Communications - Hopewell Reformed Church

To know Christ and make Him known.
Hopewell Reformed Church
2014 Winter
New Members
Table of Contents
New Members
1&2
Advent Series
1
Tres Dias
2
Alpha
3
Odyssey
3
Letters
3
For All the Saints
4
Communications
5
Stephen Ministry
5
Sheryle’s Anniversary
6
Christian Kids’ Corner
7
Youth Ministry
8&9
Investment Team
10
Bright Beginnings
11
Music Ministry
12
Proverbs
12
Serving
13
The Consistory
14
Final Point
15
On November 23 we receive ten new members
into the congregation of
HRC. We hope you take
the opportunity to meet
and welcome these people
and we look forward to
the ways we will share in
ministry.
Gerry and Marina Smith:
Jerry and Marina have
been coming to HRC for
about two and a half
years. The come now
with their daughter, Jackie and her sons Brendan
and Nolan. Marina grew
up in an Anglican orphanage in Pakistan where she
felt the love of God and
the blessing of his presence. Gerry grew up in a
Disciples of Christ Church
in Elmira. Marina has
been active in leadership
in just about every area of
church life and Gerry has
joined her with great joy
and a great smile.
Chuck and Vicki Munson:
Chuck and Vicki’s first
date was at an autopsy.
They were both EMTs
and worked together that
night. They are now married with three young
children, Chuck III, Tommy and Mckenzie. Chuck
November 30 – Rev. Bob
Geehan preaching on “A
Better World Is Drawing
Near: Seeing Hope”
Manny and Kate Valdivia:
We hope that you know
Kate (MacLeod). She is
transforming our music
ministry at Hopewell. We
hope that you get to know
(Continued on page 2)
Advent Series
This Advent our theme is
“A Better World Is Drawing Near.” Advent reminds us not simply of a
coming kingdom someday, but the reality of
living into the kingdom
now. We invite you to
join us as we look with the
eyes of hope, love, joy and
peace.
was raised in the Lutheran church and loved it.
Vicki is new to the church
and to faith and learning.
She has joined the
Wednesday moms group
and is excited about her
new bible and her new
relationship with the
church and with Christ.
Chuck works selling “big
boy” truck (Macs and
Kenilworth).
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19;
Mark 13:24-37
December 7 – Rev. Taylor Holbrook preaching
on “A Better World is
Drawing Near: Seeing
Love” Psalm 85:1-2, 813; Mark 1:1-8
December 14 - Rev.
Taylor Holbrook preaching on “A Better World is
Drawing Near: Seeing
Joy” Psalm 126; John
1:6-8, 19-28
December 21 - Rev. Taylor Holbrook preaching
on “A Better World is
Drawing Near: Seeing
Peace” Psalm 89:1-4; 1926; Luke 1:26-38
December 24 – Christmas
Eve – Rev. Taylor
Holbrook preaching on
“A Better World is
Drawing Near: Seeing
Christ” Psalm 96; Isaiah
9; Luke 2:1-14
Page 2
Hopewell Reformed Church
New Members
(Continued from page 1)
Manny as well. Manny is
a man who is full of energy and works as a video
editor for Inside Edition.
He was raised in a Cuban,
Catholic, Jewish family
and spent a good deal of
time exploring issues of
faith and the truth of
Christianity. His love of
Christ came through an
extensive reading of scripture and a sense of the
Spirit speaking to him
through that experience.
He is excited to use his
filmmaking, editing expertise in the video ministry at HRC.
“The focus of the
weekend is "God's
Unmerited Love. “
Joe and Debbie Senesi: Joe
and Debbie live in Poughquag and they come to
Hopewell with a great
deal of experience in
church leadership and
faithful living. Debbie
has a Master’s degree in
organizational leadership
and she does clinical
training for nurses at
Montefiore Hospital in
the Bronx. Joe has been a
pastoral leader in another
congregation and is a guy
who is seeking to share his
faith and be a person of
caring as he shares gifts of
mercy and service. He is
a retired mechanical designer at IBM. Joe and
Debbie have ten grandchildren with number
eleven and twelve on their
way.
Scott Westgate and Inis
Garcia: Inis was born in
Brazil, studied music in
France and now lives in
Westchester. She is a professional musician (piano)
and teaches and plays
throughout Westchester.
