November 2024 Newsletter

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

-Hebrews 12:1

On October 14, 2018, Archbishop Oscar Romero was canonized; acknowledged formally by the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Oscar, the first martyred American Archbishop, and the first Salvadoran to be canonized. T

Sainthood in the Roman church is a complex thing. If you go looking for the Catholic definition of "saint," you will probably find something along the lines of "a saint is anyone in heaven." This includes humans and angels. If you dig deeper, you might find a list of saints and discover that fewer than 10,000 people have ever been canonized. You might then reasonably ask whether the Vatican teaches there are fewer than 10,000 people who have gone to heaven, and be a little befuddled to learn that the answer is no.

Canonical sainthood is not about maintaining a roll call of all the people ever who've gone to heaven. It is, rather, a list of people who the Holy See claims to be absolutely certain are in heaven. Because of their "heroic virtue" and some miraculous evidence after their deaths, the Vatican says the people on that list are not sitting around waiting in purgatory, but have been welcomed into the communion of saints.

This, I think, is the most common understanding of what sainthood is - it's something bestowed on people so holy that their salvation is evident to all.

In the Protestant world, things are a bit different. For one, we have no doctrine of - nor belief in - purgatory, so the question of whether someone's done enough post-death penance doesn't factor into our calculations.

More importantly, though, we believe that salvation is not something earned with the works we create in life or in death. Salvation, rather, comes only by God's grace working in us through the faithfulness of Jesus. It is not we who earn our place among the saints. It is Christ who has done so on our behalf. And Christ's "heroic virtue" is sufficient to cover us all.

On November 3, which is All Saints Sunday, we will light candles in honor of those who have died since All Saints Day 2023. And we will do so with the confidence of knowing that every name we read is already numbered among the saints of the church, and has been welcomed into God's rest. No miraculous evidence required.

All Saints Blessings,

Pastor Shea

 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
 

2024 Dates
October 24
November 21
December 19
 

Donations
Hammond Food Pantry
PO Box 193
Hammond,New York 13646
 

Hammondpresbyterian.org
Click on “Give Now”
Option to designate gift for the Hammond Food Pantry

My daughter is getting old enough where there are tougher questions being asked and some days, I don’t have an answer. This morning, I was explaining to my daughter that daylight savings ended on Sunday, and we get an extra hour of sleep. “So, what time will I be waking up in the morning?” she asks me. “You’ll still be waking up at 7am, but I get to change the clocks back Saturday evening which means we get an extra hour of sleep.” I told her. “But, if I’m still waking up at the same time, the how do I get to sleep an extra hour?” she asked again. She and I continued our discussion while we had breakfast. I don’t know if she will understand it until I show her what happens on Sunday morning, but I remember not understanding daylight savings until I was older also. 

Learning can be a challenge some days. There are days where I’m wondering what lesson God has picked for me to learn. Is it to be patient when I feel overwhelmed? Is it to forgive someone who has hurt me? Is it to love more when love is at a minimum? I may not be the best student in Gods classroom, but I can only hope to continue the discussion in prayer with God as my daughter does with me. I might not understand at all what is going on or why it is happening, but I know that in a few days, I will understand what is happening when it shows itself to me. 

"When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner. I am the Lord your God.’”

When I was about ten years old, my mom and I went to a fast food place together. After I ate my food, I told her I was still hungry, and asked if I could get more food. She agreed and, instead of going back up to the counter to order with me, she handed me money to pay for myself, along with a clear set of instructions. "You can get what you want, and use this to pay for it, but there's a rule when you come here with me: If you get any coins back in your change, you have to put them in the donation box." 

That was my introduction to gleaning. 

In the biblical passages about it, the focus is on not being too precious with your harvest: don't go back over your fields with a fine-toothed comb to get every last grain of wheat; don't fastidiously make sure even the tiny corners are harvested; instead, do an adequate job of harvesting, take what you get on the first pass, and let those in need have what remains. What was left behind - the gleanings - would be enough to feed some of the neediest people in your village for the winter, and would factor very little, if at all, in your net harvest.

It's a great system for an agrarian society to look out for its most vulnerable members. It's also something that, if taken literally, really doesn't apply to the 98% of Americans who are not farmers.

