Weekly eNewsletter from
St. Nicholas-on-the-Hudson
December 11, 2020
FROM THE RECTOR -
A New Icon for St. Nicholas
We are truly fortunate at St. Nick's to have in our midst the Revs. Sharon and Paul Clayton, who have supported my personal ministry as well as our church's ministry for a long while. Truly, they are treasures who have a deep knowledge of the Church and an abiding love for Jesus Christ that I find inspiring. Some time ago, Mtr. Sharon approached me about creating an icon of St. Nicholas of Myra for the nave. At that time, I hadn't realized she was an artist, but the moment I saw a full reproduction of The Elizabeth I Rainbow Portrait in progress in her home studio, I knew we needed to make the Nicholas icon a reality. Sharon+ presented us with the finished icon (which must have been one of her pandemic projects!) on the Feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, 2020, and it is magnificent. I am so grateful for her generosity and time spent on this holy work.
Mtr. Sharon has also written for us an insightful article that explains more about iconography and her creative process. I encourage you to read the whole piece, which I have excerpted here:
"The icon of St. Nicholas that I had the honor and pleasure of “writing” and presenting as a gift to the parish was blessed by Mother Leigh on the Second Sunday of Advent and now hangs in the nave. Its design was inspired by an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (as he is often known) produced in the early 14th century, currently hanging in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, but originally from the Church of St. Nicholas of the Pelts in Pskov. Elements of its design, however, such as the stylized cheeks indicating age, are characteristic of a much older tradition dating to the 12th century. The large eyes and ears, accompanied by the small mouth, are standard features of the iconographic canon. The holy person is meant to see and hear much, but to speak little."
I encourage all of you to go by and sit with the icon for a while. It is particularly lovely around 3:30pm, as the sun begins its wintertime setting to the west. And please do join me in expressing gratitude to Mtr. Sharon, who has blessed us with her tremendous gift in the writing and donation of this icon of our patron.
Yours,
Mtr. Leigh
- Sunday Worship -
Read Mtr. Leigh's letter from 11/20/2020 regarding this new phase of worship by clicking here.
- Through 1/3/2021, we will offer one service of Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 9:30am streaming live from St. Nick's to our YouTube Channel.
- Participate in the liturgy by using this bulletin. You can access the entire prayerbook online at anytime at www.bcponline.org.
- We will use a small team of people to help lead worship this Advent and Christmas, including AV people, readers, and prayer leaders. Please sign up here if you would like to help this small team lead worship.
- To submit a prayer request, please use our prayer request form. Our new practice for prayers will be to start fresh with a new prayer list at the start of the new month. Please feel free to resubmit your prayer requests.
- Should you or your family wish to receive the Eucharist from the Reserved Sacrament at the church, please schedule an appointment with Mtr. Leigh here.
- If you weren't able to watch last week or would like to see any of our previously streamed services, you can watch them HERE
Christmas Eve Services
December 24th, 2020
streamed online at 4pm & 10pm
CHRISTMAS ANGELS
Outreach Project
Thank you to all who signed up to support the St Nick’s Christmas Angels program to support Dutchess County needy families at this time of year. As of this moment, we have one unclaimed family with two children (Family #9). A pdf with all of the families can be seen HERE. You can sign up to support that last remaining family HERE. If there is a name already signed up for family #9, we thank you for your consideration.
For those who signed up, please bring wrapped presents to St Nick’s anytime by next Sunday December 20. Leave them in an empty pew with the family # clearly labelled. Email Liz Pavelka ([email protected]) and Paul Curran ([email protected]) when you are dropping them off so we can secure them.
THREE SPOTS OPENING in the Vestry In 2021, we will have three spots opening on the Vestry, including the positions of Junior and Senior Warden. If you are remotely interested being on the Vestry, knowing more about what it does, you can email Mtr. Leigh or speak to any current Vestry member: Janine Gauzza, Greg Freeman, Edie Palm, Dorothy Jackson, Ted Obligado, Joe Haubrich II, Jack Parry, Steph Mortimer, and Bert Mazzuto. Being on the Vestry is one of the best and most effective ways to be helpful to me and to St. Nick’s as a whole. And it isn’t as hard or as onerous as it seems!
STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021
Hello Parishioners - Thank you to all those who have already returned their 2021 pledge card. So far, we have 39 pledges totaling $117,415.00 toward our goal of $145,000. If you haven't received a pledge card but would like to pledge, please reach out to Dana in the office at [email protected] Or, NEW this year, fill out your pledge card online with our new virtual pledge card option HERE. We thank you for all the ways you continue to support our little church with a big heart :)
Sunday School at St. Nick's
Join Mtr. Leigh on 12/13 & 12/20 for virtual Sunday School following the 9:30am service.