She was raised in the
Presbyterian Church in
San Palo, Brazil, and has
been going to Redeemer
Presbyterian in Manhattan. She is now transferring up to the Hudson
Valley as she and Scott
are planning to be married sometime next year.
Scott lives in Fishkill,
right above Il Bariloto
Restaurant. He works for
CitiBank and is a CPA.
He was raised in Massachusetts so he can often
be seen in Red Sox/
Patriots gear. He is a former consistory member in
another RCA congregation. He has three kids
who are involved in the
church, Alexa (14), Emma
(11) and Braden (8).
Tres Dias
Tres Dias is an interdenominational 3-day weekend
retreat. The focus of the weekend is "God's Unmerited Love. “
The weekend is designed to
show the "agape" love that God
pours out on us. This is love
that is unconditional, unmerited, and for which the only true
response can be love in return.
The goal is to empower Christians to become leaders within
their families, their small
groups, their churches, and their
communities. Participants often return to their own church
with renewed commitment.
If you are interested in attending a
weekend, please contact Leslie MacConnell or Kim Medina.
Upcoming Dates:
WEEKEND
Men’s #168
DATES
January 22-25, 2015
Women’s #168 February 19-22, 2015
Men’s #169
March 19-22,2015
Women’s #169 April 23-26, 2015
Men’s #170
October 15-18, 2015
Women’s #170 November 19-22, 2015
2014 Winter
Page 3
ALPHA is Coming (Back)!
First: Food! Alpha will
host a Celebration Dinner
on Wednesday, January
14th for anyone to bring
friends and family who
may be interested in Alpha to come and see what
it's about.
Second:
hat is Alpha about? Alpha is a place of hospitality (dinner or dessert each
week) and safety (small
group discussions) where
people can come to ask
questions and learn more
about Jesus and the
Christian faith. It's never
a hard sell, but just an
invitation to come and
consider Jesus.
Third: How can you help?
If you want to see people
engaging with, and being
changed by Jesus' message, there is a place for
you. We need help with
set-up and clean-up, cooking and serving food, and
leading small group discussion. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact
Wesley Joseph at 845-549
-0104 or
[email protected]
great time for our folks to
get out of their group
homes and just “hang
out” with their friends.
Tables are active with
card games, various board
games, Bingo, or just conversation.
know and bond more intimately with each other
and just be Jesus’ love.
Last: Alpha runs on personal invitation. If there
is someone in your life
who you think needs the
life-changing forgiveness
that Jesus offers, please
pray for them and consider bringing them to the
celebration dinner. It may
make all the difference in
their life!
By Wesley Joseph
Odyssey
Once a month (soon to be
twice) on a Thursday
night from 6:30-8:00 at
St. Andrews Church on
Overlook Road, our Odyssey friends have a time
that is solely for socializing and fellowship. Sometimes we play games and
listen to music while other
times we watch a movie,
but there is always a
snack to share. It is a
The attendance varies.
We have had as few as 22
and as many as 47. It is a
wonderful time to get to
All are welcome and I
would invite you to stop
by and see how God is
working in the lives of His
children. Check the bulletin board outside the
church office for the next
date.
By Steve Dambra
Letters
October 13, 2014
As is our group’s custom when celebrating our anniversary, we would like to donate
the proceeds from our collection baskets received during our celebration. We would
like to thank the church for its ongoing support of our recovery and spiritual growth.
Indeed, ours is a ministry supported by yours, and your continued prayers and
thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your ongoing love and support!
God Bless!
Hopewell Jct. Group AA
“All are welcome
and I would invite
you to stop by and
see how God is
working in the lives
of His children. “
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Hopewell Reformed Church
For All the Saints
On November 9 HRC remembered all the Saints that have died this past year. The Marist flute choir (picture below) played for the service. Here are also some pictures of Saints that once worked our Apple Fest. How many do
you recognize?
2014 Winter
Page 5
Communications
In this world of emails,
texts, tweets and social
media it is difficult to get
people’s attention! We are
constantly trying to determine which avenue will
reach the most people.
Usually we come to the
conclusion that there is no
ONE way, so we need to
do them all!
We use our website
(HRCRCA.org) as the
“hub”, constantly updating it to assure that it
contains all the information you may be looking for. Recently we added a Groups Page, listing
all the groups of the
church and information
including day and time of
meeting and the leader’s
name. We are presently
working on updating pictures. If you have any
you think might look
good on our website,
please send them to
[email protected].
