 Letter from the Rector
Dear Friends:
Jesus Light of the world, Shine,
Shine Jesus shine!
The story is told of an old professor who visited a past student of his, whose first child had been recently born. He presented the parents with a gift for the baby.
A book, all wrapped in fine paper and tied with a bow.
Imagine their surprise and bewilderment when, on unwrapping the gift, they found that it was a very old leather-bound collection of Shakespeare's plays.
What a strange gift for a baby, they thought. How odd! An old book written in archaic language, given to a new born who will not be able to read it for many years to come.
Then they realized, the gift was not the book; the gift was the giver!
The old professor had given himself. He had given the child that thing most precious to himself. His own love for the language.
His gift was an expression of his deepest joy at the birth of the child, his hope for the future of this new human being.
During this season of Epiphany, the manifestation of light into the world, the Magi bring themselves and their assumptions on a perilous journey, and only then can they offer their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And all of this really leads to an encounter that rearranges their lives, their self-images and seemingly even their pocket books.
The gifts we bring may not be material gold and its like.
The light that has come, shines through us as we give our time, our care, our listening, our compassion and our understanding.
The best gift to Christ, whether in church ministries or toward the least of those in our midst, is the offering of ourselves, our souls and our bodies, as a sacrifice to him, who gave all in sacrifice for us.
As we enter this new year, I encourage all of you, myself included, to ponder seriously the way of giving self.
I am learning, each day, that life is just far too short not to do so.
Epiphany leads us into light.
Epiphany calls us into a deeper relationship with Jesus.
Epiphany coaxes us to follow the star.....always.
Epiphany teaches us to tell others of Jesus' love for us and for them.
Epiphany challenges us to give of ourselves first.
Then, let Epiphany surprise us, taking us home by another road, filled with new adventure, renewed hope and restored joy.
Blessings of peace to you and yours during 2020!
Fr. Alan
Sermons are available on our website under the worship tab. Click
HERE.
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OUR REGULAR SERVICE SCHEDULE
SUNDAY WORSHIP:
- Holy Eucharist Rite I at 8:00 am
- Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:00 am
WEEKDAY WORSHIP:
- Monday: Morning Prayer at 9:30am
- Wednesday: Holy Eucharist at noon
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Wardens Corner
News from the Church
Warden,
John Priscantelli
Powerful words by JFK that can't help but inspire.
When I think of our church, there always seem to be a few people doing a lot of things. I also think of how Father Alan has attempted to change this culture, and has made great progress.
But it is really up to all of us to get involved. We all have busy lives, and something as simple as volunteering for coffee hour or altar guild or even vestry, really helps.
So please if you haven't already included getting more involved as one of your New Year's resolutions please do so. Please, new family members, get involved. Help us come up with ideas that will engage your family and children!
As I've always thought, there isn't a better Christian community in Chappaqua to be a part of.
Lastly, please do not forget to submit your pledges for the 2020 calendar year. If not you, then who will help us navigate our 2020 finances?
Respectfully,
John
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& SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Sunday, February 2nd
11:30 AM
Annual Meeting
Please mark your calendars for this important meeting. Your attendance is encouraged and vital.
Our annual meeting will include reports from our rector and vestry, including updates on stewardship and budget.
Nominations are being accepted for the following VESTRY POSITIONS for 2020
Stewardship Warden - 2 year term
Treasurer - 3 year term
Outreach - 3 year term
Clerk - 3 year term
Your service of time and talent is
needed in these
important roles. Kindly, consider viable candidates (or your own candidacy) for one of these positions and forward your nomination(s) to Father Alan or John Priscantelli (Stewardship Warden).
All are invited to join us
Enjoy soup & baked goods during meeting or pack to take home!
-&/OR just make a donation-
Souper Bowl of Caring is a nationwide effort to TACKLE HUNGER
During the Annual Meeting the teens invite you help them RAISE FUNDS for the
Interfaith Emergency Food Pantry. (See Outreach Section below for more details.) They will use the funds to shop and stock the Pantry shelves.
Football Jerseys
Kids & Adults: wear your team colors or football jerseys!
WE REQUEST & APPRECIATE YOUR SOUP DONATIONS:
- Sign up HERE or bring a pot (warm or cold) to the Parish Hall before 11am.
- Or contact [email protected] to let her know what you will bring.
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- Baked goods are also welcome. (Please label any items that may contain nuts.)
