Service In Person & Virtual
Dec 21
Join Lynn and Daniel for The Longest Night, A Blue Christmas Service on Dec. 21 at 7pm. Look for more information forth coming in the weekly mass emails. A reminder, in person registration is required a few days in advance on the church website.
Remembering Loved Ones
Christmas Memorial Flowers
This year Support and Care is coordinating the Memorial Flowers ministry. Your loved ones will be remembered in church bulletin. Contributions towards memorial flowers will be used to purchase poinsettias to be sent to those who are homebound, grieving or ill.
The cost is $10. Checks can be written to First Reformed Church and mailed to 8 North Church St. Call or email the church office with the names of those you would like remembered by Dec 18. (1streformedpub@gmail.com 518-377-2201)
First Things
A Newsletter of the First Reformed Church, Schenectady, New York December 2020
Christmas Eve 2020 Service Schedule
Thursday, December 24
This year, we are reimagining our Christmas Eve traditions, in order to be able to worship together and to remain healthy and safe.
5pm Intergenerational Service - VIRTUAL
Our families will share with others in leading FRC’s traditional intergenerational service “on location” – from their homes or other location of their choice. Expect to see faces you may not have seen for a while reading, leading liturgy, and providing music for this special online celebration of Christ’s birth.
8:45pm FESTIVAL SERVICE – IN PERSON & VIRTUAL
(Registration & Screening 12/21 – noon 12/24 at 1streformed.com.) Beginning at 8:45pm, Lydia Zotto, harpist and small choral groups will provide a musical gathering space in the sanctuary before our Carols and Candles Service begins.
At 9:00pm, we will share in lessons and liturgy led by the pastors, and anthems sung by soloists or small choral groups in the sanctuary. This will be an abbreviated service from what has been traditional. Our worship will conclude in an outdoor gathering, where from safe distances we can sing a few carols and share the Light of Christ with candles together in our luminaria-lit yard. If you are not comfortable to come inside, you are welcome to join us for the outside portion. To ensure safety for all both inside and outside and plan to attend in person please register online between12/21- noon 12/24. Attendance numbers will depend on COVID metrics at the time.
11pm CHRISTMAS EVE JAZZ VESPERS - VIRTUAL Jazz Vespers is going virtual on Christmas Eve. Tune in online at
1streformed.com at 11pm for music by Max Caplan, Mike Lawrence & Nathan Schied and reflections & readings with Lynn Carman Bodden.
Christmas Offering Schenectady County Reentry Program at the Center for Community Justice
Coffee Hour
By Zoom
Sundays, 11am
Join us every Sunday for an informal virtual Fellowship after worship on Zoom.
First Forum
First Forum is our congregation’s presentation and discussion format for engaging the world we touch. We meet at 11:30am by Zoom after worship so that people have time to get home. If you would like to help develop programs, please contact Florence Reed freed1096@gmail.com. First Forum December Schedule: Dec 6: All about MISCI-Gina C. Gould, Ph.D. President.
Dec 13: M&B designated agency for Christmas Offering-Center for Community Justice -Schenectady. Cheryl Vallee, Executive Director. Dec 20: A Journey to Bethlehem- A showcase of an Italian Nativity Collection - Kathy and Rudi Petersen Dec 27: First Forum Vacation- Fellowship Zoom time extended.
Jazz Vespers
Every Sunday at 5pm
Jazz Vespers continues every Sunday at 5pm with talented musicians. Attend either in person or virtual.
3pm Music
Online
Tune in to our website at 3pm to see and hear from our corps of great musicians. Thanks to them for this volunteer effort.
Special Music Guests
The choir singers will be singing special Christmas music Sunday, Dec 20 and Dec 24 Christmas Eve in small ensembles with Harpist Lydia Zotto.
Stockade
Strummers
Stockade Strummers and Friends meet every Wednesday from 7-8pm. The Zoom link is posted on the church website. If you'd like the playlist before the meeting, email Jamie at
jamieipsen88@gmail.com.There are songs for all levels! You are also welcome to just sing or just listen too!
