First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam, New York

A community gathering in Christ and ministering as God leads

Education

Christian Education Committee (more...)

The Christian Education committee is seeking new members. We need people of all ages who will help us generate new and different programs for all ages in our church. If you are interested please see Sharon Pickard.

Children

• Sunday School
  We have four class levels of Sunday school. Our teachers would like to remind the people of the congregation that the children are still actively collecting the Campbell Soup labels to help the children of the Kemmerer Village.

  N.B. New Start Time for Sunday School. Beginning with the first class in September, Sunday School will be held from 9:00-9:45am. (There will also be an adult class then. Nursery will still be held during the Worship Service.)

• Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School (VBS) was held August 15th-19th. (more...)

Youth

• Confirmation Classes
  Talk to Pastor Rich if you are interested in confirmation classes for yourself or for your children.

• Potsdam First Youth Group
  The Youth Group began the year with special plans and new young adult leaders/helpers. Our focus this year was on planning, preparing, and participating in a major mission trip (more...).
  

College

• College Student Dinners
This academic year the college student group will continue to enjoy having dinners with various members of the church. Sometimes the get-togethers will include a special activity, sometimes it will be just a great dinner and great evening of fellowship. (more...)


• Honoring Graduates
  Local college graduates were honored on Sunday, May 1st. (more...) We recognized those attending colleges away from Potsdam, as well as our own high school and college graduates, on Sunday, June 26th. (more...)

Adult

• Wednesday Men's Bible Study Opportunity
  Early riser? A local Men's Bible Study, led by Rev. Chris Brown, meet weekly on Wednesday mornings, 6:50-7:50 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church. To find out when the next Bible Study will be, contact one of our church members who attended: Ray Toland, Victor Caamaño, Jim Bruno, Norm Marshall, or Ken Visser. (Article submitted by Ray Toland)
• Bible Study
  Adult Bible Study classes started Sunday September 11, at 9:00am in the Head Start room. The first topic is "Women of the Bible." Find out what books we are reading and discussing go to the Bible Study page. Contact Pastor Rich for more information. Reminder: there are online study resources/publications for individuals and groups and other information pertinent to our denomination at the Presbyterian Church (USA) website: http://pcusa.org/.

• Renovare: Women's Spiritual Formation Group
  If you would interested in finding out more about what Renovare is, visit their website at http://www.renovare.org/; if you are interested in joining our local Renovare group, please call Dianne Morrison at 265-4890 or Terry de la Vega at 265-5732.
• Welcome To SOAR
  SOAR (Stimulating Opportunities After Retirement) is an institute of learning in retirement. SOAR invites retirees to join in exercising our minds and keeping vital. The next ten-week semester begins in mid September. For more information, visit the SOAR website, email soar@potsdam.edu, call the SOAR office at 315-267-2690, or talk to Neil Johnson.

An Article to Contemplate

From PC(USA): Economic Disparities Threaten Survival of the Church

LOUISVILLE-Global economic disparities are "not just some problem somewhere but are destroying our churches," said new World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) president Clifton Kirkpatrick upon his return from the Alliance's 24th General Council in Accra, Ghana.

"That the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and that the global economic system is the fundamental cause, is the context in which the church is trying to minister all over the world," Kirkpatrick said in an Aug. 20 interview with the Presbyterian News Service and The Presbyterian Outlook.

"What was clear in listening to our Presbyterian brothers and sisters around the world is that if present trends continue, there's not much future for the world."

WARC is the Geneva-based family of Presbyterian, Reformed and congregational churches representing more than 75 million Christians in more than 200 denominations.

Kirkpatrick said his election as president of the Alliance - which was sharply critical of U.S. government economic and trade policies - represents "appreciation for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for our standing with and for the poor over many years. There was also appreciation for our commitment to world mission and justice."

Kirkpatrick said the mood of the Council was not anti-U.S., but "anger and resentment directed against the 'North' for impoverishing the 'South.' There was no anti-American 'groundswell,' but a firm conviction that policies must change."

The WARC General Council's "message" condemned communism, but also, Kirkpatrick said, "cautioned against a capitalism that is not moderated by concern for the economic, social and political welfare of all people."

Kirkpatrick spoke movingly about visiting the "slave castles" in Accra, which was a hub of the North American slave trade. "To visit the slave dungeons, where slaves were held while awaiting shipment across the Atlantic, and to see that the Reformed church sat atop them was heartbreaking," he said. "To know that the church didn't stand up for those oppressed then created a sense of urgency for us now."
Although it faces many challenges, Kirkpatrick said WARC "is probably the healthiest organization in the ecumenical movement." A vast majority of the Presbyterian and Reformed churches in the world are WARC members, a particularly healthy sign given that "splintering is characteristic of Reformed churches throughout history."

One issue threatening the PC(USA) but not WARC unity is homosexuality. It was discussed in Accra, but Kirkpatrick said only one action was taken - to affirm the human rights of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.

"Of course we acknowledged that churches are in very different places. But we took no action on ordination or ministry," Kirkpatrick said. "And we made two commitments: that we would be open to hear each other, and that this is not our most important priority and will not be a church-dividing issue."
Like all ecumenical organizations, WARC struggles financially. It has historically been dependent upon European churches for the bulk of its funding, and changing tax laws for churches in Germany "have major implications for WARC," Kirkpatrick said. "I'm particularly struck," he added, "by the growth of African churches' contributions."

Kirkpatrick said he experienced in Accra "a growing recognition that if we're going to accomplish anything, we need to renew our churches." He pointed to the growing number of partnerships between PC(USA) presbyteries and congregations and overseas partners, which he said have "proven effectiveness as sources of spiritual renewal." He said he would like to build such partnership programs into WARC.
The value of such cross-cultural sharing became clear to Kirkpatrick through the daily Bible study groups that were part of the Council. "My group was filled with people from the poorest places on earth - Bangladesh, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines - and we studied the Book of Ruth. We looked at the story as 'getting along' in another system, but for them this was their system. The Bible really comes alive as we learn about these other situations. Their perspective is so biblical, and so uncomfortable for us, and so moving for all of us.

"If everyone could be in Bible study with folk from these places, we'd see a global transformation."
Presbyterians can't do everything, Kirkpatrick conceded, "but we can find ways to live more simply, to exercise better stewardship, to resist consumerism and to work together to change the world. Me? I've been thinking about trading in my 10-year-old Honda. Now I'm going to drive that thing until it flat dies."

Many Presbyterians and their churches participate in hunger walks and Habitat for Humanity house-building, purchase "equal exchange" and other fair-trade products, and work for justice in many ways, Kirkpatrick said. "Keep doing it."

For more such articles visit the online study resources/publications of Presbyterian Church (USA): http://pcusa.org/navigation/resources.htm.