December 2015 newsletter - St. Paul`s Episcopal Church of Patchogue

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
31 Rider Avenue
Patchogue, New York 11772
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Vestry
Wardens: Robin Sconzo and Marjorie Kulesa
Tracy Classon , William Beebe, Martin Immel III, Michael Daly, Scott Harris, Rosemary Smith, Cathie Pliszak,
Ronnie MacDonald, Conni Still
Clerk: Conni Still
Treasurer: Barbara Lapinski; Assistant Treasurer: Cynthia LaValle
Parish
Phone: 631-473-3078
Email: www.stpaulspatchogue.org
Office Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 AM- 1:00 PM Office Closed on Mondays
Rector: the Rev. Elisabeth E. Tunney
Parish Administrator: Ronny Pliszak
Parish Ministers: All the People of St.Paul’s
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St. Paul’s Epistle
Vol.XIV Ed.11
December 2015
St. Paul’s Parish Mission Statement: to be a thriving, loving,
Christ-centered parish; a parish who knows Christ and makes Christ
known
A Word from Mother Liz

Each year at the Thanksgiving interfaith
service the clergy are asked to share a brief
reflection on being thankful. This year I said that I
was more thankful than ever for God’s abundance. I
admitted that I get caught up in the challenges of
parish ministry where it is easy to lose sight of the
abundance that is all around us. I find that I can see
God’s abundance by changing my perspective or by
stepping out in faith and trusting that God will
provide. This Thanksgiving I changed perspective
by looking around me at this Village of Patchogue
and I want to acknowledge how its people have
helped to make God’s abundance real.
Although St. Paul’s is a small church we
have a very active food pantry that usually feeds
between 50 and 60 families each week. Our Food
Pantry volunteers come from inside and outside the
parish and they are resourceful.
Like most food pantries we prepared
thanksgiving baskets. This year food and money
came in from so many places I can’t even
acknowledge them all, from local organizations like
the Lions Club, the Garden Club, the Kiwanis Club,
the Rotary Club, the Patchogue Medford library,
American Legion Post 269, the boy scouts, the 12
step groups that use our facility, local businesses, as
well as Long Island Cares, Long Island Harvest,
individuals, and of course, our own parishioners. By
the time all was said and done we gave out 102
turkeys and had enough food to for as many bags of
fixings, some of which we were able to give to the
Eastern Farm Workers. God’s abundance. It’s all
around us. It’s something to celebrate. Right here in
Patchogue.
Giving thanks for God’s abundance is not a
bad way to enter Advent, a time when we can look
forward to the second coming of Christ and prepare
to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. After all it is
out of God gracious abundance that Jesus came
amongst us, lived as one of us, loved us, died, and
rose on our behalf.
May you experience the abundance of this
season: the anticipation, the preparation, and the joy.
Mother Liz
10 Commandment Hike
On the Friday after thanksgiving we hosted
the scouts as they marched on their 10
Commandment hike. The 10 Commandment Hike is
an interfaith way for scouts to earn their religious
badges by learning about other religions. The scouts
move to 10 different houses of worship where they
learn about the traditions and practice of each faith
and one of the 10 commandments I tackled the 6th
Commandment, “Thous Shalt Not Commit
Adultery” for 150 youngsters and their somewhat
uncomfortable adult chaperones/troop leaders.
While the 6th Commandment is a difficult topic I
was able to relate the vows taken in marriage to the
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scout law from loyalty right down to cleanliness,
which got a bit of a laugh. Most of the questions
from youth had to do with divorce and remarriage, a
good reminder that when a marriage is broken it is
more than just the partners who suffer. That’s why
God made it a commandment – these are rules that
help maintain healthy community.
Buildings and Grounds
The roof of the parish hall is in bad shape
and the proposals for replacement run well over
$30,000 so we need to develop a plan for how to
move forward. The Roof over the stairs to the
second floor not only leaks but has been leaking for
so long that it has caused interior damage. The
PINN has experienced damage to the goods in their
storeroom. In addition the squirrels have now built a
nest in the roof and have chewed right through the
window frame of the north side of the parish hall.
We need to do something this year at the very least.
The squirrels have also been busy munching holes in
the eaves of the rectory, where I have started to hear
the pitter patter of little feet. Squirrels are a
nuisance!
The cub scouts did a remarkable job clearing
the leaves from our grounds on Sunday, November
15.
Cemetery
On Monday, November 16 I met with the