Also, check back often to
see our progress!
Church) and on our twitter feed (@hrchurch). We
also have printed announcements available
from the ushers and on
the wall by the kiosk.
Announcements are
emailed every Friday. If
you are not getting the
announcements sent to
you and you would like
to, please complete your
Connection Card on Sunday morning with your
email address. It will be
added to our list. Emails
are sent via Constant Contact, so be sure to allow
emails from them on your
computer. All announcements are also posted to
our website and can be
viewed under THIS
WEEK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS, on our Facebook
page (Hopewell Reformed
The wall by the kiosk is
being constantly updated.
There you can find youth
group information, financial information, mission
information. This information is in the form of
reports, brochures and
letters. Take a few
minutes and check it out!
If you can’t find what you
are looking for, check
with the person at the
kiosk or email/call me (see
below.)
There are a couple of
things I want to explain
about our phone system
that you may not be
aware of:
An Invite from Stephen Ministry
Finding Peace When Your Heart is in Pieces by Dr. Paul Coleman
An Evening with the Author
th
Monday, January 19 , 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room, Hopewell Reformed
Church
Stephen Ministry invites you to join us for an evening with Dr. Paul Coleman:
“Dr. Paul Coleman is a local psychologist and author of twelve books including the
most recent, "Finding Peace When Your Heart Is in Pieces: A Step-by-Step Guide to
the Other Side of Grief, Loss, and Pain." He has appeared nationally on such shows
as "Oprah", "Today", and "Geraldo." He has also been interviewed by dozens of
radio stations across the country and been quoted in national magazines such
as Reader's Digest. He has appeared locally on stage as an actor at various community theaters. He is also a playwright. His first play, The Foot Shooters, was
independently produced Off-Off Broadway in 2011. He has been happily married for
32 years. He and his wife have three children.”
We invite you to come and hear about Dr. Coleman’s new book. Invite your family and friends who might benefit from this book and this local reknown author.
Questions? Call Pam Hansen at 845-221-9542, ext. 24.

When calling the
church, if you know
the person’s extension, you can punch
it in as soon as you
hear the welcome recording. You do not
have to wait.

If you leave a message, that message is
sent to the person’s
email as a MP3 file
and they can hear
your message via
their email (on their
computer, tablet or
phone.) This ensures
that the message remains confidential.
If you have any questions regarding communications, please feel free to
call or email me.
[email protected]
845-221-9542 ext. 21
By Birgit Chisholm
Page 6
Hopewell Reformed Church
Congratulations Sheryle Silvern ...Ten Year Anniversary
On September 14, 2014, we celebrated Sheryle Silvern’s 10 year anniversary at Hopewell Reformed Church. Sheryle
is well known for her compassion and love of children. She has been blessing our children as Children’s Ministry Coordinator for the past ten years and we hope she will continue for many more!
2014 Winter
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Christian Kids’ Corner
Pumpkin Party
Children’s Ministry seeks to provide opportunities for families to have fun together
at church and to connect with others through family events. This fall we had a great
time at our Pumpkin Party. Before we enjoyed a meal together, the children played
golf, pumpkin bocce and other fun games. They also made a bag full of festive
crafts. Check out the creative ways the children decorated their little “pumpkins”.
Thank you to everyone who helped to make the Pumpkin Party a wonderful time of
fellowship. Please save Saturday, February 21st @ 4:00 pm for our next family fun
night!
Get Ready!
The children of Hopewell Reformed Church invite you to “Get Ready!”, a musical
Christmas pageant, on Sunday, December 14th at 2:00pm. Come worship with us as
the children encourage us to get ready for God’s gift of love, Jesus Christ. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall. The snow date is Wednesday, December 17th
at 6:00pm.
Praying for our Children
I am thankful that someone recently shared a prayer card titled “31 Biblical Virtues
to Pray for your Kids” with me. It is a great tool to help us pray for our children
and a reminder that our prayers for their spiritual formation have a lifelong impact.
Often our prayers for our kids don’t go beyond the immediate. We are so consumed
by their daily needs that we don’t pray bigger. This prayer card lists a virtue to pray
for children (like love & self-control) for each day of the month and a corresponding
Bible verse.
