I was walking by the church library last week as Eileen Raymond and Stevie Michaelson were working on their presentation on Universalism in the North Country for the SOAR class they are leading (see more on page 27). That’s when I saw a map Max Coots (who was the minister of this church from 1958 to 1992) made about 20 years ago. That map especially caught my eye because it showed that just over 100 years ago there were more than 30 Universalist congregations in St. Lawrence County.
Many of those congregations were served by the students and faculty of the Universalist theological school that was at St. Lawrence University from its founding in 1856 until 1965, when it closed. This very congregation was at the center of Universalist life in the North Country, having founded both St. Lawrence University and the theological school there. Even though many of those 30 congregations may have been small – perhaps with 20 to 50 members – if the average size of all 30 congregations was 40, that would mean there were once well over 1000 Universalists right here in St. Lawrence County. This congregation has a long history of making a difference in the community.
This month’s newsletter is filled with news of how you are all making a difference today: the Church and Community Program, the blood drive, Religious Education for our families, Bibliotherapy to support one another through our own hard times. It’s a full newsletter this month because the church makes a difference in so many ways today. Ministers considering congregations in this year’s search process will have a lot to look at here!