Over the past five months I have been enjoying the tight-knit community of the Canton/Potsdam area, connecting with the chaplains at St. Lawrence, working out at Roos House Athletic Center, walking to church, going to Ottawa with my family, but most of all I have been impressed with this community of faith. You are people that care about each other and are active in the community. The more members I meet and get to know, the more I am impressed.
I also have been enjoying working with a dedicated and professional staff. I want you to welcome Betsy Kepes to our already great staff as the new Music Coordinator. She has a deep and long connection in this congregation and in the North Country. Betsy is a bit of a renaissance woman. You many know her as a wonderful pianist and teacher but she is also an activist, a writer, and in general a joyful person to be around. She will be in charge of scheduling music for all Sundays starting January 1, 2017.
In addition to coordinating music on Sundays, Betsy will be our main accompanist for 10 months of the year. The Music Director Search Committee (Doug Rubio, John Danis, and Carol Strome) all worked diligently to find the right person. Since that candidate never came forward, we took a new approach and decided to fulfil the 3 different roles separately. Sondra Goldsmith Proctor will continue to play organ once a month. Ron Berry will continue to be our interim handbells director. Betsy will be that much needed 3rd piece to bring everything together and add to our diverse approach to music. On the Sundays Sondra and the handbell choir are not performing we hope to have as many congregants playing music as we can. Please contact Betsy if you are interested in playing or have ideas about music for future Sundays. May we continue to bless each other and the world with our care.
So It May Be, The Rev. James Galasinski