JUNE GRIGULL MEMORIAL RUN
LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2008
Church of the Messiah – Route 9 – Rhinebeck, New York
ALL PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT COMMUNITY OUTREACH CHARITIES!
5K RUN AND WALK– 8:30 AM START; 10K RUN– 9:00 AM START; “MINI-DASH” RACES FOR CHILDREN – 10AM START; REGISTER FOR MINIS ON RACE DAY $2 EACH - $5 PER FAMILY (3 OR MORE)
St. Gregory’s Church and the Church of the Messiah
The Reverend Charles Dupree, Choir Director, St. Gregory’s Church
Reginald J. Earls, Organist, Church of the Messiah
O Come, O come, Emmanuel
Creator of the Stars of Night
Adam Lay Ybounden
Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
Herald Sound
Veild in Darkness
Prepare the Way, O Zion
Incarnation
Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending
More photos of the 2007 Mad Dash, courtesy of the Poughkeepsie Journal–check back for more updates!
Race Results for the 2007 Mad Dash
A great big thank you to all who helped with the many tasks that go into making this event so successful! We should all be proud. Preliminary figures indicate we may have a net profit of about $9,000 for our Outreach Programs. Everyone who helped in any way possible has contributed to the Outreach of the Church. The smallest jobs make the biggest difference.
I must thank our faithful committee who attended the Mad Dash committee meetings and helped plan all the details of the dash:
Linda and Ed Goff—Linda is responsible for our correspondence and Ed for the traffic control. Also Linda and Ed had the wonderful sign in the front of the Church to thank our sponsors. Ed works with the State and local police to assure everything is safe for everyone. Linda writes all the letters to the sponsors from the previous years and also thanks each of them after they donate.
Susannah Renzi—helps with traffic control, obtained the names of all high school coaches for cross country so we could mail them flyer, helped obtain Stickles sponsorship, and helped with some coverage by the Poughkeepsie Journal!!
Robby Long—Our Sponsor coordinator. Robby worked hard to get many sponsors for the race not only in money but also obtained a large donation of water bottles from Hannafords in Red Hook.
Wally Decker—Wally does the initial mailing of the flyers to all the previous years participants. Wally also sets up the water stops and makes sure the runners have water during the race.
Francoise Weigel—who distributes the flyers—EVERYWHERE!
Ron Hirsch—Ron was responsible to order the trophies and order the tee shirts (nice colors)! This is a big job!
Barbara Craft—First time learning and doing the “stuffing party”—it all went very well. All the pre-registered runners/walkers had their goodies!
Laurie Craft —who works behind the scenes inputting the runners information into the database to send to Bay State timers.
Setsuko Ellsworth—who runs the race day registration, which can be a mad dash to register about 250 to 300 runners/walkers/mini-dashers in about an hour or so prior to the start. She has a great team working with her!
Liz Schembri—who provides for all the refreshments the racers enjoy after the competition. Liz purchases the food/drinks etc and has a great crew working with her! And thanks to all who brought Brownies!!!
Mike Britt—who has helped us with so many technical issues with production of the flyer etc… and produced certificates of thanks for our sponsors.
Kristy Carter—for putting all the information on our web site and linking us to active.com.
Mary DiNitto—who runs the mini-dash portion of our day! The kids love it!
Dave Craft—the jack-of-all trades who sets up everything! Assists where needed, hangs the finish line posters, etc., places course signs.
Jeff Weichsel —who arranges the timing of the race, monitors the finances and keeps the books, helps with traffic control and the course set up.
Leslie Weichsel —who ordered the Port-o-potties! Thank you!
Al and Laura Grigull—who assisted as Master of Ceremonies, helped with the stuffing party, registered runners, and handed out ribbons to the walkers, and who have given us this great tradition to work together to raise money for a great cause—the Outreach of the Church of the Messiah.
—Leslie Weichsel
Church of the Messiah is located in historic Rhinebeck, New York, in the beautiful Hudson Valley. We at Messiah are called to share the joy in our hearts. We seek to live in the power of the Spirit, welcoming all into our parish family. We strive to be a community where people are both comforted by God’s love and challenged to live lives of service in the world.