A bookmark copy of “31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for your Kids” is available at the
kiosk or you can find it online at www.afmonline.org/content/
resources/31_Biblical_Virtues.pdf. Let’s pray bigger for our children!
Pennies for Pillows
The children of HRC did a special “Pennies for Pillows” mission project during
November. They were given a November calendar covered with little sticky
notes. Each day, the children uncovered a square and followed the instructions.
For example, on November 5th, the instructions were “It is hard to sleep without
a pillow. Give thanks & .25 because you don’t have to sleep without one tonight.” We hope that the project helped the children see a need, understand
God’s will for us to help and discover that they can make a difference. The money
raised will be used by Mid-Hudson Love INC to buy pillows for those in need.
“...our prayers for
their spiritual
formation have a
lifelong impact.”
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Hopewell Reformed Church
It’s All About Love
It’s all about love!
We love because He first loved us. (! John 4 v 19) ‘THANK YOU’ to all our wonderful volunteers and leaders that serve upfront and behind the scenes! We thank
God for your heart and willingness to serve His church. We all play an important
role in God’s kingdom.
Join us!
Talk about it Tuesdays (Bible time) 6:30-7:30 8th -12th Grade, 100 Gold Rd,
Stormville, NY
Super Sundays – 8:45AM & 10:30AM in the Youth house
Recharge – 6:30-8PM 2nd and 4th Sundays
Youth – 6:30-8PM 1st and 3rd Sundays
EPIC Worship Dance Team, EPIC Drama team, Breaking the Silence worship
band
October happenings
Warren, along with Steve Dambra (Beacon Reformed), Taylor Holbrook (Hopewell
Reformed Church), Mark Mast (New Paltz Reformed) recently ran and completed
the Hertford Marathon, raising funds for Odyssey (Service for Special needs). It
was an inspirational achievement and we’re so grateful for all the support in this
fundraiser. Thank you for your contributions that will go towards the running of
Odyssey.
BOOM Retreat (October 24th -26th)
Our retreat was an awesome time of getting away to recharge our relationship with
God and reconnect with others. On the first evening, our young adult leaders, Claire
Viau and Justina Sgorbissa challenged us to filter what we let into our lives
(Romans 12 v 1, 2). Saturday morning Sharon Batt encouraged us to find
our self worth and confidence in God and not believe the lie that what we
look like on the outside matters most. God wants our hearts. On Saturday
evening Ron Ruvo and Lourdes Kleid shared how they came to know
Christ and, on Sunday morning, Warren shared about staying rooting in
order to grow in your faith. The weather was perfect for outdoor fun and
sports (We played ultimate Frisbee, soccer, Hunger games, gaga pit, ate
s’mores, had a prayer nature walk.) Our EPIC Worship Dance Team and
EPIC Drama Team blessed us with their ministry. We also experienced
God’s presence in amazing ways as we responded in worship to Him.
Lynette and the youth band, Breaking the Silence, led the worship for the
whole retreat. Lynette is also working on new music and is hoping to release it and
have it available soon. Check out iTunes or contact her on [email protected]
for more information.
Young adults group
If you’ve finished high school and would like to be a part of a young adults group
that loves God and loves having fun together please contact Laura Nieves or Katie
Maus or check out the facebook group “Young adults at HRC.”
Discipleship and Confirmation
We are excited about launching Teentalk, driven by Sharon Batt, which gives teens
2014 Winter
Page 9
the opportunity to confidentially chat to someone about deeper issues that they may be
struggling with. Find brochures at the kiosk or on the wall in the fellowship hall. Please
speak to Warren Jee or Taylor Holbrook if you’re interested in going deeper in your
faith through the Confirmation process. Start date to be determined.
Missions Update
Let’s be the light wherever we are! Join us on a summer mission trip. Please go to
[email protected] for more information. Trips include: Local - Bridge Builders
(Poughkeepsie), National - Fuge (Philadelphia), National - Mountain Top (Tennessee),
International - Sowers of the Kingdom (SDR) (Dominican Republic), International - (JLife Ministries) (South Africa)
Dominican Republic
“Our heart is always to support our
missionaries that
are far away.“
Mountain TOP
“Our heart is always to support
our missionaries
that are far
away. “
FUGE
Bridge Builders
Our heart is always to support our missionaries that are far away. We are able to offer a
trip to J-Life in South Africa so we can support Tina and Skipper but unfortunately we
won’t be able to take a team to visit Rachel Snider in the D.R. We were interested but
the trip was already full so we will still keep in touch with her.
