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Dear Friends,
All other sound in awe
Repeats its law:
The bird is mute; the sea
Sucks up its waves; from rain
The burthened clouds refrain,
To listen to thee in thy leafery,
Thou unconfined,
Lavish, large, soothing, refluent summer wind.
In these post-Pentecost days the refluent, ebbing nature of the Spirit flows back upon itself, while pushing us outward and inward, inviting us to imagine and stretch, to relax and trust. How are you sensing the wind of the Spirit?
The next HH will be published on Thursday, July 24. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, July 22. Please send your submissions along to [email protected].
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From the Presbytery Office
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Ordination of Daniel Yang, July 13 
The Presbytery of Hudson River warmly invites you to the Service of Ordination of Daniel Yang to Minister of Word and Sacrament.
The worship service, open to all, will be held at the Korean Presbyterian Church of Westchester, 50 Pintard Avenue, New Rochelle, NY on Sunday July 13, 2014 at 3:00pm. The Rev. Taejoon Lee will be preaching. A reception at the church will follow.
Help Commission Young Adult Volunteers, Aug. 24
Each year Hudson River Presbytery congregations have helped commission our denomination's Young Adult Volunteers for mission service in the US and around the world. If your congregation is interested please contact Abbie Huff ([email protected] or 267-664-3180). Commissioning will take place Sunday, August 24th at your congregation.
Here's what it involves. You would have a member pick up the YAV from Stony Point, Commission the YAVs during worship (with them possibly talking about where they're headed to serve), provide them with lunch, and have someone drop them back off at Stony Point. This is a wonderful opportunity for your congregation to connect with the larger witness of the church and support dedicated young adult Presbyterians who are devoting themselves to mission in the US and around the world. Contact Abbie Huff, [email protected] or 267-664-3180, for more information.
Family-Friendly Presbytery will Feature Open Space Conversations & Children/Youth Programs, July 22
 | | "Walk humbly with your God" |
The HRP meeting will be focused on the Micah 6:8 theme "Walk Humbly with Your God" and be held at Holmes Presbytery Camp and Conference Center from 2:00pm-7:00pm on July 22nd. Allison Seed from the Board of Pensions will be with us throughout the meeting and available for questions you may have on your benefits plan.
This presbytery gathering will feature "open space" community conversations. This format allows all participants the opportunity to suggest topics for discussion on the day of presbytery that they will facilitate and for people to sign up. So be thinking about a topic or question you'd like to explore with others and which you'd be prepared to facilitate.
The July meeting is also is a great chance for the whole family to experience stimulating community conversations, shared worship and participate in the work of the presbytery. There will be activities -- including optional swimming and/or water games -- for children and youth provided by the Holmes staff and Leadership Campers. Babies - 18 year olds are welcome to participate!
If your children are to attend, make sure to bring a bathing suit and towel for them. Please let Holmes know ahead of time how many children or youth you'll be bringing, their ages, and whether they'll be going swimming or just participating in watergames on land by sending this information to [email protected] or by contacting the office at 845-878-6383 by Friday, July 18th.
Humanitarian Crisis of Unaccompanied Children
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Child detainees sleep in a holding cell at US Customs and Border Protection Processing Facility [SOURCE: Reuters/Eric Gay/Pool]
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This week the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) offered a response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis as increasing numbers of children from Central America, many traveling alone, continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of the children report that they left home fleeing violence and a lack of economic opportunity. Churches and humanitarian organizations on the border have opened their doors to offer temporary shelter to thousands of children who are tired and looking for safety.
The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reminded the church of our call to respond with love: "In the Presbyterian tradition, the congregation as a whole covenants with a family to nurture their children in the faith. We look after one another's children. We corporately tend to their safety and growth. The children arriving at our borders are no less in need of nurturance and no less bearing the likeness of God." Read the full letter.
Are you interested in learning more about being a part of the local response here in Hudson River Presbytery? Contact Rev. Sarah Henkel, [email protected].