We meet for service at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. every Sunday. We also have a Holy Communion service Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. We’re located at the corner of Montgomery Street (Rt. 9) and Chestnut Street in Rhinebeck Village, two blocks north of East Market Street. Please join us, even if you’re just in town for the day!
Preparing the Way
“The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own; not to make them see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own; not to give them a definite amount of knowledge, but to inspire a fervent love of truth; not to form an outward regularity, but to touch inward springs; not to bind them by ineradicable prejudices to our particular sect or peculiar notions, but to prepare them for impartial, conscientious judging of whatever subjects may be offered to their decision; not to burden the memory, but to quicken and strengthen the power of thought; not to impose religion upon them in the form of arbitrary rules, but to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment. In a word, the great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and cherish spiritual life.” –William Ellery Channing
School begins Sunday at 9:45 a.m., when a children’s service will be held before students go to classes. Nursery care will be available for very young children under three years old. The last Sunday School class of the season was on June 12, and we’ll reconvene in September. All are welcome, whether you’re just visiting for the week or would like to register for the year.
This year, Messiah has implemented a new curriculum based on the principals of Godly Play. Two classes (grades K-2 and grades 3-5) follow the Godly Play Curriculum, and we also continue to offer a traditional children’s Episcopal Curriculum for the Pre-K class. Our classes are taught by a core group of wonderful people, led by Tammy DelGiudice. Both children and teachers have been enjoying Godly Play. It allows for a very personal, age-appropriate understanding of God’s word, centered on the telling of sacred stories, parable, and liturgical action. You can read more about the Godly Play curriculum at godlyplay.org.
Tammy Del Giudice and Tom Heller run our youth programs, and Kimberly Kahan has had great success with the new Children’s Choir, which practices most Sundays at 9:15 a.m. We are always looking for more teachers for our programs, especially in the infant and pre-K rooms.
2008 schedule:
January 13: Regular Classes
January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend: No Classes
January 27: Regular Classes
February 3: Regular Classes
February 10: Regular Classes
February 17: President’s Day Weekend: No Classes
February 24: Regular Classes
March 2: Regular Classes
March 9: Regular Classes
March 16: Palm Sunday
March 23: Easter Sunday: No Classes
March 30: Regular Classes
April 6: Regular Classes
April 13: Regular Classes
April 20: Spring Break: No Classes
April 27: Regular Classes
May 4: Regular Classes
May 11: Mother’s Day Children’s Service
May 18: Regular Classes
May 25: Memorial Day Weekend: No Classes
June 1: Last Day of Regular Classes
June 8: End of Year Party!
Who we are:
The Rev. Gerald J. Gallagher, Rector
Rev. Robert B. Brooks, Deacon
Reginald J. Earls, Organist/Choirmaster
Su Gordon, Administrative Assistant
Vestry (meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month):
Wardens: Dave Craft and Ron Hirsch
Treasurer: Francois Weigel
Clerk of the Vestry: Joanne Brunson
Vestry: Joan Carbonaro, Kristy Carter, Clarence Clark, Alexa Dull, Michele Fox, Rob Long, Leanora Kovacs, Margaret Salamone, Leslie Weichsel
Webservant: Kristy Carter
Where we are:
We are located in beautiful Rhinebeck, New York, two blocks north of the village center at the intersection of Montgomery Street (Route 9) at Chestnut Street. There is a small parking lot next to the church (entrance is at Scheer Cleaners), and plenty of street parking around the corner on Chestnut. Please join us!
Phone: (845) 876-3533
Rectory: (845) 876-7468
Fax: (845) 876-3949
Email: rb_episcopal@yahoo.com
http://www.rhinebeck-episcopal.org
6436 Montgomery Street
PO Box 248
Rhinebeck, NY 1257
The Beginning
The first Episcopal worship service in Rhinebeck was held on February 13, 1831. The Rev. Samuel R. Johnson, rector of St. James’, Hyde Park, traveled to Rhinebeck to conduct the service. He encouraged the few local Episcopalians to meet regularly for public worship.
