Father Nils will speak on "The Evolution of Sacred Music" at St. Mary's

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On Sunday, October 23 at 5:30pm, Father Nils will speak on The Evolution of Sacred Music at St. Mary's Church . St. Mary's, built by farmers in the nineteenth century, is located at 197 Hickory Kingdom Road at the intersection with Middle Patent Road in Bedford

Nils' talk will show how music in the Christian Church has come a long way in two thousand years. After centuries of monophony (one line of music), there was a huge explosion of development about a thousand years ago, leading to the emergence of polyphony (several lines of music sung simultaneously). The evolution of church music hasn't stopped since. Music is perhaps the greatest of universal languages and has the capacity to bring people very close to God's presence. Indeed, St. Augustine famously said that 'he who sings, prays twice.' Nils' talk will be a whistle-stop tour of the development of church music, with illustrations from recorded music. All are welcome.
 

By County Proclamation, October 9, 2016 is St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Recognition Day

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"Formed in 1842 when a local farmer donated a quarter acre of land to build the church, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church has served the body of Christ and the community of Armonk for one hundred and seventy-five years...

 

"Upon the renovation of the interior of the sanctuary and gathering with the faithful to celebrate their 175th anniversary, Rev. Nils Chittenden and all the congregants of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church are truly deserving of our reverence and appreciation for carrying out their noble mission of serving God and the community."
 

Vestry update

At the meeting of the Vestry on September 19th, these were the principal discussions and decisions:

  1.  The contract for work to strengthen the foundations in the basement of the sanctuary has been awarded to Piermont Design Co. of Peekskill. This work will commence in late September and is to allow for the increased load of the organ when it is installed on the sanctuary floor, and for the weight of the font in its new location at the back of the church.
  2. Work on our organ will commence shortly at the organ builder's base in New Jersey, with the target date of the organ being back in our sanctuary by Christmas.
  3. Essential tree work has been completed in the cemetery, to be followed soon by essential grading and reseeding work in a number of places where older graves have subsided.
  4. We have received notice from the Town of North Castle that we are required to install an enclosure around our dumpster. This work is now taking place and will be completed by the end of September.
  5. We are seeking estimates for the weeding and mulching of all the flower beds around the church.
  6. To date this year, St. Stephen's has made donations and grants to the Mt Kisco Food Pantry of $3,433.
  7. Treasures has recently installed a cash register, and all NY Sales Tax is now being automatically calculated and collected on top of the ticket price.
  8. The response to the collection of school supplies for the Chiro Mission was so outstanding that the shipping costs are considerably higher than last year. We need to explore ways to maximize the value of donations, and explore the most cost-effective shipping options.
  9. We have a new website, which had a 'soft launch' a month ago and now has the functionality for online ticketing for events, donations, and Google Apps for non-profits.
  10. This year's pledge drive will be billed (as last year) 'Step Up Sunday' and will be on Sunday, November 20th. Mailing will go out in the preceding weeks.

Plans for the Launch of our 175th Anniversary

175th ANNIVERSARY: We need your RSVP for our October 9 kickoff to St. Stephen's 175th Anniversary. This is an important milestone for our church and for the town of Armonk, which was established at the same time. Our Parish Tea organizers, Nan Bircham, Sue Brown, Annlee Milani and Peggy Corey are coordinating a tea reception after the service, and need to know numbers. They will need volunteers for setting up and for food contributions. It will be a wonderful day, and we hope all can come!  Mail in your forms, or email us at office@ststephensarmonk.org and tell how many will attend the service and how many will stay for the tea. Let Renate Golden know if you can contribute to the tea at rennieg@optonline.net.

Spiritual Life inventory

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The entire parish has been asked to take a simple 20 minute survey online as part of our Renewal Works effort to examine where God is leading us.  There is no thoughtful writing required, no reflective essays, not even a sentence! It's purely checking off boxes. If needed, Charity can help you take the survey in the parish office on the PC there. If you haven't taken it yet, click here for the survey.
 
Please let all the members of your family that are connected with St. Stephen's in any way know about this inventory: everyone from middle-school upwards can take part.

Thank you, Michael, for our ramp!

Thanks to Michael Ramsey, St. Stephen's now has a fully functioning handicap ramp again! Although we've had a ramp since the 1990s, it had fallen into disrepair and become dangerous and could not be used. Michael Ramsey, a life-long member of this parish and a senior at Byram Hills High School, decided to reconstruct the ramp for his Eagle Scout project. 

Michael rallied around him his family, including mother Kathie (who is Chair of the Scout Troop Committee) and father Craig, and raised almost $7,000 from the parish and the community to reconstruct the ramp: new decking, new railings and new fascias. 

Not only does the ramp function well again, but it looks really great! Thank you, Michael!

The parish dedicated and blessed the ramp Sunday, September 11th, as part of morning worship.

A great day unveiling our renovations!

