The Mouse for
October 31, 2021
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone."

— Deut. 6:4
Proper 26
Sermon: "The implications of monotheism"

Saying "God is one" is easy. Working out all the implications of monotheism is hard.

Two implications are made clear in this Sunday's readings from Deuteronomy and Mark. The first is that there is no neutral ground, no neutral spaces, because God is one. The second is that our relationship to God is a relationship of the whole person, again, because God is one.

Since we do not offer our whole selves to God, our consciences are stricken. We are easily manipulated by guilt. The good news (gospel) is that while other mediators (priesthood, temple, church, the cause du jour) fail to quiet our consciences, Christ, by offering His whole self, leaves our consciences clean.

Come hear (or live stream) this Sunday's sermon to find out how we can begin to cede our whole lives to the one true and living God.

Sunday, October 31, 2021
All Saints' Day (Observed)
Necrology

Holy Communion, 8 a.m.
Morning Prayer, 9:30 a.m.
Coffee Hour, after church.

Youth Acolyte, Readers, Coffee Hour, and Ushers schedule here.
Catechism Corner

The Vicar continues his weekly exposition of the Catechism, found in the Book of Common Prayer, pp. 845-862.

God the Son (pp. 849-850)
 
Q.       Why did he take our human nature?
A.       The divine Son became human, so that in him human beings might be adopted as children of God, and be made heirs of God's kingdom.

Put another way, what the Catechism is saying is that Jesus was born so that we who believe in Him can expect to survive our own deaths. St. Paul writes, “we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:23). Since God’s kingdom is a kingdom of life — a kingdom of the living — it follows that those who inherit it must be alive.

—JWD.
The Return of St. Peter's Choir!

We are so excited that our adult choir will be singing at the 9:30 a.m. service this week for the first time since Dec. 2019!

We are presenting three All Saints' anthems, and will begin to rehearse music for Lessons and Carols (Dec. 19 . 9:30 am and Christmas Eve, (10:00 pm) next week. Singers participating this Sunday include: Lorraine Alexander, Mimi Babcock, Lillian Chapman, Lise Chase, Gloria Fieldcamp, Catherine Howard, Katherine Holden, Bindy Kaye, Diana King, Doug Larson, Torrie Larson, Barbara Lindsley, and John Reid.

If you would like to join the ranks as a choir singer for one or both December services, please contact Nancy Vanderlee by November 6: navanderlee@gmail.com, (914) 204-6472.
Upcoming Events for Youth & Families

2021 Christmas Pageant
Nicole Tapia has kindly agreed to direct this year's pageant. For more information please read the director's letter here.

2022 Confirmation Class
The Vicar will offer confirmation class for children 12 and older after Easter. The tentative dates are: Apr 23, Apr 30, May 7, May 14, May 21 & May 22.* All days are Saturdays. Class is from 3 to 4:30 in the Parish House.

* On Sunday, May 22, 2022, the children will lead all aspects of worship at the 9:30 service, including the homily. N.B. we still do not have a date for the bishop’s visit, but I have requested either June or sometime in the fall of 2022.
Sermon transcripts available on the website

Click here and you'll be able to watch recent sermons and read along, as well as download a copy of the transcript.
Flowers at St. Peter's

The floral guild is always grateful for donations. If you are interested in dedicating flowers in memoriam or for a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, please send an email to stpeterschurch@optonline.net with the date and the name(s) to whom you would like to dedicate the arrangements.

You can either send a check to St. Peter’s (PO Box 1502, Millbrook, NY 12545) or put the check in the weekly offering with "flowers" on the memo line. You may also add a dedication in the bulletin or leave it anonymous.
Online Giving

St. Peter's is pleased to offer the convenience of online giving via our website. You may make a pledge payment or a one-time gift either by ACH or credit card. From the website menu, click on Serve > Make a gift online, or click here.
History Highlight

Highlights from Henry Chadwick's The Early Church (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967), selected by the Vicar. Chadwick was the sometime Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.

TRANSITION TO MONARCHICHAL BISHOPS

"Sixty or Seventy years later [after the apostles] Ignatius was speaking of Antioch and the Asian churches as possessing a monarchical bishop, together with presbyters and deacons. In his time there were neither apostles nor prophets. The exact history of this transition within two generations from apostles, prophets and teachers to bishops, presbyters [a.k.a. "priests"] and deacons is shrouded in obscurity, though our sources give occasional glimpses of the process. The epistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians implies the existence of two distinct orders of ministry, bishops or presbyters (the titles are applied to the same people) and deacons. This twofold order is also apparent in the New Testament: Paul addresses his Philippian epistle to the 'bishops and deacons'. Later New Testament writings (Acts xx, 17; Titus i, 5-7) likewise illustrate the application of 'presbyter' and 'bishop' to the same person. Evidently the churches established by the travelling missionaries soon came to have local, stationary clergy, subordinate to the general oversight of mobile apostolic authority. For a generation or more the apostles and prophets coexisted with this local ministry of bishops and deacons." (p. 46)
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Collect for Proper 26

Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service: Grant, we beseech thee, that we may run without stumbling to obtain thy heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Text or call the Vicar at (845) 745-8160 for prayer or a pastoral visit.

The Vicar's email address is: jwdell2@pm.me.
To remember St. Peter's in your estate plans, please consider joining The Lithgow Society. To find out more, click here.
Questions about the parish? Please email:
stpeterschurch@optonline.net

The Mouse is compiled and edited each week by the Vicar. He asks that submissions to The Mouse be made by the Wednesday prior to Friday's edition. Please send submissions to jwdell2@pm.me. Thank you.