We continue looking to God to show us how we can love and allow others to experience
God’s love no matter where we find ourselves.
God bless you
EPIC Youth Ministry Team (Equipping People in Christ)
www.epic.hrcrca.org
South Africa
Page 10
Hopewell Reformed Church
HRC Investment Team
The investment team is currently comprised of 5 church members who meet monthly
to:
Review the current outstanding investments,
Modify investments when appropriate,
Make new investments as new funds become available,
Annually make a recommendation to consistory as to what to anticipate to
support the church budget. In making this recommendation the investment
team tries to balance church support and investment growth honoring the
belief that principal of endowment funds is to be protected.
The following funds provide interest and dividends to support the operating budget.
Gifts and bequests to the endowment funds is encouraged and enhance their support
to the operating fund.
General Endowment Fund
Fowler Endowment Fund
Heritage Fund
Van Oort Trust Fund, administered by the Bank of New York.
Thanks be to
God for his
indescribable
gift! (2
Corinthians 9:15)
The following funds are special purpose funds in which interest and dividends accrue:
The Ministry Training Endowment Fund. The accrued income is for educational stipends for church employees or members who benefit the church from training.
The Organ Fund. For major repairs or replacement of our tracker organ.
The Expansion/Building Fund. To provide funds for new construction and major capital repairs to the current buildings.
The Memorial Fund. Funds are disbursed by a majority vote of consistory for special
needs that are considered appropriate use of memorial funds. Disbursement of funds
that have designated purposes will be discussed with the family prior to use.
The Stephen Ministry Fund. To provide funds in new construction for a room dedicated to Stephen Ministry.
There are two funds that are not invested, and not under the management of the
Investment Team, because of their liquidity, but worthy of mention here. These
funds, administered by the church staff, are kept in special church accounts. Donations to them can be frequent and encouraged, and the use of them is constant.
The Christian Education Scholarship Fund. This fund is to support scholarships to
HRC active participants at a Christian college or seminary
The David Hondorp Scholarship Fund. This fund supports HRC members enrolled in
seminary courses.
2014 Winter
Page 11
Bright Beginnings News
The leaves are changing color and the air is beginning
to cool. These are true signs that autumn has arrived
and school is well underway. The students at Bright
Beginnings preschool have been busy making friends,
learning new skills and having fun!
The threes have been working on learning their colors
and shapes. They made colors and shapes books. They
also had an apple festival, which included fun songs,
activities and even a piñata! They made a boat to celebrate Columbus Day and got to pick a pumpkin from
our own special pumpkin patch.
The fours have been reviewing
2D shapes and learning 3D
shapes. They have made weather wheels and learned about different forms of transportation.
The fours had a visit from Chief
Geysen from the Hillside Lake
Fire Department and his fire
truck. He taught them all about
fire safety and let them try on a
real fire helmet. They had a
wonderful fieldtrip to Barton
Orchards for apple and pumpkin
picking! Everyone loved going
through the corn maze and eating apple cider and donuts.
Our Busy Bee Club theme for October was
music. The students had a great time exploring various forms of singing, musical instruments and dance styles. The students got to
try playing real instruments and even made
their own guitar! November’s theme is Planet
Earth, where the kids learn about the different
climates, habitats and animal and plant life
found on earth. Building a volcano is always
a huge hit! We will ring in the New Year by
offering a cooking club in January.
If you know of a child aged 3-5 who would like to join us Wednesday afternoons from
12-2pm for our Busy Bee Club, or are interested in learning more about our preschool,
please call 227-8671. Or stop by our classroom for a visit!
Bright Beginnings
Staff:
Jessica Beals,
Director
Susan Nieves,
Lead Teacher
Nancy Geysen,
Assistant Teacher
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Hopewell Reformed Church
Music Ministry
Many of you have asked
me how it feels to have
the organ back.
The work the team from
Andover Organs did was
just about that: feel! Playing the keys feels much
lighter. As a matter of
fact, I have found myself
thrown off a few times
since the keys play so
much better.
“The organ will
continue to help us
lift our hearts to God
for another season.”
