DECEMBER CALENDAR
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1
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Choir - 7pm
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15
|
Choir - 7pm
|
|
3
|
Chime Choir
- 10am
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17
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Advent Pot
Luck Dinner - 5:30pm (*)
|
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4
|
Worship -
Communion - 10am
Sunday
School - 10:15 am
Hanging of
the Greens (*)
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18
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Worship - 10am
Sunday
School - 10:15am
Chime Choir
- 11:30am
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|
6
|
Worship
& Music Committee - 11am
|
21
|
Bible Study
- 10am
|
|
7
|
Bible Study
- 10am
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22
|
Choir - 7pm
|
|
8
|
Choir - 7pm
|
24
|
Christmas
Eve Service - 8pm
|
|
11
|
Worship
Sunday
School - 10:15 am
Chime Choir
- 11:30 am
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25
|
Worship - Communion
-10am
|
|
13
|
Consistory
- 7:15pm
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28
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Bible Study
- 10am
|
|
14
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Bible Study
- 10am
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30
|
DCCH
Shelter Meal (*)
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The Holidays
are here… Please plan to stay a little longer on Sunday,
December 4th after coffee
hour to join
in the Hanging of the Greens. There’s lots to do and the more helpers we
have, the more fun it becomes..
Caroling to our homebound - Would you like to share some
Christmas cheer with our homebound church
family members? We will be caroling to our
homebound on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2 pm. We will car pool from
the DuBois House and return for a light
supper. Please join us! Everyone is
welcome! There will be a
sign-up sheet outside Fellowship Hall.
Advent Pot Luck Dinner - “The Christmas
Story & Song” will be held on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 5:30pm in
Fellowship Hall. Dinner will be followed by
singing of familiar Christmas carols along with the reading of the
Christmas story by the children. Please mark
your calendars and plan to join us!
DCCH Shelter
Meal
We
would like to thank everyone who helped us feed the homeless on October 28. As
always your help
and
generosity is greatly appreciated.
We
will be feeding the homeless again on Friday, December 30. We know how busy
everyone will be during the holidays, so we asked the consistory if they would
provide the funds for lasagna, salad and bread. They have agreed to this and
for that we are grateful. We will be needing dessert and we thought Christmas
cookies would be nice. When you are baking your cookies if you could make and
extra dozen or two for the homeless it would be appreciated.
If you
are able to help, please contact one of us. The cookies can be left in the
DuBois house anytime before Friday, December 30 at 3pm.
Merry
Christmas!
Linda
Rush and Nellie Briggs
If you or anyone you know
needs, on a temporary basis, a ride to a doctor, a meal delivered, a friendly supportive visit
or phone call , please call a deacon
closest to you:
Linda Baron (evenings), Wappingers Celeste
Rudberg, Wappingers/East Fishkill
Barbara Harty, Wappingers Stan Saya, Wappingers
John Houston, Hopewell
Junction Karen Twohig, Beacon
COFFEE
HOUR
In the list of dates and names below, the first name
on the list serves as the host. This means calling the other names on the list
for that day and seeing who will bring what, including juice and milk.
If someone on the list has a commitment before
or after worship, than the group can make arrangements as to who will set up,
who will keep the creamer pitcher full and who will clean up.
Maisie Minot makes sure the coffeepots are on
and full. Those serving make sure the coffee pots are cleaned and all the
tables and counters wiped down with the water/bleach mixture found in the spray
bottle. Please take the dirty dish towels home for a wash and bring them back
the next week.
If
you are not able to do the coffee hour on your scheduled date, please find a
replacement and call the church office with the name of your replacement. If
you have any concerns regarding your availability at this time to do coffee
hour due to health or other large issues, please contact Karen Twohig.
If
anyone plans to bring food to coffee hour for a special occasion,
please notify the host for that date. Thanks
to everyone for your continued hospitality!
DECEMBER JANUARY
4 H - Hoffman, Nolting, Porter 1 New Year’s Day - Twohig - Set-up &
clean-up
11 H - Falcone, Jones-Wynn, Crawford Please bring a few left over goodies to
share!
18 H
- Covell, Sanders, Carruthers 8 H - Wright, Alexander,
Silverstein
25 -
Christmas - No Coffee Hour 15 H - Landanno, Lane, Houston
22 H - Kayson, Rodriguez, Rush
29 H -
Baron,
Harty, Sanders
Sing Christmas Music with the residents
of Hedgewood Adult Home in Beacon on Wednesday, Dec.7 at 2pm.
Everyone is welcome! Car pooling from
the DuBois House is at 1:30pm.
We will bring cookies to serve the residents. If you are not able to join us,
but would like to contribute cookies, you may leave them in the church office
before 1:30.
Christmas Remembrances for our home
bound members will be prepared by the women of the church on Wednesday, Dec.14.
We will meet in the DuBois House Parlor at 1pm. Please bring cookies, candies, fruit and goodies for
diabetics. If you can’t come, you may leave donations of goodies at the church
office before the meeting. Join us for
fun and fellowship. Thank You!
The Stewardship Committee would
like to thank the Consistory for their contributions of delicious casseroles
and breads for the Consecration Sunday brunch. Thanks to Connie Kayson for
providing the lovely table centerpieces. We also thank those who helped to set
up and clean up, too numerous to mention by name lest we overlook someone! You know who you are; we couldn’t have done
it without you. We feel truly blessed!
Stewardship
Committee
Linda Baron, Jan Utter, Sue Wynn, Celeste Rudberg
Second Annual ASPCA Drive - Please donate your new or gently used,
medium to large sized bath towels and/or blankets, for use in their no-kill
animal shelter. Toys and food for cats and dogs may also be donated. Please use
the boxes in the lobby of the Education
Building for your
donations. Thank you!
Notes from November Consistory Meeting
· Deacon Barbara Harty led devotions using a story about
a captain and a seaman arguing over whose command would be obeyed. It was a
reminder that God’s love, God’s light, will shine on those big rocks in our
lives and help guide us on the best path. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the
world.” John 9:5.
· Treasurer’s Operating Report shows October revenues
totaling $14,983.20 and expenses totaling $26,794.46.
· The Hanging of the Greens will be December 4,
following coffee hour.
· Christmas Caroling will be Sunday, December 11th
starting at 2pm.
· Christmas Eve worship is at 8pm and Christmas Day worship at 10am.
· Food Pantry has received numerous food and money
donations from many local businesses and community people. The Pantry is able
to give turkeys, roasting chickens or canned ham, to all clients for the
holidays.
· A number of people were not in worship on Consecration
Sunday, so follow up letters have been sent out. Stewardship will make a final
report at the beginning of December.
· The consistory will review the 2012 church calendar
and discuss how and what events to hold based on leadership for the event.
· Next regular Consistory meeting is December 13th, 7:15pm.
News from Children’s Community
Services
November is nearly behind us
and it’s hard to believe we are in the Advent season! Just to let you know about our November at
CCS, I will point out some of the high points.
We once again were able to
offer Developmental Screenings for children in the program. We will offer this
valuable service once again in the new year and I will be sure to let you know
when that will be. I encourage you to let anyone with a child between the ages
of 6 months and 5 years to take part in one of these screenings… all children
have strengths and weaknesses and it is a great opportunity to learn ways to
support development in any area that is needing to be strengthened.
The children in the four year old class took a
field trip to the Museum of the Hudson Highlands in Cornwall, NY
on Friday, November 18. The program offered was “Tools, Toys, and Tales”. The
focus was on how Native American children lived in our area 400 years ago. The
staff did a wonderful job bringing it to the preschool level and the children
seemed to enjoy the experience. They offer many programs to the public and have
a very informative web site for anyone interested to explore.
We did have a feast of
Thanksgiving with all of the 3 and 4 year olds. The 4 year olds made biscuits
and butter for all to share… we also nibbled on vegetables, corn muffins,
cookies and apple juice. It was a really yummy time. There were several ½ days
for the elementary age children and so the building was buzzing with activity.
One of the favorite things was taking some of the leftover pumpkins,
walking into the woods and going
“Pumpkin chucking”… It was really fun to watch their faces!
The Parent Association has planned
a fundraiser for Friday, December 9th. The evening will feature the children’s art
work, baked goods for sale and a silent auction supported by local businesses.
We are also offering Alps chocolate for sale
for the Christmas season. Orders need to be received by the December 4th.
If you would like to order chocolate, please see Heather Hansen or Lisa
Skorewicz.
Enjoy the coming holiday…
Heather Hansen,
Director
The Chrismon Tree
When we decorate our church for
Christmas, the tree in the sanctuary is hung with varied and beautiful
ornaments, called Chrismons. Chrismons are ornaments, but special ones, with
designs which
depict biblical teachings and events.
Our Chrismons
were made by church members, and are lovingly packed away and then brought out
again to grace the tree each year. New ones have been made from time to time,
and old ones repaired.
Ascension Lutheran Church
in Danville, Virginia, tells us that one of their long
time members, Frances Kipps Spencer, began creating the Chrismons to decorate
the tree in that church in 1957. She thought that a church tree should have
ornaments special to the setting, and researched various early Christian symbols
which would lend themselves to this use. For example, the Greek letters “Chi
Rho”, are monograms for Christos, the Greek word for Christ, and became one of
the earliest Chrismons. A few others are the fish, a well known early Christian
symbol, the anchor, the crown, various styles of crosses, and the trefoil,
symbolizing the trinity. The Chrismons are made in white, the liturgical color
for Christmas, and gold, symbolizing the majesty of God.
As her early
designs were admired and well received, Ms. Spencer added others, some more
complex and sophisticated. She wrote several books, explaining the meaning and
construction of the Chrismons, and they became popular in churches in this
country and elsewhere.
Karon Perry
tells us that our members began making Chrismons in the late 1970’s, at the
suggestion of the pastor’s wife at the time, Mrs. Elliot. A group of members
would get together, using a book which pictured different Chrismons, and work
together to fashion them. A few years ago, a “Chrismon workshop” was held, to
repair and replace some of them. We are blessed to have these heirlooms created
for us by past and present members, to remind us in such a lovely way of the
true meaning of Christmas.
______________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday
Afternoon Book Study
February 1 –
March 7
Earth –Wise
A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues,
By Calvin B. DeWitt
Earth-Wise is a Christian response to the environmental concerns
that can sometimes overwhelm us all. Calvin DeWitt says our first response to
these concerns is to gain a joyful positive attitude about our ability to work
for good in the world: “Ours is not to grovel in the polluted gutters or to
wring our hands over our sins. Instead we are called to go about reclaiming
creation for our Lord, knowing that ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in
it’ (Psalm 24.1) and that we may eagerly do so out of joyful gratitude for
God’s great gift of salvation.”
Everyone is invited to join this 6 week
study, beginning
Wednesday,
February 1st, 4:30 – 6:30 pm.
Please
sign up in the Ed Building so books may be ordered.
If you
have questions, please speak with Pastor Gloria.
Church
Membership Class
Belonging is the focus on our class designed for those
interested in membership at
First Reformed Church
of Fishkill. We will talk
about:
belonging to God
belonging to the Reformed
Church in America,
and
belonging to First Reformed Church of Fishkill.
The class will meet on three Sundays in February, following coffee
hour, in the DuBois House Parlor. The tentative schedule is February 5, 19 & 26.
If you are interested, please complete the information sheet available
on the table in the sanctuary or in the DuBois House and return to the church
office. Please contact Pastor Gloria with any questions or concerns.
BSA Troop 65
Venture Crew 65
First
Reformed Church
Fishkill, New York
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|
December
News
The
autumn line-up of events and activities for Troop & Crew 65 continued in
full swing last month.
On November 5th, 7 scouts and
5 adults embarked on a 10 mile long bike hike along the Hudson
Valley
Rail Trail from Highland
to Poughkeepsie.
Over the 10 mile course, Scouts worked on their
Orienteering skills and put their bike
safety skills to the test, all the while having a great time.
November
12th at the New York
Military Academy
in Cornwall was
the setting for the Hudson
Valley
Councils “University
of Scouting”. Three Crew members attended and completed
leader
training for Crews, otherwise known as ILSC.
This training will then be taught to the rest of the Crew
members at the December campout. This training
is part of the Journey to Excellence program that
replaces the Quality unit award. The Crew is
on track to obtain the Journey to Excellence award this
year
as the Crew has been a Quality Unit since 2007, the year the Crew was founded.
Three leaders from the Venture Crew went to
the University of
Scouting as well. For the
adults the
day offers a variety of classes for all
types of scouting units; from how to’s on paperwork and computer
programs to outdoor skills, knots and many
ideas to bring back to ones unit.
The Troop and Venture Crew enjoyed a day of
leaf raking and fun on November 19th – cleaning up
the church
yard, Memorial garden and cemetery.
Popcorn distribution is in full swing and
plans are being made for a December cabin campout at
Camp
Nooteeming in Pleasant
Valley.
Happy Holidays to All from Boy Scout Troop
& Venture Crew 65!
If
you would like more information regarding scouting opportunities, activities,
or service projects,
Please check out our website at www.troop65fishkill.scoutlander.com or contact Ed Tucholski,
Scoutmaster, or Venture Crew Advisor Stacey
Tucholski.
Chartered Organization: First Reformed Church 1153 Main Street, Fishkill, New York 12524
Meetings: Monday
Evenings 7:00-8:30 PM during
the school year
Brinkerhoff Elementary School 16 Wedgewood
Road Fishkill, New
York 12524
Southern Dutchess & Putnam Sportsman’s Club Cedar Hill Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Croatia
Update
Ending well focus of our last month in Croatia
By
Nancy Titus
The end.
Perhaps
that is a strange way to begin a column, but it is all I can think about these
days as it is where we are headed in our Croatian mission. Only a few more days
until we move. Only a few more classes to teach, only a few more coffees to
attend, only a few more meetings, chance or planned, with friends.
We all have numerous endings that we encounter
in life. Some we euphemize to place the focus on the new thing ahead instead of
the old thing past: New Year’s, commencement, retirement, eternal life with
Christ. I am just that sort of an optimist who likes to look at the bright side
of the new beginning just beyond the end. There is that aspect in this ending
as well, but today I am stuck a bit as this end stares me in the face. Eric and
I have done this enough in our years together that I know some of the dynamics
our hearts will go through.
As we sort through and pack up our stuff, we
can’t help but try to evaluate our “success”: the things we think we did well
and the things we know we did poorly. We will yearn for the chance to correct
or to finish something we started or even launch a good project that was lost
in the shuffle of other things. But, we will shut the door of our thinking and
our hearts to those possibilities because we are at the end. There is always
more work to be done here – but not by us.
The end.
We try to
prepare for the things we know we will miss by indulging in them now. We
traveled the Croatian coast and a famous national park and reveled in their
beauty. We think more about the little things we like: like the sound of the
church bells and the tastes from the bakery down the street. We take extra time
with people we meet because we just want to enjoy them more.
We have been
through the uncomfortable task of telling everyone we are leaving. That is a
hard part, and I am glad it is over, but the shock and sadness in the reactions
of others gives us a glimpse of the greater sadness that is coming our way,
when we truly have to say good-bye.
We know there
will be tears because God has knit us together with His people here.
Disentangling our hearts from those we have grown with over the course of the
last five and a half years is painful. If it were not, that would be a bad
sign, a sign that we were not truly connected. So, we rejoice because we cry.
We rejoice because we have reason to cry. Yet we cry.
Sure, we know
relationships don’t have to end just because miles or an ocean separates us.
Certainly, the fact that you are reading this attests to the truth that love
and care between brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ continues. After
all, many of you are those to whom we had to say tearful good-byes in order to
go to Croatia
in the first place. Electronic communication has become so easy and inexpensive
and a great way to stay connected. Still it will not be the same.
The end.
I don’t
particularly like those words, not when they come at the end of a book I love
or a movie I enjoy. I really don’t like them when they come attached to a
meaningful job or close working relationships.
As we enter
our last month here in Croatia, we want to do it well, to be good stewards of
the gifts God has given which have lead us to this place. Our motive has a
selfish side because, of course, we want people to think of us in positive
terms. However, even more than that, we want our service to bring glory to God
here at its end even as we have longed for that every day since we arrived.
Our Croatia tenure:
June 2006 to December 2011. The only statement important is to hear from God:
“Well done, good and faithful servants!”
Eric and Nancy Titus are
RCA missionaries in Osijek,
Croatia, where
they work at the Evangelical Theological Seminary and with the Reformed
Christian Church in Croatia.
They will end their service in December 2011. They have three children: Samuel,
17, Valerie, 13, and Penny, 11.
First Reformed Church of Fishkill
1153 Main Street
Fishkill, NY 12524
www.fishkillreformed.org
Our special Christmas offering will go in its entirety to The Transformation Life Center (TLC).
Located across the river in West Park, NY,
it provides services of care by demonstrating the love of
Christ to men
with life-controlling issues. TLC is a discipleship program that maintains an
atmosphere
which fosters
and nurtures the spiritual life of residents so they will come to know Christ
and one day,
by the
Spirit, make Christ known to others. This is accomplished with a structured
experience where
residents
work together to produce Christ-like character, wholesome attitudes and a
stable lifestyle.
Please use
the special Christmas offering envelopes or memo checks, “Christmas, TLC.”
The
Parish Visitor