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November 2011
FROM THE INTERIM PASTOR Dear Friends, During our Stewardship Season—Many Gifts + One Body—we have given thanks for all the many gifts we have received from God and for all those that are offered here at Christ Church, and we have celebrated how our many gifts have joined together to create One Body in Christ. After all of that and now as we enter the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I find myself giving thanks for all of you! Thank you for all the many ways you care for this place and for one another, in big and little ways! All of you are essential to this place, whether you are keeping our buildings clean and in shape; sharing your love and knowledge of our history; praying for one another; ringing up sales at the Thrift Stop; polishing the silver and brass we use at communion; paying your pledge; visiting a sick or shut-in parishioner; worshipping on Sunday; teaching Sunday School; coordinating a fundraiser; singing in the choir; baking bread; cutting the grass; leading a Bible study; providing food for one of our many activities; listening to another’s stories; attending an adult formation class; stopping by the office; stuffing envelopes; or any number of other ways that you offer your time and talent and treasure to God through this local Body of Christ. I am struck that without even one of you this Body of Christ is incomplete. This Body of Christ needs all its members. I hope you will celebrate all that we are together by coming to church for our All Saints’/All Souls’ Service on November 2 and for Pledge Sunday on November 6 and by attending our Thanksgiving Supper on November 20 (see below for more information about all three of these events). Even as I finish writing about Stewardship and Thanksgiving, I see Advent on the horizon, and I, for one, am always glad to return to the “beginning” of the church year, awaiting the coming (from the Latin adventus) of Christ. During this season we renew our faith as we prepare, as if for the first time, for the incarnation of God in Jesus and also for the Second Coming of Christ as Judge at the last day. During Advent we meditate on one of the mysteries of our faith: the word made flesh, Emmanuel, God-with-us. I wish each of us the time and space to observe a holy Advent, preparing our hearts and our lives to welcome Christ. I hope to set aside time each day to meditate on the opening chapters in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John that describe Jesus coming into the world. Perhaps you will find time for silence each day, or say one of the daily offices in The Book of Common Prayer (see pages 137-140 for the shorter versions), or pray online with www.sacredspace.ie, or light the Advent wreath each night before dinner. Whatever you do, I hope you find the joy and peace that the season, in fact our whole faith, promises us. Faithfully, Mother Suzanne +
PLEDGE SUNDAY: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 Bring your pledge card to church on November 6, when our pledges will be collected, blessed and tallied. If for any reason you cannot be here on November 6, please deliver your card to the Church Office prior to that day so that it may be included in our pledge tally.
NOTES FROM THE WARDENS REGARDING THE TRANSITION In September, I shared with you the first stages in the Transition Process. In October: • We welcomed Mother Suzanne as our Interim Pastor. • Matthew Mumford agreed to act as our Search Committee Chair. • Matthew met with the Vestry to start the deliberation process about the makeup of the Search Committee. Additional steps we have taken: • The Vestry and Matthew met to come up with a list of categories to be represented by members of the Search Committee. • Matthew has communicated with possible candidates for the Search Committee. He believes he will be able to present a list at the next Vestry meeting. A number of people have commented on the detail of the information I provided about the Search and Transition. I can’t take any credit for it. Instead, if you’re interested you can find the resources I used at this web address: http://ecusa.anglican.org/transition/109541_21176_ENG_HTM.htm. If you have any questions, please e-mail office@christchurch.org with a subject of “Transition” or speak directly to me or George Opper our Junior Warden. Thank you! Lesley Shore, Senior Warden RAFFLE TICKET RESULTS A successful beginning! My thanks to everyone who helped sell a raffle book or two. A total of 2,120 tickets were sold, netting a profit of $3,290 to be applied towards our Outreach ministries. One thousand of these tickets were sold on Applefest Sunday alone, and I’m very confident we can do an even better job next year with our “advanced sales” leading up to Applefest. The $1,000 Shop-Rite Gift Card proved to be a very attractive prize, and this year’s winner (from Hewitt, New Jersey) was ecstatic to hear she’d won it all. I’m recommending we adopt this as an annual fundraiser, and ask in advance for your increasing support! Matthew Mumford CHOIR MEMBERS SOUGHT Our choir is seeking additional talented voices, especially soprano, tenor, and bass. A commitment to the 11am service, special services/holidays and rehearsals (Sundays at 10:10am and as)required. To contact director David Crone to set up an audition: see him in the choir loftthe 11am service, call 845-987-6729, or email dtcrone@optonline.net. ALL SAINTS’ & ALL SOULS’ SERVICE We plan another vivid, joyous celebration of All Saints’ & All Souls’ for this year on Wednesday, November 2 at 7:30 PM. We will again remember our saints by hanging their names above our current congregation as our great cloud of witnesses. You are welcome to bring in a picture, a memento, a symbol of your deceased loved one’s life, a letter you’ve written to your beloved departed, or something else we haven’t thought of! We will gather these around the altar and elsewhere in the church so that they join in our celebration. You may bring any of these items to church on Sunday, October 30 (after the 11:00 service) or to the church office on October 31, November 1 or November 2 between the hours of 9:30am-3:30pm.
