Newsletter

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

So reads the first of the 107 question and answer pairs in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Yes, I did say 107 and then say that's the shorter catechism. The larger catechism has 196.

For a long while, it was de rigueur in many Reformed churches to require children learn those 107 (or 196) question and answer pairs, and be tested on them to prove their understanding of the Christian faith, in order to be approved to stand for Confirmation.

On July 27, 4 members of our youth group stood up as this year's Confirmands. It is maybe possible that they know the "correct" answer to question one, because they've heard me recite it a few times when telling tales of confirmations of yesteryear. But they definitely have no familiarity with questions 2-196. 

When discussing the decision to confirm, I told these kids that if they sat down all the adults we'd trusted to teach them Sunday School over the years and asked them pretty much any question about God, church, or spirituality, not only would they likely get multiple different answers, but some of those answers would likely outright disagree with one another.

Because faith is not about having "the right answers." It's about a journey of spiritual discovery. 

And a church is not made up of people who believe all the same things with no room for doubt; it's a group of people who've decided to go on that journey together, regardless of agreement or disagreement.

This July we welcome four young people who are committed to take the initiative in that journey, and we celebrate another two who say they're not yet ready. We are thrilled to welcome them with all of their enthusiasm, belief, doubt, and difference, and to strengthen our community with the diversity of perspective and thought. And as we celebrate them, let's also celebrate the diversity that already exists in our community, and remind ourselves that every fresh perspective is another opportunity to learn, grow, and deepen our own understandings.

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
 

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 Pantry

My son LOVES ice cream. Anytime the opportunity presents itself to go get ice cream, he takes it. When he was little, anytime we would talk about going out for the delicious treat, we would often spell it out, so he wouldn’t hop all over us. It was one of the first words he understood when we would spell certain words. The other day, we went out for ice cream and the line is uncomfortably long for my very impatient son. I stand there waiting, and he’s walking around, extremely over stimulated, flapping his arms and getting loud and I’m trying to ease his anxiety, while continuing to stand in line and wait. There was an older husband and wife standing in front of me, waiting also. She turns to me and says “Hey mom, you’re doing a great job with him. I should know, my boy is just like him, only older.” We talked about raising children with Autism until we got our ice cream and parted ways.

 I’ve stopped believing in coincidences and looking at things, knowing that something more is happening. Where did this woman come from? Why did she turn and talk to me? Its times like this where I stop and appreciate God at work. I was obviously anxious watching my son being anxious. I needed to be reminded that I’m not alone in the world. I didn’t know I needed help at that moment, until this woman turned around. This was God at work. Next time you think about a coincidence, maybe wonder if its God at work instead.