I want to share with you as Head of Staff, that Lori Hylton will be leaving the Administrative Assistant position with HRP in order to accept the full-time Administrative Coordinator position with the Synod of the Northeast. We are very happy for Lori and congratulate her, but we will miss her and her gifts and abilities. Her last day will be October 31, so be sure to send her your thanks and well wishes.

 

As most of you all know, HRP elected the General Presbyter Nominating Committee (GPNC).  Read more about the committee and its members.

Honorably Retired members of HRP and their spouses are invited to a luncheon in their honor on Thursday, October 26th beginning at 10:00 AM and concluding before 2:00 PM. It will take place at our Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center at Holmes.

 

This luncheon provides a wonderful opportunity to  reconnect with and enjoying the company of former colleagues and friends,  make new friends,  connect with our Interim General Presbyter, get an update on our transition process, and  enjoy the awesome beauty of Holmes during the fall.

 

In addition to that, Allison Seed, our Board of Pensions rep will be present sharing updates and news about the program and benefits of the BOP as well as answering questions.

 

To make reservations, please call Jean Kaiser at the Presbytery office - 914.941.2100, or e-mail her at: [email protected] . The deadline for reservations is Monday, October 23.  There will be no cost for this event.

If you are interested or know of someone who would be good and appropriate for any of these positions, please contact Heather Benedict, at [email protected] or 845-361-1002.

Have your congregation go Zero Waste!  At the last Presbyterian Meeting hosted at Hitchcock Church we had the pleasure of seeing their zero waste program in action.  

As those at the meeting saw, there was no trash from the lunch!  Food was served on reusable dishes and compostable serveware (which was made from renewable resources such as sugarcane leaves and corn).  At the end of lunch any leftover food scraps and all of the compostable serveware went into a Compost Bin instead of the trash.  

The bags of compost are picked up each week from Hitchcock Church and brought to a compost facility where all of the food scraps and compostable serveware are turned into soil!  

If you would like to bring Zero Waste to your congregation please reach out to Michelle Sterling ( [email protected] ) and Ron Schulhof ( [email protected] ) who are two volunteers that helped bring Zero Waste to Hitchcock Church and are happy to help other congregations as well. 

On March 31, 2017, The Cookstove Project was introduced to the Hudson River Presbytery meeting at Stony Point. From that simple encounter, an amazing phenomenon took place, with breathtaking results! 

You may know that The Cookstove Project, a 501 C3 nonprofit, works to stop the deaths, diseases and environmental destruction caused by cooking indoors over open fires. (Sadly, 4.3 million people, mostly woman and children, will die this year from household air pollution due to open fire cooking.)  

 

The Cookstove Project formula is simple: a $10 donation equals one clean cookstove.  "10D=1C" Not only that, the project gives on-the-ground education and training to women and their families; they build lives--they build community--as they build cookstoves.  Read more.

PC(USA) Study on the Status of Women Reveals Gender Bias Still Pervasive

The Gender and Leadership in the Church  research found that eight out of ten women teaching elders have experienced discrimination, harassment, and/or prejudicial comments due to their gender, and four out of ten feel that they have experienced gender bias in hiring, promotion, or selection for an official position within the PC(USA).  Read the study.

The Presbyterian Ministry at the UN will be holding its first Open House on Tuesday, Oct. 17 from 12:30-2:00pm.  The program is free of charge and will give you the opportunity to engage with PC(USA) staff and the UN community.  A light lunch is provided.  Please RSVP by Oct. 13 to [email protected].  Share the flyer with your congregation.

The event will feature speakers from the United Nations, the Organization for Refuge, Asylum, & Migration, Familia, the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, and the PC(USA). This is a national PC(USA) conference - open to anyone interested in attending - co-sponsored by the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, Office of Immigration Issues, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, and More Light Presbyterians. 

Save the date for this year's American Association of Pastoral Counselor  Eastern -Northeast  Regions Annual Conference.  Friday-Sunday, Nov. 3-5 at Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT.

Church leaders, including the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Office of Public Witness in Washington, have spoken out on the violence in Las Vegas.

"Our outrage cannot be contained. Our sadness cannot be lifted. This has gone on for far too long. We mourn with those who have lost family members, friends and colleagues. We pray for healing for the injured both physically and mentally," said Hawkins. "We pray for our nation where there are more guns than people. Each week we learn of a new victim to gun violence and not even our children are immune to gun-inflicted wounds.  Read more and download resources.

Jed and Jenny Kobal, PC(USA) mission co-workers, have sent this update on the Campaign at a national and local level.  Take a moment to r ead the update which exhibits the care and commitment exercised in important mission work and give to support their ministry on behalf of the Presbyterian Church.

Are you a leader (or team of leaders) involved in transformational ministry, developing an emerging ministry, or moving forward after being recognized as a network? A coaching relationship can provide time and space for Holy Spirit to be heard and lead you forward in a thoughtful, creative way.  As your coach listens deeply and asks powerful questions, you can become aware of and commit to new possibilities for action and become more aware of obstacles that may be holding you back. For more information on the coaching scholarships and to apply, go to http://www.synodne.org/coaching .

In order to best meet the continuing education needs and busy schedules of those serving-and regularly preaching in-congregational settings, the Alumni/ae Relations Office of Union Theological Seminary will be reintroducing and sponsoring the popular Got Sermon? lectionary study series as a twice yearly, day-long conference corresponding to the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent.   The lead instructor for the October 27 Advent/Christmas Got Sermon? program will be the Rev. Dr. Lisa Thompson, Assistant Professor of Homiletics, with the Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes '07, Associate Professor of Worship, preaching and leading opening worship.  The cost of the day-long conference is $50, which includes lunch. Pre-registration is required. Visit the website for complete information and registration instructions.

The church is seeking a part-time stated supply pastor for 30 hours a week with a one year renewable contract to begin immediately.  Read the full position description .  Send your resume or PIF to Clerk of Session Lynn Brown, of the Search Committee, whom you may email at [email protected] or phone at (845)-809-5200.

With Peter Surgenor's retirement, Holmes is looking for a new Executive Director.  Ideal candidates should be innovative, open, collaborative, excited to plan and implement programs that continue to nurture current constituencies, reach new constituencies and markets for faith formation, and able to share the depth of their own Christian faith; however, candidates need not necessarily be either ordained clergy or Presbyterian.   Read the full description which includes a link for submitting applications. The search committee will continue receiving applications until the position is filled.

The congregation welcomes resumes/PIFs from any pastor within the 5 denominations in the Formula of Agreement: RCA, PC-USA, UCC, DoC, and ELCA, and has a long history of hiring Presbyterian pastors.  Read the summary job description and link to the full position posted on the RCA employment site.