December 30 — John Lennon wrote and sang a song back in the 1960s, called AND SO IT IS CHRISTMAS. It starts with these words:

And so it is Christmas. And what have you done? Another year older. A new one just begun.

Great words, food for thought. And so, as calendar year 2022 winds down, we pause and reflect on what we have done and plan for the new year. This year, I got back into running and was able to complete the Callicoon 5K. So, I view that as an accomplishment. I was very involved with this past November’s Election and can report that most of the candidates I supported and campaigned for were elected, I view this as another accomplishment. 

There was a nice turnout at the Christmas Eve candlelight service at the Kenoza Lake United Methodist Church. A beautiful celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Close to 50 people in attendance. Beautiful. There WILL be church service at the Kenoza Lake United Methodist Church on Sunday, January 1st, 9:30 am service. 

Tuesday evening my husband Ray and I heard a noise on our back deck. Alas, what did we hear? No, it wasn’t reindeer, but rather, a raccoon!  Rudy? Why aren’t you “hibernating”? Prior to Christmas, we had a shed buck paying the Otto household a visit.  Indeed! Some bucks shed have shed or have started to share their antlers prior to Christmas. Whitetail deer hunting will FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY end on January 1st. 

If you poll Americans, their favorite hymn is Amazing Grace. The hymn will celebrate the 250-year anniversary of when it was first sung on January 1,1773. Lisa LaGeorge writes:

“January 1, 2023 is the anniversary of a significant moment in church history.  On January 1, 1773, the hymn that we know as “Amazing Grace” was sung for the first time in Olney, England.

For the last 250 years, it has been sung in churches, played at funerals, served as a unifying thread through the Civil Rights Movement in 1960’s America, and recorded thousands of times by everyone from Mahalia Jackson to Elvis Presley to the Lemonheads. Johnny Cash, who often sang the song in his prison concerts, described it, “For the three minutes that song is going on, everybody is free.  It just frees the spirit and frees the person.” 

This will be my last Kenoza Lake news column until at least sometime in February. As you probably know, I am the Town of Bethel Tax Collector and tax collection activities will commence the first week of January. By the next time we next connect, the days will be noticeably longer and there will be hints of spring in the air. 

Wishing all the faithful readers of the Kenoza Lake News, a very healthy and happy new year!