Worship & Music
Worship Services
Every Sunday 10am Worship 5pm Jazz Vespers
Dec. 9, 8pm Evening Prayer (zoom) Dec. 21, 7pm The Longest Night Dec. 24
5pm Service (Virtual Only) 8:45pm Musical Sanctuary with Harpist
9pm Festival Service
11pm Christmas Jazz Vespers (Virtual Only)
For your safety and ours, all in-person attendees are urged to fill out an online Registration & Screening form a few days in advance for any service you plan to attend. For Sunday services forms can to be submitted by Friday at noon. For those who have not filled out the forms online or do not have access to the internet, a hard copy will be available. If you need assistance contact the church office.
Monthly Evening Prayer
We gather virtually at 8pm on the second Wednesday of each month (Dec. 9) for a time of sharing followed by prayers for all those on our hearts in need of God's grace. The link to this Zoomed gathering is found FRC's webpage.
Advent Festival
Pathways for All
Dec 5
We have many exciting and festive opportunities to celebrate the birth of Jesus this season! Our annual Advent Festival will be held on Saturday, December 5 starting at 10am. This will also incorporate our Pathways program and will be considered Pathways for all! We have crafts planned for all ages. You can expect to dip candles and assemble our traditional Advent wreaths that Daniel organizes for us.
RSVP is required for safety and planning purposes. Wreaths will be assembled outside in the
courtyard. Please email
1streformededucation@gmail.com to reserve your spot. Arrival times will be e-mailed to all who RSVP.
If you are interested in materials to pick up and use at home. Kits can be assembled for you!
Fall Events
Youth Group
Dec 5: Advent Festival 10-2pm FRC (assigned times)
Dec 20: Christmas Party 6-8pm FRC
“Do Not Be Afraid” A Virtual
Christmas pageant
Illustrated Ministry and FRC presents a virtual Christmas Pageant! This is a fun and creative way for all FRC children and families to participate in the story of Jesus' birth this holiday season! There is something for everyone! All parts of the script will be recorded at home and compiled for presentation on our church website.
There are also opportunities for musicians and singers to participate. Please email
1streformededucation@gmail.com if you would like to be a part of this project!
Visit from St. Nicholas
Dec 6
On the afternoon of Sunday, December 6, St. Nicholas will be traveling around the area to visit FRC friends by waving through the window and leaving a surprise! We are asking all our young friends who wish to participate to leave their shoes on the porch! RSVP to 1streformededucation@gmail.com to receive a visit.
Children & Family
Christmas Offering:
Schenectady County Reentry
Program at the Center for
Community Justice
Since 2009, over 1500 individuals returning from state prison have been helped by the Schenectady County Reentry Task Force at the Center for Community Justice. CCJ’s Reentry Manager coordinates the efforts of stake holders, service providers, and
community resources to help those released from state prison become productive members of the community. By providing specialized assistance, the Task Force makes an investment in each individual, thereby enhancing public safety. Numerous research studies indicate that reintegration back into the community is more successful and rates of recidivism are lower when needs are met within 90 days following release from prison. Studies also show that without intervention, two-thirds of those released will return to prison within 3 years.
COVID-19, with the devastating impact it has had on our communities, has also created unprecedented barriers to the already difficult and challenging process of former inmates navigating their return to their community. Throughout the pandemic, the Center for Community Justice has remained open and staffed. Their services to the reentering population are essential.
Incarcerated individuals are being released into communities to find that human service organizations were (and in many cases still are) closed to the public. Much, if not all staff, are working from home. Signs on the doors of organizations ask people to call a phone number for assistance. Newly released individuals are shocked when they are unable to reach human service organizations for help because they do not have a phone or the means to purchase a phone. CCJ receives funding from the Division of Criminal Justice Services, but it does not include funding for basic necessities. Your generosity will help CCJ fund immediate needs of individuals to include:
• Clothing for job search and interviews along with personal care items. • Bus passes which are critical to get to
appointments and to work. CCJ would like to provide month long bus passes until the individual can sustain their own transportation needs when they have earned one month of paychecks. • A phone and minutes to help with job
search and phone interviews, communication with their parole officer, and mandated services. • Identification documents such as state
ID, driver’s license, social security card, and birth certificates. These documents are required to obtain housing, employment, and public assistance.
