April 2023

Letter from Priest in Charge

The Reverend Chris Lee

Dear friends—

I’ve been through many Holy Weeks, in a variety of parishes. But I have to say that this one, my first with you, was incredibly special.

It wasn’t just the magnificent singing and standing-room-only attendance on Easter Sunday, although that was certainly glorious to experience. It was the whole arc, from our Palm Sunday procession to our Maundy Thursday foot-washing and Agapé meal, to the solemn tears of Good Friday. Together we experienced the journey of our Lord Jesus Christ through his suffering and death and into the triumph of the Cross and Resurrection, sharing in a pattern of devotion the Church has traced for nearly 2,000 years.

Speaking of new life, here we are suddenly in the midst of another Spring. With green buds exploding all around us, I think it’s appropriate that this issue of The Bell is being published on Earth Day. And in concert with millions around the world, we, too, should take time to repent for our mistreatment of what the Book of Common Prayer calls “this fragile earth, our island home.”

You may be aware that one of the Episcopal Church’s three main priorities is “Creation Care,” and that there are a variety of resources available to enable parishes to participate in this work. Here at St. Mary’s, I am hoping we will develop a more intentional, more comprehensive, and more consistent approach to how our actions negatively impact the environment, and most importantly, “the least of these”—precisely those whom the Church is called to serve.

In the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to engaging everyone in this effort, especially our Youth. Of course, they are already mobilized and taking action, and they will be our best teachers and leaders as we move into a more sustainable, more just, more holy relationship with the world around us.

As I never tire of saying, the Holy Spirit is clearly at work at St. Mary’s, and to me, the best part about being in the Church is that our job is really quite simple: all we have to do is listen to the Spirit and follow where she leads. To be on this journey with you is a true gift. Thank you so much for calling me to serve this community.

With every Easter blessing,

Chris+

[email protected]

Chris can be reached on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the parish office 914-238-8751 and anytime for pastoral care 646-431-9298 (cell)

Wardens Corner

News from Senior Warden,

John Priscantelli

PLEDGING:

As I mentioned at our annual meeting the church faces some very difficult financial times. We put together the budget and as we discussed the church has to rely on its reserves and promised reserve contributions to meet our expenses over the next few years. We are trying to grow the church and we knew we had to operate this way.

What is happening is that there are new faces and families coming to our services. It is great to see the new faces. In the second week of March we had 10 children in Sunday school. We are making every effort we can to create an environment to grow. And pledging matters. It is our main source of revenue. I may sound like a broken record but every penny counts, every pledge counts.

IF YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR PLEDGE PLEASE INCREASE IT! IF YOU HAVENT PLEDGED, PLEASE PLEDGE!

John Norton:

Sadly we lost just lost John Norton this past month. I will miss him. He always had a smile, and he would always give you a warm greeting. A jokester, he was a quick wit and had definitive opinions. He was an unforgettable presence at our church. He was my friend. We can all learn a lot from John. He lived life to the fullest. He has a wonderful wife Irene and a respectful son Brett. John was always so proud of him. He also had many accomplishments in his life. John was a Viet Nam vet but did not like to talk a lot about it. John had many other accomplishments in his life. Unfortunately, I learned about many of them after his death in conversation with his wife Irene.

This also brings in mind another lesson we can learn from John. The church brings us together for spiritual Guidance but take the time to learn about each other. You will be pleasantly surprised as I am every day to learn how many extraordinary people such as John there are at St. Mary’s.

RIP John. His obituary is here.

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL:

Back for the 86th year on June 3rd, 2023, 11:00 – 5:00. There will be many more announcements to follow and please when the sign up genius comes out - SIGN UP!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest question mark every year is making sure we have enough manpower to run the festival. People showing up without signing up or signing up at the last minute always cause problems.

SO PLEASE USE THE SIGN-UP GENIUS AND COMMIT AS EARLY AS YOU CAN TO THE FESTIVAL!!!! IT IS A GREAT DAY!!

Vestry Minutes

Meeting Minutes are available on bulletin board outside of Parish Hall office

or by contacting Rich at [email protected].

Worship & Music

THURSDAYS

10:00 AM Morning Prayer

10:30 PM Lectionary Brunch

Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at

8am and 10am on Sundays.

8am Services

We continue to offer the 8am Rite I Holy Eucharist on Sundays.

Join us early or at 10am.

Contemplative Prayer

Wednesday Nights at 7pm in the Church

Join us for silent meditation and prayer, followed by time for reflection.

Mark your calendars, invite friends and consider which areas you can volunteer or contribute

ENERGY is building- let's all play our roles for our community outreach. See article here.

Sign ups will be available closer to date.

Contact John Priscantelli if you would like to be a Strawberry Festival Committee Member.

