Pastor will be home next Sunday. I think that is what Rev. Preisinger said in church yesterday. Correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks to Sharon Smith, our efficient Cluster Secretary, for e-mailing me the weekly bulletin so I can pull info out to post here.
AUGUST 16 - 11am worship at the Cluster Picnic at Crellin Park in Chatham. Please bring a dish or dessert to share, lawn chairs and any group games that all might enjoy. The cluster will provide hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks. The Emanuel/St. John's Parish will be supplying a few card tables for those who cannot sit at the regular picnic benches.
August 23rd & 30th - We will have informal Q&A sessions after the service to review the new constitution for Christ Our Emmanuel Lutheran Church.
September 13 - Both congregations will vote for consolidation approval.
The votes that we have already taken this year have been about the decision to consider consolidating and what our name would be if we did. Now (on Sept. 13) we need to make it final - and legal! Thanks to Liz for the correction.
Have a good week!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
DAR News from Carol B.
DAR earns $1000.00 contribution from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution having received more than $3000 in donations from recent "Replace the Roof"' fund raising events secured a $1000 contribution throuth Thrivent Financial for Lutheran. and the "Care Abounds in the Community" program. $ 1.00 for every $3.00 collected. This funding towards replacing the back section of the roof on the DAR chapter house., the historic Robert Jenkins home at 113 Warren Street Hudson was made possible by volunteers from the Southeastern NY chapter of Thrivent Financial's local chapte, serving Columbia, Green and parts of Dutchess Counties..
Thrivent Ffnancial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 services membership, not for profit organization helping members achieve their financial goals and give back to their communities through programs like the "Care Abounds" programs.
Thrivent Financial members and other interested volunteers can join in service to use the financial resources of Thrivent Financial to support projects and fund raising activities benefiting individuals, families and qualified non profit organizations..
In 1896, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was organized in Hudson to encourage education, preserve history and promote patriotism. The home of Robert Jenkins,one of Hudson's first proprietors, was built in 1811 It stayed with the Jenkins family until 1900 when a granddaughter Mrs. Frances Chester White Hartly gifted Robert Jenkins home to the Hendric k Hudson Chapter of the DAR with the stipulation they maintain a library and museum. Until 1959 when Hudson opened the Hudson Area Library, the Library at the Robert Jenkins/DAR Chapter house was the only public Library in the city of Hudson. This Library remaining at the historic Jenkins homestead is one of the largest collections of Columbia County genealogical records. The Robert Jenkins house is magnificent with its wide sweeping staircase and DAR insignia depicted in a stain glass mural. The house displays some period furnishings . artifacts and collections of the civil War, items connected to the history of Hudson and its whaling industry, paintings by artists of the Hudson River School and a large collection of genealogical records and books.
The DAR Chapter House at 113 Warren Street, Hudson is open for tours or research Saturdays 1-5 pm from July 11 to the Arts Walk in early October and the Chapter House will be open September 13 Sunday !-5pm or by appointment.
Call 518-828-9764 for information
The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution having received more than $3000 in donations from recent "Replace the Roof"' fund raising events secured a $1000 contribution throuth Thrivent Financial for Lutheran. and the "Care Abounds in the Community" program. $ 1.00 for every $3.00 collected. This funding towards replacing the back section of the roof on the DAR chapter house., the historic Robert Jenkins home at 113 Warren Street Hudson was made possible by volunteers from the Southeastern NY chapter of Thrivent Financial's local chapte, serving Columbia, Green and parts of Dutchess Counties..
Thrivent Ffnancial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 services membership, not for profit organization helping members achieve their financial goals and give back to their communities through programs like the "Care Abounds" programs.
Thrivent Financial members and other interested volunteers can join in service to use the financial resources of Thrivent Financial to support projects and fund raising activities benefiting individuals, families and qualified non profit organizations..
In 1896, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was organized in Hudson to encourage education, preserve history and promote patriotism. The home of Robert Jenkins,one of Hudson's first proprietors, was built in 1811 It stayed with the Jenkins family until 1900 when a granddaughter Mrs. Frances Chester White Hartly gifted Robert Jenkins home to the Hendric k Hudson Chapter of the DAR with the stipulation they maintain a library and museum. Until 1959 when Hudson opened the Hudson Area Library, the Library at the Robert Jenkins/DAR Chapter house was the only public Library in the city of Hudson. This Library remaining at the historic Jenkins homestead is one of the largest collections of Columbia County genealogical records. The Robert Jenkins house is magnificent with its wide sweeping staircase and DAR insignia depicted in a stain glass mural. The house displays some period furnishings . artifacts and collections of the civil War, items connected to the history of Hudson and its whaling industry, paintings by artists of the Hudson River School and a large collection of genealogical records and books.
