Pastor of First Reformed Church in Schenectady happy to make Heritage Sunday part of her journey | The Daily Gazette
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As an intentional interim minister for more than three decades, Lynn Carman Bodden has been coming and going much of her life making hellos and goodbyes a regular part of the job.
This weekend, however, as the First Reformed Church of Schenectady joins with some of its Stockade neighbors to mark its annual Heritage Sunday, Bodden, after just three months on the job, will feel not only right at home but also quite settled.
“I think this is going to be the last one,” said Bodden, who started at First Reformed on Oct. 15 and expects to continue in her temporary role as senior pastor for another 12 months or so, then retire. “The role has fit me. I’ve learned a lot from dealing with different congregations, and I’ve been able to see when they do something well and take that to another congregation and share that with them.”
Stockade’s First Reformed Church’s history serves as reminder of ‘Resilient Schenectady’ | The Daily Gazette
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Every February, people around the Stockade neighborhood particularly those at the First Reformed Church seem to be a bit more interested in history.
And while they don’t want to celebrate all that history some of it is quite tragic they do want to remember and honor it. That’s why First Reformed Church of Schenectady has come up with a particular theme for this weekend’s Heritage Sunday, “Resilient Schenectady.”
“We look back on our congregation’s past each February, as several of the most formidable events in our history happened this month,” said Laura Lee, archivist at First Reformed. “We recalled those and other events to choose the theme for this year’s Heritage Sunday, and ‘Resilient Schenectady’ jumped out. We recognized how solutions to circumstances we’re facing today, amidst the current pandemic, have us