August 2025 Newsletter

"I'll just tell everyone to bring chairs and we can balance plates on our knees."

We were hosting Holy Spirits at the farm this month, and Jocie was trying to get things organized as she made that statement 3 days before folks were set to come over.

I said "Under no circumstances will that happen. I've got a pine log on the sawmill that I can turn into a picnic table with time to spare. Picnic tables are easy."

Picnic tables are pretty easy to build... if you build a picnic table. Somewhere between the log and the finished product, I decided rectangular picnic tables are boring, and what we actually needed was a hexagonal outdoor table with cantilevered legs to accommodate uneven ground, large enough to seat twelve. And so, in a couple of days, I managed to produce this:

It's not perfect by any stretch. For starters, it's green wood. It will need to be warped and in need of resurfacing by the end of summer, and at some point I'll have to decide how best to preserve it. And more than a few of the top slats needed a bit of persuading to sit correctly. But for an evening at the tail end of one of the wettest Mays on record, it met the need.

I believe that the fruit of our labor is sweeter when we choose to share it with others.

I believe when people sit at a table together and share meaningful conversations, it nourishes their whole being.

I believe it was no accident that the only new practice Jesus introduced involved breaking bread at a table together, and that a table is actually a better symbol for the Christian faith than a cross.

I believe that the silly, surprising, and sometimes off the wall conversations we have at our monthly(ish) gathering are every bit as much an expression of being church and doing life together as the more structured format of our Sunday morning worship.

I believe the next time we have Holy Spirits (I don't know the date as I write this, but it will probably be in the newsletter calendar), whether it's at our table or the table of another member family, you should come, and experience the joy of faithful fellowship for yourself.

Blessings,

Pastor Shea

This morning, my daughter has school, but my son’s school had a give back day. As most of you know, my son goes to a different school because he is diagnosed with severe autism. There are certain things that I allow my son to do unsupervised, and he and I are working towards letting him be a little more independent, and me cutting some strings. So, this morning, I asked my son if he wanted to walk his sister to school all by himself. This is something I have never let him do. There are certain things that make my anxiety level high, and this is one of them. Unfortunately, this morning it was raining, and even if it wasn’t raining, by the time he got out of bed and dressed to take her, she would have been 20 minutes late for school. So, in the car we went to drop off little sister at school. Not the outcome we wanted, but there will be other chances.

When I was younger, I thought I had cut strings with God, but little did I know, it didn’t matter how sharp my scissors were, this bond could never be cut. As I got older, I felt the pull in my heart to go back to church, to be apart from something, to open up again. I felt God pull that invisible string. As I felt that pull, I talked to my husband about it, and he was telling me the same thing. There are times when I believe there is a coincidence and there are other times when I know there is a higher being involved. This was no coincidence. This was God reminding me that we will always be connected by this unbreakable string.

So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.

-Deuteronomy 11:13-15

There is no doubt that the land described in Deuteronomy occupies a very different climate than the one in which we reside. Up here in hardiness zone 5, flourishing olive trees in nature would be cause for alarm, rather than a sign of God's favor. Still, we know a thing or two about the autumn and spring rains.

One of the things that's always intrigued me is how, despite their objective similarities in temperature, volume, and all those other weather indicators, spring and autumn rains feel different. 

In the fall, the steady presence of rainy, 40° days is an indication that it's time to get our jackets and boots out of storage. In the spring, they're an excuse to brave t-shirts and sandals.

Autumn rains carry the promise that they'll eventually turn to snow and ice. Spring rains are nature's way of washing the ice and snow away (and then letting it come back a few times as a way to prank us).

Autumn rains say it's time to bring the livestock in so they don't ruin the fields. Spring rains announce we'll be grazing soon.

In the moment, they might be the same thing, but we experience them differently because of what they tell us is coming next, with many of us having a preference for the promise of one or the other. And with that, I think they offer us the gentle reminder that even when we go through shared experiences, our own outlooks on life cause us each to respond to them differently.

As we live through this spring's rains, and some of us delight in flowers while others look mournfully at their parked snowmobiles, let us be reminded to show one another grace on life's journey. For even when we walk the same path, we do not always see it through the same eyes.

Spring Blessings,

Pastor Shea

"So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea."

-Acts 11:29

On two walls in the social hall, there are a total of 200 envelopes. Well, as of right now there are 195, but we started with 200.

These envelopes are a new effort we are engaging in for the next few months to demonstrate how much we can accomplish simply by each person contributing what they are able. The person who has already taken envelope number 1 will be returning it with one dollar inside. The person who has already taken envelope number 200 will return it with two hundred dollars inside. And the same goes for the remaining envelopes from 3-199 (with some exceptions) that are still available. If all 200 envelopes are filled and returned, we will have raised $20,100 in support of the work we as a church do.

This is an idea that's already manifested in many ways in our church. Many of you heard last month that our youth group have decided to contribute $50 each month from funds they've raised to that month's mission focus. Many of you are aware of the amazing generosity from givers large and small that enabled us to overhaul our heating system this winter. And now we have this new goal before us, and I believe we are equal to the task. 

One person may look at the wall, see envelope #3 hanging there, realize they have three singles in their wallet, and fill it. Another may decide to take an entire column in the high 100s and fill them all. Yet another may have no funds to contribute but grab an envelope (or several envelopes) and convince others to help them fill to hit the goal. If each of us, according to our ability, decides to contribute to this effort, the outcome may very well be another year of financial security for our church, and the ability to expand the reach of our mission work even further. 

Let's take on this challenge together, and let's see its impact spread.

Thank you to all who donated to the Easter Memorial. The following is a list of the memorial names:

In memory of Gary and Marilyn Hunters Parents, Maurice Malory and Paul Young given by Marilyn Hunter.

In loving Memory of Linda Gardner, Ed and Joan Hadlock given by the Gardner Family.

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Decker, their son James P Decker and his son James P. Decker Jr.

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Delosh and their daughter Linda (Kramer) Delosh given by Joan Delosh.

In memory of Victor and Ruth Regan, Victor M. Regan, John Regan and Mary Regan.

In memory of Jack and Gwen Scarlett, Christopher Scarlett, John Scarlett, and Rob Scarlett given by Elizabeth Scarlett

In memory of Alice and Joseph Kaselow, Lilian, Fred and Paul Saphier given by Evelyn Saphier

I think I had the flu last week. I started off the day with a bit of a sore throat, which isn’t a difficult thing for me to work through. I went to work, came home for lunch and felt my nose start to get stuffy. I had explained to my husband that, “I think I’m getting sick.” Which is always very annoying to me. I went back to work after lunch just to finish the project I was doing and then I could feel my body start to weaken. I knew I was getting sick, and I knew it was coming on fast. I quickly ran to the store, grabbed one of each medicines I could find with my symptoms on the packaging, and went home. When I got home, I asked my husband why everything was so cold and I went to bed early, in my thick fleece pajamas, a sweatshirt on, and all the blankets I could find in the house on top of me and I was still cold. I never checked my temperature, but I’m guessing I had a nice fever going on. I stayed in bed for 3 and a half days. Thankfully, my husband was home to care for me and the kids, since the kids were on spring break. He figured that a sick mom caring for healthy kids means disaster for the kids.

There are times when you can feel something happening. Whether it be a cold, a bad feeling, or even the holy spirit that moves inside you. Unlike a cold, can you feel when the holy spirit is working in you? It’s that feeling of doing something right or helpful for people who need it. It’s that feeling of stepping out of your comfort zone and supporting someone you didn’t think you could support. And when the day is over, you look back at it and think proudly, I can’t believe I did that. That’s the holy spirit moving you in the right direction.Find out how you can get involved in our church community, from volunteering to joining a small group. We welcome everyone to come as they are and get connected.

Hammond Food Pantry
Jen Gardner, Director   315 324 5940
Diane Ayotte, Emergency Food and Treasurer  315 775 3557
Judy Hays, Food Sense  315 528 9067
 

Donations can be made to:
Hammond Food Pantry
215 St. Lawrence Ave

PO Box 193
Hammond, New York 13646
OR

Hammondpresbyterian.org
Click on “Give Now”
Option to designate gift for the Hammond Food PantryHave a question or want to learn more about Hammond Presbyterian Church Church? Contact us today and we'll be happy to help you.

"The story you are about to see has been told before. A lot. And now we are going to tell it again. But different."

-Gnomeo and Juliet

The audio of the above quote has recently become a popular sound on social media apps, accompanied by captions like "me when my community theatre has the same four shows this season as everyone else in the region" and "my son when I ask him why his room isn't clean." The versatility of the sound and the number of situations to which people believe it applies speaks to a reality of the human condition: Many of our future experiences will be remarkably similar to many of our past experiences. And what will make those future experiences noteworthy is found both in the parts that are familiar and well-worn, and in the minute nuances that set them apart.

