The
Parish Visitor
First Reformed
1153 Main Street,
(845)
March 2012
Dear Friends,
On Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday,
I was surprised when people didn’t know why I was wearing a variety of colorful
beads. Though Dutchess County is far removed from New Orleans or Rio di Janeiro
where Carnival is spelled with a capital “C,” I had wrongly assumed that more
folks than those at the Fishkill Methodist Church and I were serving up pancakes that day.
(Buttermilk blueberry to be exact!)
The ancient tradition of removing sweets
and stuff from the household at the beginning of the Lenten season is a long
way removed from some of the current traditions of Mardi Gras, with it’s over
the top party scene, but the marking of the end of one season and the beginning
of another in the church calendar continues to be an important way for us to
focus on different aspects of our faith and to give a rhythm to our lives that
is different than the beat that the world hears.
The Season of Lent is a time when the
church is called to focus on strengthening our faith by practicing the classic
Christian disciplines. The Inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting
and study. The Outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and
service. The Corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and
celebration. Other disciplines may be added to this list, but least we get overwhelmed,
remember that choosing one or two to focus on is a discipline in itself. And
deliberately practicing these disciplines during Lent will make our celebration
of Easter, our proclamation of the empty tomb, our hope for the future, even
greater. It really will!
I pray you will consider how the Spirit might be
inviting you to enter the rhythm of the Season with a bit more focus and
discipline on how Christ has called us to live.
With prayer and great hope,
P.S.
Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline: Path to Spiritual Growth,
is a wonderful resource for learning about practicing the disciplines and I
have a couple of loan out.
MARCH CALENDAR
|
1 |
Choir - |
18 |
Worship - Sunday School - Chime Choir - |
|
4 |
Worship - Communion - Sunday School - Chime Choir - Church Membership Class |
20 |
Lenten Lunch - |
|
6 |
Worship & Music Committee - Lenten Lunch - |
22 |
Choir - |
|
7 |
Bible Study - Book Study - |
25 |
Worship - Sunday School - Chime Choir - |
|
8 |
Choir - |
27 |
Lenten Lunch - Consistory - 7:15pm |
|
11 |
Worship – 10am Sunday School - 10:15am Chime Choir - 11:30am |
28 |
Bible Study - 10am Book Study - 4:30pm Women of the Church - 7:30pm (*) |
|
13 |
Lenten Lunch - Noon |
29 |
Choir - 7pm |
|
15 |
Choir - 7pm |
30 |
DCCH Shelter Meal (*) |
DCCH SHELTER MEALS
This year our church has
been asked to feed the homeless on March 30, June 29, August 31 and November 30. The menu for March will be salad, chili,
bread and cupcakes. In the past, you have been very generous and once again we
would like your support.
If you are able to help,
please call Linda Rush. Thank you.
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 Stan Saya, Wappingers Falls
John Houston, Hopewell Jct. Karen Twohig, Beacon
Jay Wright, Fishkill Stephen Falcone, Wappingers Falls
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!
MARCH
APRIL
4 H -
Byers, Skinner, Gillert 1 H - Van Nostrand, Suggitt, DiYeso
11
100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts 8
Easter - H - Twohig, Nolting,
Minot, Hoffman
H - Houston, Albra, Doerr 15 H - Harty,
Porter, Kayson
18 H - Aronow,
Rudberg, Schmidt
22 H - Wright, Baron, Jones-Wynn
25 H - D. Hansen, Skorewicz, H. Hansen 29 H - Badowski,
Simmons, Alexander
PRAYER VIGIL
This year we will again be having a
Prayer Vigil from Maundy Thursday through Good Friday. It is a wonderful time
for you to talk with our Lord in the quiet of a special place.
On April 5th,
Maundy Thursday, the hours will be from 9PM to 5AM in the safety of your homes.
On April 6th, Good Friday, the Prayer Vigil hours will be from 6AM to 3PM in
the Sanctuary.
It is our
hope that all the hourly spots will be filled on the sign up sheet in the entry
Way of the church. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had to add more names to each
hour?
EASTER STORY SCAVENGER HUNT
The Christian Education Committee would like all children
to join us for an Easter Hunt on
Sunday, April
8th, after worship, and at the beginning of coffee hour. All kids will gather
to hear
the Easter
Story, followed by a fun scavenger hunt to look for items mentioned in the
story.
Please have your
children join us for this special and fun time.
Notes from
February Consistory Meeting
· Elder Wendy Doerr led devotions. Reminding us
of how important it is for us to know
each other, to take time to hear each other’s
stories, she shared some highlights of her life and how the church has been
there in the hard times and the good times. Psalm 118:24.
