Newsletter

  October

Sage Richards 10-13

Liz Scarlett 10-20

David Serchak 10-21

Joan Hadlock 10-27

Maxine Hill 10-28

  Tara & Pete Atherton 10-8

Allison & Robert Barrigar 10-9

Rev. Evon Lloyd & Tom Gordnier 10-19

 In between

Whether you call it in between, transition, or interim, it feels like we are caught. After all, we are neither here nor there. The past for all that it was is behind us and the future has yet to be. Summer has just ended by the solstice today and fall is here. So we are caught still feeling the warmth of summer and yet the coolness of fall. 

That’s also how it was for God’s people the Israelites. They had left the bondage and oppression of Pharoah, with the security of the routine in Egypt and being led by Moses into an unknown future. However, they weren’t there yet to the Promised Land as God prepared them on how they were going to live with God and each other. So for forty years they wandered about where ever God led them with the cloud and providing manna for sustenance. 

Now, my hope for Hammond Presbyterian is that you are not in between or wandering for the next forty years! However, you are presently in between. You have a rich past and deep connection with the Hammond community, yet you also have a future where God is preparing you now to go. As you sit, neither here nor there, may you continue to be the community of faith (reaching out to one another and the surrounding community) God is molding you into (open to challenges and trying new ideas). As you prepare for a new pastor, may you be in continuous prayer, listening for God’s voice and being guided by God’s Spirit. As you prepare for an unknown future may you continue to support, encourage, and care for one another as well as your neighbors. As you prepare for the future, know that a new pastor is also being prepared for you. With God’s divine intervention and plan, you will both connect and as one in the interim and on the in between journey with you, I can’t wait to see God’s plan for your future as Hammond Presbyterian Church.

Grace to you and peace,

Rev. Betsy

Our Hammond Presbyterian Church Deacons will be putting on our Annual Harvest Dinner on October 24th 2019. Our delicious menu will include Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Squash, Scalloped Corn, Cole Slaw, Beverages, and (the best part of any meal) Dessert. Dinner starts at 4:30-6:30pm. Adults are $10, Kids are $5, and Children 4 years and younger are FREE!!! If you can’t stay for Dinner, we also will be offering Take-out. 

Hammond Food Pantry continues to serve the Hammond area community. There are an average of seventy income eligible families served each month.. The food we order from the Food Bank of Central New York in Syracuse, costs us approximately $1000.00 each month. We also order USDA, or free, items from there, as well. We have applied for and received some grant funding to help with the food costs. Once a month our food is delivered by tractor trailer truck to the Food Pantry building. There, a group of our volunteers carries the usually three pallets of cases of food into our building.

We are always in need of additional funding and donations of non-perishable food items. Donations may be given to me or placed in the offering plate, made out to the church and marked “Food Pantry”. Food donations may be left at church on the bench in the upper hall by the driveway.

Our Food Pantry is staffed by more than a dozen faithful volunteers, who show up each month, some to bring the food from the Food Pantry building into the Fire Hall for distribution, and others to oversee the handing out of the food as the clients sign in and move along the table. 

Hammond Food Pantry fills a vital need in the lives of many area families. We also do emergency food distributions when someone calls in need of food. Deepest gratitude goes out to all who help and support the Hammond Food Pantry. The need continues.

Hammond Food Sen$e is another program which stretches your food buying dollar. There are no income guidelines for this program. For $20.50, you may purchase a unit of food, to include some meats, produce, canned and packaged items. There are also many reasonable special items which may be purchased. These orders are delivered the same day as the Food Pantry and must be ordered and paid for ahead. 

The next Hammond Food Pantry and Food Sense will be Thursday, Oct. 24th. Food Pantry from 9:30 to 11:00 and Food Sense around noon the same day.

Anyone interested in signing up for Food Pantry or Food Sen$e programs may contact me at

324-5517. Thanks. Joan Hadloc

With winter coming on, traveling can be challenging. Reverend Marti Montovani has graciously agreed to continue to be our Spiritual Leader for 2 weekends a month. We would prefer her to not have to travel in inclement weather on Sunday mornings, so we are going to tidy up the Manse for her. She will be here on Saturday evenings, for worship on Sunday morning. Clean up day will be on October 19th, at 10am until completed. Many hands make light work so we hope to see you there.  

