Category: Our Neighbors

Blanket Sunday, your love in action

Blanket Sunday 2024

This year, our Blanket Sunday offering will be on Sunday July 21. We will be accepting donations until the end of the month. Our donations will support Church World Service’s mission to provide tens of thousands of warm, durable blankets to people around the world facing homelessness, recovering from disasters, and fleeing from conflict.

A gift of ten dollars purchases a blanket for one individual and 50 dollars will provide blankets for an entire family.

Please support the Blanket Sunday initiative. If you will not be in church that day and would still like to contribute, please send a check payable to the Canaan Congregational Church and indicate in the memo portion that the check is for CWS Blanket Sunday.

Donations may be mailed to the Canaan Congregational Church, P.O. Box 66, Canaan, NY 12029. Thank you for your gifts to this worthy and longstanding global mission of our church.

– Ed Fallon, for the Missions Team

Thank You and Enjoy Photos of Familiar Faces and Local Businesses From Canaan Community Day

Red Rock Historical Society Receives Grant

Red Rock, NY

The Red Rock Historical Society has received a $6,600 grant from The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The grant is part of the DAR Preservation Grants program and will fund the electrical work inside the Red Rock One Room Schoolhouse.

Interior work resumed this Spring, now that the exterior restoration is complete. The majority of the material removed from the interior, as part of the process of lifting the building in 2022, was stored and is being re-installed.

The RRHS is very appreciative of the community volunteers who have helped with this process, and it is hoped that the doors to the Schoolhouse will be open to the public by the end of this year.

For more information, contact us at: , or come visit our table at Canaan Community Day on June 15th!

Canaan UCC Ambassadors Again Support “Trail Magic” with other Congregations on June 18

Canaan UCC Ambassadors Again Support "Trail Magic" with other Congregations on June 18

Begun in 2018 as a shared ministry of two Sheffield churches, First Congregational Church, UCC and Christ Trinity Church (Episcopal and Lutheran), “Trail Magic” is back for its sixth season and we’re inviting you to share it with us.

Once again, Josh, Jennifer and I will be greeting the hikers who have been enduring the mosquito infested swamps preceding Sheffield as they head north on the Appalachian Trail. We welcome any other members of the congregation to join us for a day of extending hospitality and kindness from 10 am to 3 pm.

The host churches do all the shopping for supplies. We just show up and set up to greet and serve the food, which for these hungry hikers may be the first grilled burger/veggie burger they have had in days. Some cool water, iced tea, watermelon, even pickles can satisfy those calorie starved walkers.

Our visitors may linger if they wish in chairs with arms, something a weary hiker appreciates after days of sitting on the ground. The large tarp overhead offers shelter from the rain or the hot sun for a brief respite.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to be of service, to engage and welcome strangers into the Berkshires. Often, we are regaled with amazing stories, listening contentedly. Trail Magic also provides the chance to collaborate with our sister churches which is a way of living out our covenant within the Berkshire Association.

Jay Aronson

Celebrate and join a fun day of music, food, and family fun to commemorate an early declaration of independence

American Flag

Hosted by the Canaan Historical Society, 13 Warners Crossing Rd, Canaan, NY on Saturday, June 22 from 12 till 4:30 PM.

Did you know that the King’s District, comprising what’s now New Lebanon, Canaan, New Concord,

Red Rock, East Chatham and eastern Chatham, voted to declare independence ten days before the fourth of July?

The Meeting House will be open from 2 till 4:30 PM to view the collection.

Stocking the Chatham Food Pantry

Many Columbia County residents rely on local food pantries to ensure they are getting their basic nutritional needs met. However, as food is their focus and many people and organizations support pantries with food donations, they usually offer few staples such as toilet paper, toothpaste, diapers, laundry detergent, wet wipes, etc.

Furthermore, SNAP (the federal food program previously known as “Food Stamps”) does not cover non-food items. Understanding this need, Canaan Congregational has stepped up and created a drop off center for residents to make donations of such dry goods.

