St. Paul's Episcopal Church   Poughkeepsie, NY


MESSENGER
"Making friends while serving God"

The week of Jan. 11-17, 2016 


Baptism

'The Baptism of Christ' by Andrea del Verocchio
 
Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29;Acts 8:14-17;Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

The meaning of baptism, then and now

The baptism of Jesus is the focus of the Gospel this Sunday. Typically the baptism would have been celebrated Jan. 10, but we saved that day for the Epiphany and its special examination of what people were anticipating in the Messiah.
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This week's readings
Our collect Sunday, which will guide our thoughts as we ingest our readings, reminds us that we "who are baptized into his name" seek to "keep the covenant (we) have made."
We renew that covenant each time we have a baptism in the church. We commit to:
--continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers;
--persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever (we) fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord;
--proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ;
--seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving (our) neighbor as (our)self;
--strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
In a delightful convergence of dates, we note also the birthday of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 17. It is fitting that we would address the privileges and responsibilities of baptism as we acknowledged his birthday and his ministry. One of the hymns we will sing is "Take my hand, precious Lord," reportedly Dr. King's favorite hymn.
We honor Dr. King as we honor our commitments as Christians. Amen.
 

Memorandum from the Stewardship Committee
 
   Did you pick up your weekly contribution envelopes from the Narthex?
Maybe you didn't find them there.   That is because we haven't received your
pledge for 2016.  
 
   There are 17 people who pledged last year who haven't yet turned in
their pledge for 2016.   If you are among those 17 people and are planning
to pledge, PLEASE speak to either Cynthia Benjamin or Bobbie Gordon
immediately.    
           
   Please remember, you pledge what you feel God is calling you to give for
the mission of St. Paul's Church.  That is what counts!   Help us have ALL
pledges recorded in time for the Annual General Meeting on January 24.
 
   What is God calling you to give?
                                               --Bobbie Gordon, Stewardship Committee
 
 
 
Don't be shy and don't be a stranger
This column concerns two topics, both connected to last week's call for help. 
First and foremost is Stewardship. If you were in Church you know that we have a number of parishioners who have pledged before who have not pledged this year. In fact, they have not responded to our recent New Consecration Sunday pledge drive at all, which leaves a good deal of uncertainty with the resources we have for our parish for the year.
Pete Bedrossian
 understand that circumstances change, but it is vital that we know where we stand.  If you are among the 17 "missing" pledges, let the Stewardship committee know where you stand: Staying the same, increasing or decreasing. It is important for our planning, and it is one way to show what the parish means to you.
If concerns or issues are impeding your decision making, please let someone know. Contact Father Tyler or me, your warden, or a Vestry member.
The second topic concerns our website. We have a new "St. Paul's version 2.0" and we need to get the information on the site to be as new as the webpage is. Are you a committee chair? Are you on a committee? If yes, come to the Evangelism Committee Meeting, Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. We will be learning how use the website to add new material, take out the old, etc. If you cannot make the meeting, you can still help by leaving material about your committee in my mailbox (A4) in the parlor. The kind of information we're after includes: A description of your committee and what you do, an announcement of an upcoming event or activity, or anything to make our website up to date, accurate and interesting.
As the title of this column says: Don't be shy and don't be a stranger!
                                                                                --Warden Pete Bedrossian


The week ahead
For the week Jan. 11-17
Tues   Jan 12         7 pm Special Evangelism meeting on the website
Weds  Jan 13         12:15 pm Healing Service
Thurs  Jan 14         6 pm Relatives as Parents, Pastoral Care, Finance
Sat      Jan 16         10 am Buildings and Grounds
Sun    Jan 17          8 am Rite I Holy Eucharist
                     8:45 am Bible Study
                     10 am Rite II Holy Eucharist, Sunday School

YOUR NEWS BELONGS IN ST. PAUL'S  MESSENGER

Help us get the word out by submitting news of parish activities. Send submittals to stpaulpk@verizon.net or call 845 452 8440
Give us a call today!