I'm grabbing a minute here on a high-speed connection to update this blog. We've had our first official Sunday at First Church, Pittsfield, now--all went well and so many people showed up they ran out of bulletins! Hopefully some of them will come back for Week 2. Right now we're staying with the church moderator and his wife, two wonderfully gracious people who have made us feel very welcome in our new venture. On Thursday we'll drive back to my mom's place in Geneseo to pick up the stuff we left there, and then on Saturday we'll move into a tiny furnished flat out on the west side of town that's small but efficient and opens out onto a terrific deck overlooking a gorgeous back yard. Our landlord will be upstairs, but she's not a member of First Church so we can just let down and be our unholy selves there--vital to our continued sanity! This evening we were invited to a gathering of area UCC clergy that was yummy, restful, and fun. When you get a bunch of clergy together without the presence of parishioners, they're a blast! James discovered a number of connections with a couple of the other clergy, and I even found some surprising connections with someone who graduated from SUNY Geneseo and another who grew up in Geneseo, IL, which he says was founded by Congregationalists from Geneseo, NY. I told him they must have taken all the Congregationalists with them because there aren't any in Geneseo, NY, anymore!

So far this place feels good to be in. When the leaves start to change, it will be heaven.