COMING IN MAY 2021!
We will have our annual Trash and Treasure Sale on Saturday, May 15, 2021 with a rain date of May 22. We hope that holding the event in the spring will encourage more interest as well as help us to handle the Church Fair and the T & T Sale separately with greater success for both events. It will be held outside. Please keep the T & T Sale in mind during your spring cleaning! We will enlist helpers and have more information in the early spring. For questions contact Eileen Doherty at (914) 474-5564 or [email protected]
FOOD PANTRY & PERSONAL CARE PANTRY We have so many families hurting in Dutchess County. Your donations go a long way. The food pantry always needs cereal, peanut butter, mac & cheese, tuna, etc. The linens pantry needs gently used blankets, towels and new pillows. For more information Please call Liz at 297-4907.
OFFICE HOURS ARE BACK
Zoom Office Hours:
Tuesdays 3p to 5p
Wednesdays 10a to 12p
Thursdays 11a to 1p
Schedule appointments through Mtr. Leigh's online scheduler:
https://calendly.com/leighhall
BIBLE STUDY
Join Mtr. Leigh in Zoom for a lectionary based bible study
Mondays @ 2pm
Each Monday we'll read and study together the lessons for the upcoming Sunday. To find out what the lessons are, please visit The Lectionary Page. We generally use the first option of the two listed for the first reading.
Topic: Lectionary Bible Study
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85728735074
CONTINUE YOUR PLEDGE OR DONATE ONLINE
DURING THE CORONA VIRUS CRISIS
We are grateful for each and every dollar we receive here at St. Nick's, and each one of those dollars goes to good use. We keep a lean budget, and our finance committee carefully monitors every line.
While we are not meeting in person for worship on Sunday mornings, we expect that plate donations will drop. And with so much economic uncertainty, we know that home budgets might change. In order to facilitate continued giving, we have reactivated our church PayPal account. Using the button below, you can make your pledge or donation online.
Donate Online
Additionally, you can also set up auto-draft from your own bank account using your online banking. This will cause a paper check to be sent to our mailbox at P.O. Box 490, Hughsonville, NY 12537 which we are checking each day. The Vestry are doing the normal count, and our parish administrator, Dana, continues to record pledges in our system.
END OF LIFE PLANNING The Coronavirus pandemic has likely made us aware of our own mortality in new and profound ways. It is the responsibility of the Church to assist its members in preparing for death "while they are in health," which often entails the preparation of a will, or, at the least, the preparation of a plan in the event of a member's death. We have prepared a funeral planning form that will help you begin to think through and to plan your funeral, and we encourage you to begin this process seriously if you haven't already. After you complete the forms contact Mtr. Leigh for planning.
From the Book of Common Prayer: "The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well‑being
of their families, and of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses." (p. 445)
BUDDY GROUPS For Buddy Groups and captain contact information
please click: HERE
PARISH DIRECTORY A Parish Directory with the most updated contact information we have for all of you is available. If you would like a digital copy of the directory, please email the church office.
AA GROUP MEETINGS St. Nick's does have regular AA meetings but due to the Corona Virus restrictions they are currently on hold until further notice.
INTRA OFFICE DEADLINES Want to put an announcement in the weekly e-news? The deadline for submission is: Wednesdays 12pm
AGING NEWS: SENIOR RESOURCES Click on this link for the recent enews from Dutchess County Department For The Aging:
https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Aging/OFA-Golden-Living-News-for-Senior-Citizens.htm
In Our Prayers
For those for whom prayers have been asked:
Barbara + Devin + Damon + Kristina + Nancy + Joann + Bernice + AnnMarie + Evelyn + Marlene + Martha + Dean + Eleanor + Connor + Sandy + Helen + Joe + Judy + Melonie + Patrice + Gena + Frank + Jean + Brian + Rita + Larry + Erika + Bea + Dorothy
- for all healthcare workers and first responders
- for those in prison and for prison workers
- for nursing home staff and residents, especially Jackie
- for the sick, especially those with Covid-19
- for all who struggle
- for the unemployed
- for the disappointed
- for the oppressed
- for all who work for peace and justice
- for teachers and parents and all who are making hard decisions about schooling this fall
- for those affected by the wildfires in the western states
- for our nation and it's leaders
In Thanksgiving for:
- For Steph & Craig Mortimer on their 7 years wedding anniversary.
