We are being Tested! Today is one of those days when it’s hard to be a pastor. It’s especially hard to be an urban pastor, and triply hard to be an urban pastor who mothers children of color. And yet, if we are to believe what our faith teaches us, then we are all urban pastors who parent children of color because…
The Church has Left the Building. Like Jesus, we go where the People are. We don't expect them to come to us. We are here to share the really Great News that we are created and re-created by a Loving God of Grace and Mercy.
The Church has Left the Building. Like Jesus, we go where the People are. We don't expect them to come to us. We are here to share the really Great News that we are created and re-created by a Loving God of Grace and Mercy.
Posts by Deborah Swift
On All-Saints Sunday, November 6th, our Act of Faith – Ring for Joy! – led the Fellowship of Faith worship with their rendition of Amt Grant’s “Thy Word.” This marked the return of the bell choir for the first time since their summer hiatus, and it marks the one year anniversary of this Act of Faith led by our Deacon co-Chair, the…
After welcoming Sister Chris Wagner, the former Executive Director, to our FoF service in November, we are proud to encourage you to support the work of this Center which is open to all. They will turn no one away. CLICK HERE to learn more about them, who they serve, and how they organize their more than 500 volunteer providers every month. If…
Thanksgiving Sunday: November 20, 2022 Advent 1 (Hope): November 27, 2022 Advent 2 (Love) – Advent Communion Service – December 4, 2022 Advent 3 (Joy) – Advent Healing Service – December 11, 2022 Advent 4 (Peace) – Christmas Sunday – December 18, 2022 Christmas Eve Service – 4PM at St. John’s Meadows There will be NO service on Christmas Day or New…
10-10-22A good question arose in our Cuppa the Bible (AoF) discussion this morning and it really has me thinking: Can you have justice without equity? Of course the first thing to do is to look at what “equity” means if we’re not talking about finance and investments. In essence, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, “The term “equity” refers…
9/30/22 I’ve been thinking a lot about changes, lately. Well, really about changes and peoples’ self-definitions and how they change. At this time in upstate New York, the physical/seasonal changes are pretty obvious, really. The leaves changing colors are the most obvious, but there are also changes in light — not just the angle of the lighting, but the quality of it as…
Maybe it’s because I was a teacher earlier in my life; maybe it’s because I feel like a perpetual student; maybe it’s just that I like to buy new pens and notebooks, but this season is always exciting to me. After weeks of necessary and important breaks from our routine, we’re gearing up to reinstate them, though a few will be modified.…
The summer of 2022 is so very different from the last few years, isn’t it? At least from the “church” standpoint, it is beginning to feel a little more like an “old welcome” or a “homecoming” to some kind of relaxed calmness when we can all breathe a little deeper (even without a mask sometimes). Sometimes churches change the times in which…
MISSION | VISION | CALLING To provide a meaningful weekly, Presbyterian worship experience to individuals and groups who do not have access to the internet. WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW 04/04/23Because of the pandemic, we learned of a group of our people who were unable to connect with us online. Several do not have internet access and therefore could not watch our weekly services…
MISSION | VISION | CALLING Getting aligned with God through the Holy Word, online, we seek to be guided by Jesus’ example of Justice-Love. We do that while building community with each other and sharing our own life experiences. WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW 04/08/23For a year-and-a-half we have hosted an online Bible Study on Friday at noon called Water from the Well. After…