Sesquicentennial celebrations unite parishes

There's more than one way to build bridges between church communities that are separated by a river.

CATSKILL/TAGHKANIC REGION

One way, believes Patricia Pasternak, is to piece together a commemorative quilt celebrating the ties that bind the nearly 20 parishes in Columbia and Greene counties.

To that end, Mrs. Pasternak, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Church in Greenville, has sent out a flyer on behalf of the Diocesan Sesquicentennial Committee for the Catskill/Taghkanic region, inviting each church in that area to create a quilt square reflecting something special about their parish or its history. Mrs. Pasternak is co-chairing Catskill/Taghkanic Sesquicentennial activities with her husband, Peter, and Brother Aubert Harrigan, CSC, of St. Joseph's Spiritual Life Center in Valatie.

Each parish's 15-inch block of hand-crafted cloth will be displayed at St. Mary's Church in Hudson on April 13 in conjunction with a Sesquicentennial liturgy that afternoon.

"I don't know yet if we'll receive eight or 18 squares, but if enough parishes come through with squares, we'd like to try to sew them into one large quilt that could be displayed at our second regional Sequicentennial event -- a Harvest Festival in the fall," Mrs. Pasternak said.

"We only have one bridge connecting our counties and, as a result, our parishes are often literally divided by the river. Stitching the squares from the different churches together would be symbolic of the parishes in the two counties joining together," she explained.

"I think it would be wonderful if our parishes could unite to work together on a commemorative quilt that could do a sort of Round Robin to all of the parishes in the region," she added. "After that, it could be donated to the Diocese as a keepsake of the Sesquicentennial year."

Choosing the location for their region's first Sesquicentennial event was simplified by deciding to hold it at the oldest church in the two counties. That distinction is held by St. Mary's in Hudson, founded in 1848.

While details of the April 13 liturgy remain in the planning stages, the committee hopes the 3 p.m. entrance procession will include a special delegation from St. Patrick's School in Catskill as well as the parish council presidents and pastors of each parish in the two counties. Those attending the liturgy will also be invited to bring non-perishable food items to be brought up to the altar by parish youth during the Offertory procession.

Coordinating music for the Sesquicentennial Liturgy will be Steve Gubler of St. Bridget's parish in Copake Falls, Rita Koeppel of St. Mary's in Hudson and Uel Wade of St. James in Chatham. Some Celtic songs, celebrating the Irish heritage of both counties, will be included.

A second Catskill/Taghkanic Sesquicentennial event will take place on September 28: a Harvest Festival complete with old-fashioned costumes, games, entertainment and refreshments.

The event's planning committee hopes to hold the festival at the Irish Cultural Center in East Durham. "We're hoping to recreate a church picnic of 150 years ago, and will be inviting people to come dressed in period costumes and with a covered dish to pass," Mrs. Pasternak told The Evangelist. "We'll have one-legged races and games like stickball for the children, as well as food and music reflecting the region's agricultural and mountain heritage. Once again, we hope to motivate people to cross the bridge from one county to the next."

ADIRONDACK REGION

Meanwhile, those representing congregations in and around the Adirondack Mountains are hoping all 35 parishes in the northern region will participate in a Sesquicentennial "Expo" of sorts on May 18.

Slated to take place between noon and 5 p.m., the gathering at the Saratoga Springs City Center will blend memorabilia and music from parishes in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties.

Patricia Palmer of Corpus Christi parish in Ushers told The Evangelist that each parish in the Adirondack region has been invited to arrange a display table inside the center.

"We are leaving it up to each individual parish to decide how best to use their table. Part of the excitement of this day is absolutely going to be discovering how the various parishes have chosen to tell their stories," Mrs. Palmer said.

In addition to setting up tables for the parishes, Mrs. Palmer, assisted by John and Tammy Southworth of Saratoga County, Patricia Joyce of Warren County, and Norma and Lee Potvin of Washington County, have reserved the use of an outdoor patio area.

Weather permitting, the musical portion of the Sesquicentennial program will take place outside under the direction of Jeffrey Halstead, music director at St. Peter's parish in Saratoga Springs.

"At this time, we're in that magical, wonderful stage where nothing is definite and everything is still possible," said Mr. Halstead of the Spring musical program. "The strengths of the individual parishes in the region will ultimately dictate the tone of the event, and so I am now actively seeking feedback from the 35 parishes about what they would like to have happen on May 18. My own hope is that each parish will have an opportunity to perform in the course of the afternoon, and that the selections we'll hear will run the gamut from Christian coffeehouse style to full-blown arias."

Mr. Halstead, who is also a liturgical composer and musician, added that he will be composing at least one piece dedicated to the Sesquicentennial event: "The one thing I can promise at this time is that the program will culminate with a combined chorus featuring representatives from the parishes in the Adirondack region."

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