Good Evening First Presbyterian,
For our Mid-Week Meet-Up I want to share three upcoming events here at First Presbyterian with you:
The first event is a fundraiser we are hosting for Camp Whitman on Seneca Lake, this Saturday at 5pm in our Fellowship Hall. Members of the Outreach Committee are making chili and we will have both a chili and baked potato bar, along with ice cream sundaes for dessert.
As a pre-teen and teenager attending Corfu United Presbyterian Church I was introduced to Camp Whitman (a summer camp in Dresden, NY supported by the presbyteries of Geneva and Genesee Valley) by our Mission Committee, who provided full scholarships to any child of our church who wanted to attend camp during the summer. I first went to “Footloose” (hiking) camp as a sixth grader, followed by two years of sailing camp, and four years of Music Camp. The Music Camp Worship Service in July of 1999 was held here at FPC Pittsford, and it was the first time (thankfully, not the last) I led worship in our beautiful sanctuary.
I also worked at Camp Whitman as a counselor the summer of 2000, and later as a director, the summer of 2006, and served for two years on the predecessor to the Camp Whitman board, the Program Committee.
Camp Whitman, and its staff and leaders played a large part in my formation as a young Christian, and my eventual call to ministry. On Saturday, we are hosting a Camp Whitman “Family Reunion” fundraising event on Saturday, October 24 at 5pm. Everyone is welcome to join us, but we are hoping to see a lot of campers, staff, and volunteer alumni join us for the evening. I know this church has a rich history of volunteering at Camp Whitman on clean-up days and at other events. After announcing the event on Sunday, I learned about two Camp Whitman campers I didn’t realize had attended in their youth. I am sure there are more of you!
Admission for the dinner is FREE with chances to give back to Camp Whitman throughout the evening. Come learn about the future of Camp Whitman from Executive Director Bryan Muecke.
There will be door prizes awarded for:
- Oldest Camp Whitman T-Shirt
- Best photo of your time as a camper or staff member
- Most summers spent at Camp Whitman
- Least number of years since visiting Camp Whitman
- Most number of years since visiting Camp Whitman
- # of times you slept in a Hogan
To sign up for the event, please visit:
Please reach out to me with any questions. We would love to see you on Saturday at 5pm.
The second event is All Saints’ Day Sunday Worship, November 1, at 8:30am and 10:00am. On All Saints’ Day we honor and remember our members and friends who have moved to eternal life during the previous year. During worship we will have white roses for each family to take in remembrance of your loved ones, and we will ring a bell for each name on our Necrology. If you have had a family member die in 2026 and you would like them included in this remembrance, please email me their full name and date of death as you would like to see it appear in the bulletin.
The third event is The Village of Pittsford Chamber of Commerce’s Candlelight Night, Tuesday, December 1st from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. For the first time last year we hosted a free community Soup Supper from 5:00pm - 8:00pm in the Fellowship Hall and Dr. Jared Chase led the Flower City Brass in a beautiful Christmas Concert in our sanctuary. This year we will be hosting the soup supper from 5:00pm - 8:00pm (or the soup is gone!) and the Flower City Brass Ensemble Concert at 6:00pm. New this year, we are going to have a shuttle bus running from the Christ Clarion Campus parking lot to our Locust Street entrance for those concerned about parking and mobility. To sign up to help during the event, or to make a crock pot of soup please visit this link - https://www.mealtrain.com/potlucks/3nzkmw
In Christ’s Peace,
Pastor Erin