December 18, 2019
This Week at St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo
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Upcoming Calendar
Sunday, December 22 - Advent IV
8am - Holy Eucharist in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit 
9:50am - Infant/childcare and Sunday School
10am - Holy Eucharist with choir and organ
Food and fellowship follows
11am - Pageant Rehearsal

Monday December 23
Preschool closed

Tuesday, December 24 - Christmas Eve
Preschool closed and Church office closes at noon
3:30 pm - All children who wish to participate in the pageant come for costumes and rehearsal
4pm - Christmas Pageant and Family Service in the Nave;
Milk & Cookies Reception follows
5:45pm - Carol Sing at St. John’s Church, Arden
6pm - Holy Eucharist at St. John’s in Arden
10:30pm - Christmas Concert at St. Mary’s
11pm - Traditional Midnight Mass with Strings & Choir;
Champagne reception to follow
 
Wednesday, December 25 - Christmas Day
Preschool and church office closed
10am - Holy Eucharist in the Nave with organ and carols
 
Thursday December 26
Preschool and church office closed

Friday December 27
Preschool and church office closed

Saturday, December 28
3pm to 7pm - Christmas Open House at the Rectory
From the Rector
Dear Parishioners and Friends,

I have been preaching and writing recently about the nature of Advent, and how part of it has to do with preparing and cleaning out everything from our homes to our hearts. Imagine my surprise as I was making the morning coffee and saw our intrepid landscape crew in the church parking lot forming their battle plans for the day. Due to an early and heavy snowfall that did not melt until recently (some piles are still stubbornly sticking with us), we were not able to have our autumnal “blow-out,” in which approximately 7 acres of leaves are cleaned up. And to add insult to injury, everything is now coated in ice.

Despite all this, the men worked diligently until it was too dark to see, cleaning and trimming our church grounds. At one point a snow squall blew through, such that visibility was extremely low. Yours truly fell for the second time—it sounds more holy than it is—on the stone rectory steps, but landed on my side. We will be getting a hand rail.

And yet the work went on. This put me in mind of the mission of the Church, which is to worship God and make disciples for Jesus Christ. This work has gone on for some 2000 years, and conditions have rarely been favorable. Indeed, in choosing the precise time in which his Son would come into the world, God chose the coldest, busiest time. The holy family had no place to lay their heads but a stable. Herod tried to snuff out God’s light. And yet the work went on. The world saw Him crucified and considered him dead, but then came the resurrection. And the work went on.

As we move from expectancy to incarnation, let us not forget our mission, no matter how adverse the conditions may be. The work goes on. Veni, Emmanuel!

Father Rick

Please click here for the Presiding Bishop's inspiring Christmas Message.
Christmas Eve Pageant
The Christmas Pageant will be held on Christmas Eve at the 4pm family service. As always, the entire community is welcome and everyone is invited to participate in the pageant — it’s especially fun for young children.

There are many parts available. Rehearsals are limited to one on Sunday morning, December 22 at 10am (during Sunday School and immediately after the service, especially important for the main parts) and a quick run-through at 3:45pm on Christmas Eve for everyone. So invite friends and relatives in town for Christmas — come one and all. To participate, please just let  Jenn Creamer know who’s coming.

The Pageant is followed by a Milk & Cookies Reception in Bentley Hall. As you bake your favorite holiday treats, consider making an extra dozen to share. Drop them off at the church office any weekday before Christmas Eve (we’ll freeze them, if necessary), or at the 10 AM service on Sundays.

Please visit our Facebook page for photos of last year’s service , as well as video part 1 and part 2 of the narration.
Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
Please join us at 10:30pm on Christmas Eve for a concert and traditional mass with string quartet and choir in the church, ending at midnight with a champaign reception in Bentley Hall.

Please visit our Facebook page for photos from last year’s service, which started with the traditional  proclamation  and ended with a candlelit Silent Night.
Angel Tree
St Mary’s Angel Tree ministry is a community outreach intended to give joy to both recipients of gifts and the givers!  It is a small but meaningful part of being a caring community. The 32 families with 78 children receiving gifts have been identified by schools, churches, food pantry and town hall as being in need of some help at Christmas time.

Yesterday, the Freshman Class from Tuxedo Park School lent their enthusiastic and artistic skills to put the gift bags together ready for delivery. Every family’s bag contained a ShopRite gift card for food and a Kohl's gift card for each child, so that parents are able to buy gifts for their own children. Scarves, gloves and hats, plus toys and seasonal candy complete the bags.

If you would like to donate to our outreach efforts, you can drop a check at St Mary’s office or mail it to PO Box 637, Tuxedo, NY 10987. You can also click the button below to donate online or visit www.stmtux.org/outreach-donation .
All are truly welcome at St. Mary's, which is located within the historic gates of Tuxedo Park and serves the entire Tuxedo community. Please tell the gatehouse you're going to St. Mary's, proceed thru the gates and we're on the right (plenty of parking available).
How to contact us...
Website: www.stmtux.org
Office: 845.351.5122
PreSchool: 845.351.2389
Physical Address: 10 Fox Hill Rd, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 637, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987