During the next twenty years, services were held on one or two Sunday afternoons each month, except during the winter months. Services were usually held in space provided in the Baker Building (the site of the present Village Hall), and later in the Baptist chapel (the site of the present Terrapin restaurant). The Rev. Johnson and his successors of St. James’ Church conducted these afternoon services for a growing congregation.
On August 8, 1852, the Church of the Messiah was organized and incorporated. The Rev. Richard S. Adams was chosen to be the first rector of the Church of the Messiah. He had been an assistant rector at St. James’ Church of Hyde Park. A site at the corner of East Market and Mulberry Streets was donated by Rutsen Suckley for a church building. The Vestry chose George Veitch, architect, to plan and construct the new building. The cornerstone was laid on September 16, 1852, and the structure was completed and occupied the following year.
At the Vestry meeting on June 8, 1854, pew rents were set at $20, $15, $10 and $8 per year, depending on the pew location. The church was consecrated on October 6, 1855 by the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of New York. The text for his sermon was Psalms 96: 7-9:
“Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.”
The church was renovated in 1879 when the wooden structure was painted inside and out, and gas lighting fixtures were installed. On June 29, 1857, the Fulton house at 82 Montgomery Street was purchased for use as a rectory. It housed the first nine rectors of the church.
Many of the first vestrymen served for life because there were no term limits. There were few vacancies through the 1870’s. The vestry minutes of 1861 through 1863 were lost in the Rhinebeck village fire of 1864, when all of the buildings on the south side of East Market Street were destroyed. The minutes had been stored in the law offices of Vestryman Ambrose Wager.
A New Church Building
By the early 1890’s the congregation had grown in numbers, and the church building needed extensive renovations. The roof leaked badly, plaster crumbled and fell, and the balcony was unsafe. At many vestry meetings during that time, a new and larger church building was discussed. In November 1896, property at the corner of Montgomery and Chestnut Streets was donated to the Church of the Messiah by two vestrymen, Dr. George N. Miller of The Grove and Mr. Robert Suckley of Wilderstein. Mr. John Jacob Astor, Churchwarden, gave a house on Mill Street to be sold and all proceeds applied to the construction of a new church building. The rector, Rev. Ernest C. Saunders, was largely responsible for instituting and carrying out the building fund. Hoppin & Koen, architects from New York City, designed the new church in the Gothic Revival style. The vestry accepted their design at the February 1897 meeting.
The cornerstone of the new Church of the Messiah was laid by Archdeacon Burgess on Wednesday, July 7, 1897 at 12 o’clock noon. The clergy assembled at the Starr Institute and processed to the grounds. Hundreds of people were in attendance in spite of the intense summer heat.
Rock from Tator Hill, about a mile north of the church, and supplied by Staley & Gay was used in the construction with trimmings of Indiana limestone. The masonry was done by Curnan & Kearns, and the carpentry was by Ackert & Brown, all of Rhinebeck. The interior is of oak wainscoting and Philadelphia pressed brick, and the ceiling is of cypress.
Consecration of the new church was delayed because one of the architects and John Jacob Astor, churchwarden, were fighting in the Spanish-American War. Finally, on June 17, 1899 the stone church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Henry Cadman Potter. Several stained glass windows and many of the furnishings were given as memorials.
The Traver Memorial Window in the Choir Room was installed in the first church building in 1894. This window was removed, cut down to fit the new opening and installed in the new church in 1898.Other windows installed in 1898 were: The William B. Astor Memorial Window, the Rev. Aaron Olmsted Memorial Window, the Susan Watts Street Memorial Window, and the Florence Adele Kip Humbert Memorial Window. The remaining windows were provided by Heinigke & Bowen of New York City.
The Early Twentieth Century
Three years prior to World War I, the Church of the Messiah began a Chorister’s School on Montgomery Street, an ambitious project initiated by Norman Coke-Jephcott, organist and choir director. It was a private boarding school sponsored by a few area families. Coke-Jephcott also presented organ recitals for Sunday evensong each week at the Messiah, and frequently performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and in Albany at the Cathedral of All Saints. During World War I, joint worship services with the Reformed Dutch Church were prompted by coal shortages and other wartime difficulties. The Rev. Francis K. Little, rector of the Church of the Messiah, served as an Army chaplain and was absent from his pulpit from March 1918 until August 1919.