When I first arrived at
HRC in 2009, the keys
were stiff and uneven.
Coupling the two keyboards together (allowing
you to play both at once)
was almost impossible.
Now, the keys all feel as
they should and let me
control the pipes that
much more precisely.
There are a few new
sounds that you may notice as well. For the first
time in a long time, our
tremolo is working again!
The tremolo varies the
amount of air going into
the pipes, so as the pipes
are played, the sound vibrates, or shakes. Listen
for this in preludes and
other “soft” musical moments.
The second different
sound you may notice is
that the smallest (and
highest-pitched) rank of
pipes in the organ was
regulated by Andover. It
speaks much more cleanly
and the sound fills the
room in a brighter, cleaner way. Listen for this
when I pull out “all the
stops” on the last verse of
a hymn or in a festive
postlude.
We all owe thanks to
those who gave specially
to fund this organ restoration. The organ will continue to help us lift our
hearts to God for another
season. We also owe all
our thanks to God, who
gives us all good gifts to
enjoy, especially the gift
of music.
By Wesley Joseph
On Understanding Proverbs 2 and 3
New International Version
Walk in the way of understanding
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding.
And if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the
Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding.
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
nothing you desire can compare with her.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
From Eugene Peterson’s “The Message”:
Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;
set your heart on a life of Understanding.
That’s right - if you make insight your priority,
and won’t take no for an answer,
Searching for it like a prospector panning for
gold,
like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,
Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God
will be yours;
you’ll come upon the knowledge of God.
Submitted by Stephanie Patton
2014 Winter
Page 13
Serving
SERVING
Checking out our website’s homepage, I came
across a tab that said
SERVE. This led me to a
page that said “Why We
Serve”. There it says:
As followers of
Christ, we are called
to respond to God's
love by serving those
in need. This can be
as simple as sharing a
kind word or as complex as repairing a
get busier every year, but
there is something about
serving others that seems
timeless. When we reach
out and help others, doing
what we are meant to do,
time flies by!
home. Whatever your
skills, time availability or resources, there
is a place at HRC for
you to make a difference, and to connect
with people in a
meaningful way.
We have many opportunities to serve our church
and community. You may
think, I am busy enough,
I have no time to do
more. Granted we seem to
A hope of HRC for you is
that you make a dent in
the world and in the
church, by finding hurts
and healing them and
finding needs and filling
them.
To help you find the needs at HRC that you might consider filling, here is a list of
volunteer opportunities and whom you should contact to find out more:
Office helper – Birgit Chisholm
Nursery helpers – Sheryle Silvern
Odyssey drivers – Sandy Coe
Stephen Ministers – Caroline Boyd
Coffee hosts – Kim Medina
Ushers – Ann Bell
Greeters – Pam Hansen
Doug Bean
Nursing home worship helpers – Jim Collins
Grounds Crew – Bill Proal &
Video Team – Jeff Gerlac
Welcome Team – Jan Sabellico & Pam Hansen Sound Team – Dave Schuster
Extended Care drivers, visitors and meal makers – Pam Hansen
Kids Hope volunteers – Shelly Stensrud & Anne Tacoma
And many others… if you have a particular gift you would like to share, contact Pam
Hansen and she will find a place you can use that gift at HRC!
Please note these promises we make to our volunteers:



You will be trained, encouraged and supported in whatever you do.
This is not a life sentence! You can leave or change positions anytime.
We appreciate our volunteers and know we could not exist without them.
Please consider how you can serve at HRC!
“...there is
something about
serving others that
seems timeless.”
Page 14
“The Consistory is
a permanent,
continuing body
which acts as the
representative of
the congregation.”
In the last edition of
Hopewell News, we introduced the organizational structure of
churches within the
Reformed Church in
America (RCA). We
noted that authority
comes from Scripture to
the local church. It
then moves up to the
Classis level, the Regional Synod level, and
finally the General Synod of the RCA. In this
edition, we will look
more closely at the Consistory, the governing
body of the local
church.
The Consistory
The Consistory is a permanent, continuing
body which acts as the representative of
the congregation. Its members are the installed pastor(s) of the church and the elders and deacons currently installed in
those offices. (The larger group of current
and past elders and deacons is referred to as
“The Greater Consistory”.) The minister
together with the elders form a board of
elders, and the deacons form a board of
deacons. Each has specified duties and authority.