Raffle Tickets Available Now

If you would like to sell raffle tickets in advance of the Strawberry Festival. The drawing will be at the end of the Fest on Saturday, June 3. You can print tickets HERE to sell. We have GREAT raffle prizes--let's sell tickets in advance and on the day of the fest--contact Denise Hanchet for raffle tickets [email protected] or (914) 671-0128 or click here.

Thank you to the generous donors of the Strawberry Festival Raffle Prizes:

Mara & Matt Van Fleet; Kenneth T. Jackson; Joe DiMauro of Mt. Kisco Seafood; The Beehive Restaurant; Joe, Christian, & Wendy of Le Jardin du Roi; Carol & Derek of Wine Geeks of Armonk; Cristina of Wipe Your Paws; and Sensei Mark Dwyer of Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate, Chappaqua.

Attic Treasures

ATTIC TREASURES IS BACK, and it's a great way to support St Mary's this spring!! Now is the perfect time to set aside jewelry, childrens' toys and games, and small (portable) home goods for resale at this year's Strawberry Festival. Collections will begin next month in the parish hall, and pick-ups can also be arranged.

For questions or to help sort through our treasures please email Cindy Forrest at [email protected] or call 914-602-9766.

PARISH PROFILE

Update from The Dionne Family

An Adventure to London

Dear St. Maryans,

Twenty-two years ago, we moved to Chappaqua and immediately started searching for a church to raise our children in. It was faith at first sight upon entering St. Mary’s, which offered an irresistible combination of a welcoming congregation, an unusual and challenging pastor (Fr. Joel), beautiful sacred music (Tim Vernon and the amazing choir, many members of which are still here), and a warm and supportive place for our children to learn kindness and caring and how to apply them in their dealings with this troubled world.

We will be forever grateful for the friendship and kindness this parish provided us over the years. We will miss the Christmas pageants, the auction dinners, the beautiful music, the tales of softball derring-do, the washing of dishes at coffee hour, Midnight Run – even that big, glorious pain in the neck the Strawberry Festival (beware: Priscantelli may be looking for volunteers to make tabouleh).

While we are off on our new adventure living in London, England due to Chui’s job transfer, we do plan to be back for visits and will definitely stop by at good ol’ St. Mary’s when we are in town.

Thanks for everything,

With much love,

The Dionne Family

(Chui, Ron, Katie and Will)

MONTHLY CALENDAR LINK

May Calendar

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Lectionary Lunch is now BRUNCH

Thursdays, 10 am in Jackson Library

Join us for Morning Prayer at 10am followed by Lectionary Brunch each Thursday.

A weekly exploration of the Bible led by Father Chris, focused on the upcoming Sunday’s readings. Light refreshments will be provided

All are welcome!

Sunday School Update

Great Sunday School News!

We will have Sunday school during the summer this year! Same time, same place. To kick off our fun summer we will have a Sunday school picnic on June 25th, after the 10 am service. All parishioners are invited to sign up at the Signup Genie published in the weekly bulletin and HERE.

Each week we welcome 6 to 10 children to Sunday school. We encourage all children 3 yrs & older to come to Sunday School. There are stories & activities to suit all ages & learning styles. Any questions please contact Joanne at 203.448.0881 or [email protected]. When we regularly have more than 12 children each week we will reorganize the Sunday school. God Bless you +

PARISH LIFE

Reflections on Easter 2023

with photography from the Christain Hakim Families' sister-in-law, Mel Sprague

Click Here to View all photos. Thank You Mel!

Download Pin: 8125

Palm Sunday, 2023

THIS WEEK!

Midnight Run

Friday, April 28

All are encouraged to join us in the parish hall to help sort clothing and prepare food any time from 7-8:30PM. Our parishioners will be deliverIng them to the homeless in NYC that night.

Families are welcome to bring little ones in pajamas to help out before bed.

Pizza and salad will be provided during set up.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Newcomer's Reception

May 7 | 4-7pm at Rectory

Also, there is a Newcomer's Reception at the Rectory on May 7, from 4 to 7 pm. Childcare will be provided in the Church Hall. This special event for people who have begun worshipping with us within the past year. We hope you will come!

Julia will take the infants to the second-floor playroom. I will take the Sunday school-aged children [age 3 through grade school] in the church hall. For the older children, we will provide cheese pizza, vegetable sticks, juice, water & dessert. If any child should not eat these foods please call me at 203.448.0881 so other arrangements can be made.

Neighbors Link Family Night

March 17th Event

Several St. Maryans volunteered at Neighbors Link. Family Night is a biweekly event at the Mount Kisco Center that gives families a chance to eat together, connect with other families in the community, take part in workshops, and have fun. Volunteers help serve the food to the families, enjoy the meal together with everyone, and then help with the kids (playing board games and with Legos, making jewelry and art and more.

Pictured above: Helen Ewen, Jeannie Aplin, Sandy Dammann, Mark & Denise Hanchet

Click HERE to learn more information about Neighbors Link and other volunteer opportunities.