 Thanks to all who have contributed to the School Kits. We will be collecting through the month of October. These will be distributed throughout the world, where ever the need is greatest.

The Marion Medical Mission team of volunteers is currently in Africa, hoping to install 3,000 shallow wells in 3,000 remote villages before the rains begin, in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. Each day, while the team is at work, a devotional is posted on line, sometimes listing thoughts from the staff. The following was written by one of the American volunteers. “Glory to God”.

“This is written on the top slab of every well installed by Marion Medical Mission,. Every volunteer, builder, Field Officer or maintenance man has seen it many times. Every well proclaims Glory to God in English and the local language. Do the villagers think about this profound phrase each day that they come to the well for water? This sparkling water seems like a miracle. We hope God is glorified every day. Honor, respect..that is what we should give to God every time we install a well. He, who brings the water to the villages. Do I thank Him? Do I remember His generosity as I drink this wonderful water? I hope the words “Glory to God” are written on our hearts. For Marion Medical’s wells are truly God’s wells.”

It seems like, since we came into September, Fall started immediately. There were only a couple of days where I could send my kids to school wearing shorts, and the rest of the time they were in pants. I’m always cold. It could be the middle of summer, and once the sun goes down, I’m looking for a blanket to snuggle under. My husband will have the air conditioner cranking and there I am in a pair of sweats and a sweat shirt, shivering. But the fall cold is a different kind of cool. You’re expected to wear the jeans and a sweater. It’s okay to have another warm drink in the morning. And it’s fun to turn on the oven first thing in the morning to make blueberry muffins for the kids while they sleep, only to have them wake up to the tasty smell and the house all nice and toasty warm. Fall is definitely my favorite season. It’s almost like, it gives you a reason to snuggle more, it gives you a reason to enjoy more, and it gives you a reason to relax more. 

Our Church continues to thrive with the seasons change also. I love coming with my children to the Church for Halloween so they can go trick or treating from table to table and warming up from the chill of being outside to long. Then there is the harvest dinner that is served, which is probably one of my favorite times, because I get to sit in my office and smell all the food cooking. The whole Church fills up with the smell of love and Turkey, the whole Church fills up with love and support, the whole Church fills up with love. It feels like the warmth of the love in our church is making our congregation stronger and more united. We have all learned that it is okay to lean on each other for support and help, everything else that is out of our control, we just pray and let God handle the rest. Our future might be the changing colors of the leaves on a tree, but it is beautiful to look at. 

We want to keep everyone up to date as to our progress in our search for a new minister. Our Minister Information Form (about the church) is completed and has been approved by the Presbytery Committee on Ministry and our Session. Next, we will put our form on line and hope for many responses from candidates who are interested in us. It is quite a process, but we are well on our way. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Joan Hadlock

October 6, 2019

Since 1940, World Communion Sunday is an ecumenical celebration of oneness 

in the Spirit and the Gospel, of Jesus Christ, bringing churches together in Christian unity.

We will receive the Peace and Global Witness Offering

25% of the Offering stays with local congregations and 25% with mid-councils to unite congregations to support peacemaking in their regions.

50% of this offering supports the work of peace and reconciliation being done by Presbyterians across the globe.

Mighty Oak

Stand tall, oh mighty oak, for all the world to see.
Your strength and undying beauty forever amazes me.
Though storm clouds hover above you,
Your branches span the sky
In search of the radiant sunlight you
Count on to survive.
When the winds are high and restless and
You lose a limb or two,
It only makes you stronger.
We could learn so much from you.
Though generations have come and gone
And brought about such change,
Quietly you've watched them all,
Yet still remained the same.
I only pray God gives to me
The strength he's given you
To face each day with hope,
Whether skies are black or blue.
Life on earth is truly a gift.
Every moment we must treasure.
It's the simple things we take for granted
That become our ultimate pleasures.