Good Afternoon Church!
It’s 66 degrees outside right now and we still haven’t had a hard frost. Will this be our “new normal” moving forward? Thankfully, it looks like next week we will turn towards more seasonal weather.
Here’s the news for the week:
Clarkson’s Green Living Fair this Weekend
Today and tomorrow, Clarkson will be hosting major events around sustainable living and climate change. Dr. Curt Stager will be the keynote speaker on Saturday at 3:30pm.
Kitchen Committee to Meet Nov. 4th
Saturday, the 4th, the kitchen committee will be meeting at 10am to begin cleaning the kitchen. It’s been a while since it’s had a good scrub down! If you’d like to join the fun, feel free to just show up.
All Church Potluck, Sunday Nov. 5th
It’s almost time for our next potluck! Not this Sunday, but the following one, bring a dish to share and we will enjoy a meal together after worship.
The A. George Davis Community Service Award
As a culture, we don’t tell people often enough how much we appreciate them– especially when they do things for the good of the entire community. With George Davis’ passing, Session has decided to begin a new annual tradition of giving out a community service award in his honor. On Nov. 19th, we will be honoring our first recipient, Karen Easter, who for nearly 50 years has kept Reach Out running– a crisis hotline in St. Lawrence County that helps people in both psychological and physical distress to find the services they need. I hope you will join us in worship on the 19th as we remember George and celebrate Karen!
Holiday Wreath Sale, to Support the Hospital
Roberta Stillin-Dowman will be taking orders this Sunday for those who wish to purchase a Christmas wreath. Orders must be received by Nov. 3rd.
Staying on Budget with the Sanctuary Project
It has been brought to Session’s attention that in the past, when our church has taken on major renovation or building projects, we have blown the budget. This sort of thing can happen because of mismanagement, but it can also happen because surprises pop out of nowhere that cost extra money.
Given this reality, I want to let you know that Session and I are being very careful about staying within the budgeted amount of money that we received from insurance to repair the sanctuary. Unless something unexpected happens when LaFaver’s Painting starts working on the plaster repair, we should be able to stay within our means.
On Love
Friends, this last week I picked up a book by bell hooks called All About Love, and I wanted to share some things from that book with you. hooks explains that we as a society talk about “love” frequently, but most of us don’t really know what love means. We identify it as the feeling of affection or attraction, but that’s not really what love is.
That feeling we have– of being deeply drawn to someone or something– is called cathexis. But cathecting is not the same thing as loving.
Love, you see, is an action and not an emotion. Although it often involves affection, it spreads itself deeper and wider. M. Scott Peck says that “love is as love does,” and it involves a number of different moving parts.
Love– understood as a verb– involves trust, care, respect, truthfulness, commitment, open and honest communication, recognition, and affection. Love certainly includes care and affection, but that’s just the start! Love involves extending one’s self in order to nurture either one’s own, or, another’s growth.
James Baldwin says it this way: “Whether we call it friendship, or family, or romance, love is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light.”
This week, I challenge you to think about the love in your life. Does it involve deep trust? Respect? Truthfulness? Open and honest communication? Do you cathect others, or do you love them?
Jesus calls us to love, not to cathexis. Jesus calls us to action and to relationship. Friends, let us learn to live into LOVE!
Faithfully,
Pastor Katrina