Please give generously to support this important mission. Donations can be mailed to the church or made by a link on the church website.
Coat Collection for the City
Mission
As the colder weather approaches, the City Mission is in need of coats! During these difficult times, they want to make sure everyone stays warm! They are looking for all sizes of new or gently used coats for men, women and children. Since the Mission still can't have everyone volunteering yet, they have heard from a lot of us asking for ways to help... so they thought they would ask! You can drop coats off at the Mission's Administration Office (425 Hamilton Street Schenectady NY 12305), Monday - Friday 8am-4pm or at their Distribution Center (11
Cheltingham Ave Rotterdam NY 12306), Monday through Friday 9am-3pm. The temperatures will begin to drop soon, so the quicker they can have the coats, the better! The folks at the Mission thank us for being there and ask that we continue to keep them in our prayers. Together we’ll make sure no one is cold this winter.
FRC Sole Searchers
15 FRC Sole Searchers hiked the Five-Mile trail at the SSSP on October 24, and had a blast. Leaves were
EVERYWHERE and the air smelled like fall.
Faith Book Shop
Anyone desiring to purchase an item or look around to see what's available in the church Book Shop should contact Birdie Blackmer
robertablackmer109@gmail.com or Sarah Howes sarah_howes@msn.com.
Stories Around the Steeple
Dec 18
A Zoom presentation 7-8:30pm on Dec. 18, Stories of Joy. Feature Kate Dudding with an Open Mic Zoom opportunity to share fellowship and stories, favorite poems, songs and reflections. Sponsored by the Fellowship Committee. Our theme is a suggestion, sharing can be on any topic. For information, or to sign up to tell, read, or sing, contact Host Joe Doolittle, aldenjoe@nycap.rr.com. Link access will be on the FRC website;
www.1streformed.com
Our Antiracist
Journey
Continues!
Join others virtually for a series of conversations about (and what we can be do about) America's original sin: the difference in value between White lives and those of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We will use Dr. Eddie Glaude's insightful and provocative book, Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own and watch a video of Glaude addressing this topic. Meeting will be held every other Monday at 7pm, starting November 23, via Zoom. Contact Daniel Carlson to register, get a link, or if you have questions.
(pastordanielcarlson@gmail.com; 518-346-6416).
Advent
Kerygma
Conversations
As this weary world weighs on our hearts and minds as never before here's an opportunity to gather virtually with others for
discussion, reflection, and prayer each Wednesday 9-10:15am, beginning December 2--and possibly an evening/weekend time and day to be determined (see below). Amidst a deadly virus, political and economic uncertainty, enduring racism, and ecological distress, we're experiencing anxiety, loneliness, bewilderment, anger, pain, shattered dreams, fragile faith, broken relationship, and unexpected losses. Our situation and feelings are particularly complex and difficult in view of the joyful anticipation and celebration of what many of us--though certainly not all--have come to associate with Advent and Christmas. Copies of the book that will frame our conversations, A Weary World, have been ordered and will be available for pick-up (or delivery!) to those who register by contacting Daniel Carlson (pastordanielcarlson@gmail.com; 518-346-6416). **Also, contact Daniel if you are interested in meeting at an
alternative weekend/evening day and time.
Community Lunch
A ministry of hospitality happens every Wednesday. Our community neighbors, members, and friends stop by to check in with one another and grab a delicious takeout lunch. Lunch is served to go from Covenant Hall from 12:00 to 1:00. Say a masked, socially distant hello while you wait for your lunch to be packaged for you. Stop on by! Bring a friend! Invite a stranger! Volunteer to help with lunch! Contact Lisa at (518)901-6428 or
1stReformedMVC@gmail.com or with any questions or to be added to the Wednesday Lunch email list.
Are you in your twenties?
Did you know that FRC Schenectady supports a group of church and community people in their twenties that meet once monthly to do good deeds? Well, we do, and it’s kind of a special thing. Home from college for a while? Please, join the Dinner & Do Gooders in making connections and serving our community. If you happen not to be in your twenties, you can help support the Dinner & Do Gooders by reaching out to anyone that is, or knows someone in this age group, about Dinner & Do Good. Tell them to search “Dinner & Do Good” on Facebook or contact Lisa (through the church office or 518-901-6428).