J. Herbert Nelson's Open Letter on the
Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby Decision
The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Office of Public Witness, has written a compelling letter expressing dismay over Supreme Court's decision in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, articulating the theological and moral basis for the PC(USA)'s support for access to contraception to women and raising issue with endowing rights that properly belong to people, to corporations. The PC(USA) spoke to the question of access to contraception when the 205th General Assembly (1993) called on Congress to provide funding that ensures access to contraception, at no cost, to any person who needs it. His letter begins,
"In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we affirm that each person is created in God's image, and that each woman is endowed with God-given moral capacity and authority to determine whether or not to become pregnant," Nelson said. "Denying any woman the right to exercise that moral agency is wrong. It is because of our faith that we view access to contraception, and all forms of health care, as a human right." Read the full letter.
Is Your Congregation Connected? 
Help your congregation's members stay abreast of the latest news and opportunities by subscribing to Hudson Happenings. A blurb with a link you can circulate electronically is below.
Are you in the loop?
Stay abreast of Presbyterian events, resources, grants, and opportunities. Subscribe to Hudson Happenings, the bi-weekly online newsletter of the Hudson River Presbytery. Subscribe by emailing [email protected] or by clicking this link http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=jupymrgab&p=oi&m=1106537889417&sit=xehoquegb
For a hardcopy HH sign-up sheet that you can use, click here. If you do sign-up people by paper, please be sure to return them promptly to Noelle Damico, [email protected] or fax, 914-941-2263.
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| Living Our Values | |
Joy 
HRP members Chip Andrus, pastor of South Salem Presbyterian Church and Rob Trawick, HRP's moderator took up their guitars and led this year's GA plenary in song. Rob writes,
"One of the great joys of my General Assembly experience this year was the opportunity to join with HRP's Chip Andrus and others in leading the plenary sessions in song. Often my most lasting memories of Presbyterian gatherings are worship moments. (Nothing from the last GA topped singing "Holy, Holy, Holy with hundreds of other Presbies.)
To have been given the opportunity to help lead some worship experiences was a blessing (Thanks, Chip!). It afforded me the time and space to set aside the controversies and squabbles which are part of every GA and to focus on the movement of spirit. Chip's selections also exposed me to some of the wealth of material in the new Presbyterian hymnal. Singing "When the Lord Redeems the Very Least" (to the tune if the old gospel number "I'll Fly Away) took me back home for awhile. These moments of praise hold a special place in my mental scrapbook."
Curiosity 
"'What are you doing here? Can I be a part of it?' Those questions from curious passers-by are my favorite part of Saturday mornings at White Plains Presbyterian Church as one entryway to the sanctuary is filled with crates brimming with fresh organically-grown vegetables from Lineage Farm in Hudson, NY," writes Sarah Henkel who, in addition to serving as Cross-Cultural Catalyst for HRP is a parish associate at White Plains Presbyterian. "Throughout the winter and spring, community members from within and beyond the congregation signed up for shares of vegetables through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) partnership with Lineage Farm.
In the CSA model members pay up front for vegetables delivered over the course of a 23-week season. With customers secured, the farmers are able to plant and plan accordingly. The members and farmers together share the benefits and risks of small-scale local agriculture.
On Saturday mornings members of the CSA come to pick up their vegetables, they meet neighbors, connect with friends, exchange recipes from different cultural traditions, laugh together about the vegetables they still won't eat because their parents used to make them eat them, and grow together as a community that draws in more community.
Last Saturday a neighbor from across the street saw a sign for the Lineage Farm CSA and walked over to see how she could join. She sent an email later that day to say, 'It was so great to meet my neighbors and under such happy circumstances.' I'm looking forward to seeing her again this Saturday."
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| Trainings and Retreats | |
Spread the Good News! 10 $1,000 Scholarships!
Here's your chance to explore new ways of spreading the good news! The Congregational Change Ministry and Vision Ministry have joined together to increase scholarship offerings to $1,000 for 10 persons on a first come, first served basis for the Evangelism & Church Growth Conference (ECG) 2014.