· CCS request to sell sweatshirts and T-shirts
with the school logo was approved.
· The anniversary committee has designated
October 14-16, 2016 as the BIG weekend
for our 300th anniversary celebration.
·
Steeple repair will begin
mid-March and the initial deposit of $54,000 was sent to the
company.
·
On Easter, during coffee hour,
the Education committee will hold an Eggless Easter Hunt.
· Treasurer’s report for
January showed revenues at $24,793.17 and expenses at $20,298.28. Revenue was
higher than normal because some annual pledges for 2012 were received at the
end of 2011.
· Next regular Consistory
meeting is March 27th, 7:15pm. Elders will meet at 6:30pm.
Thank you to
my church family for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers during my recent
total hip replacement surgery. I’m back
on my feet and feeling very well. Thank you Pastor Gloria for bringing me the
walker and other items that helped in my recovery at home.
I’m so happy I
have such a wonderful church family.
Sincerely,
Donna
Benjamin-Lovelett
William Edward Rapalje Portrait Donated
to the Van Wyck Homestead Museum
By Willa Skinner
– Town of Fishkill Historian
A most
valued acquisition is the recent gift of an early 19th century
portrait of William Edward Rapalje of Fishkill (1802
– 1833). The framed oil painting by an
anonymous artist was donated to the Fishkill
Historical Society by Lois White Trebisacci of
Westerly, Rhode Island, bringing together the story of the Van Wyck – Rapalje connection.
William
Rapalje was the son of Jane Van Wyck Rapalje
(1782-1806), daughter of Isaac Van Wyck. She was the second wife of Richard
Rapalje who first married
her older sister Laetita, but Laetita died at a
young age, leaving an infant daughter who survived only a short time after her
mother’s death. Richard then married Laetita’s sister Jane who bore three
children, William, Isaac, and John Augustus. John Augustus died at birth, his
mother Jane seven weeks later, and Isaac later died in 1809 at the age of five, leaving William as the lone survivor
of the younger generation until his father married for a third time. The bride
was Ann Currie, daughter of New York City merchant Archibald Currie. Five
children were born of this marriage.
Upon
his father’s death in 1825, young William was given the responsibility of
acting as guardian for his younger brothers and sisters and managing the vast
Rapalje
estate, called Brooklands, along the picturesque
rapids of the Fishkill Creek, which
recently became Merritt Industrial Park. (The family mansion, Robinia,
built in 1800 for
Richard’s first wife, Laetita, was taken down in
2001 for a new motel).
As a
youth, William did not return to his studies at Union College in Schenectady,
in order to manage the huge Rapalje farm. He was described as a handsome,
scholarly young man, a “polished gentleman”, pillar of the community, a
gentleman farmer whose tenants carried out the work on the farm. He did not
enjoy robust health. In 1830, his physical condition worsening, he left for
Europe, hoping the sea voyage and medical advice that he sought there would
improve his health, leaving his good friend and neighbor, John Van Wyck, in
charge of his affairs here. On June 2, 1833, on his return home, he died aboard
ship and was buried at sea. A memorial monument stands in the Rapalje plot of the Dutch Reformed Church graveyard.
“In
1830,” according to research by the late Village of Fishkill historian Margaret
Somers, “William Rapalje planned a new street and planted maple trees on each
side of the proposed course. Due to
illness and his death in 1833, it was never completed. In 1941, the road was constructed through the
lane of maple trees by Royal Gay acting for the Rapalje heirs.”
The
street was named “Rapalje Road”
in honor of William Edward Rapalje.
from your Stewardship Committee
Stop Fracking –
Protect New York’s Water & Landscapes
Fracking is the fracturing of the earth thousands of feet below the
surface to release natural gas and oil.
It is one step in releasing gas and oil from deep within the earth. In
hydraulic fracturing clean water mixed
with sand and chemicals, is injected under high pressure into the earth
to create fissures that allow the
resources to move freely from where it is trapped. Clean water returns
polluted with salts and chemicals
and the land is disturbed. Chemically polluted water goes into the
acquifers, and there is also surface
water pollution, just to mention two of fracking’s effects on our
environment.
We can help stop fracking in NY by calling Governor Cuomo’s office to
voice our opinions.
Join in “DON’T FRACK
FRIDAYS” or call more
frequently. The governor’s office can
be reached at (518) 474-8390. Follow the
steps and be prepared to speak your opinion on hydraulic fracking. It only
takes a few minutes and will help preserve the beautiful mountains and
landscapes we are blessed to enjoy. The more frequently we call, the louder our
voices will sound.
