St. Paul's Episcopal Church   Poughkeepsie, NY


MESSENGER
"Making friends while serving God"

The week of Nov 13-19, 2017         
Our new beginning
Sunday, Nov. 26, will mark a new beginning for St. Paul's. The new beginning will be celebrated by our diocesan bishop, The Right Reverend Andy Dietsche, by our entire congregation, by area clergy from other congregations, and some of their congregants and by our own friends and neighbors and family members who know what we do here at St. Paul's. You are encouraged to share the invitation with anyone you think is or might be interested in our ministries.
 
There will be only one service Nov. 26--at 4 pm.  The service will be followed by a hearty reception in our Parish Hall. Our service will contain some special aspects, in addition to the Bishop's visit: twice as many hymns as usual, with many from Lift Every Voice and Sing (LEVAS); a special Litany of Thanksgiving for the Church; an expanded choir with members from other churches we associate with throughout the seasons of the church year; and a performance of Maris Kristapsons' anthem, "Bow down thine ear o mighty Lord," composed for Father Tyler's tenth anniversary at St. Paul's.
 
One delightful prospect is the "unveiling" of our newly restored organ following a four month silence. The organ restoration was made possible by the generosity of former Music Director Bob Dorum and his mother, Beatrice Ruhle.  (There will be further reports on this prospective unveiling actually being possible as the contractor concludes the repair work. The actual dedication and celebration will take place in January at the Annual General Meeting.)
 
This formal service will also include reflections by parishioners on the developments at St. Paul's that have made possible our new beginning, as well as the institution of Father Tyler as Rector. The new beginning is a result of St. Paul's becoming an autonomous parish of the diocese, having left the Congregational Support Plan Jan. 1 of this year.
 
Please give thought to those family members and friends who have expressed interest in our parish's ministry over the years. As always, all are invited to St. Paul's just as all are invited to God's table.


Knowing our own ability...and acting on it




            Zephaniah 1:7,12-18;  Psalm 90:1-8,12;
 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ; Matthew 25:14-30

bible.jpg
 
There is a very interesting and special lesson in Sunday's Gospel reading for us as we open our hearts and our wallets on New Consecration Sunday. It is the lesson known as 'The Parable of the Talents.' Three slaves are given different amounts of money to use in their owner's absence. Two manage their portions well; the third does not, out of fear of his owner. The owner predictably explodes over the third slave's lack of initiative. "At least you could have put the money in the bank and I would have earned some interest" the owner exclaimed. He punished the slave.
 
The special feature of this lesson is that each of the three was given funds "according to their ability." As we arrive at New Consecration Sunday we know that each of has different capabilities, not to mention dispositions, concerning giving to God's work at St. Paul's. But more importantly, as the Gospel lesson shows, is that we do have ability, whatever it is. No one, aside from God, knows what our ability is as well as we ourselves do. So we are the only ones who can say we have given as completely as possible, again, except for God.
 
Therefore we can imagine the conversation in prayer with God. Here's one: "O God, this giving frightens me. I'm just going to close my eyes, cross my fingers and hope what I gave last year was enough then and will be enough for the coming year." Here's another: "Dear God, I have made plans to give a certain amount this year. I feel right about this amount: it is larger than last year, it is a sum that represents the Biblical tithe plus a little, and it does not appear likely to cause discomfort to me or my family. May it prove adequate for your purposes at St. Paul's."
 
We should ask ourselves which prayer shows confidence in God's goodness and love and which reflects fear and trembling. We should ask ourselves which God we believe in and which prayer we will pray.

P A R I S H   N E W S
 

IT'S COMING....  
If you've been at church during the last 4 weeks you've noticed that sign on the walls and in the Narthex.   Well IT will be here Sunday, Nov. 19.
IT is NEW CONSECRATION SUNDAY.   We will celebrate the day at the 10:00 service (NO 8:00 SERVICE). Our Guest Leader, The Rev. Ellen O'Hara, will deliver the homily and talk with us about giving. We will complete Estimate of Giving Cards and take them to the altar to be blessed.   Our celebration will conclude with a catered lunch in the Parish Hall.   This is a special day when we all celebrate the joys of membership in St. Paul's Parish life.   Our hope is that all church members will be present for the service and the luncheon.   If you haven't already made your reservation, please call the church by Thursday to let us know you'll be there.
 


St. Paul's Music Director Maris Kristapsons conducting the Interfaith Council choir Sunday at the Methodist Church. The annual Interfaith Music Festival was attended by over 200 area residents and netted over $3,000 for the Council.

PLEASE LET US KNOW:
Availability for Safe Church training
 
Last week the Messenger contained an article on the need for 'Safe Church' training at St. Paul's. As of Monday evening only six of the estimated 25-30 leaders and volunteers at St. Paul's had indicated which of the potential training dates could work for them.
 
Every one of our parish volunteers and leaders--except for Father Tyler--is in need of this training in order to comply with diocesan and vestry regulations. Please advise Father Tyler (pastortyler@gmail.com) at your earliest opportunity as to which of the following dates could work for you. Please consider all dates so we can maximize the number of leaders and volunteers receiving the training in December of February.
 
December dates and times:                        February dates and times:
Dec. 9 (Sat.) 9 am - 1 pm                               Feb. 10 (Sat) 9am-1 pm
Dec. 10 (Sun) 1 pm - 5 pm                             Feb. 10 (Sat) 1 pm -5 pm
Dec. 16 (Sat) 9 am-1 pm                                Feb 4 (Sun) 1 pm-5 pm
Dec. 16 (Sat) 1 pm-5 pm                                Feb 17 (Sat) 9 am-1 pm
                                                                        Feb 17 (Sun) 1pm-5pm
 
 
THE MEN'S CLUB PRESENTS...




The Sunday Sermon
                      

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St. Paul's Episcopal Church-Poughkeepsie
 
 
Hymn List
 
1982                 561      Stand up, standup for Jesus (Morning Light)
 
LEVAS-II          136       I Have decided to follow Jesus

LEVAS-II          77        Jesus is all the world to me

1982                 680      O God, our help in ages past (St. Anne)

THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR
November 13-19, 2017

MON 13          7:30am AA Meeting;                          
                        6pm Evening Prayer; Worship/Altar Guild;
                        6pm New Consecration Sunday Dinner Mtg;               
                                                                                                                    
TUE 14           10am-2pm Office, Food Pantry, Small Blessings Thrift Shop;
                        6pm Evening Prayer, Bible Study;
                                                                  
WED 15           7 :30am AA Meeting;
           10am-2pm Office, Food Pantry, Small Blessings Thrift Shop;
           12:15pm Healing Service & Eucharist;              
                     
THUR 16         10am-2pm Office, Food Pantry, Small Blessings Thrift Shop; 
                         
                                                                                
FRI 17              7:30am AA meeting;
 
SAT 18            1pm New Consecration Sunday set-up;                     
                                                                                       
SUN 19            NEW CONSECRATION SUNDAY
    9:30am Choir practice;  
          10:00am Rite II
                  12pm New Consecration Sunday luncheon


YOUR NEWS BELONGS IN ST. PAUL'S  MESSENGER

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