United Church of Pittsford

by Jay Bick

From cradle to present my life has changed in many different ways. The variations of lifestyles however, only served in complementing the constants in my life, my friends, family, and faith. From a very young age I was nurtured and taught by many people, many of whom are present in this congregation today. Standing here after 18 years of apprenticeship and relationships, I can attest to the success of many such persons in having a positive impact on my life. It is those in the congregation that I’m especially here to thank for today, for guiding me in my faith and providing a wonderful spiritual learning environment.
My earliest memories of this church are ones that I am very fond of, my history at UCP began with me entering at the lowest level of Sunday school with Mrs. Craiger to learn the basics of the bible. I soon joined the choir with Mrs. Albright as well as the bell choir to enhance what I consider the most important aspect of spiritual learning, musical worship. Both teachers were of the warmest and kindest breed of people ever put on this earth and started me off on a path to achieving spirituality. Over time I learned more and more about the stories of the bible and Jesus. These stories delivered by the deep voiced Reverend Howard and the tender Reverend Maybeck were powerful and memorable sermons that I would think about each week slowly building up my understanding of what it meant to truly be a great Christian and a great person in our community. My favorite part of each service however were the Hymns sung by the choir. It never ceased to amaze me how such a small congregation could yield such an incredibly big and beautiful sounding choir each year which still fortunately holds true today with many strong voices standing after decades of service to our church. I enjoyed the hymns because they would bring me closer to god by being a way to pray but with music as the vehicle.
As I progressed through Sunday school my knowledge of biblical stories grew side by side with my ability to appreciate UCP and all it had to offer. After several more years of Sunday school which included performing incredibly embarrassing skits with my father through the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, don’t worry I still love you dad, I joined the discipleship class with Mr. Shukoff as my mentor. This process was particularly key in me becoming closer to god and figuring out what I truly believed in as well as finding out what defined my faith. After completing this class and being baptized I felt as though I had a broader and wiser perspective on how I approached faith and life in general. .
Reverend Hegley, the man who baptized me, also played a critical role in me continuing and growing my faith. A gentle man possessing strong words, Reverend Hegley only improved upon my enjoyment of each and every service held here at UCP, and helped me understand and interpret his sermons in order to live a better life.
The biggest thing for me though was that UCP served as a positive and loving environment that I would come to each week to put aside the small things in life and really focus on the big picture and realign my values. I have recently had the opportunity through work at Pittsford tree and landscape to witness people who are not able to do this and wake everyday to be quite miserable people. I had one gentleman approach me and have a conversation about a 3inch mark I had left on his lawn which was “unacceptable” by his standards and I would be punished if I happened again. I accepted his remarks, apologized and moved on un-phased because events like that happen all the time, but as I walked away a sense of pity came over me for this man who did not realize that if he died tomorrow his lawn would grow and look poor within a week of him passing. The mere fact that he took aside 5 minutes of his time be negative about a patch of turf was substantially depressing to me. When I studied him as he was talking to me I thought to myself I hope I never live a life where my twenty square foot lawn could ruin my day. True happiness is unattainable for such a man if the quality of his day is determined by how well I mowed his lawn. I don’t fell superior to such a man, but I certainly feel more fortunate to have an understand of what is really important in my life and that understanding is derived from fantastic folk like all of you who have always been positive caring individuals in my life.
So now I take the next step in life where I reach out somewhere else in this world for a higher education, for me Arizona State was the answer and I will be attending there on full academic scholarship in the fall. It is my hope that I will continue my faith in a church in Phoenix as well as come back and visit here as one of my favorite places full of great people. After watching years of senior sermons I leave like many others in thanking you all from the bottom of my heart for making my life here at UCP so enjoyable and taking my faith to that higher level. Thank and good day.

by Kali Knickerbocker

Good morning UCP family. For those of you who don’t know me I am Kali Knickerbocker I am currently a senior at Pittsford Mendon High School. In the fall I will be attending Nazareth to pursue a degree in childhood education with special education.