The DAR Chapter House at 113 Warren Street, Hudson is open for tours or research Saturdays 1-5 pm from July 11 to the Arts Walk in early October and the Chapter House will be open September 13 Sunday !-5pm or by appointment.
Call 518-828-9764 for information
Monday, July 6, 2009
Chatham Our Emmanuel Tag Sale
It's that time! The tag sale will be on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th graciously hosted by Linda and Doug Stalker at their home next to the Price Chopper in Chatham. To help: Wednesday, the 8th, meet at 6pm to move items from the Church garage on Park Row to the Stalkers' house. On the 9th, join the Stalkers to set up the tag sale. Of course, volunteers are always welcome to help at the sale itself. Even an hour or two makes the workload a lot lighter - and it's fun!!
Pray for more sun!
Pray for more sun!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Letter from Bishop Hanson - July 2009
July 1, 2009
Dear colleagues in ministry,
As we approach the churchwide assembly, I am thankful for the thoughtful and respectful discussion at synod assemblies of the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policy recommendations. I am mindful, however, that we remain a church body that is not of one mind about these decisions, and that these continuing differences have raised concerns among some about whether we are headed toward a church-dividing decision.
I am writing to express my shared, heartfelt commitment to the church's unity, and, even more, my deep confidence that this unity will not be lost. For this reason please join me in reflecting on the unity of Christ's church that is the foundation both for our life together in the ELCA and our relationships with other Christians throughout the world.
The unity of Christ's church is God's daily work through the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening and sanctifying us with the gospel. Sometimes, when I hear concerns about division in the ELCA, I worry that they express a fear that unity depends on the actions of church leaders or assemblies. Our unity, however, comes to us because God gives it freely and undeservedly in Jesus Christ. Although everyone in leadership shares responsibility for stewarding our unity in Christ, it will not be won or lost at the churchwide assembly in a plenary session vote. Rather, it will be received as a gracious gift from God when the assembly is gathered each noon by the Word and Sacrament through which God gives us unity, making us one in Jesus Christ.
We hold in common this confession that God makes us one in Jesus Christ, but it is not making this confession that makes us one. Rather, because God unites us to Jesus Christ in Baptism we are also united to each other in one body that transcends any other difference. Paul states this clearly. "For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27).
A marvelous insight into this unity was made recently during a Bible study as members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Executive Committee took turns reading Paul's familiar words about the body of Christ in their own languages. The differences were fascinating. Several read, "all the members of the body, though many, are one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12). Others read, "all the members of the body, being many, are one body." Our Bible study leader suggested that "though many" implies that our "many-ness" (that is, our diversity or differences) is a problem that compromises the unity of the body of Christ. But, "being many" within the Body of Christ implies that diversity is unity's strength, not its weakness. The witness of Scripture is that both unity and diversity are God's gifts. There is one Spirit, one Baptism, one faith, one Lord of us all, but a variety of gifts and callings are given for the sake of the gospel and the common good.
God's gift of unity in Christ informs our life and witness together in the community of Christ's church. Rather than approach the assembly apprehensively, I invite you to see it as an opportunity for faith-filled witness to the larger human family that struggles with division and yearns for healing and wholeness that is real and true. We live in a polarized culture that equates unity with uniformity and sees differences as a reason for division. This moment, and our witness as a church body in the midst of it, deserves something better from us. We have the opportunity to offer the witness of our unity in Christdiverse, filled with different-ness and differences, broken in sin, and yet united and whole in Christ. This moment deserves the witness of a community that finds and trusts its unity in Christ alone, engages one another with respect, and seeks a communal discernment of the Spirit's leading.
In recent weeks I have been re-reading Bonhoeffer's Life Together where he writes, "God already has laid the only foundation of our community, because God has united us in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ long before we entered into common life with them." He says that other Christians who may be different and yet live by God's call, forgiveness, and promise are a gift and a reason to give thanks. He continues with this remarkable insight about all of us and the unifying power of Christ's forgiveness:Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the common life, is not the one who sins still a person with whom I too stand under the Word of Christ? Will not another Christian's sin be an occasion for me ever anew to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ? Therefore, will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 5, pp. 36-37.)Some may question why I am writing and wonder if this letter is advocating for a particular position on the questions before the churchwide assembly. It is not. Rather, it is an honest expression of my conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God's mission for the life of the world, and the members of this church deserve this witness from us: In Christ we are members of one body serving God's mission for the life of the world.
