This week we're delighted to shine the spotlight on one of our most dedicated, thoughtful, and wise leaders of our Member Relations Team,  Lynn Carman Bodden (MO #532). 

Lynn moved with her husband, Peter JB Carman (MO #1243) to the Stockade neighborhood of Schenectady in 2014.  Retired in 2022 after serving a variety of denominations in five different states as an intentional interim minister, Lynn now spends time volunteering with first graders at MLK Jr. Elementary in the Reading Is Fun program, at the Schenectady Urban Farms, at Sycamore Collaborative Food Pantry and tabling for Electric City Community Grocery.  She loves reading, classes at Studio 4, and walking. She and Peter enjoy having more time to visit family and friends across the US and overseas. 

What do you like about being part of the co-op community? 

What I especially enjoy about the Coop is the variety of people I've met through tabling at the Greenmarket, attending ECCG meetings and participating in events I read about in the Beet!  Church work focused me on particular sections of a community, and now I am able to meet folks from different neighborhoods and walks of life than I did before.  Tabling especially has allowed me to get to know other coop members better, and to share the coop spirit of friendship and community with those who stop by to learn more.

What will having a downtown grocery mean to you?

Selfishly, it will be wonderful to have a grocery store I can walk to.  More broadly I am grateful to be a part of bringing local, cost-effective, healthy food into a food desert.  The location at Erie and State Street will be accessible to walkers, cyclists, and bus users as well as to people with cars.  AND for member shoppers to be able to help shape what is sold by sharing what they most need is a gift we can share.

What do you love about Schenectady?

I love that Schenectady is friendly, that people care about the community with deep passion, that the streets are walkable.  Many of my closest neighbors are members of the coop who participate in the street cleaning projects, work hard at bringing people together to sort out differences and engage our local government and enjoy our parks and festivals and parks and many entertainment venues.  I really like living near the river, and watching it as it changes with power and grace through the seasons.