Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of Northern New York celebrated PW's 25th anniversary in a grand way. We gathered at First Presbyterian Church of Plattsburgh on October 5, 2013. After a short worship service led by our moderator, Emily F. Castine, a presentation was made by James Carlin, a frequent participant in the Mission of Hope experience in Nicaragua. He enlightened all of us on the continuing effort to help the impoverished people of that community. The women of the host church served us a delicious lunch topped off with a cake in honor of PW's 25th anniversary! The cake was decorated in blue and gold and displayed our PW logo. What a wonderful gathering it was! The attendees purchased PW 25th anniversary pins and bookmarks to mark this auspicious occasion.
Just one year before, in September 2012, we invited several longtime friends from Quebec, Canada, just 20 or so miles from Chazy, to our fall gathering at Chazy Presbyterian Church. The moderator asked the women of Quebec to spread the word through their women's groups, and all hoped for a good response.That day we welcomed 32 women, seven of whom represented either the United Church of Canada or the Presbyterian Church of Canada, both in Hemmingford, Quebec. These ladies were delighted to be our guests. During our meeting, we shared joys and concerns about our respective churches and our women's groups within those churches. We learned that we had experienced many of the same highs and lows. We agreed to make plans to get together again, perhaps at a Canadian church the next time. We left knowing that we are indeed part of an international group of dedicated, strong, creative and dynamic women who are working to better conditions in our own locales and around the world, one step at a time, one PW meeting at a time. What a joy!
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