Both a large wicker basket, inside the entrance hall of the Church by the the office door, and a plastic bin outside the church on the porch, have been installed by the congregation to collect such items which are delivered to the Chatham Food Pantry weekly. Please join us and help our neighbors by contributing to this important initiative.

Columbia County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day

Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Time: 8:00AM – 12:00PM

Location

Columbia County Fire Training Center
Columbia County Commerce Park
50 Grandinetti Drive, Ghent, NY
Entrance at Rt. 66 (Bender Blvd.)

What may I bring?

From the Workbench:
Latex Paint, Oil Based Paint – Please do not bring empty cans or with hardened paint
Stains & Varnishes
Wood Preservatives
Solvents, Adhesives
Lighter Fluid

From the Garage:
Fuels, Gasoline, Kerosene
Antifreeze
Engine Degreasers
Brake Fluid
Carburetor Cleaner
Car Wax, Polish
Roofing Tar
Driveway Sealer
Swimming Pool Chemicals

From the Yard:
Poisons, Insecticides, Fungicides
Chemical Fertilizers
Weed Killers
Moth Balls
Flea Control Products, Pest Strips
Aerosol Cans – Not empty

From the House:
Rubber Cement
Fiberglass Resins
Photo Chemicals
Chemistry Sets
Furniture Polish
Floor & Metal Polish
Oven Cleaner
Drain & Toilet Cleaner
Rug & Upholstery Cleaner
Hobby & Art Supplies
Spot Remover

What not to bring:

Empty containers
Empty paint cans
Empty aerosol cans
Radioactive Waste
Commercial/Industrial Waste
Agriculture Waste
Fire Extinguishers
Infectious & Biological Waste
Prescription Medicines, Syringes
Asbestos
Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks
Non-contaminated motor oil, Antifreeze
No 55 gallon drums

Residents with large quantities must contact the Administrative Office at 518-828-2737 prior to participating. No charge for County residents. Proof of residency will be required.

Thank you for your participation!

Don’t Miss the Opportunity to Attend a Concert to Benefit Operation Unite New York on Saturday, April 6 at 3 P.M. at the Spencertown Academy

Bask in the sounds and sensations provided by trios, duets and solos played by Anthony Bracewell, violin, Julian Müller, cello, and Gili Melamed-Lev, piano as they perform music by Piazzolla, Mendelssohn, Arvo Pärt, Bach, Saint-Saëns and more.
The mission of the Hudson-based Operation Unite, New York, is to produce well-rounded, progressive youth who will enter adulthood with a sense of direction, self-esteem, and social consciousness, and subsequently reinvest themselves into the community from whence they came.
General admission tickets are $30 and $10 for students, to purchase log onto: https://spencertownacademy.networkforgood.com/events/63156-benefit-concert-for-operation-unite

Enjoy a Night of Poetry and Music

Saturday, April 20 at 7 P.M. at the First Congregational Church, 514 Main St., Dalton

The First Congregational Church in Dalton, MA is excited to welcome back Reverend Bert Marshall and introduce Poet Ketu Oladuwa for a magical night where music and poetry intertwine. Musicians Doug Rich, bass; Zoe Krohne, vocals and Willie Sordillo are also featured. A free donation will be collected and a reception follows the evening’s performance.

How to Keep You and Your Family Safe from Disasters

With severe weather events becoming more commonplace, you and your family can be prepared by registering for the NY Citizen Preparedness Training Program. The Canaan Protective Fire Company is hosting this course on:

Friday, April 26 at 4 P.M. at 2126 Route 295, Canaan
All participants must register in advance.

Visit prepare.ny.gov

This course will provide an introduction on responding to a natural or man-made disaster. Learn how to develop a family emergency plan and what supplies are needed to stock up on.

Each family that attends will receive a Preparedness kit. This life saving course is sponsored by the NY State Governor, the Town of Canaan, the Town of Lebanon, and the Canaan Protective Fire Company.