About February
by Kay Montgomery
February is not for the faint hearted, I think.
It is so exceedingly ordinary, having neither the romance of spring nor the bravado of winter.
And the ordinary is tough, it seems to me,
demanding as it does not only endurance but imagination.
Okay so maybe this February isn’t quite ordinary for the North Country and still has a bit of the bravado of winter, but there is also the sense of endurance. Enduring the cold temperatures, the lack of snow up to this point, the weight of winter clothes, and the long hours of darkness. With this endurance though, there is time to contemplate and space for imagination.
The Religious Education Committee is in the process of imagining what the curriculum will look like for the 2016-2017 year. A few members and I are currently reading Think Orange by Reggie Joiner to inspire us to think more deeply about family ministry. We are also imagining how the concept of theme-based ministry might influence the program. In addition, we are imagining how we can collaborate with the Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake churches to better serve our children and youth as part of our multi-site ministry initiative.
The new adult education program, Coffee, Conversation & More, a collaboration of the Social Action, Environmental Action, Library, Religious Education and Welcoming committees, is developing a schedule of engaging topics for our congregation. Our youth group is creating their annual service for February 28, and Joel and I are collaborating on an intergenerational service for early March. So although there is a heaviness to this endurance of February, there is also a sense of lightness (not to mention the literal return of more daylight) – a lightness to imagine the future spiritual growth in our church community. May this February with its sense of endurance allow you time and space to imagine your spiritual future, too.
Carol Zimmerman, Director of Religious Education