Deaconess Mary Clelland West provided religious instruction for the Episcopal children in Rhinebeck and carried on the work of the parish during those war years. Another deaconess, Ann Gilliland, was employed by the church from 1921-1923.
Post World War I Years
Following World War I, there were many changes to the church interior. Douglas Merritt donated a bell to the church as a thank offering for the safe return of his daughter, Ethel D. Merritt, from war service in France. Miss Merritt went to France before the United States entered World War I, and served as a nurse with the French army. The bell, made by the Meneely Company of Troy, NY, pitched in B flat, is delicate and graceful in shape.
The Pipe Organ
The pipe organ was built especially for this building by E. M. Skinner, and donated to the Church of the Messiah by Capt. Vincent Astor in 1921. The organ chamber contains three stories of pipes. The Skinner reputation was deservedly very high, and the company built organs for American’s finest churches and universities. This Skinner organ has all the essential elements: warm, rich foundation stops, accompaniment voices of great beauty (especially the Swell strings); and superb solo reeds (tuba, English horn, and Flugelhorn).
A twenty-note tubular set of chimes, electrically operated from the console at both keys and pedals, was installed by the Skinner Company in July 1930, also a gift of Capt. Astor. The chimes add to the scope of this beautiful instrument.
The Memorial Chancel
Soon after World War I, the idea of a suitable memorial to those who gave their lives in the conflict began to arise. After much consideration and discussion, plans were presented to the vestry on October 4, 1921 by the rector, the Rev. Francis K. Little. The chancel area was finally renovated while the Rev. Gabriel Farrell was rector of the parish. The lectern was the first gift toward the new chancel. It was given in 1921 by Mrs. William G. Lowe as a thank offering for the recovery from a serious illness of her daughter, Mrs. Francis K. Little. Designed by W. J. Anthony, it is a stately and beautiful piece of wood carving. The lectern has a V-shaped top, forming book rests for the two Testaments which can be turned as each lesson is read. There is a three-branched pedestal and at the top of each branch, there is a statuette, exquisitely carved in wood. The figures are those of St. Francis, St. Esther, and St. Lois. The lectern is stained a rich black, polychromed and embellished in gold. Other memorials given at that time include the Altar - in memory of Henry Montgomery Suckley, Arthur Gerald Haen and George N. Miller, Jr. The Chancel Paneling - the tribute of the parish to those who served in World War I. The Parapet, Clergy and Choir stalls - in memory of Col. John Jacob Astor.
In May of 1928 the Memorial Chancel was dedicated by the Bishop of New York to honor those who died in World War I. This chancel was modified from the original one and now projects into the nave in order to get the necessary sense of depth. The chancel lanterns, a memorial to John Langdon, hang from the chancel’s beamed ceiling, not only to furnish light, but also to enhance the perception of height and depth so desired in this space. The altar is of Premier Tavernelle marble, quarried in Tennessee. The marble was selected for its mottled texture and warm cream color. The chancel floor is covered with black and white Belgian marble.
During the 1960’s, the chancel was brightened and enriched with the addition of needlepoint cushions, kneelers and a rug. Religious symbols found in the church were used for the designs on the cushions and kneelers. Members of the Altar Guild, under the direction of Mrs. Clyde K. Miller, Jr., skillfully executed all the needlework. People paid for the cost of the materials and gave them as memorials.
1987 to the Present
Since the late 1980’s, the Church of the Messiah has undergone necessary, professional restoration. Much of the exterior stone walls have been properly repointed, a chimney was rebuilt, copper flashing and a ridge cap were replaced, and a broken gargoyle was rebuilt. Three new memorial stained glass windows were installed, new protective glazing was installed over all the stained glass windows, and the Susan Watts Street Memorial Window by LaFarge was restored.
