October 01, 2008
To the Editor:
On Saturday, Oct. 4 - that's this Saturday - the Quakers, Presbyterians, Methodists in Mountainville and Cornwall, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics are conducting open houses, rolling out the welcome mat for members, friends, neighbors, and visitors from ten a.m to three p.m.
The public is invited.
At this first annual event there will be included folks to give tours and hand out refreshments.
The idea of an ecumenical Open Houses event was spawned after the Society of Friends decided they wanted to do something special with other faith communities. We decided on a shared day for our first annual Open House. We invited all the faith communities in the region to participate.
As a result, the Religious Society of Friends moved their Quaker Fair to coincide with this Open Houses Event. The Mountainville Methodists are geared up to welcome all comers, the Episcopalians are doing a square dance, the Cornwall Methodists are teaching Tae Kwon Do, the St. Thomas of Canterbury RC is open for prayer and donations of food to those in need, and the Presbyterians in the Village want to show off their newly refurbished sanctuary.
Planners agreed that we wanted this event to be an opportunity to share local church history, fellowship, mission, and practice to seekers of all sorts. In addition to taking out an expensive advertisement in the "Cornwall Local," and to spice it up a bit, the participating houses of prayer have produced an Open House pamphlet with a brief paragraph on each. In the pamphlet, there is a tickler - a question that can only be answered by visiting the church. For example, "Aside from holding the rank of a retired Admiral in the U.S. Navy, what unique title did this former pastor of St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, Rev. Msgr. George M. Rosso (1966-1975) enjoy as a military chaplain? (The answer will be found in the church.)
Thank you.
Dan Russell
Minister of Word and Sacrament
Cornwall Presbyterian Church
Cornwall-on-Hudson
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