The Departed:
All who have died of Covid-19
St. Nicholas-on-the-Hudson
December 11, 2020
FROM THE RECTOR -
A New Icon for St. Nicholas
We are truly fortunate at St. Nick's to have in our midst the Revs. Sharon and Paul Clayton, who have supported my personal ministry as well as our church's ministry for a long while. Truly, they are treasures who have a deep knowledge of the Church and an abiding love for Jesus Christ that I find inspiring. Some time ago, Mtr. Sharon approached me about creating an icon of St. Nicholas of Myra for the nave. At that time, I hadn't realized she was an artist, but the moment I saw a full reproduction of The Elizabeth I Rainbow Portrait in progress in her home studio, I knew we needed to make the Nicholas icon a reality. Sharon+ presented us with the finished icon (which must have been one of her pandemic projects!) on the Feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, 2020, and it is magnificent. I am so grateful for her generosity and time spent on this holy work.
Mtr. Sharon has also written for us an insightful article that explains more about iconography and her creative process. I encourage you to read the whole piece, which I have excerpted here:
"The icon of St. Nicholas that I had the honor and pleasure of “writing” and presenting as a gift to the parish was blessed by Mother Leigh on the Second Sunday of Advent and now hangs in the nave. Its design was inspired by an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (as he is often known) produced in the early 14th century, currently hanging in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, but originally from the Church of St. Nicholas of the Pelts in Pskov. Elements of its design, however, such as the stylized cheeks indicating age, are characteristic of a much older tradition dating to the 12th century. The large eyes and ears, accompanied by the small mouth, are standard features of the iconographic canon. The holy person is meant to see and hear much, but to speak little."
I encourage all of you to go by and sit with the icon for a while. It is particularly lovely around 3:30pm, as the sun begins its wintertime setting to the west. And please do join me in expressing gratitude to Mtr. Sharon, who has blessed us with her tremendous gift in the writing and donation of this icon of our patron.
Yours,
Mtr. Leigh
- Sunday Worship -
Read Mtr. Leigh's letter from 11/20/2020 regarding this new phase of worship by clicking here.
- Through 1/3/2021, we will offer one service of Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 9:30am streaming live from St. Nick's to our YouTube Channel.
- Participate in the liturgy by using this bulletin. You can access the entire prayerbook online at anytime at www.bcponline.org.
- We will use a small team of people to help lead worship this Advent and Christmas, including AV people, readers, and prayer leaders. Please sign up here if you would like to help this small team lead worship.
- To submit a prayer request, please use our prayer request form. Our new practice for prayers will be to start fresh with a new prayer list at the start of the new month. Please feel free to resubmit your prayer requests.
- Should you or your family wish to receive the Eucharist from the Reserved Sacrament at the church, please schedule an appointment with Mtr. Leigh here.
- If you weren't able to watch last week or would like to see any of our previously streamed services, you can watch them HERE
Christmas Eve Services
December 24th, 2020
streamed online at 4pm & 10pm
CHRISTMAS ANGELS
Outreach Project
Thank you to all who signed up to support the St Nick’s Christmas Angels program to support Dutchess County needy families at this time of year. As of this moment, we have one unclaimed family with two children (Family #9). A pdf with all of the families can be seen HERE. You can sign up to support that last remaining family HERE. If there is a name already signed up for family #9, we thank you for your consideration.
For those who signed up, please bring wrapped presents to St Nick’s anytime by next Sunday December 20. Leave them in an empty pew with the family # clearly labelled. Email Liz Pavelka ([email protected]) and Paul Curran ([email protected]) when you are dropping them off so we can secure them.
THREE SPOTS OPENING in the Vestry In 2021, we will have three spots opening on the Vestry, including the positions of Junior and Senior Warden. If you are remotely interested being on the Vestry, knowing more about what it does, you can email Mtr. Leigh or speak to any current Vestry member: Janine Gauzza, Greg Freeman, Edie Palm, Dorothy Jackson, Ted Obligado, Joe Haubrich II, Jack Parry, Steph Mortimer, and Bert Mazzuto. Being on the Vestry is one of the best and most effective ways to be helpful to me and to St. Nick’s as a whole. And it isn’t as hard or as onerous as it seems!
STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021
Hello Parishioners - Thank you to all those who have already returned their 2021 pledge card. So far, we have 39 pledges totaling $117,415.00 toward our goal of $145,000. If you haven't received a pledge card but would like to pledge, please reach out to Dana in the office at [email protected] Or, NEW this year, fill out your pledge card online with our new virtual pledge card option HERE. We thank you for all the ways you continue to support our little church with a big heart :)
Sunday School at St. Nick's
Join Mtr. Leigh on 12/13 & 12/20 for virtual Sunday School following the 9:30am service.
