News from Senior Warden
John Priscantelli
A big THANK YOU to one and all who volunteered for our 85th Annual Strawberry Festival. It was great to see everyone give their time to make it a success. It was also great to see such a turnout from the community. See below for photos OR click HERE to capture the essence of the day. What a shining day!
We don’t have the exact figures yet but our gross receipts were around $12,000 and our expenses around $5,000. So our net is around $7,000 10% of which will be donated for the benefit of the Ukraine crisis.
I would like to give special thanks to two parishioners who will remain anonymous. One donated $1,000 to the $12,000 gross receipt figure and the other donated $525 to offset the $5,000 expense figure. A special thanks to them.
It was very challenging to get it going after the two-year hiatus due to COVID. This time allowed us the opportunity to reimagine it— and we continue to welcome new ideas. One possibility is to have Greeley seniors in the Parish help manage it as part of their senior experience.
Lastly, we would also like to extend further thanks to the following business for their continued support. Susan Lawrence in Chappaqua, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Mount Kisco, Shop Rite in Pleasantville, Stop & Shop in Mount Kisco, Walgreens in Chappaqua and Key Foods in Pleasantville.
So stay tuned for next year and again I am very grateful to all!
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Meeting Minutes are available on bulletin board outside of Parish Hall office or by contacting Rich at [email protected]. |
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Letter From Director of Music
Peter Frost
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Dear Saint Maryans:
Over the past five years I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you. When I came to this church you made me feel very welcome. Thank you, everyone, for that.
The staff was equally welcoming. These past couple of years have been difficult, to say the least for all of us. I am grateful that we were able to balance safety and worship as well as we did.
Special thanks to Durrie Golding, who acts as the liaison between myself and the Vestry. She was so supportive and understanding while helping to meet all of the challenges that came our way. My work with Father Alan was gratifying and rewarding. Thank you Laurane for all that you do, and especially for your patience. Thank you, John and the Vestry for keeping my position going through difficult financial times.
I will miss the members of the choir very much. Thank you for your dedication and your substantial weekly commitment. I will always appreciate and remember well your devotion to our weekly "zoom rehearsals" from May 2020 through the spring of 2021. Thank you Choir. Oh, and don't forget to pick up your accrued "St. Peter's" points for that eventual journey through those pearly gates.
In December of 2020, Fimi and I bought a home in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. The plan was to work and live in New York for a few more years and eventually end up in the mountains full-time. A friend of ours from Briarcliff, now living in the Berkshires, told me recently that her church needed a Director of Music. What better way for me to establish myself in our new community than through working as a musician in a church. I applied and was offered the position at the First Congregational Church in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. My new position begins on the first day of August.
I thank everyone again for your kindness and wish the very best to Saint Mary's for many years to come.
Peter Frost
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SUNDAY WORSHIP
- Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:30 am, including Sunday School
If you would like to serve as Officiant in Morning Prayer, please contact Durrie Golding at [email protected]. Now that we have resumed in-person worship in the church, we need Ushers as well as Lectors and Altar Guild.
Please CLICK HERE to sign up for Lector, Usher or Altar Guild.
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Services are now IN PERSON, but if you need to access our Live Stream at
any time during these services, please click on link above.
Instructions for live streaming:
- When the service is broadcasting live, you will see the service Episode listed below "Services at The Church of St. Mary...."
- To listen live, click on the play button (circle with arrow in it) on the left side of the Episode title that has the red LIVE box.
- If you do not see the Episode with today's date, click on the link again to refresh the webpage.
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Coffee & Conversation Hour |
We have resumed Coffee Hour after the Sunday service in the parish hall, observing social distancing and masks.
If you would like to host coffee Hour, please contact Eileen Herbert
914-273-1888 or 914-261-7637
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85th Annual Strawberry Festival
HOORAY!
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Search Committee Update
The open application time frame for the search for our new priest has closed. The Search Committee is now in the process of interviewing the candidates who applied. More information to follow as we move forward with our search.
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Sacred Spaces
Open House
Saturday, July 23rd | 1 - 5pm
Since 2011, congregations throughout New York State have been invited to open their doors for the Sacred Sites Open House so neighbors and tourists can experience first-hand the wonderful art, architecture and history of New York’s religious sites. Visitors can also learn about the crucial social and cultural programming these magnificent religious institutions provide their communities.
We were invited to participate and share our history and labyrinth.