St. Stephen's unveiled its fully refurbished sanctuary interior this past Sunday, September 11th. Every single square inch of the interior has been renovated, with all of the old plaster cracks mended, all of the wall surfaces strengthened for new plaster, and new paint everywhere. There have also been some liturgical re-orderings: the old altar rail from the 1960s has been replaced with a brand-new one, there is a new altar hanging, and the font has been relocated to the back of the church, which is traditionally the location for a font in church (signifying that baptism is the first part of the Christian journey). 

As well as worshipping in our newly-renovated sanctuary for the first time since February this year, we also blessed the backpacks and brains of our scholars and grade-school teachers.

St. Stephen's on the path to renewal!

Starting this fall, St. Stephen's will begin an inspiring program called "Renewal Works". This nationally accredited program calls on us to discern where God is calling us, and will help us to focus on our spiritual vitality.  Neal Baumann  has agreed to facilitate the "Renewal Team", which consists of Charity Lunder, Ray Pouder, Caroline Eickelbeck, Robert Lunder, Renate Golden, Dawn Carroll, Sue Brown, Doug Campbell, Annlee Milani and Father Nils.  

Renewal Works is a way to learn more as a parish about where God is calling us. This process will yield steps to help us to better organize staffing, buildings, programs and worship toward our goals. 

The first parish-wide step of the process will take place on Sunday 18 September. The sermon will be replaced with an introduction to Renewal Works, and a description of the Spiritual Life Inventory, a critical part of the process.

“Renewal Works is a way to learn more as a parish about where God is calling us.”

Members will be receiving a letter from Neal Baumann in the next few days, describing the program in further detail.  Please look for this email, and join us on September 18th at 10am!

Help the Chiro Mission to help refugees.

Here at St. Stephen's, we're in the midst of our annual drive for school supplies for the Chiro Mission.

As you shop for back to school, please remember we are collecting supplies for the Chiro Mission in the Dominican Republic. These Haitian refugees don't receive funding for supplies, and are short of all essentials.

They are especially in need of:

  • School supplies, new or lightly used (pencils, pens, notebooks, rulers, calculators, crayons, glue sticks, erasers, backpacks) 
  • Electronics, new or used (laptops, tablets, smart phones) 
  • There is a collection bin in the parish hall. Thank you all for your annual generosity to the Chiro Mission. 

 

Help those flooded on the Gulf Coast

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting diocesan leaders along the Gulf Coast to coordinate flood response efforts after several days of heavy rainfall across the region. According to FEMA, the slow-moving storm brought 10-20 inches of rain to the area, 40,000 homes are impacted, and flooding continues. Louisiana and Mississippi are both under a state of emergency. Read more. 

The Lousiana National Guard assists in the relief efforts.

The Lousiana National Guard assists in the relief efforts.

To Donate to Episcopal Relief efforts in the area, click here. 

 

Anthony Newman performs Bach's Goldberg Variations

Described by Wynton Marsalis as "The High Priest of Bach", and by Time Magazine as "The High Priest of the Harpsichord," Newman continues his 50 year career as America's leading organist, harpsichordist and Bach specialist. Newman has recorded more than 170 CDs and has appeared at the Lincoln Center more than sixty times, collaborating with many of the greats of music, including Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, Itzhak Perlman, Lorin Mazel & Mstislav Rostropovich.

Join us at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Bedford on Saturday, September 10th at 7pm.

May 22, 2016: Trinity Sunday

Benefit Concert for our Church Organ Fund

 
St. Stephen's is excited to offer an organ concert on Monday, June 13, at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Bedford, in support of the Organ Fund here at St. Stephen's. Funds raised will be applied to upgrading our organ, making it more versatile to serve us into the future.

Father Nils' brother, George, is the music director at a cathedral in New Zealand, and an in-demand organ recitalist. We are fortunate to have such a gifted musician visiting and supporting our efforts. The concert will be followed with a reception.

Please purchase tickets from Charity in the office, and bring friends! We hope to sell many tickets and enjoy an evening of beautiful music.

Weekly Images

Last Saturday, 14 May, at 10.30 am, fifteen members of our parish community were confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church by the Bishop of New York.  

If you are wondering about the difference between confirmation and being received, those who previously have been confirmed in another denomination are received, whereas those who have never been confirmed in any denomination receive the Rite of Confirmation. This service was a time for great celebration, as we joined with the candidates and their sponsors!

Our twelve confirmation candidates were: John Diaconis, Meagan Eickelbeck, Kristin Eickelbeck, Bella Fasano, Sophia Fasano, Harrison Fontaine, Calvin Fontaine, Cole Kaiser, Isabella Matra, Valentina Ramirez, Fabiani Ramirez and Daniel Turner.
Our three reception candidates were: Peter Fasano, Rich Fontaine and Trina Fontaine.

Please continue to keep all of them in your prayers. And join us to celebrate them this week after our 10 am Sunday service.

Please join us in celebrating the newly confirmed at this Sunday's Enhanced Coffee Hour in their honor!