In 2002, as a thank offering for our first one hundred fifty years as a parish, we have had carillons installed. They proclaim our faith and unity as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to the community of Rhinebeck and all who pass through it. The Church of the Messiah has grown in so many ways in the last one hundred fifty years. Our outreach program is extensive and eagerly supported by parishioners and friends alike.
Let us always “make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100.
Compiled and submitted by Joanne L. Brunson, 2002; revised 3/2004
Worship is at the heart of Christian life. It is the most elementary response to the movements of God. We worship together and alone. The experience is unique to every individual but there are many things which we share in common.
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is used throughout the Episcopal Church in the United States. It is the red covered book which you will find in the back of the pews. It was first ratified in 1789 following the American Revolution. The Anglican Church, in the newly liberated colonies, became the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. Our roots go back to the missionaries who brought Christianity to the British Isles in the fourth century, and earlier, through Apostolic Succession, to the twelve disciples themselves.
The prayers, psalms and order of services found in the BCP have come down to us through history. The Nicene Creed, which summarizes the the underpinnings of the faith, dates from the fourth century after Christ. The service connects us to the earliest worship of the Church.
The BCP helps us celebrate the life events that are observed in the Church, such as baptism, marriage and burial. The BCP was written so every Christian could grow in faith with simple devotions.
The Bible is the foundation of our faith. It is comprised of the Old Testament, which we share with the Jewish faith, and the New Testament, which was written after Christ’s death by his followers. Reading and understanding the Bible is a lifelong process.
Lambeth Blog #7
July 25, 2008
As hard as this may be to hear, the Episcopal Church of the Sudan may be showing the Communion a way forward. Recently the Archbishop of the Sudan made some very strong statements about Bishop Gene Robinson and the Episcopal Church. Since the Sudanese along with Liberian bishops and some others had been invited by our Presiding Bishop for a reception tomorrow afternoon, when we first learned of Archbishop Bul’s statement to the press, we thought it signalled a rejection of us and a further splitting in the Anglican Communion. This does not appear to be the case.
We in the Episcopal Church have always said that we do not demand agreement with our positions in order to be in relationship. Now is the time to live into that commitment. The Archbishop of the Sudan was signalling to the rest of Africa, and I imagine particularly to the bishops of GAFCON who have stayed away from this conference, that he and the Sudanese are not being ‘bought’ by the Americans. They do not agree with our actions, just as our other partners in Africa do not necessarily agree with us. And still they are choosing to be in relationship with us.
Hold in mind the words of Bishop Mdimi Mhogolo to me when we first entered into a partnership for Carpenter’s Kids. ‘We do not agree with your decision [concerning Gene Robinson] but we think the division is the devil’s work to keep the church from ministering to a suffering world.’ Of course, Bishop Mdimi said those words to me in private and the Archbishop of the Sudan went very public very unexpectedly. Nevertheless, I believe we should keep this particular door wide open. The Sudan is one of the places where extreme poverty and extreme violence combine to produce some of the greatest suffering on this earth. As long as the bishops choose to be in relationship with us, we can move ahead to minister together to this suffering world.
While we are on the subject of a suffering world, I confess to you that I almost lost my temper in our Indaba session this morning when one bishop said he thought that our focus on the MDG’s was a distraction from the issue of human sexuality. I responded, trying to remain as civil as possible, that no matter what we might choose to discuss, the world’s suffering is not a distraction for a gathering of bishops from around a Communion riddled by poverty, violence and catastrophe.
I have never heard a bishop from the developing world call the MDG’s a distraction. For those of us in the developed world, suffering seems to us an abberration from a life intended to be free of it. Hence, we often ask ‘Why me?’ when we experience the inevitable sufferings attached to being human. We are reluctant to recognize that for the vast majority of human beings on this planet, suffering is a way of life. And for some, extreme suffering is a daily occurrence. (If you would like some figures on this, I encourage you to google theminiatureearth.org.)
It is as Gordon Brown said yesterday, people of faith can make a difference. The Anglican Communion does make a difference. Let us not spend time worrying about who is the wheat and who is the tare, but simply grow together in God’s garden, trusting in the abundance of God’s grace to get us through.
+Catherine