The Annual Sacred Sites Open House has three objectives:
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To encourage sacred sites to open their doors to the general public. Inviting visitors is a great way to build broad community support for the ongoing preservation of historic institutions.
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To inspire residents to be tourists in their own town, introducing non-members to the history, art and architecture embodied in sacred places. New Yorkers tour religious sites around the world but may overlook those in their own back yard. Developing cultural tourism is key to the future of sacred sites.
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To publicize the many programs and services religious institutions offer their neighbors. The important work these sites provide benefits the entire community – not just the congregation’s members- and helps ensure the congregation’s future.
We encourage all to participate and spread the word to family, friends, and colleagues.
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Christmas in July
Advent Party
Saturday, July 23 | 4:30pm
Bring a Friend
The postponed Rectory Advent party for parishioners is now happening on Saturday July 23!
We are going to do a potluck for appetizers and desserts. Main dishes will be prepared for all to enjoy.
Fee free to invite a friend or neighbor" to our Christmas in July at 4:30pm...the more the merrier!
We will have an RSVP so we can get an idea of attendance. Stay tuned for the signup.
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News from Interim Christian Education Director,
Joanne Tiebout Douglas
Joanne is the interim Christian Education director. She will teach & organize Sunday School until a new rector is called. If you know of anyone who would like to participate, please invite them to come anytime. Joanne would also love to reach out to them and personally invite them. If you are comfortable please share their contact information with Joanne. Her contact is [email protected].
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Sunday School's last Sunday will be the last Sunday in June, June 26
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Thank you to everyone who donated art supplies and snacks for our recent service project. St. Mary's youth packed 75 snack bags and 59 craft bags which were donated to Hour Children. Hour Children (hourchildren.org) is an organization that provides aid to the children of incarcerated mothers and grandmothers at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (more below). The bags will be given to the children who come to visit their families. A special thanks to Dana Fenlon for delivering the bags.
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Saint Mary the Virgin - Monken Hadley
Fundraiser
for the Renovation of their Church House Hall and Garden
Our sister church in England, Saint Mary the Virgin - Monken Hadley, is in the midst of a capital campaign to repair, renovate and upgrade the Church House Hall and garden, located within their parish church grounds.
The Church House Hall was originally built in the 18th century as stables within the village of Monken Hadley, now in the London Borough of Barnet. Purchased by the church in 1912, it has been a cherished and vital meeting place for the parish and the community ever since. Weather and time have taken its toll on the building and it is now in urgent need of structural repair. The garden is also in need of a landscaping upgrade.
They have already received some significant support from a wide range of local groups and their own parishioners, but there is still a need for additional funds to complete the campaign. The attached brochure provides suggested ways to help.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Become a Named Patron – Naming A Window
A beautiful stained glass window from c. 1400 was gifted to us by them in 1906, and is part of the larger window in our northern transept.
Let’s have a window there that is gifted from us! A window naming costs c. $6,500.00.
We already have a generous anonymous gift of $3,000.00, so would only need to collect another $3,500 to make this gift possible.
HOW CAN WE MAKE A DONATION?
Send in a check to our parish office - made payable to SMTV - with “Monken Hadley window” on the memo line. All gifts will be tax deductible.
Our gift will then be made “church to church” via their website.
Thank you in advance for your support.
You are helping to keep an important and vital piece of our history alive.
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Helping Hour Children & Moms
at Bedford Hills
Dear Friends and Supporters,
During this pandemic, we very much hope that you and yours are safe, and well. While we are all facing much loss during this time, our neighbors in prison face loss on a much deeper level. While DOCCS is focused on maintaining safety inside, the women face increased isolation with the indefinite suspension of all visits and outside programs. Additionally, the financial crisis created by COVID-19 has hit families of the incarcerated especially hard limiting their ability to send packages.
What can we do? With the support of the Superintendent, Hour Children and Prison Relations Advisory Committee to the Town of Bedford (PRAC) have come together to offer a few ways to help our neighbors during these difficult times. We are calling this initiative "Operation Neighborhood". Our goal is to provide a few necessities and small comforts to the 630 women of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. We have a list of items submitted by the Inmate Liaison Committee that will be purchased to support our neighbors during this crisis.
THREE WAYS TO DONATE:
1. Hour Children website, www.hourchildren.org and click their "Donate" Button, specifying that the donation is for "Operation Neighborhood"
2. Write a check to "Hour Children". Please earmark "Operation Neighborhood". Checks should be sent to: Hour Children 36-11 12th Street, Long Island City, NY 11106.
