What a Swan Song!

From left, Rebecca, Linda, Sandra and Denise

Remember the song, the Twelve Days of Christmas?  It goes on so long, you usually try to hurry to get it over with.  But that was not the case last Sunday as our children once again put on the amazing PCMK Christmas Pageant.  The theme was the Twelve Days of Christmas and the morning was filled with pipers piping, drummers drumming and maids a milking.  This last group even included our neighbor, Sandra Lee, who graciously shared in the day with us.

There were so many wonderful moments in this pageant that it is hard to list them all.  I suggest you go to the pcmk.org website and watch the video as soon as it is posted.

They say all good things must come to an end, and sadly this is true for our pageant team led by the talented Denise Schutz.  She, along with Linda Carelli and Rebecca Wassem have put on at least 7 great pageants.  And what a way to go out!  Their swan song even featured a beautiful dancing swan.

It really feels like Christmas now, and the stress level has even come down a notch for us all.  Thank you leaders and children for this wonderful Christmas gift!

Pastor Dale

PCMK Hosts HRP

On Tuesday, December 9th, PCMK hosted the stated meeting of the Hudson River Presbytery, and we did it with style!  The weather threatened to undermine all our careful planning, but the Nor'easter just brought heavy rain to most of the region.  Snow and ice was a problem for folks from counties up north, so there were many cancellations.  Still, there were over 100 presbyters from churches both sides of the river who came to worship, fellowship and conduct the business of our corporate life together.

As host pastor I couldn't have been more proud.  I know that pride is one of the 7 deadly sins, but there are different kinds of pride.  I was not proud of myself--I was proud of our team.  Kelly Marlow is a saint!  She pulled together a team of volunteers who worked for days to make the event something worthy of the Royal family (who were in town at the same time).  The narthex Great Hall and Community Room were decorated in beautiful seasonal style.  There were friendly people to greet visitors at every turn.  There was coffee and snacks and even the information table looked elegant.

In addition to being proud of Kelly and her team, I was proud to help lead worship in our beautiful sanctuary.  Terry blew everyone away with his sensitive and flawless work on the organ.  Carmen Emery set up our beautiful communion service and Fred helped set up all the AV equipment and so much more.

If it is a sin to be so proud of our church, I am going to be sinning in a big way this Sunday as the children once again tell us the story of Christmas in our annual pageant.

Come to church this Sunday and sin along with me!

Pastor Dale