First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam, New York

A community gathering in Christ and ministering as God leads

42 Elm Street, Potsdam, NY 13676 • phone (315) 265-9434 • email p1presch@twcny.rr.com

Who We Are

Outreach and Congregation Building News

Announcements

Ideas Needed. Anyone with ideas on how to reach out to newcomers in the community, college students, people without a church home, etc., please feel free to come and/or talk to Pam Whittet, Chair, or another member of the Outreach committee (Louise Straub, Eleanor Hopke, Ruth Kreuzer, Josie Severtson).

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

Webpage Redesign. Bookmark the home page of our redesigned web page www.potsdampresbyterian.org.
It is still a work in progress, but thanks go out to Ruth Kreuzer and Dale Hobson for hours and hours of work on it! Ideas and suggestions are still welcome for content and additional ways to use the web page. This year there will be training for committee chairs and others authorized to enter information onto the web page.

Volunteer to Host a Dinner for College Students!

The popular dinners for college students in our homes happen about every two weeks. Pam and Jim Whittet hosted the first one of the season on August 28. There’s a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the Center; if you would be willing to be a host during this 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, or you can contact any of last year’s hosts (their names are in the article below).

If you have other ideas or suggestions about our outreach to college students, feel free to contact Eleanor, Amy or Martin, or Outreach Chair Pam Whittet. Thanks!

Outreach to Area College Students

As you probably noticed if you are a frequent worshiper in the congregation during the school year, we have quite a few active college students in our midst from both Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam. They and Pastor Rich and Laurena are our Youth Group leaders. They sing in our choir, play in our bell choir and Potsdam Philhymnonic Orchestra. They have been readers, greeters and have participated in our occasional Bible studies. You have invited them into your homes for home-cooked meals regularly. This congregation has been encouraging and supportive of college students during their time here in Potsdam, both personally and by giving opportunities for them to be part of our church community as much, or as little, as they want to be at where they are in their faith journeys. We shouldn't “rest on our laurels,” because there are always ways to increase and improve our outreach, but while we look for more nudging by the Holy Spirit, we can celebrate what is happening now.

Thank you to EVERYONE for noticing college students who are with us, reaching out to welcome them and getting to know them. Thank you, too, to those of you who have opened your homes for Sunday evening dinners. Those students who attended will tell the rest of you very enthusiastically how much this hospitality has meant to them.

2004-2005 dinner hosts were:
Helen Brouwer; Kathy, Jim and Kevin Allott; Linda, Victor, David and Daniel Caamano; Mary Ellen and Art Frackenpohl; Betty and Bob Fraser; Eleanor Hopke; Ruth, Jerry and Jon Kreuzer; JoAnne and Dick Partch; Gail and Roy Schaberg; Laura and Ray Toland; Amy, Martin and Margaret Walker; Pam and Jim Whittet; and Connie and Joe Zelinski. THANKS!! (More...)

Web Site Briefing - Outreach to our members, outreach to our community

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. Use our website: bookmark this page or the home page! Help keep it current and relevant: e-mail corrections, changes, information, pictures to rkreuzer@stlawu.edu.