The theme this year is taken from Matthew 28:16-20: Go... Disciple... Live... The Conference will be held at the Tradewinds Resort on St. Pete Beach, FL on August 11-14. The Evangelism Track of ECG2014 will explore what it means that Jesus has changed our lives, calls us to follow, and sends us into our neighborhoods to share faith and serve others. Contact Rhonda Kruse for scholarship information. There is a maximum of 2 scholarships per congregation and the expectation that you will share your learnings within the presbytery.
Why Go to the PC(USA)'s National Multicultural Conference (besides an $800 scholarship)?
Why attend the PC(USA)'s National Multicultural Conference?
- The energy, truth-telling love, and inspiration of PC(USA) leaders committed to the diversity of the church in word and in ACTION.
- Incredible worship in the many languages of the PC(USA)
- Challenging conversations about the present and future of the church from diverse perspectives
- Concrete connections drawn between justice, faith, and the everyday lives of our congregations
- Fun, friends, and Dallas, TX
 | | 2014 Multicultural Conference |
A Weekend Focused on Christian Witness and Advocacy, Sept. 27-28
Save the date for "Changing the Conversation: Claiming Our Voice," Sept. 27-28, a weekend during which we will explore why and how we are called to employ our unique Christian voice to bring about change in the world. A conference on Saturday from 9:00am-3:30pm at Stony Point Center will feature J. Herbert Nelson, Director of the PC(USA)'s Office of Public Witness and Mark Koenig, Director of the PC(USA)'s Ministry at the United Nations. They will help us think theologically about advocacy and discuss ways we can engage government, corporations, denominations, congregations and individuals through Presbyterian witness. The cost is $25 for the program, lunch and coffee. And on Sunday Sept. 28, a presbytery-wide worship opportunity through video technology is being planned. Stay tuned for more details!
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| Take Action | |
Reflection/Action Trips with Presbyterian Hunger Program 
Join the Presbyterian Hunger Program for one of their experiential trips which analyze the root causes of hunger and poverty while calling participants to engage in solidarity actions with our local and global partners. The deadlines for applications for upcoming trips to India, Bolivia, Peru, and Central America are quickly approaching. Don't miss out! Learn more.
Work Groups Needed this August!
In August, the Youth Economic Group needs your help to prepare their new center. Work groups are needed to paint, clean and make minor renovations to their new home at Liberty United Methodist Church's parsonage. The parsonage will provide YEG with:
- Space for YEG's Cooperative business "Basement Bags" production and sales
- Meeting space
- Living space for our Volunteer in Mission Jessie, who is with us for the year
- living space for our interns (there are six bedrooms!)
- space to host worker meetings
- space to host mission trips
Can you put together a work trip to help? To learn more, contact the Rural and Migrant Ministries Office at 845-485-8627
Help PDA Extend Compassionate Assistance to Unaccompanied Children
With the crisis of unaccompanied refugee children mounting here in the US, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) will be working with congregations and mid councils along the border that are especially impacted by this situation in addressing needs. We are also collaborating with our ecumenical and interfaith partners who have experience in working with refugees and immigrants and who are also responding to the growing crisis along the southern U.S. border. Learn more and donate now to assist PDA in this compassionate and faithful response.
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| Youth Resources and Opportunities | | |
Acts of Kindness
This wonderful resource gives children a list of concrete acts of kindness that they can do right now that will make a difference in the lives of others and build community and encourages them to add their own!
These simple suggestions are framed with the following bottom line message:
- Have the courage to be kind when others may not.
- Look out for those who can't look out for themselves.
- Stand up when others would rather stand out.
- Leave the world a kinder place than you found it.
A good bottom line message for adults too, eh? Explore this resource.
'Tis the Season for Camp! 
Summer is a great time to make friends and deep one's faith. Holmes Camp and Conference Center is a place for youth and families to do both! Here are a variety of opportunities for you to explore.
July 20-26
August 3-9
Kids on the Wire!
