Ch Ch Ch Changes - oh no!  What is happening, now?!

Fall is the season when nature shows us how beautiful change can be.  While I don’t pretend to be as gifted at change as nature, I am excited about a few upcoming changes.  In Worship Committee we were discussing how “new” hymns are appreciated but challenging at the same time.  The idea was submitted and accepted and implemented that along with the Lectionary Reading list, the focal scripture for the service might be highlighted and planned hymns for the Sunday be listed as well.  Now if you are asking yourself - “How does that information help if I don’t know the hymn or have the new/old Hymnals?”  I’m glad you asked!  If you go to YouTube and search the title of a hymn that you don’t know, chances are you will find it!  Become familiar with the tune, or the lyrics.  If you prefer to know the text, try searching Google or Bing or Yahoo for lyrics so that you may peruse the texts (and order) of the hymn.  This is not required homework by any means, simply an effort to let you maintain a sense of worship while we are praising God together on Sunday morning.  And, as always, if it has 3 numbers, it is in the red book; if it has 4 numbers that starts with a 2, it is in the black book and if it has 4 numbers that starts with a 3, it is in the green book.

More newness:  Our Joshua in a Troubled World book discussion ended.  I was thrilled that folks from Scotia and First UMC came to chat with us!  At the last gathering, one of our visiting friends asked what our next book would be and we decided on Mark - from the Bible.  We will start on Tuesday 11/1 at 11am.  We are pretty good about starting on time and finishing in an hour.  You, your ideas and questions are welcome whenever you can make it.  I expect this will be a 4-week class, ending on 11/22.

Another change that is already in place and very welcome - we have a new musician!  Faiz Wareh started 10/9.  He is a very talented young man who is a senior at Niskayuna.  I hope you get a chance to hear him play soon. 
Lastly, and perhaps the reason I have such an optimistic attitude about change, I will be getting married at the end of the month.  You may have heard about my engagement to Mike in August - we have a cozy ceremony planned for Thanksgiving weekend.  I am excited about the changes in the air!
 
Blessings!  Pastor Kristi

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