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Ice is starting to form on the banks of the Little River in Woodstock.

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Church puts up
Prayer Box
POMFRET — Prayer makes a difference.  That is a lesson the members of First Congregational Church of Pomfret (FCCP) experienced in powerful ways over the past several years. Since the tragic 2013 fire that destroyed the church’s historic Meeting House, church members have become increasingly aware of the importance of prayer. During the rebuilding process, the church family was frequently faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Congregants made each of those concerns a matter of concerted prayer, and, in every case, needs were met, obstacles were removed and resources were provided to keep the building project moving forward.
The FCCP congregation recognized the power of prayer and developed the idea of installing a “Prayer Mailbox” in front of the church.  The mailbox, which is labeled with the words “Your Cares... Our Prayers”, is by the center stairs in front.
If you have a need, a care, a concern, or something you want others to join with you in praying about, you are invited to write it on a slip of paper or use one of the blank cards located with the Prayer Mailbox and drop it in the securely locked box. Prayer requests may be submitted anonymously, or, if you would like someone to be in touch with you about your request, you may include contact information.  All prayer concerns placed in the Prayer Mailbox will be kept in confidence by those who are part of the church’s prayer teams, according to Rev. Thomas Crumb, pastor of the church.
“We believe God sees, God knows and God cares about everything that touches our lives,” said Rev. Crumb, Pastor of First Congregational Church. “Though God’s ways are mysterious and God’s answers to prayer vary between ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘wait’, we firmly believe prayer makes a difference. We look forward to serving our community through prayer. We have been blessed, and we want to extend the benefit of those blessings to embrace the cares and concerns of our neighbors around us.”

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Gratitude
Pomfret Community School ran a two-week Gratitude Campaign through the Look for the Good Project. To help everyone focus on the good orange “Gratitude Spots” were placed in hallways throughout the school to remind students and staff to think about what they are thankful for.  Each morning, students wrote their gratitude on sticky notes and created a beautiful “Gratitude Wall” in the main hallway. Kindness cards were also handed out which expressed to the giver of the card they appreciated something the receiver did. Writeup by Principal Mrs. Imschweiler and photo by Phyllis La Belle.

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Athlete intent
on preserving
native language
Nya:wëh sgënö’ lani ni’gya:söh
Onödowa’ga:’ ni:’ah
This is Lani Cornfield’s way of saying to you: “Hello, I’m thankful you are well. Lani is my name and I’m of the Seneca Nation of Indians.”
Cornfield, a member of the Putnam Science Academy women’s prep basketball team, says life on campus isn’t all that different from living on the reservation, aside from one major thing. Instead of having time set aside each day to be taught her native language, she has to find time in her very busy schedule to teach herself to stay in practice. English is the dominant language on her reservation in western New York, though most of the elders there speak Seneca. She is passionate about keeping up.
“My mom knows a little bit. And my grandmother was fluent so I’d be speaking to her in Seneca around the house,” Cornfield said. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can. In college and after, I do still plan on taking classes in the language and making sure my kids are exposed to it and around it.
“Our language is dying and I’m trying to keep up with it as much as I can and keep it alive.”
Cornfield, 17, moved to the reservation with her family – including twin Shawni, who is also at PSA – 10 years ago, and this is her first time away for such an extended period of time. Before this, it would be maybe a couple of weeks for basketball tournaments or visits. She has adjusted well off and on the court (more on the latter in a bit) but does still feel the tug of home and the culture.
“I want people to know about the history of Native Americans,” she said. “There is so much people just don’t know. Most schools that are near a reservation, they will learn about the reservation near them, and they’ll have the option for a language class for students to learn. But most schools don’t know or teach about Native Americans because they don’t live near a reservation.
“The hate that Native Americans get, the fact that a lot of things in our history are unrecognized, I just don’t think it’s fair and I think people should know about it. Our language is dying because of certain things that happened in the past. I just don’t think that it’s right and I want to do what I can to preserve it.”
(Full disclosure: Putnam Science Academy does not offer a course in Native American history or language.)
While back in New York, Cornfield was a dynamic scorer for Lake Shore High, where she scored more than 1,000 points through her junior year. PSA coach Amanda Morales had high expectations for the 5-foot, 6-inch point guard, but she wasn’t expecting them so quickly.
Cornfield took little time establishing herself though, dropping 21 points off the bench in the Mustangs’ season-opener in late October. She has continued to impress since then.
“She’s got her name in almost every category of the stat sheet and makes it really hard for me to take her out of the game,” Morales said. “She’s a dynamic guard with a high IQ. She’s very cerebral, picked up on the offense extremely fast and she knows every play from every position. She’s a winner and gets the job done.”
The Mustangs split their first four games of the season, played in a series of scrimmages this past weekend in Maryland, then return to the floor for road games that count in the standings tomorrow and Saturday.
They will be home again for three straight on December 5, 7, and 9.
Cornfield, the team’s leading scorer, will be ready.
“I think everybody has played well,” she said. “Everyone has their own key aspect to the team and their own thing that they can do really well. For me, I think I can see things outside of what we’re doing. I think I’m able to see things before they happen a little bit more than some and anticipate well.
“Everyone is always going to want to make an impression. But honestly, all I want to do is help my team win. That’s all I ever want to do.”

Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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