This month, we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. It will be my 37th Easter, and some reading this article have lived through more than twice that number. The story doesn't change much from year to year. Sure, we have four versions of it, but that just means I've probably heard each version nine times by now. I have a pretty good idea of how the story ends, and I suspect you do, too. The story we are about to tell has been told before. A lot. And there is comfort to be had in the familiarity of its repeating.

At the same time, the context in which we hear the story is never quite identical. The realities of my life are different than they were a year ago, and the same is true for you. We have gained another year of experiences we did not previously had. Our circumstances have changed - some have changed drastically, some have changed subtly, but all have changed somehow. Which means we will each be hearing this story from a different perspective than we ever have before, and it has the potential to speak to us this year in a new way, if we will open ourselves to seeing those subtle differences amid the familiar notes. We are going to tell it again. But different.

Easter Blessings,

Pastor Shea

Last month we had a week of beautifully warm weather. I always get super excited that this is the beginning of the warm weather and that it will stay around. I don’t know why I always do this to myself. I know that we are not out of the cold weather yet, but I get so excited thinking that this is it. So, my son and I started walking after supper every night. Now, as most of you know, my son is diagnosed with Severe Autism, so we don’t make many changes in our house, but when we change up a routine that my son really likes, such as walking after supper, we will be walking in the cold weather. The other day, I watched it snow for about a half hour. The grass was completely covered in snow. My son said to me, “After I’m done eating, can we walk?” It had just stopped snowing, so I said sure. We get bundled up and start walking, it starts snowing, the wind picks up, and I’m again annoyed at how excited I got the other week with the warm weather.

My son is the reason for the relationship that I have with God. When he was a little boy and we weren’t sure what was going on with him developmentally, I found that I was attacking myself and wondering if I would ever find answers. I had started talking to my husband about going back to church, about finding peace with God and trying to find answers, not realizing that I didn’t need answers, I needed help and healing. God gave me my son to help me grow as a person.  And as I continue to grow spiritually, with God’s guidance, I look at my son with continued love that I am on the right path with his help, even if that path is walking when it’s still snowing outside.  

 For Easter anyone wishing to remember, and honor departed loved ones, please submit their names by April 14 to Tara or Liz Scarlett.  Anyone wishing to donate money toward the purchase of Easter flowers to decorate the church sanctuary, please submit money or checks made out to Hammond Presbyterian church with “Easter flowers” in the memo to Marilyn. 

 The Hammond Food Pantry is looking for a new Director or Co-Directors. This fulfilling volunteer position involves 10-15 hours per month, with about 1/2 of those hours being on-site delivery, set-up, and food distribution. Director(s) of the Food Pantry will be responsible for ordering food, organizing monthly food distributions, managing volunteers, and working with volunteers to ensure smooth operations and financial sustainability.  A background check will be completed through our parent organization, the Hammond Presbyterian Church. Candidates from our service area preferred (Hammond, Rossie, Brier Hill, Morristown, and Macomb). If interested or if you have questions, please contact Jen Gardner at 315-528-7303 or JenGardner1@gmail.com.    

 The March date for food distribution is Thursday April 17 from 9 to 11. This is a continuous thank you to the generous people who continue to support our food pantry. If you wish to donate, mail donations to
Hammond Food Pantry
P.O. Box 193
Hammond, NY 13646
or online Hammondpresbyterian.org
Click on Give Now
Option to designate gift for the Hammond Food Pantry 

All are invited to Thursday morning Lenten meditations in the chapel beginning on March 6 at 11:00 am and continuing on Thursday mornings until Easter.  This is a beautiful opportunity to contemplate in our hearts and deepen our understanding of the events leading up to Easter and the miracle of the Resurrection.

Thursday morning Lenten meditations will include: 

• the scripture of the upcoming week,
• mindfulness practice with awareness of the breath,
• devotional repetitive song,
• a period of silence (in approximately three 10 minute segments each).  
• We will conclude with prayer. 

Our Lenten meditations will last approximately 30 minutes. If you have any questions, please see Joanie or Evie. 

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always with joy in every prayer for you, because of your fellowship in the gospel from the very first day until now, and I am confident that the one who began a good work in you will carry it through to completion at the day of Christ.

Philippians 1:3-6

As any maple producer will be happy to tell you later on this month, trees have a lot of water running through them. And when trees are cut down and turned into lumber, they continue to have a lot of water within them. So much water that the general rule of thumb is that a board needs to dry an average of 12 months per inch of thickness before it stops shrinking and moving, which can add up very quickly and leave some pieces having to dry for the better part of a decade.

