#IgniteInnovation and Bring Light to the Darkness
“A light has come into the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it…”
Dear Friends,
Winter nights are long in Northern New York. Darkness starts setting in by 3:30 in the afternoon on the longest days. At the First Presbyterian Church of Ogdensburg there is light flickering in the darkness, bringing new hope, glimpses of joy, and a sense of loving community. It’s movie night!
It might not sound like such a revelation to offer a movie night, but Ogdensburg has no movie theater. The small city used to be a thriving port, but the economy tanked nearly a decade ago. Now there is poverty, isolation, and a constant flow of drugs over the Canadian border putting the town at risk of addiction and opening it to the destructive forces that loneliness and anger and a sense of abandonment can unleash.
With an Innovation Grant from the Synod of the Northeast, we were able to bring back some light into a place that is experiencing darkness in every sense of the word. Watching the kids gather on bean bags and pillows to watch other worlds open up to them is like watching a flower push through the first thaw of spring. It’s not just the church loving our neighbor, it’s reconnecting the community to each other.
Your contribution to the Synod Innovation Grant Fund, can bring light into the darkness, in Ogdensburg and all across the Northeast through heartfelt ministries like this one that offer the Love of Christ in unexpected places. Will you join me in giving?
In the Light of Christ,
Laurena Will
Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Ogdensburg