The first weekend I was near Plattsburgh, I had tried to attend mass at this church, St. Peter’s. Unfortunately, I got lost in the time/space continuum once again. I tried to attend on Sunday, but I looked at the schedule for Saturday. So, I was pleased when I actually showed up at the right time on the right day the following week.
I was only a few minutes late, but when you are on my schedule, that almost counts as early.
I came in a side door, and rushed up the stairs. I was kind of embarrassed that I had popped in right by the musicians. Rather than back out, I spied a seat and sat down.
I was so happy that they were doing the sort of music we did back before the “unfortunate incident” in Kalamazoo. They even did one of my favorite pieces!
A lovely woman sitting in the pew behind me helped me out with information on how they proceed to communion.
At the end of mass, Monsignor Duprey invited us all to the church picnic. I wondered what the large tent was doing behind the church when I pulled up.
I joined the crowd in the back. I ended up sitting with a family that were long time members. I asked if this was the original church.
The sign said that it was founded in 1853, but I couldn’t find a cornerstone on the building anywhere. Rita told me that this was the original building, although it has been added on to and remodeled over the years.
I asked her about the French inscriptions in the stained glass windows. She told me that this is the French church in town, and that her family’s name, “Light”, was a translation of the real name of Lumiere.
And then it was time to eat!
What a spread! In addition to all the dishes that people brought to share, they had hot dogs and hamburgs. The hot dogs were served Michigan style.
Actually, they call hot dogs topped with this meat mixture a “Michigan”, as in, “Did you get yourself a Michigan?” That was a questions someone actually asked me. After having lived in Michigan for 28 years, I was a little surprised to hear of such a concoction, but, it was good!
I liked the wading pools filled with ice and beverages. What a delightful meal!
After the eating slowed down, they had a mummy contest. Teams of kids and adults wrapped up volunteers in toilet paper and accessorized them with beads, hats and so on. Then the crowd voted for the one they liked the best.
Mummy number one,
Mummy number two or
Mummy number three.
The crowd favorite was Mummy number one – who also happened to be Monsignor Duprey! What a wonderful example of service and involvement in his community. He was running around helping with the food and warmly greeting people. He even had an extended conversation with me.
There was also live music during the festivities. It turns out the the musician is the husband of the lovely lady I met during mass and had urged me to come to the picnic. I also got to talk to the leader of the music group that was at the mass.
I had a lovely time and I felt welcomed. What a beautiful model for other churches.
It was a great last day on the New York State side of Lake Champlain.