What's going on...

Well, it has been a little quiet lately so I thought I would do a little update as to what is going on. A couple of weeks ago we collected $44 for relief in Myanmar and the week after we collected $66 for earthquake relief in China. That is awesome news! These collections took place without advance notice and no one planned on putting extra cash in the plate. That is just great! We have had a few visitors come to worship with us which is just wonderful! I love to see new faces in the pews! If you just happened on this website please drop an e-mail if you wish to receive more information about the chapel.
We are currently trying to come up with our mission statement. This is necessary because we are basically considered a new congregation. With this comes the opportunity to change our name. This is a very sensitive subject to some people and I can understand why. However, I also see the benefit from changing our name. We will still be the little green church (hopefully going green too) and we will also have "Formally St. Andrew's Chapel" for a long time. I, personally, was born and raise in this church and I am very comfortable with changing the name. A name is just a name at this point for me. We have the opportunity to choose a name that really means something to all of us. Currently there are quite a few St. Andrew's in the area. There is one in Walden and in New Paltz plus many others. If we all put our heads together I am sure that we will be able to find a name that really means something! Anyway, enough about that...
On to the plant sale. We made $322! Thank you to everyone that participated in this fundraiser. We will be selling mums in the fall, mid September, so please keep that in mind. We will also try to sell some poinsettias during advent too.

ERD

As I announced this past Sunday, we have an opportunity for someone to be our contact for outreach opportunities with Episcopal Relief and Development. In two consecutive Sundays we collected $100 for cyclone and earthquake relief! We can also be selling Bishops Blend coffee to neighbors and our weekday members in the parish hall to help raise funds for the work of ERD. Pray about it and let me know if you are interested. I forgot to announce Sunday that this Saturday is the diocesan environmental event in Bedford, Westchester County. If you would like to ride with me we can meet at the chapel, or the Newburgh Park and Ride. I'll be leaving at 830a. We should return by 430p. Please let me know if you'd like to join me. We can be the little green church in more ways than color.

Also, the Christian Care of Creation workshop Saturday. Registration information is below. And please know if there is any diocesan event you wish to attend, never let the registration fee keep you away. We will make sure your registration cost is covered. Blessings and peace to you. Pastor Dan REGISTRATION: Fee: $20. Scholarships available Deadline: Wednesday, May 28th Register online or contact Lila Botero on 914-693-3848/fax 914-0407/regiontwo@dioceseny.org



This is an E-mail that was sent out from Pastor Dan. If anyone is interested please feel free to step up to take care of the project for ERD! Thank you!

St. Andrew's News Release!

News from St. Andrew's Chapel, the Episcopal Church in Montgomery, NY 14 May 2008 Village congregation responds to cyclone, quake victims Montgomery, NY--The small Episcopal congregation of St. Andrew's Chapel here is responding to the devastating human suffering in China and Myanmar. "Last Sunday (May 11) of course we prayed for the victims of the cyclone in Myanmar," said the Rev. Canon Dan Webster, Vicar of St. Andrew's Chapel, "but we also designated our loose plate collection to Episcopal Relief and Development. ERD has partners already in Myanmar and has been able to get resources to them to assist with shelter, water and critical supplies to alleviate the suffering." "I was deeply gratified that 18 people were able to donate $55 without advance notice for the ERD effort," said Canon Webster. "The generosity of our congregation is humbling," he said. This Sunday (May 18) St. Andrew's will designate its loose plate collection to ERD for Chinese earthquake victims. ERD is working with partner organizations in Sichuan Province to provide basic necessities to the thousands of victims whose lives have been devastated by the natural disaster. "We have an obligation as Christians to love our neighbors as ourselves," Canon Webster said. "It's clear from the gospel of Jesus that our neighbors are not just in Montgomery but throughout the world. What we do may be small by comparison to other churches and organizations but coupled with prayer we can do wonders," said Canon Webster. ERD is the Episcopal Church's humanitarian aid agency. More information about its work in China and Myanmar may be found at www.er-d.org . St. Andrew's Chapel is one of the more than 200 congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It has been witnessing to the Christian gospel in Orange County for 105 years.

Out of Africa

On Sunday, Fr. Dan mentioned Carpenter's Kids - an organization that supports AIDS orphans in Africa. The web site is www.carpenterskids.net. I'm planning to sponsor a child and they are really looking for parishes to commit to sponsoring 50 children at $50 per year for 5 years. They will partner small parishes that wouldn't be able to take this on by themselves and it seems to me that this would be the best thing for us - if others are interested.
A related topic is "A Road to Hope: An evening with Immacullee Ilibagiza, Rwandan Genocide Survivor." This is a fundraiser for the Mid Hudson Christian Church. The venue is Aquinas Hall at Mt. St. Mary College in Newburgh, date/time is June 20th at 7:30 pm, tickets $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
There are so many "worthy causes" and we all have to limit ourselves - to remember our obligations TO ourselves. My own "favorite" charity is a local one and I consider that focus to be really important, but these two opportunities really call to me.

Homily & Reading

I felt so moved by Fr. Dan's homily on Sunday - his analogy to the Golden Girls made me think about the Scripture in a completely different way. I felt sad about the Golden Girls (which I love but never saw the end because I haven't watched TV in years) and also about the disciples, who must have felt so bereft - I'm not sure how I had thought they felt - there was always so much awe & excitement about one of Jesus' appearances that I didn't get beyond that.
This kind of ties in with a book I am reading - John by Niall Williams. It's beautifully written - a true literary novel - & thus not easy reading (& I know I'm reading it too fast as I always do) but not terribly long - the story of the Apostle John & his followers on the island of Patmos, after he's had the Revelation - and their individual/collective struggles with faith & sin.
And my last thought for today - this blog is a type of evangelism & by adopting this new technology we have expanded our opportunities for making ourselves & our faith known - thanks again, Brenda! (And glad you're feeling better.)
PS - I went to the Reading Scripture workshop on Saturday & met several nice folks from St. Andrews in New Paltz AND got a great little pronunciation guide for all those hard Bible names!