Live From Schenectady...It’s
Sunday Afternoon
Human burritos, juggling ministers, Russian language tutorials,
synchronized swimming in a living room, poems, songs, and dogs doing tricks! That’s just a sample of the talent and hijinks we witnessed at the Zoom talent show last May. It was the perfect escape from the lockdown blues. So, we’re doing it again! Lisa Ettkin and the Membership & Fellowship Committee are hosting a Zoom talent show on Sunday, January 17 in the afternoon. Show off your special skills and talents! Or perhaps, make up a special skill or talent and try it out on a gracious audience! Contact the church office for more info.
Writer’s
Critique
Group
The FRC Writers Critique Group meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 7pm. It includes fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, essays, and
travel pieces told in 1,000 words or less. The group’s mission is to help one another improve as writers.
The latest Beverwyck Anthology Book will be available some time in
December.
Increased Interest & Options
In response to a growing desire of participants to learn this 20 minute Centering Prayer meditative practice we now offer two sessions each month: the first Tuesday of the month (Dec. 8) at 7pm is virtual only; the third Tuesday (Dec. 15) at 7pm is virtual OR in-person in Poling Chapel. Registration is currently required for all sessions; contact Daniel Carlson to
(pastordanielcarlson@gmail.com or 518-346-6416) to register or if you have questions regarding this opportunity to be still in God.
Johnson’s Library
There will be an Advent and Christmas book display in the Library during December. Books can be borrowed by contacting the office for access to the library and following the protocols on the door of the library. Remember one person at a time!
Check the Johnson’s Library area on the Church Website to access the files containing bibliographies of newer books and books on racism. They can be requested by contacting
rroinos@gmail.com or using the library protocols as described above.
Care & Prayer Every Sunday
A Stephen Minister is available each Sunday following worship to listen to whomever might wish to talk by phone and ready to prayer with you as well. Check the weekend email for the name and number of the Stephen Minister on call. Tele-care...its the next best thing to being there!
Mutual Care
Group
As natural light diminishes and societal crises increase a virtual opportunity to give and receive support and
encouragement during this time when physical proximity to others in our family of faith carries a risk may be most welcome. An on-line small group will be forming if there is sufficient interest. Contact Daniel
(pastordanielcarlson@gmail.com or 518-346-6416) to join or if you would like to know more.
Pastoral
Care
Amidst
Pandemic
It is a blessing that many of our members reach out and connect with one another with a card, call or text! Our ministers are also eager to provide pastoral care to those in need. Contact Daniel Carlson at 518-346-6416 anytime you wish to talk by phone,
pastordanielcarlson@gmail.com or Zoom, or explore the possibility of a safely distanced pastoral visit.
Volunteers Needed
We are always looking for volunteers to help with office tasks. If you are interested, please contact Heather at 1streformed@gmail.com or 518-377-2201 for further info.
Entered into Eternal Rest
Mary Jane Dike October 22, 2020
A committal and memorial service will be held at a later date.
Rev. Vincent Fasano
October 26, 2020
Marilyn Beadle November 15, 2020 A private committal service was held
in our columbarium. 1 Elizabeth Gallagher Liesl Tobin Johnny Willis 2 Christine Boger-Walthers Wayne Hawkins 3 Sarah McCullough Charles Tobin 4 Richard Bennett 5 Meghan Collins Jeanette Mitchell 6 Atlas Parker-Spagnola Lilith Pennant 7 Arthur Hudak 8 Lorraine Cox Elizabeth Taft Andrew Wiltz 11 Duane Ball Sean Collins Hudson Walthers 12 Laura Lee Jason Rickard 13 Dan Ipsen 14 Daniel Carlson Michael Collins Arthur Shultes 15 Hans Erickson Zachary Swain 16 Catherine deSalle Carol Troost 17 Kenneth Rimany 18 Natalie Pizzolo Luke Ouimet 21 Eloine Lion 22 Raymond Beland Pat Countermine 23 Leah Fernandes Cathleen Wisniewski 25 Jesus 26 Richard Gardner 31 Scott Ebeling
The Chrismon Tree
Chrismons, or “symbols of Christ,” are designed from centuries-old Christian symbols in the Bible and church histories. “Chrismon” is a combination of the words Christ and monogram. Various materials of white and gold, representing purity and majesty, are used to make Chrismons following instructions in pattern books first developed in 1957 by Frances Kipps Spencer of Ascension Lutheran Church, Danville, VA. Trimmings such as sequins, beads and ribbons are often added.