COMING IN MAY 2021!
We will have our annual Trash and Treasure Sale on Saturday, May 15, 2021 with a rain date of May 22. We hope that holding the event in the spring will encourage more interest as well as help us to handle the Church Fair and the T & T Sale separately with greater success for both events. It will be held outside. Please keep the T & T Sale in mind during your spring cleaning! We will enlist helpers and have more information in the early spring. For questions contact Eileen Doherty at (914) 474-5564 or [email protected]
FOOD PANTRY & PERSONAL CARE PANTRY We have so many families hurting in Dutchess County. Your donations go a long way. The food pantry always needs cereal, peanut butter, mac & cheese, tuna, etc. The linens pantry needs gently used blankets, towels and new pillows. For more information Please call Liz at 297-4907.
OFFICE HOURS ARE BACK
Zoom Office Hours:
Tuesdays 3p to 5p
Wednesdays 10a to 12p
Thursdays 11a to 1p
Schedule appointments through Mtr. Leigh's online scheduler:
https://calendly.com/leighhall
BIBLE STUDY
Join Mtr. Leigh in Zoom for a lectionary based bible study
Mondays @ 2pm
Each Monday we'll read and study together the lessons for the upcoming Sunday. To find out what the lessons are, please visit The Lectionary Page. We generally use the first option of the two listed for the first reading.
Topic: Lectionary Bible Study
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85728735074
CONTINUE YOUR PLEDGE OR DONATE ONLINE
DURING THE CORONA VIRUS CRISIS
We are grateful for each and every dollar we receive here at St. Nick's, and each one of those dollars goes to good use. We keep a lean budget, and our finance committee carefully monitors every line.
While we are not meeting in person for worship on Sunday mornings, we expect that plate donations will drop. And with so much economic uncertainty, we know that home budgets might change. In order to facilitate continued giving, we have reactivated our church PayPal account. Using the button below, you can make your pledge or donation online.
Donate Online
Additionally, you can also set up auto-draft from your own bank account using your online banking. This will cause a paper check to be sent to our mailbox at P.O. Box 490, Hughsonville, NY 12537 which we are checking each day. The Vestry are doing the normal count, and our parish administrator, Dana, continues to record pledges in our system.
END OF LIFE PLANNING The Coronavirus pandemic has likely made us aware of our own mortality in new and profound ways. It is the responsibility of the Church to assist its members in preparing for death "while they are in health," which often entails the preparation of a will, or, at the least, the preparation of a plan in the event of a member's death. We have prepared a funeral planning form that will help you begin to think through and to plan your funeral, and we encourage you to begin this process seriously if you haven't already. After you complete the forms contact Mtr. Leigh for planning.
From the Book of Common Prayer: "The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well‑being
of their families, and of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses." (p. 445)
BUDDY GROUPS For Buddy Groups and captain contact information
please click: HERE
PARISH DIRECTORY A Parish Directory with the most updated contact information we have for all of you is available. If you would like a digital copy of the directory, please email the church office.
AA GROUP MEETINGS St. Nick's does have regular AA meetings but due to the Corona Virus restrictions they are currently on hold until further notice.
INTRA OFFICE DEADLINES Want to put an announcement in the weekly e-news? The deadline for submission is: Wednesdays 12pm
AGING NEWS: SENIOR RESOURCES Click on this link for the recent enews from Dutchess County Department For The Aging:
https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Aging/OFA-Golden-Living-News-for-Senior-Citizens.htm
In Our Prayers
For those for whom prayers have been asked:
Barbara + Devin + Damon + Kristina + Nancy + Joann + Bernice + AnnMarie + Evelyn + Marlene + Martha + Dean + Eleanor + Connor + Sandy + Helen + Joe + Judy + Melonie + Patrice + Gena + Frank + Jean + Brian + Rita + Larry + Erika + Bea + Dorothy
- for all healthcare workers and first responders
- for those in prison and for prison workers
- for nursing home staff and residents, especially Jackie
- for the sick, especially those with Covid-19
- for all who struggle
- for the unemployed
- for the disappointed
- for the oppressed
- for all who work for peace and justice
- for teachers and parents and all who are making hard decisions about schooling this fall
- for those affected by the wildfires in the western states
- for our nation and it's leaders
In Thanksgiving for:
- For Steph & Craig Mortimer on their 7 years wedding anniversary.
The Departed:
All who have died of Covid-19
