FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EAST HAMPTON March A Walk Through the Season of Lent at The First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton

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1 YE OLDE TOWNE SPIRE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EAST HAMPTON March 2018 A Walk Through the Season of Lent at The First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton Palm Sunday Service March 25th, 10:00 am, in the sanctuary. Maundy Thursday Service March 29th, 7:00 pm, at the First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton, we will celebrate the Lord s Supper, hosting our sisters and brothers from Springs Community Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Amagansett. Good Friday Service March 30th, at the First Presbyterian Church of Amagansett. Easter Sunrise Service Sunday, April 1st, at East Hampton Main Beach, 6:30 am. Easter Sunday Service April 1st, 10:00 am, in the sanctuary.

2 Page 2 Ye Olde Towne Spire March The Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen. Lent is proving to be a particularly meaningful journey for me this year. Maybe it has for you as well. The deeply personal journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter is a chance to work through who we are in contrast to whom God means for us to be, to chip away at the walls we ve built around ourselves, and to accept Christ s ever-present gift of reconciliation. This year, it has been hard to remain focused inwardly. It seems that the whole world around us, including the Church itself, is on a Lenten journey or at least we should be. My thoughts keep jumping from my own need to find peace in Christ s redeeming gift to the same need in our nation, our world, and our institutions. And I keep thinking that maybe it s time for us to talk about it. One week after we celebrate the resurrection of Christ at Easter, First Presbyterian will start a new Adult Education program simply called Before Church. I m really excited about starting this adventure. Beginning April 8, we ll meet in the Session House from 8:30 9:30 each week before church. Instead of following a long-term curriculum, we ll mix it up and invite a variety of people to lead discussions on a wide range of topics, sometimes through a one-week session and other times with a whole series focusing on a particular topic for several weeks. This brings me back to where I m being led by this year s Lenten journey. I will kick off Before Church with a 6-week series on the Confession of 1967 and the Confession of Belhar. These are two of the most recent additions to the PC(USA) Book of Confessions, a collection of documents embodying the dialogue of theology and faith in the Reformed tradition. Rather than giving us one dogmatic statement that we all must accept, the Book of Confessions reveals the growing and evolving challenges and opportunities faced by the church over time in widely divergent social and cultural contexts. The Confessions of 1967 and Belhar each arose in its own time of crisis: the former in America s cultural revolution including the struggles for civil rights and gender equality, and the latter in Apartheid South Africa which threatened to destroy the unity of the Church. I think these confessions exemplify the kind of Lenten journey that the world and the Church still need to undertake. Like the Prayer of St. Francis, they urge us to become the instruments of peace and reconciliation that God has called us to be from the beginning. I hope to see you Before Church on April 8! Pastor Scot

3 March 2018 Ye Olde Towne Spire Page 3 George Washington Slept Here George Washington Slept here. is a popular phrase appearing on plaques of establishments that were lucky enough to have hosted our first president. While I am unaware of any tales of George Washington spending the night in East Hampton, I did come across a grand story in an old East Hamptons Star, reporting on a girl s sleepover atop the steeple of our very church. The following appeared in the East Hampton Star on November 17, 1960, during its conversion from a two steeple church to a single steeple:.when the workman were demolishing the south tower, which had an open top from which the whole village could be viewed, they found names of half the youngsters in East Hampton, past and present, scrawled on the sides of the rickety winding stairway. One young matron recalls how she and another girl, when they were Girl Scouts, actually carried their sleeping bags up that south tower and spent the night there, for a great thrill. The girls were unnamed. I wondered if it would be possible, all these years later, to find out who they were. But then by chance, I overheard one of our church members repeating the tale. There it was mystery solved..our steeple sleeper was none other than Elly Ratsep! Rev. Francis Kinsler was the minister of the First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton from 1942 thru Back in the war years of the 1940 s, as the story goes, he and his wife decided to take their two sons camping on Montauk. Hardly believable today, the minister s daughter and a group of her friends were left, without adult supervision, to have a sleepover..alone in the manse! The girls were Helen Kinsler, Carol Ann Walthers, Geraldine Gould-Webb, and our own Ann Pierce-Roberts and Elly Osborne-Ratsep. One of them came up with the grand idea to sleep atop the steeple of the church. The girls headed over to the church, climbing through a series of doors and up a series of ladders to reach the top of the south tower. Prior to 1960, the church had two steeples. One had a flat roof, with an iron fence around its perimeter. Elly says the fence was very secure, she knows because she tested it herself. After a while, one of the girls had an allergy attack, the other girls escorted her back to the manse, leaving Geraldine and Elly atop the steeple. Geraldine and Elly thought they should leave but realized the other girls had taken the only flashlight. It was now dark, and too dangerous to descend the ladders to get back down. They would have to spend the night. Elly says the best part of the adventure was when they awoke in the morning to a glorious unobstructed view of the ocean. Back during this time, there were hardly any trees. In the morning, the girls had an unobstructed view all the way across the village to the ocean at Main Beach. Elly says she has carried that memory of the ocean, on that morning, in her mind s eye, her entire life. I still see it like a slide, the view was incredible, she says. Hilary O Malecki