VETERANS’ DAY WEEKEND CONCERT: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 4:00 PM At 4:00 PM on Sunday afternoon, November 13, a Concert to Honor Veterans and raise money for Wounded Warriors and local hospitalized vets will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 20 Carroll Street, in Poughkeepsie. In collaboration with The Central Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the afternoon will include patriotic anthems sung by a regional choir, an audience sing-along of favorite hymns of several American presidents, and organ music based on those hymn tunes, and some Hudson Valley composers performing their original organ music. Several area organists will be a part of the program, including Craig Williams, Organist at The Cadet Chapel at West Point. Choral anthems will include America the Beautiful, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and Testament of Freedom, based on a text by Thomas Jefferson. Favorite hymns of American presidents will include Eternal Father, Strong to Save (George H.W. Bush), Amazing Grace (Jimmy Carter), O God, Our Help in Ages Past (Gerald Ford), Holy God, We Praise Your Name (John F. Kennedy), and others. The Mid-Hudson Valley is home to scores of wounded veterans of our country’s recent and current struggles, as well as an aging population of vets from previous conflicts. The need is great, and this concert was conceived as a vehicle to honor all veterans through music, while at the same time raising funds to assist these worthy efforts. Donations will be accepted at the door. PARISH THANKSGIVING SUPPER: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 @ 4:00 PM Following a cherished tradition, we will again celebrate our Thanksgiving as a church family on Sunday, November 20. This is a casual potluck; everyone is welcome, from the smallest children to family and friends who are visiting. We are looking at ways to fit into our limited space. There will be more to follow once we figure out the best way, but, first, we need to know the numbers. There will be two lists posted on the parish hall bulletin board. The first asks just for numbers; the second asks for you to sign-up to bring something and to help setup, clear, etc. This is another wonderful occasion in which to share in our abundance. I hope you can join us. Lesley Shore, Senior Warden THE THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKET PROGRAM The Warwick Valley Ecumenical Council, with the Warwick United Methodist Church as headquarters for the program, will collect and distribute Thanksgiving food to families in the area again this year. We will commence our own Christ Church parishioners’ participation in the program in a new way this year. In the coming Sundays volunteer sign-up sheets will be available during Coffee Hour and in the Sanctuary. Please take one if you would like to provide a basket for a family. Invite your friends, neighbors, and fellow organization members to share in filling the basket! In addition there will be cartons in the Parish Hall for donations of non-perishable food items. It is not necessary to sign-up. These items will be delivered to the Methodist Church to help fill in the baskets that have not been sponsored. Please see Katharine Caufield for more information.
ALL SAINTS’ & ALL SOULS’ SERVICE Please plan to join us and celebrate a special All Saints’ & All Souls’ Eucharist on Wednesday evening, November 2 at 7:30 PM.
NOTES FROM THE CHURCH HISTORIAN A few days ago, Christ Church received a surprise visit from the good sisters of Graymoor Abbey in Garrison, New York. This was the order that was founded by a parishioner of ours, Sister Lurana White. Thirty sisters were given the grand tour by Mother Suzanne and then they shared a prayer before departing. We will be sending them the sacramental records pertaining to their founder in a few days. Another interesting tidbit came to the surface recently about Sister Lurana. A Rector during some of her time here was The Rev. Charles A. Tibbals. He was a good Rector but thought to be too “low church” by some people. He and his family were, however, very supportive of the young sister, and Mrs. Tibbals actually made Sister Lurana’s first all-brown habit. Liam Brown, our Eagle Scout and his troop have done even more clearing of The DeKay Cemetery and many of the dead trees have been cut down. Access to the cemetery is much easier now. If you are interested in helping out, I would like to rake, mark and locate the positions of some of the downed stones and secure the site for winter. In the spring we will begin to reposition and repair the stones. Please contact me at the Church Office at 845.986.3440 or at home at 845.986.7841 so that I can get a date and a crew together to do this work. See the picture of the cemetery, below. Peace to all! Ivy Tulin
THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING AN EPISCOPALIAN MIGHT THINK OF In ancient times people were of course familiar with the sun and the stars. At night they had nothing better to do than to gaze upward and ponder the wonders beyond their reach. The ancients charted the path of the stars as they moved across the skies at night, and they noted how the constellations were at different attitudes, or angles, at particular times of the year. Our ancestors made up stories to explain what they witnessed. Later on, these stories and characters within the stories took on a surreal life of their own, and as the stories were passed down from generation to generation the origins and originators of the tales were forgotten. Listeners became witnesses to miraculous events, investing belief in the stories as explanations for the natural world that surrounded them. Further, the ancients looked to the skies to determine the date, the season, and they even used the seasonal positioning of star clusters and constellations to predict future events. Eventually, with greater understanding of lunar cycles, moist and dry periods could be accurately predicted along with the planning of the sowing of seeds and even the planning of families. As the earth cycled through the Solar Year the sun appeared to make a journey through the constellations of the Zodiac. The entire story of Jesus’ ministry might be considered an allegory for this journey. The name of Bishops, retained to this day, the Episcopacy, the Diocese, the See, are all derived from the function of seeing, or “looking out”, to observe the phenomenon of the visible heavens, which was their appointed duty. Today we all gaze at the heavens; we think of loved ones, we plan our futures, we marvel at what is man. Take a moment in this glorious season of autumn to cast a glance upward, to think on how small we are, but how big we dream. Mark Arnowitz
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