I would like you all to close your eyes, *Pause* no really close your eyes and think for a minute what life would be like if you had never begun this amazing journey of faith. It doesn’t matter when you actually began your journey, it may have been when you were very young, or possibly during your college years or even later when you became an adult, what matters most is that right now you are here, worshiping and praising the lord.

Everyday people are faced with hundreds of decisions, and not everyone knows the “correct choice to make.” Although, in reality there may not be a “correct choice,” everyone’s perspective is different and we are free to choose what we want. On the other hand, free in today’s society is perceived much differently than through God’s eyes. As Peter states “You are free, but still you are God’s servants, and you must not use your freedom as an excuse for doing wrong.” So what if you had never chosen to begin this journey of faith, would you make the appropriate decisions? God has instilled guidelines in his servants and expects us to follow them. Do we always follow those guidelines exactly? Probably not, because that is human nature, but it is all part of the learning experience in which God has set up for us. When you are set right with God he helps to guide you in situations throughout your everyday life, whether you realize it or not. I have learned over the years that the lord is always there for you he will not let you down. Ok that is a bold statement but what I really mean is that; I have realized everything happens for a reason and if you don’t understand why something happened the way it did; wait it out, I doubt he will disappoint you.

I guess the biggest example of this in my life happened 4 summers ago. In August of 2004 I made one of the biggest decisions of my life, except at the time I didn’t realize it. I decided I wanted to volunteer at a farm in Mendon, called EquiCenter. This program offers riding lessons to people with both mental and physical disabilities and programs for at risk youth. Over the last several years I have worked directly with multiple people suffering from various disabilities. Working with them has changed my life in numerous different ways, only a few of which I will talk about because other wise we will be here for hours. These participants mostly of which are children, have taught me to love life and be thankful for every minute of it. They remind me constantly to express my gratitude and appreciation to those people around me. Working with them has encouraged me to go to school for Childhood education and special education. I also plan on getting my certification over the next few months so I can actually teach these lessons. At the time when I made this decision I honestly was not sure what I was getting myself into. I was nervous but something told me this is where I belonged. I felt called to help this group of people and couldn’t be happier that I decided to follow this path on my journey.

Thus far I have spoken about my most recent discoveries along this faith journey but I would also like to touch upon my younger years.

When I was little every Sunday I got up and got dressed and headed off to church with my grandmother, Hazel. My siblings and I climbed into the back of her car and off we went. We would listen to the choir warm up before the service and then we sat right over there in the third or fourth row from the front. (I am sure that was so grandma could keep a close eye on us.) When the service ended we headed up to Sunday school. This was the routine week after week, I didn’t have a choice. Notice I used the word routine, well that’s because at that age to me it was a routine. Trust me if I could go back I would change that. Yet, today I couldn’t be more grateful for not having that choice. I don’t think I have ever officially thanked my grandmother for bringing us each week and for my parents making me go. Even though I know I complained, looking back I am truly grateful so thank you.

As I grew up and went through Discipleship class I was still not sure what exactly I believed; I was very naive and very influenced by others opinions. This was soon to change, although, discipleship class set the foundation for my understanding of the Christian lifestyle, AGAPE was soon to reinforce these ideas and let me grow as a Christian. Kyli and I decided in March of my sophomore year, when we came to youth Sunday we wanted to be part of AGAPE. Ky and I came to church that morning not even knowing it was Youth Sunday, but Hey Everything Happens for a Reason. We spoke with a few of the members and Becky and were soon involved and couldn’t ask for anything different. It is truly an amazing feeling to go to these meetings each week knowing you have 15 people who will listen and you can say what you think without being judged. For this reason I need to thank the members of AGAPE for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to share a part of my journey with you. Through AGAPE I have discovered the power or prayer which I never realized before. Music has also played a huge part in my spiritual life, it is amazing what words of a song can do and how powerful they can become. In addition, AGAPE plays a huge part in my support system and really is my other family. You guys are one of the reasons I am up here today so thank you for everything. It is the memories we have together that make our relationships unique and not many people understand. The endless late nights, the lock-ins, the pool parties at the Wallace’s, The Lake-View, Jon’s lake when Jane and Libby got side swiped and fell in the lake, our Christmas caroling attempt and our walks to the village, these are just a few of the memories that I have with you and will forever be a part of my faith journey. I can’t show enough appreciation to this group of people including Becky and over the last few months Mrs. Perna and Mr. Bick for helping to really set my faith journey in motion. It is thanks to you that I feel free to make the decisions and have faith in those decisions.

