Redistribution of wealth is in the Bible

If you visit Episcopal Cafe you might find an interesting article on redistribution of wealth.

Interfaith Housing Network

IHN (& it might be Interfaith Hospitality Network) is a consortium of religious congregations that focusses on homeless housing. Typically each church in the group agrees to house families, with breakfast & dinner, for one week every three months. Montgomery may be too small to participate directly, but perhaps as this movement grows in Newburgh there will be opportunities for us to help.

Lenten program

And a reminder to one and all, this Wednesday we have our Lenten program at 7pm. It will conclude with the Compline prayer service from the BCP. We likely will meet in St. Andrew Hall to take advantage of the heat.

We are St. Francis of Assisi now

Yesterday was a glorious Sunday celebration with Bishop Taylor. He rededicated our chapel as St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church. Here's a story that preceded the event in the Wallkill Valley Times complete with photo or here's the text.


St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in the Village of Montgomery will soon be renamed for another saint - Francis of Assisi.

By JOE STAMPFEL

For the first time in its 105-year history, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in the Village of Montgomery will soon have its own identity.According to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Vicar the Rev. Canon Daniel Webster, there are currently 12 St. Andrew’s churches in the Episcopal diocese including those in South Fallsburg, Beacon, Walden, Poughkeepsie and New Paltz. The ceremony, which will take place during the regular celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 9 a.m. on Sunday, will rename the church as St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church.“That will mark our official launch of our new identity,” said Webster.Webster said that the congregation as a whole helped to pick the church’s new name based on its work in the community. The church, according to Webster, participates in many community outreach programs throughout the year, including work at the Montgomery Food Pantry and with AIDS orphans in Tanzania.St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century founder of the Franciscan order of priests and brothers, is most often known for his work with the poor, the hungry and those in need of help. He is also well known as the patron saint of animals.“The congregation, after thoughtful and deliberate prayer, looked at saint names that best describe what we are doing. St. Francis will be our inspiration in that,” said Webster, adding that the church will continue to perform community outreach programs. “That clearly is going to be the focus of this congregation. It is going to be an exciting time for the St. Francis Church in Montgomery.”Also included in the day’s events will be a performance of the Sacrament of Confirmation by the Rt. Rev. E. Don Taylor, vicar bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Webster said that, in total, about 40 congregation members will renew their confirmation vows. The Rev. Taylor will also dedicate the parish hall, which plays host to about 18 recovery group meetings each week. The hall will be christened as St. Andrew Hall in order to pay honor to the memory of those who built, maintained and worshipped there.The rededication and confirmation will take place at 9 a.m. on Sunday at 74 Wallkill Ave. in the Village of Montgomery

Presiding Bishop calls for immediate end to violence

We are deeply saddened by the first-hand reports we are receiving from Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza (operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem) about the casualties they are treating under the most horrific circumstances. Not only do they lack basic medical supplies, but with windows blown out they are even struggling to keep patients warm. The high number of civilian deaths and injuries, which continue to include noncombatants, women, and children, will only prolong the violence years into the future. Israel’s disproportionate response to the rockets being fired into its cities may well encourage violence beyond Gaza and Israel. The first steps toward peace will only come if all parties unite behind an immediate ceasefire. Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded the world that “an eye for an eye soon leaves the whole world blind.” May we seek to end this blinding violence.

January 5, 2009

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Speaks Out About Attacks on Gaza

Yesterday afternoon in New York, outside the Episcopal Church Center, a demonstration took place in front of the Israeli consulate. The demonstrators included orthodox Jews. All were calling for an immediate end to the attacks in Gaza. I join my voice to theirs and those of many others around the world, challenging the Israeli government to call a halt to this wholly disproportionate escalation of violence. I challenge the Palestinian forces to end their rocket attacks on Israelis. I further urge the United States government to use its influence to get these parties back to the negotiating table and end this senseless killing. President-elect Obama needs to be part of this initiative, which demands his attention now and is likely to do so through his early months in office. I urge a comprehensive response to these attacks. Innocent lives are being lost throughout the land we all call Holy, and as Christians remember the coming of the Prince of Peace, we ache for the absence of peace in the land of his birth.

Immediate attention should focus on vital humanitarian assistance to the suffocating people of Gaza. In March of this year, I spent a day in Gaza visiting religious and community leaders and the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Since that visit, the situation, which was already devastating, has only worsened, with supplies of food, fuel, power, and medical supplies either cut off or indefinitely delayed. Our hospital must now try to treat the wounded under the most impossible circumstances.

I ask all people of faith to join with the Episcopalians in Jerusalem who this Sunday dispensed with their usual worship services and spent their time in prayer for those who are the objects of this violence. I pray for leaders who will seek a just peace for all in the Middle East, knowing that its achievement will only come when they have the courage to act boldly. But they must do so now, before the violence escalates further. It is only through a just and lasting peace that the hope of the ages can be fulfilled, that hope which we mark in the birth of a babe in Bethlehem.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church

December 29, 2008

A Blessed Christmas

We celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Wednesday evening, 7pm, for the last time as St. Andrew's Chapel. Join us for singing carols at 7pm followed by a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Next year we become St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church moving forward in the name of Jesus to bring his good news to those who have yet to hear the message of peace, joy and love.

Blessings and peace to you and all you love this Christmastide.

Pastor Dan