3. If you prefer to donate specific items rather than money, please go to the Amazon Wish List named Operation Neighbor with the requested items, which are all consolidated and located on one link:
Items should be shipped to:
The Parenting Center at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
247 Harris Road, Bedford Hills, NY 10507
Thank you so very much for helping women who too often, feel forgotten and alone. Your thoughtfulness and generosity remind them that they are not forgotten.
Gratefully,
Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald, Executive Director
Jane Silfen, Program Director, Bedford Hills CF
Karen Graff, Program Director, Taconic CF
Deb Rigano, Program Manager, Bedford Hill CF
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us, or call Deb Rigano: 914.804.6470.
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Please contact Denise if you have any questions about this mission: [email protected] or cell (914) 671-0128
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Happy Graduation to our Greeley Seniors Class of 2022! Congratulations!!
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Sophia Childs
Honor Frasch
Christian Frasch
Fiona Hayes
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Walking Group
Join Us Next Time
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On a recent Spring morning, the Walking Group enjoyed a walk at the beautiful Rocky Hills estate and gardens, the home of Rick and Barbara Romeo. Formally owned by William and Henriette Suhr who originated the gardens in 1956 and artistically developed and tended them for many years, the Romeos continue to care for and meticulously enhance the charming, picturesque property.
Thanks to the Romeos’ hospitality, the Walking Group enjoyed early spring vistas filled with blooming forsythia, daffodils, magnolias and azaleas, evergreens of every hue, green grasses, budding leaves and bubbling brooks. The sounds of chirping birds and the aroma of lilac filled the air. See info below on Open Garden Day!
This setting was a perfect delight for our Tuesday morning walk……
All are welcome to join the Walking Group for our weekly walks!
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Episcopal Church
Office of Governmental Relations
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The Office of Government Relations (OGR) represents the policy priorities of The Episcopal Church to the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. and helps to shape the discussion of political issues throughout the Church. OGR aims to influence policy and legislation on critical issues, highlighting the voices and experiences of Episcopalians and Anglicans globally.
All policy positions are based on General Convention and Executive Council resolutions, the legislative and governing bodies of the Church.
Click HERE to see the latest issues, posts from The Hill and policy areas.
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Calling All Cooks
Please join the
Good St Maryans
The Christian way teaches us to care for one another, but when someone needs help, we are often at a loss how to best assist.
Whether it is celebrating a new addition to the family, honoring those whose lives have passed or extending a hand while healing, the Good St. Maryan's is here to support the parish community through life's steps and missteps.
Over the years, the Good St. Maryan's, led by Beverley Streeter and Dina Painter, has quietly, discreetly, and lovingly extended a hand with meals and rides. I have been the grateful recipient of meals after the birth of my daughter, Catherine, and after the death of my mother, and like others, I will never forget how helpful the meals were or the kindness that was expressed the extra care the Good St. Maryans took to make allergy-safe meals.
If you have the time and talent to make an occasional dinner to share, then please sign up for this committee. When there is a need, you will be asked to participate in a specific Meal Train, an organized meal given around a significant life event for a member of the parish. You will get an email link to the specific Meal Train either from within mealtrain.com or via your personal email which has a unique web address that acts like a key for entry to your Meal Train.
There will usually be some specific information about time for delivery, food allergies, and meal preferences to help you plan your meal. In addition, you can see what other volunteers are making so that you can ensure some variety for the recipient.
Our dinners will help ensure that the parishioner (and family) will have healthy, home-cooked nourishment and give them strength. Please do not expect or plan to stay and visit or eat with them.
If you would like to sign up to volunteer for the Good St. Maryan's, please contact Dana Fenlon at [email protected] or 914-238-1151.
We hope that in addition to meals, we might include those who might like a visit or phone call.
If you have a need or know of a family who is struggling in any way and needs pastoral care, please contact Dana.
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CLICK HERE FOR MONTHLY CALENDAR |
Office: 914-238-8751
Church of St. Mary the Virgin
191 S. Greeley Avenue
Chappaqua, NY
Office Contact:
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THE MISSION OF
THE CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN
Chappaqua, NY
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We are called to be a holy people who witness God's love to the world and serve others.
Our Mission is to provide an environment for worship, learning, and service by encouraging
participation through the effective use of the commissions:
Worship and Music, Christian Education, Outreach, Communications, Parish Life, Finances, and Stewardship.
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Submissions for the Bell can be sent to
BELL EDITORS
Mary Ann Bayer, Blair Childs & Sophia Childs
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