Wow, how time does fly! The winter blahs must have set in because this blog has languished. Please comment below if you missed reading this UUCortland Blog.

Some recent comments from our President, Chris Ogden:

Singing for the Green: We had a great turnout for the kick-off dinner for our stewardship campaign.  Thanks to the generosity of Chuck Lochner who planned, purchased and acted as “top chef“, a delicious dinner was enjoyed by the 30 some who attended.  John Ogden, Jim Lawson, and Jim Pelton assisted with the cooking.  Marion Lutz and Ellen Ketchum helped with other kitchen tasks including serving and clean up.  Marion  planned the decorations with Jim Lawson, Jim Pelton, Ana Brendes, and John Churchill assisting with the set up for the dinner.  Fred Lutz was the official  vacuumer.  Many other people helped with cleanup.  The entertainment was supplied by our very own Mens Chorus accompanied by Amy Schultz.  In addition, Mary Ann DeRusso-Allbight and Heather Beardsley treated us to two duets.  It was a delightful evening.  Thank you to all who helped and participated.

The Belfry [is tilting, leaking, and needs structural help.] This past Saturday a contract was signed with a contractor who has experience with restoration work.  The focus of the work to be done will be to reinforce the inside structure of the church bell tower.  When that has been completed, the large pediment under the belfry and the wood trim around the roof edge will be painted.  Funds have been raised to cover the cost of these two projects.  I want to thank Julia Schult, Jim Pelton and Karen Kenning for their time, effort and dedication to helping get these projects under way.  I also want to thank those who helped raise the funds by supporting our “paint can collection’ and our recent fund-raising events. Jason Thornton is designing a computer model of the church belfry to assist the engineer and contractor that we are hiring, so that they can see a 3-dimensional view of the belfry as they work on its reinforcement.  Thanks and Go Jason! TOGETHER we can make things happen!

-Chris Ogden

p.s. Please do use the comments below to let me know if you value this blog and want it to continue. You can compare the fall, when there was an entry every 1-2 weeks, and the winter, when there hasn’t been a new posting for 3 months. Which do you like better?

—Julia Schult