FRC’s beautiful chrismons were originally made for annual tree festivals in the 1970s and 80s at Schenectady Museum.
When the museum stopped holding the Festivals, Mrs. Harrison Todd brought the collection of ornaments to the church as a donation. This Christmas season, we are again grateful to Kitty and George Trimarco for providing a tree in the sanctuary and decorating it with the Chrismons representing Christ, the "tree of life," and God’s gifts of life, light and wisdom, which came through the birth of Jesus.
ADVENT 2020
Each week, we will be lighting candles on the Advent wreath with particular attention to the reality that the
coronavirus has forced a change in our patterns, and yet to remind ourselves that the God who brings hope, peace, joy and love into the world in Jesus remains steadfast and present with us. As we await Christmas, each Sunday we will use the O Antiphons, verses of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” to raise our prayers that God will continue to enter into our lives to lead our world to healing and wholeness.
November 29, 2020 – Advent 1 Isaiah 64:1-9
Mark 13:24-37
Sermon: Hope in the Face of Falling Stars
December 6, 2020 – Advent 2 Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-8
Sermon: Peace Despite Troubling Tales December 13, 2020 – Advent 3 Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Sermon: Joy in Troubled Waters December 20, 2020 – Advent 4 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Luke 1:26-38
Sermon: Love Seeking a Home
Dining For Dollars
Like everything in 2020, The Moon Catcher Projects 15th Annual Dining for Dollars Fundraiser will be different. Instead of delivering homemade lasagna right to your door, we will be delivering boxes of homemade cookies and delicious quick breads. Our wonderful team of holiday elves are baking their all-time favorite recipes just for you. We’ll be baking, but not together.
Dining for Dollars: The Cookie Version (D4$:CV) proceeds will help three vital causes: Food - The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Climate Change - United Saints Recovery Program in the Gulf coast, and Education - The MoonCatcher Project, working to keep girls in school.
Call Ellie at 518-859-5114 or email ellie@mooncatcher.org on how you can donate.
Advent
The church office will be closed on Dec 25 and 28.
Contributions
Contributions may be made by going to church website, mailed, or dropped in the collections on Sunday. If you need a copy of your contribution statement please contact Heather. A year end statement will be mailed sometime in January.
The IRS has changed a few things due to COVID. A $300 “Above-the-line” Charitable Contribution Deduction is Available for Non-itemizers in 2020. It is encouraged to check with your tax accountant for updated IRS deductions standards and what is the best way give for you.
End of Year Stock
Contributions
We love to receive contributions of stock and they are a good way to get a deduction for appreciated stock without paying tax. However, sometimes brokers do not tell us. If you give a gift of stock, please let us know so that we can get the right number in the right place. Contact Heather, let her know, and thanks.
2021 Pledges
We need everyone’s support. Our goal this year: 100% Pledges. Our pledge response has been good so far. Have you made your pledge for 2021? The easiest way to do it is to go online at 1stReformed.com and you will see a link. It takes less than 30 seconds. If you are busy and have pledged before, we will guess that you would like to help again in 2021.
2021 Offering Envelopes are available about the middle of December.
FRC Represented at
Collaborative on Policing
The Schenectady Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative (SPRRC) hosted a series of community meetings to review and improve police strategies, policies, procedures, and practices in accordance with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 203. Meetings were virtual panel discussions among community organizations and local stakeholders such as
neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations, non-profits, community groups, businesses leaders, and public safety officials. Andy Chestnut well represented FRC at the faith-based meeting.
Members of the public may continue to submit testimony to the SPRRC at: spdcollaborative@schenectadypd.co m The meetings were also
recorded: www.youtube.com/openstage media.
