The Peace and Justice Task Force continued in 1999 with the programs that have become a tradition in our church over the past 15 years. Ash Wednesday, February 17, we had our meatless, potluck supper, followed by a worship service that included the ritual of ashes. On March 3, we began our "soup and bread" suppers, and our guest speaker was Beth Coleman, President of the Fulton County Regional Chamber of Commerce, who spoke to us about the Rail Trail between Johnstown and Gloversville. On March 17, our speaker was Dr. James Meehan, a Doctor of Chiropractic, who talked about the importance of good nutrition for health. On April 14, our speaker was the Rev. Barbara Floryshak, who presented a slide and talk show about her trip to Croatia and other regions in the former nation of Yugoslavia. This followed a covered dish supper. On April 19, we distributed 100 tree seedlings to the Sunday School along with instructions on the planting and nurturing of them. They were donated to us by the Fulton County Soil and Water Agency. We did this as a means of celebrating Earth Day.

About this time we began a campaign to interest people in going on another retreat to follow up our success of the previous year. The Presbytery of Albany offered us the facilities at Camp Hebron free of charge. Although we distributed several bulletins to the congregation, providing information about the camp, and also talked about it several times at Sunday worship services, we were unable to get a commitment from more than a dozen people, most of whom were on the Task Force. Reluctantly, we called off the retreat, hoping that another time and place might meet with more enthusiasm by the congregation.

On the first Sunday in October our annual peace offering was collected and we obtained $530 in contributions. One-fourth of this amount was retained by our church and the Session voted to use it for local charities.

As in past years, our column titled "Peace Notes" appears in every issue of The Salt Shaker, bringing to your attention news about matters of peace and justice in the world.

Our members, Malinda Argotsinger, Phyllis MacNeill, Andy MacPherson, Bill and Edythe Montgomery, and Pam Persse, wish to thank the congregation for their continued support.