This Week at St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo
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Upcoming Calendar
Services are being live-streamed online on Facebook (you do not need a Facebook account to participate).

Saturday, July 31
10am to 2pm - The Emporium is open

Sunday, August 1
10am - Holy Eucharist (in-person and online)
11am to 1pm - The Emporium is open

Wednesday, August 4
10am - Holy Eucharist (in-person and online)
From the Rector
Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Today the Church remembers Saints Martha and Mary of Bethany. Together with their brother, Lazarus, they are recorded in the Gospels according to Luke and John. They are understood to have been close friends of Jesus, and some scholars believe that they were financial supporters of his ministry as well.

Mary and Martha stand out somewhat in the Gospel narratives because not only are they named and appear several times, but also because of the detailed insight into their personalities that we read. This indicates that they were certainly extremely close to our Lord.

Famously, after a dinner, Martha scurries to the kitchen to clean up, while Mary sits at Jesus' feet to listen to his words. Martha essentially tells Jesus to make Mary get up and help with the chores. Instead, Jesus said, "she has chosen the better part."

The personalities of Martha and Mary shine a light on our own lives, and the struggle to be a disciple. Like both of them, we love the Lord, but the cares and occupations of the world can draw us from his side. We also see in them love and fidelity to the Lord, and in their shared friendship, the beauty of human love.

Father Rick
917.658.6314
Hymn Sing on the Lake August 8th
Helping St. Luke's in Kenya
Parishioner and Vestry member Elizabeth Ochieng recently brought some of the needs of the church in her hometown in Kenya to our attention. St. Luke's Nyagoko is part of the Anglican Church of Kenya, and has grown so much that they decided to build a new church. Everything was in place except the flooring, and St. Mary's was able to help defray about half of the cost.

The church leadership were extremely grateful, and along with a letter, sent some pictures and a beautiful bowl depicting the "Big 5" animals in their region. I am very pleased that we were able to help our sister church in this meaningful way, and pray that when the pandemic finally subsides, I will be able to go and meet our Kenyan friends in person and maybe even see the "Big 5" in the flesh.

Fr. Rick
Local Outreach Update
Our thanks to those people who donated to provide sponsorship for the campers attending the Tuxedo Town Camp. The camp is halfway through and the campers are all having a fun time, though the weather has been a challenge at times! Sue Heywood, Outreach Chair

Sloatsburg Food Pantry (SFP)

St Mary’s continues to work with the food pantry at all levels and to be there for any families who are in need of help beyond a supply of food. The organization is impressive and the number of volunteers, with many young people a very active part in it, is very encouraging. Joyce Donohue, Director and Susan Meyer, Board Chairperson, lead a very committed and focused Board and group of volunteers.

From Joyce Donohue’s email to the SFP Board:

As you know, have been planning a renovation project. Our architecture plans and permit (special thanks to Kristen) were just approved by the Village of Suffern and we have selected a contractor. The timeline is being worked on, but suffice it to say, work should begin soon.

In summary, the project has two major components.
  • Build-out a client choice pantry. This will allow families to come indoors, select the food they prefer, allowing for dietary restrictions and enabling us to provide additional community resources.
  • Installation of a walk-in refrigerator and freezer. This equipment will allow us to safely and adequately store fresh produce, lean meats and dairy on-site.

The SFP continues to work from All Souls Church in Suffern and to serve upwards of 300 families each opening. A fundraising appeal will soon get underway hoping to raise $200,000 to finance the renovations so that those in need can be assisted in all weathers throughout the year. Please refer to the updated website for details.
Global Outreach -- Carryou Ministry
St. Mary's has been supporting this ministry since 2001!

Life for the families being helped by Carryou has become even worse during the pandemic, and now with the onset of a Winter colder than ever before, it is just awful. Living in corrugated iron shacks with only a paraffin stove or a tiny wood burning fire for heat, all the families we have been supporting are in ever greater need for the food parcels, fuel and blankets, and the students for their stipends.

I am hoping to gather up some donations to help pay for more food parcels for our 32 sponsored families and I personally will provide for Lodrico Tivani to go to Mozambique to renew the family's student visas which expired a few months ago. Although he has completed his matric and passed his exams, the Department of Education refuses to issue his Matric certificate until he presents a valid South African study permit. It is the law, and something Lodrico will uphold one day when he becomes a policeman. He really deserves a chance in life!

Sharon, my daughter in law, who works for Lawyers for Human Rights is making sure that all their documentation is as it should be, but there seems to be no choice but to go back to Mozambique to get the papers renewed. Lodrico got very good grades in matric against the odds of the poor home conditions he lives under. It is good that he is thinking of a police training, as paying for a university education would be an insurmountable challenge and the police will at least provide him with a job and some wages to support his mother and his brothers, Malucky, Sinito and Fabito.

Carryou has at last got a website. If you click on the donor page you will see how grateful they are for all of our help St Mary’s Outreach seeks to work in the big picture but also to support individuals both locally and globally.

Thank you all for your support of St Mary’s Outreach! On behalf of the outreach committee, Sue Heywood, Outreach Chair
Shop The Emporium This Weekend
Did You Know?
The New York Times called her the “arbiter of etiquette.” She rests in Saint Mary’s churchyard, no doubt rolling her eyes at much of what goes on around her, yet her legacy of proper social graces lives on. In researching her I learned much more about her than where to place the water glass.

Emily Price Post, daughter of architect Bruce Price, was born in Baltimore in 1872. As a girl of 20, she married Edwin Main Post, they settled in New York and later in a cottage here in Tuxedo Park, that bears her name to this day. The couple had two sons, Edwin and Bruce. Her marriage was fraught with unhappiness, apparently Mr. Post was partial to affairs and unseemly blackmail, in 1905 they were divorced, she was never to marry again.

Emily took up writing in order to support herself and her sons. She wrote four novels, essays, numerous short stories and a travel book, “By Motor to the Golden Gate.” This was an adventure that was undertaken by Post, her older son Edwin, who was attending Harvard at the time, who was the unofficial chauffeur and her cousin Alice, who went along “for protection!” Keep in mind that it was April of 1915 and this was not an easy trip, but her editors asked if she would take this on and when finished it was to be published in Collier’s Weekly. Post kept records of every aspect of their trip, routes, cost of repairs, places to stay, all accounted for.

I started reading it on my iPhone via Amazon and after page 26 it cut me off, my copy is on its way. I realized we all may well know about her most famous effort, “Etiquette” first published in 1950, but this is a lesson in our country, when our love of travel by car was in its infancy. She too fell in love, what follows is a short example.

“Our great surprise has been the excellence the roads and hotels, and our really beautiful and prosperous country. Going through these miles after miles of perfect vineyards and orchards, these wonderfully kept farms, it seems impossible to believe that in New York City there are long bread lines, and that in other parts of our great country there is strife, hunger, poverty and waste.”

“And such farms! We had expected the scenery to be uninteresting! No one with a spark of sentiment for his own country could remain long indifferent. Well fenced fields under perfect cultivation; splendid looking cows, horses, houses and barns. And in every barn, a Ford.”
Diocesan Youth Camp
Open to youth ages 12-18.

Youth Conference is a week-long event for the young people of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is a combination of many things; part retreat, part camp, and part convention. A chance for the youth of the Diocese to escape the pressures of the outside world, meet people their own age, discuss topics relevant to their lives, define their own personal spirituality, and have fun all at the same time. Please join us for the week, and make friendships that can last a lifetime!
How to contact us...
Website: www.stmtux.org
Office: 845.351.5122
Physical Address: 10 Fox Hill Rd, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 637, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987