In The Interim
Pastoral transitions are by their very nature good, hard work. The pandemic has put an emphasis on the stress and
complications inherent in facing into the chaos of endings that lead to new beginnings. I’ve never met a congregation of people covered by masks, or in gatherings on Zoom. You’ve never met a new pastor whose hand you cannot shake, whose office you can’t drop into, and with whom you cannot share a cup of coffee!
And yet we are managing. I have felt warmly welcomed by you, and am grateful. I’ve been impressed by your tenacity in engaging a stewardship campaign, a fresh look at the Covid Safety Policy, and a re-imagined Advent and Christmas season. I am awed by the engagement of your staff, most of whom I have met with individually in the past month, and so appreciative of the leaders of Consistory, committees, Jazz Vespers, the Tech Team, the library. We are learning to do the dance of leading this congregation together. Sometimes we’ll miraculously pull off the right moves, and we’ll praise God with joy. Other times, we will step on each other’s toes, and need to pray God will help us say – and hear – the “ouches,” and then we’ll work to forgive, learn, move forward. And sometimes, we’ll just try something new because we dared to imagine and dream, and we’ll discover what yet this church can become.
I hope you’ll choose to be a part of the dance of discernment: attending worship in the venue that is comfortable for you, supporting FRC’s ministry generously with your financial gifts, jumping into opportunities to help shape the church’s future, daring to invite people you haven’t seen in a while or who may be new to the community to join the journey, and being constant in nurturing
your relationship with God and one another.
In this season of Advent and Christmas, we celebrate that God has come into the world to create something new among us. I cherish the opportunity to spend this season with you!
-Lynn
Consistory
Elders
Joanne Arnold, Senior Elder Barbara Mancuso, Senior Elder
Sally Bestgen Carol DeLaMarter Karen Gonda Laura Lee Adam Mason Amanda Potter Florence Reed Kate Rose Deacons Sarah Bachorik Bill Brooks Caroline Brooks Dave Bundy Christine Daniels Lian Drisgula Dave Hjelmar Christina Jones Sharron McCullough Brandon Stabler Other Officers Catherine Lewis, Treasurer
Joanne Bedell, Clerk
Transition Team
One month into the interim time, the Senior Elders together with Daniel Carlson have helped Lynn Carman Bodden assemble a Transition Team. This is a small group of people who will help to guide the congregation through its transitional work. Its first focus is to help Lynn get to know the congregation through a series of small group
meetings to which all members and active participants are invited. These meetings, and other congregational events, will assist Consistory and the Search Committee in articulating a clear sense of church identity and purpose. The team is composed of members who represent different groups and
experience within the congregation. They are invested in laying the
groundwork for the pastoral search and have agreed not to serve on the Pastoral Search Committee. That committee will be named at a later date, and staffed by Classis Supervisor, the Rev. Rich Scheenstra, pastor of Bellevue Reformed Church.
The Transition Team will listen carefully and prayerfully to discern where God is leading FRC in the immediate future. Your willingness to support work specific to the pastoral transition will help the search to go smoothly and as quickly as possible. Please keep the Transition Team in your prayers in the coming days and months. And feel free to contact them with any ideas or questions you believe are helpful.
Lauren Cleworth Fred Daniels Joe Doolittle Peter Lion Tom Mancuso Bill Potter Barbara Walton
Lynn Carman Bodden, Interim Senior Minister.
1
stReformed Schenectady
8 North Church Street Schenectady, NY 12305 (518) 377-2201 1stReformed@gmail.com www.1streReformed.com Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Albany, NY Permit No. 736
Address Service Requested
In-Person and Virtual Sunday Worship
Worship will be in the main Sanctuary at 10am Sundays. Reserve your spot at 1stReformed.com. If you are worried in the slightest bit about being with others, though, stay home. The service will always be streamed.
Listen to Sunday Worship without a computer call 518-282-7227.
COVID Safety Policy & Protocols
For your safety and ours please be aware of our current COVID Safety Policy. If you plan on coming into the church buildings for any reason, you will be asked to complete a Reservation & Screening form prior to entry. This form can be found on the