There’s a process in woodturning, used mostly for large pieces like bowls and vases, called “twice turning,” which is a remedy for these long waiting times. In essence, you put a piece of wood on the lathe, and carve your piece to the point of being about 90% done. this is the first turn, and it leaves you with a bowl whose walls are at most an inch thick. Then you put that 90% complete piece on a shelf and let it dry (and shrink and warp) for just a few months before putting it back on the lathe and finishing the project with the second turn.

If you decide to just do the whole thing in one go before drying, that final bowl will warp and become lumpy and football shaped or worse, break apart while drying. If you leave the wood untouched and wait for it to dry naturally, you’ll be waiting a very long time and risk losing the whole thing to rot. By twice turning, you address both these problems and, in a fairly short time, find yourself with a finished, stable, functional bowl.

I think the work to which God has called the church requires the same kind of active patience as twice turning. When Christians seek to refashion the world according to God’s will all at once, history tells us the resulting image of the Divine Kingdom is ugly, warped, and broken. On the other hand, when we withdraw entirely from the world around us waiting for the perfect conditions to manifest on their own, we find ourselves waiting indefinitely.

When we follow the example of Christ, though, we find that we must first work to create the conditions in which it is possible for that kingdom to be built, and only then can we give ourselves to its building, just as is being done in each of us. Jesus “began a good work in you,” and is now waiting to “bring it to completion at the day of Christ.” This season, let us begin new good works, that they too might one day be brought to completion at their proper time.

Blessings,

Pastor Shea

Every morning, I have the same routine. Wake up and start breakfast for the kids, get their lunch packed up, and make sure that they haven’t forgotten anything before they head off to school. During the winter months, I am constantly keeping track of the weather. If I know there is going to be a storm, I tell the kids the night before to turn off their alarm clocks just in case there is a delay. If there isn’t a delay, then I will wake them up, but if there is a delay, I can easily fall back to sleep, and the house will stay quiet. This morning, just like any other morning, I get up and start getting breakfast done. I have everything ready; my son is eating his breakfast when I hear it. The plow is going by my house. My heart sinks. OH NO, I forgot to check the weather and if we have a delay, I’m going to scream into a pillow at myself for not checking my phone. My little fingers couldn’t type fast enough, the sweat was pouring from my forehead, and I was so annoyed with myself. Thankfully, there were no delays this morning and I was able to continue my day. Have I learned my lesson? Probably not, but I was definitely reminded that even though we have had some snow melting days, that winter is not over.

Today was one of those days where I feel like, God is a big jokester. Almost like He had a “gotcha” moment on me. No harm at all in the joke, but it does make me stop and realize, I’m not always in control of my day. And its those little things that happen in a day where you might stop and go, “well that’s not what I was expecting to have happen...” that I realize, God is behind what is going on every day. Even on quiet days, when nothing is out of the ordinary, its those quiet days where God is letting you rest. And on those crazy days, when God is joking around by sending the snowplow by the house and not knowing if there is school, God is always there, for a giggle, for support, for love and understanding.

 The Hammond Food Pantry is looking for a new Director or Co-Directors. This fulfilling volunteer position involves 10-15 hours per month, with about 1/2 of those hours being on-site delivery, set-up, and food distribution. Director(s) of the Food Pantry will be responsible for ordering food, organizing monthly food distributions, managing volunteers, and working with volunteers to ensure smooth operations and financial sustainability.  A background check will be completed through our parent organization, the Hammond Presbyterian Church. Candidates from our service area preferred (Hammond, Rossie, Brier Hill, Morristown, and Macomb). If interested or if you have questions, please contact Jen Gardner at 315-528-7303 or JenGardner1@gmail.com.    

 The March date for food distribution is Thursday March 27 from 9 to 11. This is a continuous thank you to the generous people who continue to support our food pantry. If you wish to donate, mail donations to
Hammond Food Pantry
P.O. Box 193
Hammond, NY 13646
or online Hammondpresbyterian.org
Click on Give Now
Option to designate gift for the Hammond Food Pantry 

All are invited to Thursday morning Lenten meditations in the chapel beginning on March 6 at 11:00 am and continuing on Thursday mornings until Easter.  This is a beautiful opportunity to contemplate in our hearts and deepen our understanding of the events leading up to Easter and the miracle of the Resurrection.

Thursday morning Lenten meditations will include: 

• the scripture of the upcoming week,
• mindfulness practice with awareness of the breath,
• devotional repetitive song,
• a period of silence (in approximately three 10 minute segments each).  
• We will conclude with prayer. 

Our Lenten meditations will last approximately 30 minutes. If you have any questions, please see Joanie or Evie.