As we enter into the traditional harvest season for our region, I am inviting us all to reimagine what harvest - and gleaning - look like in our society. This month I invited the children of our congregation to bring in jars of their favorite "sandwich spreads" (peanut butter, jelly, jam, sun butter, honey, fluff, etc) as a representation of the harvest, and to place a dollar under each jar as a representation of leaving the gleanings. The spreads and the money will of course all go to our food pantry when harvest season is over.

It's a great start, but we don't have to stop there. Here are a few other ways we could practice a modern twist on gleaning.

-Pay for things in cash and keep the change in a jar or bucket. When it's full, convert that change to bills and donate it to a worthy cause.

-Say "yes" when asked if you want to round up your order for whatever cause the local business is supporting.

-Take advantage of "buy one, get one free" sales and donate the free item.

-Participate in harvest recovery efforts through the National Gleaning Project (nationalgleaningproject.org).

-Cook too much food for your family and share the excess with a neighbor in need.

-Find your nearest Little Free Library or Little Free Pantry and make a donation (or, if there isn't one nearby, maybe be the one to start it!)

This is a short list, and surely not comprehensive. I invite you to consider ways you might add to it, and share them with others. I'd love to be able to revisit this in a few months with a report of all the ways our church family practiced gleaning, and found abundance in that which was previously overlooked. Happy harvest season.

Blessings,

Pastor Shea

In our September newsletter we reached out to you to be a part of raising money to purchase Christmas gift cards for our Food Pantry families. To make this a reality we decided to make a second request in this newsletter.
We currently serve between 35 and 50 families each month: 104 children, 116 adults and 30 Seniors. The HFP obtains the largest portion of food through the Food Bank of Central New York in Syracuse. By buying food in bulk, it reduces the cost. The HFP also receives free food which is often government or surplus food. People in our community also donate food. The HFP spends between $1,000 and 2,500 monthly.  Local donations from our community cover the cost of monthly purchases to keep the shelves stocked. Thank you to our faithful donors.
Last Christmas we were not able to offer Christmas gift cards because we were not able to raise enough money to cover the project. We need at least $1,250 beyond our monthly expenses. Please join us to make this happen.
 

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
 

2024 Dates
October 24
November 21
December 19
 

Donations
Hammond Food Pantry
PO Box 193
Hammond,New York 13646
 

Hammondpresbyterian.org
Click on “Give Now”
Option to designate gift for the Hammond Food Pantry

The other morning, my daughter was telling me as we were walking to school, that the tummy bug was going around school again. Last year, in early spring, I received a phone call from school that my daughter’s stomach wasn’t feeling well and that a lot of kids in school was having the same issues and all being sent home. I was on my way to the store when I got the call, so I quickly turned around and headed back to the school. As I was waiting for my sweet little girl to come out, I heard a child in the hallway getting sick. I didn’t realize at that moment that it was my child. So, when I was buzzed in by the office secretary, I quickly came to the aid of my sick little girl. The rest of the week was a bit of a blur, because my husband got sick a day and a half later, and I got sick shortly after that. My son hid in his room, wanting nothing to do with anyone in the house. He came out to grab food (which he brought back to his room because he didn’t want to be around any of us.) and go to the bathroom. One night, my son (please remember, he is diagnosed with Autism so there are times when I have to walk him through certain processes) said to me, “Mommy, I’m hungry for some supper. Can I have pizza?” Knowing there was left over pizza in the refrigerator, I knew I had to walk him through what he needed to do, so I said, “Okay bud, get the pizza out of the fridge. Then put the pizza on a plate, then….” He interrupts me saying “Mommy, what number on the microwave do I have to press. I know all the other stuff.”

It was at that point that I knew God was giving me a break. Everyone, except my son, was so sick in the house. My husband would try to get up and make us toast, I would try to get up and make sure everyone had enough water to try to stay hydrated, and God was helping to take care of my son. Because in that moment of my son being frustrated with me not cutting to the chase, I realized God was giving me a break. It’s those little things that happen that we might overlook that we need to stop and realize that God is at work.

  We are collecting items for Church World Service School Kits. These kits will be sent to CWS for distribution anywhere where there are children who do not have the basic materials to succeed in school. Each kit consists of the following: Three spiral bound, 70-page notebooks, one handheld pencil sharpener, 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers, one large eraser, one pair of blunt scissors, one 12-inch ruler, one box of 24 crayons. If you choose to donate several of one item, these will then be combined with other donations to complete the kits. This project will be ongoing for another month, so there is lots of time to take advantage of all the back-to-school sales going on. Let’s help all those eager students who will benefit from your help. There is a donation box in the dining room and lists of items on the back table at church. Many thanks for your generosity.  

"proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching."
-2 Timothy 4:2

There's a truth universally agreed upon among those who raise livestock: your animals will always pick the worst possible time to give birth. The coldest day of the year; the middle of the night in a blizzard; or, as I experienced earlier this month, out in the pasture as tropical storm Debbie floods your already wet land. Finding a calf bedded down in a puddle and carrying her to the barn before the water level submerges her nostrils was not on my to do list at the beginning of the day, but I had to be ready for it just the same.

The author of Second Timothy tells us to be persistent in sharing Christ's message "whether the time is favorable or unfavorable. Much like with livestock, my experience has been it's unfavorable far more often than not. People rarely begin a conversation with "you're religious, right?" when everything's going well and they're content. Far more often it's in the wake of tragedy, at a time of great divisiveness, or when they've just been exposed to a negative representation of Christianity. 

While these seem like the least favorable times to be invited to talk about our faith, they are nearly as inevitable as calving in a blizzard. Are you prepared for them? How do you respond when someone asks you to explain why Christianity is right for you?

Blessings,

Pastor Shea

As I write this, it is the week before Labor Day and many of the summer activities have ended or are winding down.  As I go into the fall, I often feel as if it is time to get down to work and do all the things that I put off doing during the summer hustle. One of the areas of concern is planning to raise enough money to be able to offer Hammond Food Pantry (HFP) families a Christmas gift.
This summer 2 concerts in the Yellow Barn Concert Series were held to benefit our food pantry. At one of them, Jen Gardner, the HFP director, offered some statistics.
She reported that we currently serve between 35 and 50 families each month: 104 children, 116 adults, and 30 Seniors. The HFP obtains the largest portion of food through the Food Bank of Central New York in Syracuse. Food purchased in bulk helps reduce the cost. The HFP also receives free food which is often surplus or government food as well as food donated by people in our community.  To keep the shelves stocked, the HFP spends between $1,000 and 2,500 monthly and it is our donations that make these purchases possible.
Last Christmas we wanted to offer each family unit a $25 Christmas gift card, but we didn’t start looking for donations early enough and could not raise enough money to cover the project. The cost of 50 $25 gift certificates is $1, 250 beyond the monthly cost of keeping the shelves stocked.
Please consider donating money to help us provide a Christmas bonus for our Food Pantry families.   

Hammond Food Pantry

2024 Dates

July 25 October 24

August 29 November 21

September 26 December 19

Donations:

Hammond Food Pantry

PO Box 193

Hammond, NY 13646

Hammondpresbyterian.org

- Click on “Give Now”

- Option to designate gift for the Hammond Food Pantry

Well hello again my favorite reader, I know I have taken some time off from writing, but it’s nothing to be worried about. Life became extremely busy, and I needed to catch up with myself before I could dedicate some time to the newsletter like I have done in the past. Between my kids’ schedules becoming increasingly busy, working in the Hammond office, working in the Presbytery office, taking care of my home and my pets, I’ve had little time to care for myself. I know you all understand my position, because I know you all have had busy times where certain things get neglected and when you finally get back to it, you realize just how much you were missed. I appreciate the love and concerns people have shown me when asking “Where have you been? You stopped writing in the newsletter.” I’m still here and I’ve been celebrating several anniversaries that I want to share with you. Back in July, I celebrated my 8-year anniversary being you administrative assistant here at Hammond Presbyterian Church, a couple weeks ago we celebrated my sons 10 year anniversary with being diagnosed with Autism, and the other day I celebrated my 2 year anniversary as the Stated Clerk of Northern New Presbytery. As I said before, I’ve been busy.

I’m a big fan of saying, “God and I have an understanding. He gives me chaos, I go insane, people worry, everything works out.” These past few years God has tested me with several chaotic situations and events. I’ve screamed, cried, laughed, gasped, and jumped for joy during some of these chaotic events that have been thrown in my direction. It just shows that every day is another day to learn something about yourself and that God thinks you are capable of. There have been a few moments where I know I felt I wasn’t as strong as God thinks that I am, but then again, here I am, still pushing forward and ready for the next adventure. I hope that whatever test God is putting you through right now is full excitement and joy.  

