Pastoral Message

Exciting things are taking place at Alplaus!  If you are not taking part in these activities, don’t worry it’s not too late; come and join us!  Last month we joined the Alplaus Ladies’ Auxiliary in their Apple Fest; the church had a table of pumpkin decorating.  We had 19 pumpkins and 2 squash (an acorn and a butternut - they were the first chosen by kids for decoration!) and a wide variety of decorations: stickers, googly eyes, paper “hair”, and glitter paper.  A few of us offered guidance, supervision or clean-up while children and their adults decorated pumpkins.  It was fun and joyous and a nice opportunity for the church to have a presence in a community event. 

Another new and exciting thing:  we had our first “sandwich assembly station”.  We started donating to Street Soldiers in Schenectady during COVID shutdown/ pause.  Now, we as a congregation are planning to make sandwiches and donate them once a month.  Some folks sign up to get ingredients, some folks make the sandwiches, some folks bring them to drop off on Nott Terrace in Schenectady.  If you would like to take part in any aspect of this, ask Pastor Kristi or Robin Bowman.  This is in addition to the regular donations to and support of the SICM food pantry.

Still more excitement:  you may have heard that we had a new musician.  We did.  He was a wonderful addition to our Sunday morning worship, a 15-year-old 9th grader at BHBL.  He and his family suddenly moved to California and we are in the process of finding another new musician!  Also, over the summer we had a summer sermon series on favorite hymns and Christian music.  Now, we are returning to regular Lectionary readings and have enjoyed the talents of substitute musicians while pursuing our next musician. 

Our Book discussions have resumed.  We are currently reading Joshua in a Troubled World.  We have 6 folks from Alplaus attending and 6-7 folks from Scotia/Faith UMC.  It’s nice to broaden the group and share perspectives from new friends and neighbors.  It’s not too late to join us!

So, as you may have gathered, I did not exaggerate.  There’s a lot going on and you are welcome to be a part of it.  To find out more or to figure out where you might feel most comfortable, reach out to Pastor Kristi or to your friend who is in regular attendance and strike up a conversation about how you still belong here.  We’d love to welcome you!
 
Blessings!  Pastor Kristi