As we approach the Assembly, I invite you to join me in confident hope, grounded in Christ, where we meet one another not in our agreements or disagreements, but at the foot of the cross. We meet as we hear the Word, confess our faith, receive Christ's presence in bread and wine, sing our praises to God, make our offerings, and then go in peace, to share the Good News, remember the poor and serve the Lord.
God is faithful. Christ is with us. By the power of the Spirit we are one in him. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:31)
In God's grace,
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Dear colleagues in ministry,
As we approach the churchwide assembly, I am thankful for the thoughtful and respectful discussion at synod assemblies of the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policy recommendations. I am mindful, however, that we remain a church body that is not of one mind about these decisions, and that these continuing differences have raised concerns among some about whether we are headed toward a church-dividing decision.
I am writing to express my shared, heartfelt commitment to the church's unity, and, even more, my deep confidence that this unity will not be lost. For this reason please join me in reflecting on the unity of Christ's church that is the foundation both for our life together in the ELCA and our relationships with other Christians throughout the world.
The unity of Christ's church is God's daily work through the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening and sanctifying us with the gospel. Sometimes, when I hear concerns about division in the ELCA, I worry that they express a fear that unity depends on the actions of church leaders or assemblies. Our unity, however, comes to us because God gives it freely and undeservedly in Jesus Christ. Although everyone in leadership shares responsibility for stewarding our unity in Christ, it will not be won or lost at the churchwide assembly in a plenary session vote. Rather, it will be received as a gracious gift from God when the assembly is gathered each noon by the Word and Sacrament through which God gives us unity, making us one in Jesus Christ.
We hold in common this confession that God makes us one in Jesus Christ, but it is not making this confession that makes us one. Rather, because God unites us to Jesus Christ in Baptism we are also united to each other in one body that transcends any other difference. Paul states this clearly. "For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27).
A marvelous insight into this unity was made recently during a Bible study as members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Executive Committee took turns reading Paul's familiar words about the body of Christ in their own languages. The differences were fascinating. Several read, "all the members of the body, though many, are one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12). Others read, "all the members of the body, being many, are one body." Our Bible study leader suggested that "though many" implies that our "many-ness" (that is, our diversity or differences) is a problem that compromises the unity of the body of Christ. But, "being many" within the Body of Christ implies that diversity is unity's strength, not its weakness. The witness of Scripture is that both unity and diversity are God's gifts. There is one Spirit, one Baptism, one faith, one Lord of us all, but a variety of gifts and callings are given for the sake of the gospel and the common good.
God's gift of unity in Christ informs our life and witness together in the community of Christ's church. Rather than approach the assembly apprehensively, I invite you to see it as an opportunity for faith-filled witness to the larger human family that struggles with division and yearns for healing and wholeness that is real and true. We live in a polarized culture that equates unity with uniformity and sees differences as a reason for division. This moment, and our witness as a church body in the midst of it, deserves something better from us. We have the opportunity to offer the witness of our unity in Christdiverse, filled with different-ness and differences, broken in sin, and yet united and whole in Christ. This moment deserves the witness of a community that finds and trusts its unity in Christ alone, engages one another with respect, and seeks a communal discernment of the Spirit's leading.
In recent weeks I have been re-reading Bonhoeffer's Life Together where he writes, "God already has laid the only foundation of our community, because God has united us in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ long before we entered into common life with them." He says that other Christians who may be different and yet live by God's call, forgiveness, and promise are a gift and a reason to give thanks. He continues with this remarkable insight about all of us and the unifying power of Christ's forgiveness:Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the common life, is not the one who sins still a person with whom I too stand under the Word of Christ? Will not another Christian's sin be an occasion for me ever anew to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ? Therefore, will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 5, pp. 36-37.)Some may question why I am writing and wonder if this letter is advocating for a particular position on the questions before the churchwide assembly. It is not. Rather, it is an honest expression of my conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God's mission for the life of the world, and the members of this church deserve this witness from us: In Christ we are members of one body serving God's mission for the life of the world.
As we approach the Assembly, I invite you to join me in confident hope, grounded in Christ, where we meet one another not in our agreements or disagreements, but at the foot of the cross. We meet as we hear the Word, confess our faith, receive Christ's presence in bread and wine, sing our praises to God, make our offerings, and then go in peace, to share the Good News, remember the poor and serve the Lord.
God is faithful. Christ is with us. By the power of the Spirit we are one in him. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:31)
In God's grace,
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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