Literacy
Volunteers
Literacy Connections (formerly Literacy
Volunteers – DC) are hoping to recruit tutors to teach Basic Reading and
Writing or English to immigrants. Interested
people can take the training that is most
convenient for them, to become tutors and help people who live close by,
improve their literacy skills. For more
information about the training program, please
see the posting on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.
BSA Troop 65
Venture Crew 65
First
Reformed Church
Fishkill, New York
March News
Troop 65 and Crew 65
attended services at the First Reformed Church on February 5th for Scout Sunday and hosted coffee hour in
the Perry Fellowship Hall complete with a campfire sculpture made of bagels!
Venture Crew 65
would like to thank the First Reformed Church for use of the Perry Fellowship
Hall on February 11th for their spaghetti dinner. The fundraiser was
a great success. The members of the crew learned about cooking for a large
group, making homemade meatballs and the art of washing dishes. The Crew raised
$780. The money is going to go towards purchasing uniform shirts and with
little if no money laid out of pocket by the crew members. We’d also like to
thank all who came to the dinner and enjoyed a good meal.
Amanda
Giusto will be receiving her Venturing Silver Award at her Court of Honor on
April 14, 2012. If interesting in attending, please contact Frank Giusto. The
deadline to RSVP is 3/24/12.
The Troop is looking forward to their annual Electronics campout at the end of February, complete with the traditional turkey dinner on Saturday evening.
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
Croatia Update
Unpacking
begins as Croatian shipment arrives
By Nancy
Titus
Our truck came today! Boxes packed up before
Christmas were opened this afternoon to reveal
mementos of our life in Croatia.
As I unpacked a few of them, I wondered how
others would see this eclectic assortment of things we wanted badly enough to ship across the
ocean. Even my husband made jokes about some of it, but as I replied to him, if
we had lived a champagne life in Croatia, our mementos would reflect that. As
it was, ours was a mustard-glass kind of life, and the things we brought to
remember it by are, well, glasses that literally held mustard.
I really like that.
We have European-style coffee mugs with no
handles that came from McDonald’s, “ice cream shovels” as we call the usual
piece of silverware used for eating sladoled,
and a slightly stained tablecloth that served as a backdrop for Croatian
lessons and homeschool as well as countless family dinners. Just seeing its
aqua blue plaid transported me to my Croatian dining room and instantly brought
to mind Kristina Koronsovac, our Croatian tutor who was often at our house
working with us to learn the language.
Sure, we also have some items on the other
end of the scale, typical things tourists would buy like the small selection of
Bohemian crystal from Prague or the linen milled locally in our region of
Slavonia. But most of what we brought are just mundane items that we used every
day and that I think will anchor us in years to come to this wonderful and
challenging experience we had in Croatia. Like the items themselves, our time
in Croatia was much more about the people and things of humble means than the
extravagant Europe seen by tourists.
So far, we have only had time to unpack a
selected few boxes, checking the most breakable items in case we needed to make
a claim with our shipping company. As I write, we still have in front of us the
gathering of other materials from their resting places in Oklahoma, Texas, and
New York, all the lifting, hauling and moving of boxes and sorting of items as
we find a new place for them to be.
Along with the physical unpacking, of course,
there is a much larger and slower emotional unpacking of our experiences that
will occur over the months and years to come. As you read this, we will have
just returned from a re-entry retreat, which will be helpful as our family
begins that process. So the deeper meanings will have to wait for a later time.
Since I am writing about unpacking, you are
probably wondering where this is being done. I am happy to report that Eric has
accepted a call as pastor of St. John’s Reformed Church in Upper Red Hook, New
York.
Accepting this call is like coming home. We
have had ministry connections with this church for years. For one thing, it is
one of our Partner-in-Mission churches, and in addition to regular prayer and
financial support, the church has sent us special project funds that have
allowed us to provide students with books, like The Hiding Place and Bruchko
for my English language reading seminars.
Even before that, though, we were connected
with St. John’s because it is part of the Mid-Hudson Classis, where we have
belonged since first arriving in New York 13 years ago. The church is even in
the same county where Eric served as a pastor before becoming a missionary, so
moving there is going back to familiar places even if they are now viewed from
a different perspective. We hope to move in and begin our lives there by late
March.
Meanwhile back in Croatia, as many of you
have probably read, our friends are experiencing record cold and snow.
Amazingly, in Osijek, they have three feet of snow! That is unheard of in that
region. Such harsh conditions means a lot of people are struggling to stay warm
this winter. Please keep them in your
prayers.
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 have three children: Samuel, 17, Valerie, 14, and Penny, 12.