The official title of the minister’s position is
“The Office of Minister of Word and Sacrament”. This office as well as the offices of
elder and deacon are defined as “offices of
servanthood and service representing Christ
through the action of the Holy Spirit.”
Specifics of each of these offices are defined
in the Book of Church Order (BCO), the
RCA’s authoritative source for instruction
in church procedure.
In the BCO the consistory is challenged to
“regularly consider the nature and extent
of the ministry of the congregation in obedience to Holy Scripture and in response to
the needs of the local community and the
world.” At Hopewell, our “167 Living”
expresses our intent to live into this challenge. Our mission support, overseen by
the board of deacons, also expresses the
local and worldwide emphasis we place on
our ministry.
A few of the specific responsibilities of the
Consistory include:
 Providing a minister, or ministers, for
the church and ensuring that the contract is fulfilled
 Providing services of worship in which
the sacraments of baptism and the
Lord’s Supper are regularly observed
 Seeing to the care and supervision of
the church’s property and financial interests
 Supervising the election of elders and
deacons to consistory
Hopewell Reformed Church
The minister is called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the ministry of
the Word of God. The minister serves as
pastor and teacher to build up the whole
congregation for its ministry in and to
the world. The minister preaches and
teaches the Word of God, administers
the sacraments, shares responsibility
with the elders and deacons and members of the congregation for their mutual
Christian growth, and works to see that
everything in the church is done in a
proper and orderly manner.
The board of elders is charged with supervision of the membership of the
church. This includes overseeing the
baptism of children and adults, confirmation of teens, serving communion to
children, and accepting new members.
In HRC five elders serving terms of
three years, make up the board of elders.
The board of deacons is charged with
serving those in distress and need - the
sick, the poor, the hurt, and the helpless.
Their focus is turned toward service and
ministry both to the world and within
the church. At Hopewell, the five deacons, also serving three year terms, are
charged with overseeing the mission program and its finances and also for planning the budget for the entire church.
While much of the detail in the BCO
might seem bureaucratic, it is firmly
founded on a Biblical understanding of
the church’s mission and ministry. The
purpose of church governance is to aid
the church in the development of its
own life in order to carry out its mission
- to know Christ and to make Him
known. In the RCA, church governance
is founded on the belief that every member of the church is a partner in that
single ministry, and the Consistory is
formed out of this understanding to aid
in serving the larger community.
by John Young
2014 Winter
Page 15
And My Final Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .From the Pastor
A Better World Is Drawing Near-Advent 2014
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down” (Isaiah 64:1)
“Perhaps a better world is drawing near; just as easy it could all disappear.” (Jackson Browne)
Jackson Browne and Isaiah are praying different verses of the same song. We long
for a world that is better: where beauty, not brutality ,reigns, where fullness, not
hunger, is found, where life, not death, is known.
This is the prayer we pray this Advent season as we move through the themes of
Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. I do not know if there is a time when our world has
needed this more. ISIS, Ebola and unemployment stay on the front pages of the
news. Hope, Love, Joy and Peace seem like wishful thinking. I have little doubt
that every generation says the same thing.
Isaiah prays for God to act and Advent reminds us that God did act with a beautiful baby that slipped in at night. We want a tearing of the heavens, we got the cry
of an infant. The call of the Baptist to repent for the kingdom of heaven is drawing
near. Advent is the reminder that the God who did tear open the heavens and came
down, will tear open the heavens and return. We may feel as much doubt as Jackson Browne, but Christmas calls us to see the realities of our world in new ways with
new eyes.
My prayer for you this Christmas is: whatever the season you are in, whatever the
challenges you face, that you see with the eyes of a better world that has come in
Christ and will come in Christ. Whatever the news of the day that dominants our
world or our lives, we live into the promise that the headline stories of the world
that is and the world that is coming are hope, love, joy and peace. Because He has
torn open the heavens and come down, we know that the headlines forever are the
words that he writes. A better world is drawing near.
May the hope, love, joy and peace of Christmas be yours.
In Christ,
Taylor
“...Christmas calls
us to see the
realities of our
world in new ways
with new eyes.”
Hopewell Reformed Church
143 Beekman Road
Hopewell Jct NY 12533
Phone: 845-221-9542
Fax: 845-227-1908
E-mail: [email protected]
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HrcRca.org