This online news bulletin features what adolescents are doing to change their world for the better. Kids on the Wire takes newswire stories, summarizes them and links them to give youth and adults the chance to see the creative, ground-breaking, justice-seeking efforts of youth around the world. A great jumpstart for youth group programming and for sermon illustrations too!
Making Room 4 Mission
Pastor Ann Wood of First Presbyterian Church, Jeffersonville, made a wonderful suggestion that churches who have planned mission trips but might have room additional participants let the HRP office know so that youth from smaller churches who may not otherwise have an opportunity might participate. So we're going to try to compile and publish a list of such opportunities (see below for the first one!) If you have room on your mission trip, send the information to [email protected].
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| Events in the Life of the Presbytery | |
Conversation with Rick Ufford-Chase about Stony Point and the Future of the PC(USA), July 14 
On Wed. July 14th from 7:30-9:00pm, join members of the presbytery as we converse with Rick Ufford-Chase, Moderator of the 216th General Assembly and Co-Director of Stony Point Center about the future of the PC(USA) and the way Stony Point is building the multi-faith movement for peace and justice...and strengthening Presbyterian churches to offer a distinctive witness in that movement. The conversation (with refreshments!) is at the home of Dan and Duna Fullerton, 70 Spring Pond Dr., Ossining, NY.
PW Synod of the NE Gathering, July 18-20
"Grace Abounds" is the title of the upcoming Presbyterian Women of the Synod of the Northeast Gathering at beautiful Silver Bay YMCA Camp. Featuring artist Rey Harris, Jr., participants will explore grace through scripture, art and conversation. Read more.
Youth Economic Group Summer Fest, July 20
Save the date and join the Youth Economic Group for a day of art and music as they celebrate the growth of their social entrepreneurship project that has produced hundreds of handmade bags (you can purchase the bags there too!). Read more and spread the word!
Holmes Friends Day, July 26 
Come one and all for this rousing day of adventure, study and fun at Holmes Camp. This day where we celebrate the camp's ministry, is a great opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones. Lots of options and opportunities for all ages. Read on!
Last Chance for Ghost Ranch: An Adventure in Faith, Art and History, Sept. 29 - Oct. 5  Bedford Presbyterian Church invites you to join them on an excursion to Ghost Ranch in the heart of the New Mexican desert. Enjoy a time of exploring your own interests in art, paleontology and more while gathering periodically together with the group. Learn more. HH has been promoting this wonderful trip for a while and many of you have signed up. Indeed the trip is "full" but with a little wiggle room to add a few more people. So those of you who've been sitting on the fence, get off it and sign up now! |
| Seeking and Finding | | |
Blue PC(USA) Hymnals Offered for Free
The First Presbyterian Church in Goshen has about 200 good copies of the blue Presbyterian Hymnal, free to anyone who could use them. Contact D.C. Kingsley at [email protected].
Pilgrim Hymnals Available for Free
South Church has approximately 200 copies of the Pilgrim Hymnal available to anyone who can put them to good use. Please contact Jane Ann Groom at [email protected].
Excellent Quality Wood Pews Available for Free
Larchmont Presbyterian has 14, 9 foot, blonde wood pews that are very sturdy and seeking church in need of them. If you're that church, contact Paul Galvez, [email protected].
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| Employment Opportunities and Connections |
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Stony Point Center Seeks a Sales Manager
Stony Point Center is seeking a sales manager with experience in hospitality industry. The position will be filled as soon as the ideal candidate is located. Learn more.
Assistant to Pastor Seeking 20 or so Hours a Week
Brian McIntyre, the assistant to Dan Fullerton at FPC Ossining, is hoping you can help identify employment opportunities within the Presbytery, or for the Presbytery, or with affiliated churches and organizations that might be suitable for him. He has limited hours but is looking to expand his experience working within the wider church. Have an idea? Contact Brian directly, [email protected]
Synod Networker Position
The Synod of the Northeast is seeking someone who will connect individuals, churches, and/or presbyteries sharing a common passion; encourage and promote the development of Synod networks; and become a storyteller, sharing stories of hope, innovation and growth throughout the Synod. This will be a full-time position with benefits. Learn more.
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