I would like to thank Pastor Jim for his guidance in specifically Discipleship class and helping to set the foundation of my Christian life. My parents and my grandmother for encouraging, ok maybe forcing me to go to church when I was little and now allowing me to make my own decisions regarding my faith. I also need to again thank specifically Becky for her endless hard work and for dealing with all our craziness. You have made this road of my faith journey memorable, and allowed me to grow as a Christian in various ways. Thank you again to all the AGAPE members who have put up with me. Good Luck with them all next year Mrs. Perna and Mr. Bick! And Of course all my siblings for challenging me to become the best person I can be. I would also like to thank Kyli who is not only my little sister but also my best friend, for always being there and supporting me through all I do. For me and many within AGAPE, I am sure can agree, she always gives us a different perspective and something to think about each week. Thank you.

by Fred Dean
Underneath the wide open sky,
The web of humanity is connected together
And because of God we can feel free to hear him moving among us.
The ability to reach out across generations,
Between cultures and ways of life

That it is a different way of seeing the freedom,
That God allows us to experience.
If for one moment we realize something new

After talking to a stranger that we will never see again
Our minds become open as we venture into faith
And realize it’s not just the twilight zone but a new way to believe.

The ability to believe in a God that allows us to explore his creation
And to hear his voice in the whispers in the breeze,
To the pastors in the inner city.
In new ways we can hear the strangers calling out to us
When we have the courage to believe this quote,
“It’s a wonderful world, Hobbes ole buddy, let’s go exploring!”
The echoes of the philosophy of Calvin and Hobbes,
Have God calling out to us in the simple things
That makes us smile and listen.

When you step into the life of another
There is freedom to experience God’s presence in a whole new way.
Humanity can be shared to the deepest depths
Out of our creation from love.
Love offers a freedom as it transforms our limitations
Of our sole view of humanity
To that in which we can look around
And see the diversity that this freedom creates.

For a number of years
I have felt that exploration can lead to growth and opportunity.
From having the freedom to see the world as a gift,
To realizing this opportunity that we are given by God.
This chance to believe with our faith
We can take an alternate look at the gift of life.
It’s a freedom that Bill Watterson expressed in a simple drawing thirteen years ago
That is still true even as the world grows smaller through the internet.
Exploration doesn’t even have to be expensive or majestic.
One Sunday morning you may feel you want to reach out in faith,
You can do this without even leaving the town limits.
A step inside a nearby church that you’re unfamiliar with
May open your eyes to God’s new love in a whole new way.
This freedom can also be experienced here at UCP,
By sitting in on a Contemporary Worship service,
May help you feel this expansion and growth anew.

By being a member of the Ogden Baptist Church,
But attending Agape here in Pittsford,
I have been exposed to a whole new way of seeing church.
This challenged me to look around and examine my beliefs about diversity
And realize how everyone is unique and different.
Diversity doesn’t have to just be about race.
I have felt free from the sins of stereotyping since joining Agape,
They are no longer the ‘rich Pittsford kids.’
I have also glimpsed the love of youth from military families.
The grace that God has given me is remarkable
As my faith has expanded through exploring faith.
As I stop to feel the horizons widening,
I think it’s time to see the world anew with this freedom.
Find this freedom and let’s go exploring!