 We are collecting items for Church World Service School Kits. These kits will be sent to CWS for distribution anywhere where there are children who do not have the basic materials to succeed in school. Each kit consists of the following: Three spiral bound, 70-page notebooks, one handheld pencil sharpener, 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers, one large eraser, one pair of blunt scissors, one 12-inch ruler, one box of 24 crayons. If you choose to donate several of one item, these will then be combined with other donations to complete the kits. This project will be ongoing for another month, so there is lots of time to take advantage of all the back-to-school sales going on. Let’s help all those eager students who will benefit from your help. There is a donation box in the dining room and lists of items on the back table at church. Many thanks for your generosity.  

"Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person[m] will reap what he sows,  because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.  So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up."

-Galatians 6:7-9

"One must imagine Sisyphus happy"

-Albert Camus

This past month I had the unfortunate honor of leading the memorial service for Ilene, the Executive Director of Renewal House, one of our mission partners. I read this passage from Galatians as a reflection on her tireless commitment to providing support and resources to those who had been impacted by domestic violence, work which I referred to at one point as "a Sisyphean task."

For those unfamiliar, Sisyphus is a character from Greek myth who was punished by the gods to an eternal fate of trying to roll a boulder up a mountain only to have it roll back down just before he crested the peak. "Sisyphean," by extension, has come to refer to any labor which seemingly has no end and is, or feels, futile.

The hard labor of caring for others in times of need or struggle is definitely something that has no end. Indeed, the more you do, the more you become aware of what still needs to be done, and sometimes you're left wondering if what you've done has mattered at all.

Which is where Albert Camus's essay The Myth of Sisyphus comes in. It's an excellent (and, at only 23 pages, comparatively brief) philosophical reflection on the absurdities of human existence. I recommend you read it if you haven't, but I'm about to spoil the ending either way. Camus ultimately concludes that it is possible for Sisyphus to find joy in his endless task if he can but let go of the false notion that there is something else he could be doing. And, since the myth tells us that Sisyphus was the wisest of all men, Camus argues he surely would have done so. Therefore, one must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Maybe that doesn't land with you. Absurdism is not everybody's cup of tea. I think, though, that many people who faithfully give themselves over to the work of doing good, no matter how futile it may seem, recognize that on some level, they really can't do otherwise.

Besides, unlike Sisyphus and his rock, the work of doing good is not meaningless. As people came forward at that memorial, one after another, to share just how much of an impact Ilene had on their lives. She may not have put an end to domestic violence in St Lawrence county, but she gave women and children new and better lives, inspired the careers choices of lawyers and advocates, built lasting connections between likeminded organizations, and much, much more. 

I'm sure there were days Ilene questioned whether there was any point to what she was doing. But the fact that she kept at it for as long as she did tells me she is one who managed to find joy in the knowledge that this was simply who she was, and she could not do otherwise. And I hope that I, and you, and everyone might one day find that the work of doing what is good comes so naturally to us that we cannot even fathom the ability to choose anything else.

Blessings,

Pastor Shea

 Spring of 2024 marked the end of our first trip through Immerse. We will not be immediately returning to reading through the Bible a second time. Instead, this school year we will make use of a video series called Living the Questions 2.0 to explore some of the "big questions" of Christianity. No advance preparation is required and, while you'll definitely get the most out of it by attending all gatherings, each session is independent enough that you can join for as many or as few as you are available for without feeling that you've missed something. A total of 16 sessions will take place between September and June, with exact dates forthcoming. Youth Group will continue to gather at 5:30 PM on Sundays. The day and time for adult sessions is TBD. 

 We are collecting items for Church World Service School Kits. These kits will be sent to CWS for distribution anywhere where there are children who do not have the basic materials to succeed in school. Each kit consists of the following: Three spiral bound, 70-page notebooks, one handheld pencil sharpener, 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers, one large eraser, one pair of blunt scissors, one 12-inch ruler, one box of 24 crayons. If you choose to donate several of one item, these will then be combined with other donations to complete the kits. This project will be ongoing for another month, so there is lots of time to take advantage of all the back-to-school sales going on. Let’s help all those eager students who will benefit from your help. There is a donation box in the dining room and lists of items on the back table at church. Many thanks for your generosity.