committee that is focused on raising funds for the
cemetery. Please note that these funds have to do
with restoration and not maintenance since by law
they cannot apply for grants for a privately held
cemetery. If anyone is interested in joining me on
this committee please let me know. We will meet on
the first Monday of every month.
Diocesan Convention
Convention this year was well-run and informative.
We had the bishops of South Dakota and the
Navaho lands speak to us about life in their dioceses
and report on how the money that the diocese had
sent them last year had been used to further mission
and ministry. The bishop emphasized the idea that
we are one diocese, one mission and that the
diocesan staff is there to support the mission and
ministry of the local parish. He also emphasized our
interdependence and stressed the importance of our
pledge. This year the bishop sent a handwritten
thank you acknowledging our pledge. Our support is
noticed and appreciated.
At convention we voted to abolish the role of
archdeacon and the division of the diocese into
archdeaconries. The bishop hopes to replace the
archdeaconry system with more robust deaneries
that will include meetings not only with the clergy
but with the parish leaders of the deanery.
Holy Eucharist Evening Service at 5:00 P.M. on
the first Saturday of the month –
Next service, Saturday, December 5, 2015
Schedule of Services for Christmas Week
Wednesday December 23,
Eucharist in Chapel 11:00 am
Christmas Eve Family Service with Children’s
Pageant 5:30 pm
Christmas Eve Eucharist with music 10:00 pm
Christmas Day Eucharist with music 9:00 am
First Sunday after Christmas
Morning Prayer Rite I 8:00 am
Morning Prayer Rite II 10:00 am
No Eucharist Wednesday, December 29
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Vestry Highlights November 2015
-Approved new roof and funding – we will consider a
loan from the diocese to offset the cost of the roof
-Christmas Fair has twenty-four (24) vendors inside with
additional vendors outside the Parish Hall
-Coordinators have volunteered for Adopt - a – Family
-Posters for the Christmas tree sales will be posted
-Posters for the Christmas Fair were handed out to be
posted
-Hospitality Committee / Pastoral Care will be a major
strategic initiative for 2016
-Vestry members reviewed the budget
-Vestry agreed that there is a need to back up the data on
three (3) computers – a proposal from Mozy Home Z is
being considered
-New sign in front of church grounds is being re-done
-Bushes have been trimmed around all church buildings
-Stewardship pledges are coming in
Thrift Shop has many volunteers and is doing well
-Food Pantry is doing extremely well – many donations
from prominent places and many supportive volunteers
Thrift Shop
I have been on sick leave from the Thrift Shop since
the end of September, so I finally was able to come
in for a few hours recently. Jeannine, my codirector and our dedicated group of volunteers have
done a wonderful job of keeping things running
beautifully. They have made some major changes in
rearranging stock to move the flow of customers
around and it has shown wonderfully in our cash
register sales. The steady amount of excellent
donations keep our regular customers coming back
and telling all their friends too. Come and visit the
shop on Monday, Friday and Saturday to see the
attractive changes and please give Jeannine and the
ladies a pat on the back for doing double duty for
me! They know how much I appreciate their hard
work and I can't wait to get back to work. Conni
Still
Stewardship Committee

Making Christ Known by Caring, Connecting and
Contributing
GIFTS
It’s that time of year. Preparing for Christmas:
shopping, wrapping, decorating, celebrating --- for and
with our friends and family We often say that the
greatest gift to us, and to all, is God’s gift of his
Son --- TO LIVE AND DIE with us and for us.
When others look at us, do they see evidence of
that truth? It’s such a busy time; are we so
overwhelmed that we skip the “church part”,
promising ourselves that we’ll get back to that when
things slow down?
What might be our gifts of caring, connecting, and
contributing to the Church and to God’s work in the
world at this time of year?* Regular worship with
our faith community* Meeting parishioners and the
community at parish events
* Joining in the work
of the parish* Giving a special financial Christmas
gift (if this is not yet on your gift list, why not add
it today?).
Feeling stressed, frantic, out-of-time? Reread and
meditate on Martin Minogue’s November stewardship
article about giving thanks. And then . . .
“Let us go forth, rejoicing in the power of the
Spirit.”
THANKS BE TO GOD
for His many gifts to us, most especially for
His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Phyllis Voegeli, for the stewardship committee:
Laura Cooley, Michael Daly, Martin Minogue, Conni
Still, Mother Liz Tunney
Please include in your prayers this month:

