Notes and Thoughts

Our prayers are with Tom & Glenda Prins, friends of Wayne & Nelva TeBrake, whose adopted daughter Katherine died on Tuesday after a lifetime of health issues. We hold Wayne & Nelva in our prayers as they travel to Rochester to be at the funeral home. I was deeply moved by the words of faith found in Katherine’s obituary: After 32 years of living in a body that could not keep pace with her spirit, our beloved daughter is at home with God. Blessed with a contagious laugh and a vibrant personality, Katherine made friends everywhere and gave freely of her love. She was a special light in the lives of many. Those who grieve her death and rejoice in the hope of life beyond life for her are her parents, Glenda and Thomas Prins, [other family members listed] ... Please honor Katherine's life by living gently and respectfully among persons with disabilities. If you wish to make a financial contribution in her memory...

Congratulations to Allison Brancati who competed in and completed the "Swim for Life" from Nyack to Sleepy Hollow covering the 3 miles across the Tappan Zee in just over 2½ hours! This annual event raises money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Good luck to Ron Kasicki who will be competing in the Dutchess County Classic half-marathon this Sunday.

 Have you noticed the black squirrels in our neighborhood? According to Wikipedia, it's just a melanistic subgroup of the eastern gray squirrel. They're a rare genetic variation (as few as 1 in 10,000). Although I can find no corroboration online, I recall being told years ago in New Rochelle that the smaller-than-normal black squirrels common in southern Westchester were the result of a variety introduced into the wild from P.T. Barnum's menagerie. The ones I'm seeing quite frequently around the church appear to come from the same small-sized stock I observed in the 1970's in south county.

I learned last night that the woman who worked as school nurse at my high school from 1944 to 1972, passed away yesterday at the age of 102. I have a fevered memory of being cared for in the infirmary by Mrs. Lynch, so her face floats before me in memory. The news stirs up feelings that I would call "philosophical." I recall my long-time mentor and colleague, the Rev. Dr. Alison R. Bryan, whose path in ministry paralleled my own from Tarrytown, NY to Frenchtown, NJ, until his death at the age of 101. And I think of my grandmother Lohr who lived to be 100. Longevity has its place. And when a person can go that far in full possession of the spirit and self, as each of them did, it's an incredible blessing.

Yesterday I was privileged to visit in the home of one of the elder saints of this congregation who has entered into hospice care. I say privileged, because my role as minister permits me as a stranger to come in to represent the church (and God), to bring prayer and some measure of comfort to a family that doesn't know me.

Rev. Casey Wells

And just this afternoon a former Interim Associate Pastor, Casey Wells, stopped by the office. She's in the area from her home in Lansing, MI, attending a Mariners in Mission workcamp at the Presbyterian Camp at Holmes, NY.

I am finding this interim ministry to be a profound opportunity to bless and be blessed! I'm also noticing that I'll need to be diligent in keeping time for personal meditation/prayer and reflection on the juggernaut of pastoral activities! Please hold me in your prayers and remember to ask me from time to time if I'm maintaining what the Church Information Form called "a strong spiritual life."

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor