The Parish Visitor
First Reformed 
1153 Main
Street,
(845) 896-9836
www.fishkillreformed.org
July 2010
Dear Friends,
As the warm winds blow through the Hudson Valley, the
old song, “Summertime and the living is easy...” starts to play in my head, bringing
with it the memories of the summers of my youth. Growing up on the shores of
We all have our own summer memories and expectations –
a time when schedules are lighter, days are longer, dress is more casual, and
white shoes and slacks are acceptable.
We all talk about summer as a time to kick it down a
notch, but it’s seldom that we actually slow down. This may be our choice, or
it may feel like we don’t have much say in the matter. Family commitments,
jobs, health issues, vacations, new summer schedules, care for others, etc. all
seem to fill our days.
It takes the deliberate action of hitting the pause
button and taking time to soak in God’s goodness as well as the sunshine. To
make it a priority, in the midst of our full lives, and turn our face fully
toward God as we allow the breeze to cool our face, and time to sit upon the
good earth or the warm sands and know that God’s arms hold us even when we are
too weary to stand.
My prayer for us all: Lord God, may we
pause and know your peace and renewing Spirit, and may the Light of the World
guide our paths as brightly as the summer sun and moon. Amen.
Peace and summer breezes,
JULY CALENDAR
|
4 |
Independence Day Worship - Communion - 10am |
18 |
Worship - |
|
5 & 9 |
Church |
25 |
Worship - |
|
11 |
Worship - Strawberry Shortcake Social |
27 |
|
School Kits
All campers who attend the Rural and Migrant
Ministry Camp receive kits for the new school year. This year 200 kits are
needed for all the campers. Our Deacons have set a goal to provide R&MM
with 50 kits and we need everyone’s help to make this happen!
Each kit contains:
2 composition or spiral notebooks,
2 pocket folders, each containing 2 pockets,
A box of 24 crayons, A package of notebook
paper,
A small
package of construction paper,
A pencil box containing: A package of #2 pencils (preferably
an
eraser, a pencil sharpener and a ruler.
Whether it’s a
box of crayons or the whole list, we hope all will participate in making sure
these 200 children have the supplies they need when school starts in the fall.
Watch the Sunday bulletins for further information and check out the great July
Sales on school supplies!
Hudson Valley Blood
Services is
holding a blood drive in Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, August 3, from
Our Sixth Annual Golf Tournament, Monday, September 20,
at McCann
Memorial Golf Course,
*** A registration form is included
on the last page of this newsletter ***
Contact Ray VanVoorhis for more
information
July 25-30. This is a great week for children to
experience being away from home in a
nurturing, Christian environment with a
well-trained staff. Campers enjoy fun games, craft projects, swimming and
learning how much God loves them.
For
more information, please call (845) 986-1164 or email
campwarwick@campwarwick.org
+++++
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),
Barbara Harty,
COFFEE HOUR
Every Sunday
we worship God together and then we continue our fellowship during our coffee
hour in the
Coffee hour is possible because our church family take turns serving each
other beverages and a small treat. 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.
Every week
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 at 831-5694.
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!
JULY
4 Alexander, Fellin, Silverstein, Moffitt
11
Strawberry Shortcake Social - Activities Committee with assist of Covells
and Perrys
18
Utter, Saya,
Hughes
25
Wright, Jones/Wynn,
Twohig
AUGUST
1 Ice Cream
Social - Activities
Committee assisted by the Lannis
8
Doerr, Eberling,
Crawford
15
Porter, Van
Nostrand, Flayter
22
Nolting, Kayson
/ Rodriguez, Rush
29
Twohig, Rudberg,
Sanders
Address Changes :
Marisa
DeGregoriis , 661 Rocky Glen Road, Beacon, NY
12508
Elaine
Houston,
2010 General
Synod Summary
Belhar
Confession Declared Fourth Doctrinal Standard
The General Synod of
the
fourth doctrinal standard of the RCA.
General Secretary: RCA Identity in Transition
RCA general secretary Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, in his report to
synod, said the most critical challenge facing the
Seawood Calls for "Ministry from the Bottom Up"
Synod president James Seawood called the RCA to engage in "ministry from
the bottom up" by practicing a ministry of presence, listening and
learning with the ear and heart of Jesus, and acting as the hands and feet of
Jesus.
Poest Is
New President
Don Poest, pastor of Brunswick Reformed Church in
2011 Assessment
Delegates approved a General Synod Council (GSC) 2011 assessment total of
$44.00 per confessing member, which will provide the GSC, the seminaries, and
the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency (MFCA) with the same total
dollars as in 2010 for carrying out the work of Our Call. Also included in the
assessment is $1.50 per member for assistance grants provided to retirees
through the Board of Benefits Services (this amount has remained the same since
1971); funding for Disabilities Ministries to replace a donation that launched
the ministry; a small amount to review practices about assessments and
denominational funding; and discipleship resources and experiences to address
white privilege. The synod also approved additional funds for reducing tuition
costs for MFCA students, funding an annual gathering of professors of theology,
and creating a coordination and collaboration group to address the mandates of
care, call, and standards for theological education.
2011 PIM Share and Collection for Global Mission
Synod voted to increase the Partnership-in-Mission (PIM) share for 2011 to
$6,100 and to encourage all RCA churches--and particularly the 367 RCA churches
that do not support RCA missionaries through PIM shares--to take a collection
for Global Mission in 2010. PIM shares fund RCA mission work around the world.
RCA
Insurance Holds Premiums below Cost, Offers Incentives for Compliance
Synod supported the Board of Benefits Services
Vander Wal Is New Vice President
Delegates choose Lisa Vander Wal, pastor of Lisha
General Synod
Reflections…..
by Jan Melichar-Utter
The excitement of attending General Synod began in O’Hare Airport as
familiar faces from Regional Synod of NY
gathered for a United flight to
The
2010 Synod was a celebratory gathering.
- In worship we celebrated the official adoption of the Belhar Confession as the fourth doctrinal standard of the RCA. Woven into our celebration was the reality that we must challenge ourselves to live-into this call to unity, justice and reconciliation in our personal lives and in the life of the church.
- It was an emotional
moment as we celebrated Rev. Dr. Renee
House’s return to the position of General Synod Professor of Theology and
full-time service as a member of the faculty and Dean of New Brunswick
Theological Seminary. A chorus of Seminary professors sang with gusto “I Surrender All.”
- We celebrated the retirement of missionaries Jack and Susan
Dabney from their work in
All-synod
Advisory Committees hear delegate concerns and ideas on three topics:
Revitalization in RCA congregations and strategies that make revitalization possible were discussed as well as numerical measures of revitalization, and a revitalization proposal from the general secretary.
Board of Benefits Services and Covenant of Care - Recommendations from this discussion topic support keeping premium increases as low as possible – in 2011 to 5% - and offering an incentive program to reduce the cost of medical insurance premiums beginning in 2011 for churches and ministers who are faithful to the covenant promises with regard to insurance.
Funding
our
Don
Poest is the new president of General Synod. Don is pastor of Brunswick
Reformed Church in
Attending General Synod makes me glad to be an RCA member. I’m grateful for the heritage we have been given; it is a Christ-centered legacy. What joy to work, worship and just “hang-out” with RCA people, young and old, new friends and old friends, from all across the country - our church family hugely extended. Thank you for again giving me this opportunity to serve you and our church.
Women
of the Church
Mark your calendars:
September 25 RCW of the
speaker will be Carol Luidens, daughter
of longtime missionaries, who was raised in the Middle
East. She recently returned from serving
for three months in
escort and advocate for
Palestinians.
October
18 and 19:
Lorraine Nelson-Wolff will again provide the
music.
Remember in prayer those who are serving in the Military,
and their families.
God, our
stronghold and defense, we commend to you today those whose task it is to
defend us in times of danger. Inspire them in war to serve our country well. In
peace, hold them ready and alert. Bless them as they protect and preserve the
innocent. In their lives may they bring honor to our country’s name. Amen. -
Simple Blessings
for Sacred
Adam Alonge,
Air Force, Afghanistan, 2nd tour of Duty
Bris Aponte and Braum Aponte, Navy, Niece and Nephew
of Maja Field
Specialist James Boyington, National Guard,
Afghanistan, Nephew of
Dominic “Lee”
Frederick, Chief Warrant
Christopher Gilbert, AIC, Air Force, Texas, Grandnephew of
Cpl. Greg Linacre, Marine
Corps, Beaufort, South Carolina, Grandson of Lee Beaudway
James MCarthy, Army, Nephew of Maja
Field
Louis Nolting, Helicopter pilot for
search and rescue, Afghanistan, Grandson of
Juanita Nolting
Remington Roth, Starts at Annapolis on
June 29th, Grandson of Reylene Van Geldern
Sergeant Tony Rozbora, Marine Corps,
Springfield, Ma., Son in law of George and JoAnn Supan
Staff Sergeant Ben Sneyd,
Air
Force, Afghanistan, Son of Carol and Glen Sneyd
*
* * *
*
Congratulations to the Graduates of 2010
C.J.
Hoffman, son of John and Jayne Hoffman, graduated from John Jay
High School.
Matthew McArdle, son of Kevin and Christine McArdle graduated from
John Jay High School
Krista N.
Rudberg, granddaughter of Celeste and Bernie Rudberg, graduated
from Temescal Valley High School, Lake Elsinore, California. Krista will be
attending UCLA as a pre-med student.
Alyssa Schmidt, granddaughter
of Tom and Happy Schmidt, graduated from Beacon High School.
Alyssa will be
attending Dutchess Community College.
Kelly
Ann Slaughter, granddaughter of Eleanor Silverstein, graduated from
high school and will be attending Becker College in Massachusetts, majoring in
Nursing.
Greg
Totino, son of Steve Totino and Laura Dachenhausen, graduated
from John Jay High School. Greg will attend the College of the Holy Cross in
Massachusetts, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Italian.
Rebecca
Chao, daughter of Victor and
Elaine
Houston, daughter of John and Toni Houston, graduated from
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a Bachelor of
Science degree in Biomedical Engineering, minor in Spanish, and a certificate in
Robotics. Elaine will begin working on her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of
Pittsburgh. She will also work at HERL (Human Engineering Research Lab).
David
Hubeny, son in law of Connie Kayson, graduated from Binghamton
University with a Masters degree
in
Public Administration.
Alex Phipps,
grandson of Jean Teske, graduated from the University of Florida with a PhD in
Electrical Engineering.
Michael Shannon, son of
Amy Byers Shannon and grandson of Dan and Louise Byers, graduated from
Washington University in St. Louis, with a Business degree. Michael has accepted a
position with Geico in Chevy Chase,
Lindsay
VanVoorhis, daughter of Ray and Joan VanVoorhis, and granddaughter
of Barbara VanVoorhis, graduated from
Penn State University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Lindsay
has accepted a nursing position at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore,
Md., in the Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit and will begin in July.
College
Dean’s List
Tucholski, Edward,Jr., son of Edward and Stacy Tucholski and
grandson of Roger and Karon Perry made the Spring Semester Dean’s List at
Marist College.
Children’s
Community Services
- Heather Hansen, Director
Once again our year has whizzed by without
a chance to take a breath!! I think working with children keeps you in a
constant state of motion…
Our Parent and Tot program finished in the
middle of May. What a delight to see these toddlers becoming part of a cohesive
group. We are forming classes for the fall. If you know of anyone who might be
interested in attending a class with their two year old once a week for an hour
and a half, please have them give a call. We have one class completely full
right now but would love to open many more…
The Before and After School Program ended
on June 25th. We had half day programs that week, for three days and
one of those days we had a picnic at Maurer/Geering Park. There were lots of planned activities,
including a pizza party.
Enrollment for next year is on-going for
all our programs. We would love to meet new families and have them become part
of this valuable mission of the First Reformed Church. If you know anyone or
have any questions, please call 896-9876.
Have
a wonderful and blessed summer!
Notes
from June
·
Deacon
JoAnn Supan led devotions based on Proverbs 5 & Amos 7,
speaking about Divine interruptions and Divine protection.
·
Treasurer’s
Operating Report for May shows revenues totaling $19,978.86
and expenses totaling $16,587.79. Though expenses were down this
month,
the yearly actual giving is $4,000 below budget.
·
New
lighting is being installed in the upstairs of the Education building and
in the bathrooms off Fellowship Hall.
·
·
The
·
Rev.
Joyce Stedge-Fowler, the first woman minister ordained in the RCA
died on June 23rd. She was ordained in the Mid-Hudson
Classis in 1973.
·
A
Summer “Dinner Theater” will be held on Friday evening, August 6th.
·
Next
regular
+ + + + +
Seminary reels after professor’s sudden death
By Nancy Titus
The Evangelical Theological Seminary
community is reeling from the shocking blow of the death of a resident New Testament professor just days before
graduation.
Prof. Davor Peterlin, who also headed the Research
and Publishing Department, died June 14 of an apparent heart attack.
His
death stunned all of us. When the news came, many people thought it referred to
his father rather than our 51-year-old professor. Davor had no history of heart
problems. He had simply called his wife at work to say that he wasn
In addition
to the personal loss of Davor as a friend and colleague, the seminary community
keenly feels the empty place he leaves. As a native Croat, he was an important
part of the seminary’s plans for building stability for the future. His efforts
in getting Croatian government money for the seminary was one of the high
points of the year-end report to faculty at a meeting just a week before he
died. Those efforts were significant in helping move the seminary into the
black from a deficit financial position the year before.
At that
faculty meeting, it was also announced that he would head the doctoral
department, following the recent departure of an American missionary. This was
in addition to other projects he was to lead in the coming year.
One of the
issues the seminary has always faced is its dependence on both money and
personnel from overseas. The recent global financial crisis has put new life
into efforts to diversify the funding of the institution. Its shaky financial
position has made it difficult to provide salaries for the indigenous academics
needed for the long term. Davor was an answer to prayer for both of those
problems.
His death
is a stark reminder of how fragile life is and how limited our view of God’s
plan is. Davor, who had just gotten married one week before, was making lots of
plans, both personally and for the seminary. We were all excited for him and
for the future ministry of the seminary.
We are
thankful that nothing takes God by surprise, but we stagger under the weight of
such loss and naturally we question what God is doing. I watch the members of
our community around me and listen as they voice their pain and frustration.
This is understandable in any context, but it is multiplied here where so much
history weighs upon the hearts of people who have had to endure the
dehumanizing effects of communism and the inhumane realities of ethnic war. A
fatalistic outlook on life has taken hold of many that I know here – even in
the church. People don’t really believe they can make a difference.
The truth
is maybe they can’t. That’s something that is hard going down for a basically
optimistic American like me. Being in this context and being confronted with
the blows our partners have faced this year, including a legal decision that
reversed the status of a Reformed church property, has taught me something
about what it feels like to be powerless.
However,
the greater truth is that where humans are powerless, our God is powerful.
Nothing can stop His plans, and we know that His plans include the coming of
His kingdom and His will right here in
And so at
this moment of grief, when deep discouragement is a very real enemy, I pray,
and ask you to join me, that God will build up this seminary for the glory of
His name here in
Eric and Nancy Titus are RCA missionaries in
First
Reformed
Sixth
Annual Golf Tournament
McCann
Memorial Golf Course
(845)471-3917
9:00am
Registration
10:00am
Shotgun Start
Scoring
format will be a 4-person Scramble
Donation
per golfer of $120.00 will include:
Golf, cart, goody bag gifts, lunch, dinner (at
Christos), prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place
team finish, longest drive and closest to pin contests, and a hole-in-one
prize! There will also be a raffle during dinner with great prizes.
Golfer Registration
BREAKFAST SPONSOR - $250.00
Please list guests/team members below:
DINNER
SPONSOR - 3 @ $500.00
NAME: _________________________________ 4 GOLFERS and a SIGN - $525.00
ADDRESS: ______________________________
________________________________________
PHONE:
________________________________ Yes, please reserve _______
golf ticket(s)
NAME:
_________________________________ at $120 per person
ADDRESS:
______________________________
________________________________________ Unfortunately, I won’t be able to
attend. However,
PHONE:
________________________________ enclosed is my donation of $ ____________
NAME:
_________________________________ as a contribution
to
ADDRESS:
______________________________ First Reformed
________________________________________
PHONE:
________________________________ Total
enclosed _____________
NAME:
_________________________________
NAME: __________________________________
ADDRESS:
______________________________ COMPANY: ______________________________
________________________________________ ADDRESS: _______________________________
PHONE:
________________________________
_________________________________________
PHONE:
_________________________________
Make Checks Payable to: First Reformed
Questions? Contact Ray
VanVoorhis (845)452-2268 or rvanvoorhis@lmvarchitects.com
First Reformed
www.fishkillreformed.org
Jesus,