Those who are sick or in need:
Craig Shaber, Jennifer Sheppard, Nancy Erickson, Lilly
Hemmert, Mother Paulette, Nichole, Mary, Manny,
Irene, Lou Cooley, Alexa, Ken, Tom, Linda Bocca,
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Dylan and Family, Brother Dunstan, Barry, Addie
Wagner, Conni Still, Richard Root, Kaylee Butler,
Joseph Tunney, Thomas McAleavey, Ed Smith, Douglas
Link, Rich, Patty, Jack, Kate, Mary Dykman, Melissa
DiChiara, Will, Charlotte, Harvey Crosby,
Donald Dunnigan. Fr. Jae
Joe and Bryan Stevens and Shinaide Polley for
volunteering to coordinate the collections for our
Christmas Adopt-a-Families
Those who are serving in the armed forces and
their families:
Charles Parker, Nicholas LoRusso, Brian LoRusso,
Larry Lorusso, Dylan Wolf, James Fava, Danny Martin,
Gabriela Lopez, EJ Dziwulski, JoAnna Figueroa,
Dakota Dealy
Departed :
Karen Pexton
A Word from St. Clare’s Guild

Thanksgivings and Acknowledgments December
2015
Christmas Fair: Everyone who contributed to the
success of the Christmas Fair: Marj Kulesa for her
leadership, all those who donated, prepared food,
and baskets, decorated, solicited donations, set-up,
priced, and cleaned up, posted signs, collected cash,
advertised and marketed and those who just showed
up as part of the proceedings.
Tree Set Up: Charlie Polley for coordinating the setup of the fencing and supports for the Christmas
trees and all worked to make it happen.
Tree Delivery: Everyone who helped to unload the
trees and position them for sale.
Thanksgiving Baskets: Barbara Greco, Janis
McEvoy, Judy Celauro, Ronny Pliszak, and
everyone who contributed food or money for the
Thanksgiving baskets, and those who manhandled
the delivery and storage of turkeys and those who
sorted and packed the bags and helped to distribute
them.
The Stewardship Committee and Laura Cooley for
their work in designing and carrying out this year’s
pledge drive, for their testimonials, the stewardship
brunch, the production of pledge cards and
materials.
Jeannine Cranor for her work in keeping the Thrift
Shop running and coordinating the volunteers in
Conni’s Absence.
Scott Harris for representing St. Paul’s at the
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.
Thanks to all the members of St. Clare’s Guild for
their donations to the Christmas Fair and our Annual
Afghan Raffle. There are still some items for sale in
the Chapel and can be purchased at the Thrift Shop.

St. Paul’s Christmas Vendor Fair and Tag
Sale

The Fair was a great success. Thanks to all who
participated in all the many ways.
St. Paul’s Christmas Tree and Wreath
Sale MAKE IT YOUR TRADITION!

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Thanks to all of you for your contributions to St
Paul’s Christmas Tree and Wreath sale! So far, so
good…but we are not exactly ready to stop yet.
Let’s continue to share the camaraderie, celebrating
the season with our patrons and ourselves. Ideally
we will sell each tree and wreath, but our
supplemental goals of meeting and reveling with the
community are paramount. Have fun out there and
thanks for MAKING IT YOUR TRADITION!
Christmas Flowers – Poinsettia’s

An envelope is enclosed in the bulletin.
Please return to the office no later than
December 18th.
Cub Scout Pack 177 Fall Clean Up!
Ronny needs help preparing the bulletin for
Christmas. If you have time to help fold and
assemble the bulletins please contact the
office. Thank you.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Just in case you forgot…here is a gentle
reminder:
PLEASE RETURN YOUR PLEDGE
CARDS & GIVE GENEROUSLY!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Scout Ten Commandment Hike
Love, your church
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We distributed
community!
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Thanksgiving
Bags
to
our
Marj did a great job chairing the Fair!
Trees are here!
Christmas Fair
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