 Announcements

MOUNT KISCO FOOD PANTRY CELEBRATION 

This Sunday, May 22, the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry is celebrating its 25th anniversary of serving the community from 1 pm - 4 pm at the United Methodist Church. The event will include representatives from all 13 sponsoring congregations, including clergy.  It will also include clients, neighbors, volunteers, and others who have been instrumental in helping the Pantry continue to feed the hungry of northern Westchester. It is family-centered, with snacks, activities, tours, and fun.
 
St. Stephen's has been a valued sponsoring congregation for many years, supporting the Pantry in myriad ways. We are a big part of the Pantry's success, and the Pantry wants to express its thanks! Please consider joining in the commemoration of so many years of building a stronger, healthier community.
Please bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Pantry.   They are in need of cereal and black beans. Thank you! 

FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED 

We need two more volunteers to staff the Food Pantry on Tuesday, May 24, 4:30 to 7:15 pm. Please let Laura Desmarais at jjdesmarai@me.com know if you can help on that day. 

Save the Date

Our Annual Pool Party will take place on Friday, June 17 at 6 pm at the home of Sharon Kane and Petrie Verma. It's always a fun evening as we celebrate the school year winding down and the coming of summer.  Please let Renate Golden know how many will come and what you will bring: Side dish, salad, dessert or beverage, at rennieg@optonline.net. 


Service Time Change

Our Said Eucharist, a quiet service with no music, now takes place on Sundays at 5 pm, rather than 8 am.  Our sung Eucharist continues at 10 am as usual. 
   

Weekly Readings

  • First Reading: Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31
  • Second Reading:  Romans 5: 1-5
  • Gospel: John 16: 12-15 

Sunday Servers 10 am 

  • Ushers:  Charity Lunder and Annlee Milani
  • Acolyte:  Harrison Fontaine
  • Torch Bearers: Dale Kaiser and Erica Kaiser 
  • Lay Eucharistic Minister:  Laura Desmarais
  • First Reader:  John Diaconis
  • Second Reader:   Rich Fontaine 
  • Altar Guild:  Renate Golden
  • Flower Guild: Meg Gregg 
  • Enhanced Coffee Hour in honor of our confirmation class and newly received members of the Episcopal Church:  Confirmation Families

Sunday Servers 5 pm

  • Usher: Sharon Kane
  • Reader: Neal Baumann 

May 29th 2016: The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Weekly Flowers

Every week our Flower Guild prepares lovely arrangements for our altar. Did you know these flowers may be donated in honor or in memory of someone or an occasion?  The honoree will be mentioned in the prayers in the bulletin. We are happy to coordinate colors or flowers to suit people's preference.

We encourage you to sign up to donate flowers for a $40 donation.  The sign up board will be on display after the service, or you can email the office at office@ststephensarmonk.org.  

 

 

 

Weekly Images

Meg and Don Gregg's grand-daughter Cat Buckley was married last weekend to Mike Leavey. The ceremony took place in the cityat the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers. 

Meg and Don Gregg's grand-daughter Cat Buckley was married last weekend to Mike Leavey. The ceremony took place in the city
at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers. 

 

Announcements

Jodi Campbell Memorial Service

The memorial service for Jodi Campbell will be held on Friday, June 3 at 11 am at St. John's Episcopal Church, 4 Fountain Square, in Larchmont NY. Jodi grew up attending St. John's, where her father was a warden, and where her parents are interred. Father Nils will conduct the service.  There will be lunch after the service at the Larchmont Yacht Club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save the Date

Our Annual Pool Party will take place on Friday, June 17 at 6 pm at the home of Sharon Kane and Petrie Verma. It's always a fun evening as we celebrate the school year winding down and the coming of summer.  Please let Renate Golden know how many will come and what you will bring: Side dish, salad, dessert or beverage, at rennieg@optonline.net.

 

 

Organ Fundraiser

Please buy your tickets now to our organ fundriaser on Monday 13 June. George Chittenden is rgw music director at a cathedral in New Zealand, and an in-demand organ recitalist, in addition to being Father Nils' brother.  We are fortunate to have such a gifted musician visiting and supporting our efforts. The concert will be followed with a reception.

Please purchase tickets from Charity in the office, or send in the booking form you received in the mail. And bring friends! We hope to sell many tickets and enjoy an evening of beautiful music. 

 

Service time change

Our Said Eucharist, a quiet service with no music, now takes place on Sundays at 5 pm, rather than 8 am.  Our sung Eucharist continues at 10 am as usual. 

 

 

Weekly Readings

Sunday Servers 10 am

  • Ushers:  Annlee Milani and Ed Woodyard
  • Acolyte:  Denis Clohosey
  • Torch Bearers: Hester Turner and Daniel Turner 
  • Lay Eucharistic Minister:  Sue Brown
  • First Reader:  Cynthia Barger
  • Second Reader:   Don Gregg 
  • Altar Guild:  Sue Brown
  • Flower Guild: Meg Gregg 
  • Coffee Hour:  Sellers/Fasano

Sunday Servers 5 pm

  • Usher: Neal Baumann