyone seemed to be paying close attention to Bryan’s great storytelling. I for one had no idea there was such a strong Klan presence this far north, or that you had to pay $10 to join (a very large sum of money in those days)!

For those who stayed home and watched the live streaming of the event, over 1,000 people have joined you so far. And for those who weren’t able to tune in but are still interested in listening, the event is archived on our church’s Facebook page. Just scroll down through this week’s posts until you find it.

This coming Thursday, Bryan Thompson and Dr. John Youngblood will return to take up the topic of the Anti-Slavery Society and the Underground Railroad and how those movements also play into our current place in history. Bryan mentioned to me that our congregation helped organize the Anti-Slavery Soceity’s meeting in 1837, and I am eager to hear more about it. If you’d like to join us, we will be gathering at 7:00pm. (This is an earlier start time, changed by the timing of the sunset.) Make sure you bring warm clothes with you, as the temperatures will also be cooling off faster. And again, if you’d rather watch from home, we will be live streaming the event.

And one last note–the nearly-dead (but still grand) maple tree in the front yard of the church will be coming down at some point in the next few weeks. If it has been meaningful to you in some way, now is your chance to give it one final salute, or hug, or bow–however it is you might choose to honor it’s presence with us these past 148 years. And if anyone has any memories related to the maple tree, I’d love for you to share them! 

Dear Hearts, I know that the world is topsy turvy right now. If you are like me, you have moments of extra worry, fear, and anxiety mixed in with all of the other things there are to be dealing with. Just getting up in the morning can feel overwhelming some days. Please be gentle with yourself right now. If you need to take a break from the media, or from your life in general, give yourself permission to do so. If you can, get outside and take a walk in the sunshine. Or give someone a call on the telephone that you haven’t heard from in a while. Tell the people who are meaningful to you that you love and appreciate them. And spend some time thinking about and affirming for yourself what your special purpose in life is right now, in this particular time.

And above all, remember that you are loved–loved by the One who created you, and redeems you, and sustains you each and every day.

Pastor Katrina