For the 7th Year, our youth will host the Souper Bowl in Memory of Penny Vane who cared deeply about local hunger and worked passionately with "Empty Bowls," another grassroots organization with a mission to fight hunger. Our donation to the Interfaith Emergency Food Pantry will be in her honor.
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Sandra and Cornelius Luca, with Gwen and Jim Tormey on their son Jimmy's Christening Day,
June 2019, Greenwich, CT.
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Meet the Parish
PROFILE
Hello to St. Mary's Family from the Lucas:
We are Sandra and Cornelius Luca - attending SMTV for the past 32 years!!
We moved to Chappaqua in 1985 and happily commuted to NYC for over 30 years to our respective jobs: Cornelius working in trading and finance, Sandra consulting with attorneys on scientific and medical cases.
On Christmas Eve 1987, we arrived at the red doors of St. Mary's just as the children's service was starting. The Rector at that time was Bill Harper - it was his first Christmas here as well. Our daughter Gwen was eight months old and looked around in wonder. We felt that we had found our spiritual home.
Gwen attended the nursery school above the parish hall and made great friends there, some of whom also attended Sunday school with her at St. Mary's. Over the years, those friendships deepened as they shared pageants (Gwen had every role from Star to King), sports and every phase of growing up. As she received her First Communion and Confirmation at St. Mary's, Gwen was involved in many activities of the parish, including serving on the dissertation advisory committee for Father Joel. Even after moving across the country to attend Stanford University, Gwen continued to come to church with us when she was back home.
Over the decades, through various Rectors and Interims, through our personal challenges and those of our town and our country, we were continually drawn to the community here at SMTV. Some faces are still familiar, some have moved on, yet the spirit remains strong. We trust that Father Alan will continue to lead the parish with wisdom and compassion.
Happy New Year to each of you - may the blessings of good health and good cheer be yours!
Sandra and Cornelius Luca
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Newsletter Editor Needed
Part of the Communications Commission of SMTV
We are in search of someone to continue creating our monthly newsletter. Do you want to expand your skill set? Are you familiar with computers, have an eye for graphic design, and want to learn to create and edit The Bell online?
MaryAnn Bayer brought this newsletter to the e-format in 2014 and has been creating it monthly for over 5 years. She would be thrilled to educate someone to assist with this fun, at-home task. Beginning in March, she can work with you to understand the program and responsibilities. No previous experience needed. It is fun and easy with the Constant Contact program, format and templates!
Feel free to contact MaryAnn to discuss! [email protected]
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Vestry Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes are available on bulletin board outside of Parish Hall office or by contacting Rich at [email protected]. |
Calendar Notes/Special Events:
Feb 2, 11:30am- Annual Meeting and Souper Bowl of Caring
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Church School News
Grades PreK-7th
Meets 9:45am, Sundays
Joins Worship Service at approx. 10:45am for communion with parents.
FROM COLEEN MACGREEVEY, Director, Church School
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Annual Christmas Pageant
Our annual Christmas pageant was held on Sunday, December 22nd during the 10am service. The children did a wonderful job bringing to life the story of Jesus' birth. Thank you to all the children for their participation and enthusiasm, and to all the parents for helping them learn their lines and songs at home.
Church School will resume on Sunday, January 12th.
The lessons will now focus on the New Testament and Jesus' early life and ministry.
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Teachers Needed- Sign up for a week or more
We are looking for teachers for the upcoming Church School year.
We are making changes to our volunteer process by asking people to sign up on a weekly basis to teach the younger children (ages approximately pre-K-4th grade, based on turnout).
Please review the dates and lessons and sign up
HERE
.
Once you sign up, Coleen MacGreevey will send you the appropriate lesson in advance.
Thank you for your consideration of this important volunteer role.
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Classes for January & February
3.30pm in the library
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Session 4 - January 26 - The Episcopal Church with Deacon Shiane
A discussion on the formation, theology and present-day episcopal church and its relevance.
Session 5 - February 9 - CHRISTIAN ETHICS /behavior for teens with Lisa Fitzgerald
Conversation regarding ethics, attitudes, behavior.
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St. Mary's embraces Outreach. It is an integral component in the mission of our church family. We provide financial support, services and donated goods to those in need close to home and on the other side of the world.
In fulfilling our outreach mission, we enhance the sense of community within our church family - and we enrich ourselves. We make connections not just with each other, but also with those we help.
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SMTV Outreach Organization of the Month*
Interfaith Emergency Food Pantry
SMTV Liaison: Lisa Fitzgerald
The Interfaith Emergency Food Pantry is located at the United Methodist Church in Pleasantville. The Pantry provides food to our neighbors in need. Clients live in the local area, including Armonk, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, Thornwood, Valhalla, and other neighboring towns. This food pantry is an entirely volunteer run organization, and many people in our church help support the clients in the pantry by acting as a driver, unloading food, donating their frozen turkeys, and always coming through when they are in need of food or funds.
*SMTV Organization of the Month is designed to raise awareness
of the Outreach Organizations that SMTV supports.
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St. Mary's Recycles
Thanks goes to Father Alan for purchasing the bins with signs to clarify what goes where with recycling, and to Cindy Forrest for the wall sign.
Please bring in your used batteries and ink cartridges! (see details below) The kitchen also has bins with clear signs regarding disposal.
Thanks all for participating!
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Support St. Mary's Operating Budget
Recycle Ink Cartridges at SMTV
 Help us Earn $$
Please contribute your used
inkjet or laser printer cartridges
from home or work!
(CANON , HP, BROTHER, KONICA MINOLTA, LEXMARK, SAMSUNG)
We will
$$ RECYCLE FOR CASH $$
Follow these simple steps:
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Place cartridges in the box in the Parish Hall.
-Be sure the cartridge # is visible on the cartridge.
-Careful! No damaged cartridges can be used.
All proceeds will support St. Mary's operating budget!
Thanks for your support!
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Sunday Lay Ministers
Lectors, Prayers of the People, Acolytes,
'Chalice Bearers' or 'LEMs'
We are in great need of parishioners to serve at both 8:00am & 10:00am Sunday worship services.
ATTENTION SUNDAY SERVICE ASSISTANTS: If you plan to sign up as LECTOR, please do so before the end of the day on Wednesday, so that Laurane can send you your Sunday readings and print your name in the Sunday bulletin.
LECTORS and LAY EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
('Chalice Bearers' or 'LEMs')
If you are interested in serving as Lector or Eucharistic Minister during Sunday mass please talk to Durrie Golding or contact her at [email protected]The SignUp Genius for Service Assistants below.
SIGN UP HERE for SERVICE ASSISTANTS
Please take a moment to see where you or your family members might be able to help out.
Thank you to those who have already signed up. If you have any questions, please email Durrie Golding at [email protected] or call at (914) 589-3864.
Lectors are lay persons appointed to read the scriptures (Old Testament or New Testament reading) each Sunday from the lectern. They can also lead the Prayers of the People in the midst of the congregation during the service. The term "lector" is from the Latin, "to read." There is no license required for this lay ministry. Young Adults and Teens Welcome too!
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 Coffee Hour
From Eileen Herbert,
Coffee Hour Coordinator
There will be a sign-up genius on line in the weeks to come. Presently there is a the sign-up list posted in the Parish Hall. Our goal is to fill the Sundays for the next three months. Eileen can be reached at
914-273-1888
,
(
cell
)
914-261-7637
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 ACOLYTE TRAINING
Please join us to build an Intergenerational Acolyte
Ministry
There are many different roles available, so everyone is welcome. In particular, we would like to encourage adults to join as acolytes, creating an intergenerational core of servers, since this role is not limited to adolescent or young adults.
If you have any questions and suggestions please contact Vincent Kumaradjaja at [email protected]. We offer training and rehearsals before the service.
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Special Announcements about our Parish
Please send submissions to [email protected] by 26th of each month
The Harlem Line:
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Feb 19th at 7pm in the
New Castle Town Hall Assembly Room
Author & Parishioner
Wayne Sobers discusses how he dealt with the challenges and obstacles to success, how they shaped and strengthened his character, and the lessons he learned on the way to becoming an African-American executive.
Marianna & Gene Cayten
had some unique visitors in January!
Adam Bayer and his Syracuse University a-cappella group performed for the residents of
The Kensington in White Plains, where Gene is now living.
Mary Ann Bayer was thrilled to accompany Marianna and the entire home enjoyed this fabulous gift of music, talent and young energy. They especially enjoyed
The Beatles, I Saw Her Standing There.
HERE is a glimpse of their fun vibe.
If there are any other SMTV families with news to share, please let us know at
[email protected]
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The Church of SMTV Info
Click Link to listen to past
Sermons.
An UPDATED DIRECTORY (August 2018) has been posted to our church
website. (Located in drop-down under Parish Life.)
Church of St. Mary the Virgin
191 S. Greeley Avenue
Chappaqua, NY
Office Contact:
Tel: 914 238-8751
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THE CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN
Chappaqua, New York
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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