4 Page 4 Ye Olde Towne Spire March 2018 EASTER FLOWERS If you would like to purchase a plant In Memory of or In Honor of, please complete this form and place it in the offering plate or drop it off at the church office. You may also call in an order (631) The deadline to place an order is March 23rd Flowers given by: Your Name Address Telephone In Memory of or In Honor of (Please circle which dedication you are choosing): Please clearly print the name(s) to whom you are making the dedication. # of plants ordered x $30.00 per plant =$ Payment Due Please make your check payable to First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton. On the memo line write Deacons Fund for Easter Flowers. Payment is required in advance to secure your order. Please indicate: Easter Lilies and/or Daffodil and/or Tulip (yes) or (no) - I will pick up my order after the Easter Sunday worship service (yes) or (no) - Please distribute my flowers, I will not be picking them up. Tickets for the Ham Dinner will be available for purchase before and after church services on Sunday. Please see Jane Kiembock in the narthex for tickets. You can also purchase tickets through the church office. Please call Christine at or the church office at fpcsecy@optonline.net

5 March 2018 Ye Olde Towne Spire Page 5 Our annual cabaret night dinner January 13th, 2018 A big thank you to Sigrid Benedetti and John Baron for providing the catering for our Cabaret night. The food was worth singing about! We also want to thank our Deacons and all of the volunteers as well as Hilary Malecki & Aleaze Hodgens. Encore! February 11th, Children s Service Gabrielle Miller & Luke Baron, lay readers; Jameson Grant, candles; Hunter & Kailey Eberhart, ushers.

6 Page 6 Ye Olde Towne Spire March 2018 March 2018 CARE & OUTREACH Deacon of the Month David Cataletto 03/4-03/10 Kristy LaMonda & Joy Ann Dixon 03/11-03/17 Donald Smith & Linda Miller 03/18-03/24 Sue Nicoletti & Leslie Labrozzi 03/25-03/31 Victoria Roarick & Rick Chapman As a volunteer, we ask that you perform the following duties during your assigned week(s): 1. Please check the monthly newsletter and send a card to anyone celebrating a birthday or anniversary during your week. Cards are available in the narthex. 2. Please reach out by phone, , mail, or home visit to any church goer you would like just to congratulate, express concern for, or to just say "hello". 3. Please be "on call" should any other needs arise, such as a meal provided, errand run, etc. You are NOT required to perform any request that makes you uncomfortable. Please be honest with the Deacon of the month if you are uncomfortable with anything that may be asked of you. 4. At the end of your week, please let your Deacon of the month know who you reached out to during the week. Birthdays 1st Week Andrea Cooper, Piper Borsack, Jim Winkler, Kim Borsack, Chelsea Wessberg, Joshua Borsack & Dan Leland 2nd Week Mary Ella Moeller, Roger Walker, Kristine Eberhart, Daniel Labrozzi, Rachel Overton 4th Week Gayle Lester, Eleanor Ratsep, Tom Barton, David Lys Did we forget to list your birthday? Please give Christine a call at March food pantry March 4th Pnut Butter/Jelly March 11th Pasta & Sauce March 18th Rice & Beans March 25th Canned Soups To offer flowers in honor of memory of a loved one, please contact Summer Borsack at (631) or at summerborsack@gmail.com

7 March 2018 Ye Olde Towne Spire Page 7 Please join us for a shared Easter Sunrise Service on Main Beach on April 1st, at 6:30 am. Food and refreshments to follow at the United Methodist Church of East Hampton. Attention: Youth Group... Youth Group will stay from 11-2pm on Palm Sunday to dye eggs, make baskets, and help deliver them. Attention: Children of all ages... Easter Egg dyeing after service on Palm Sunday, March 25th. The Great Easter Egg Hunt after service on Easter Sunday, April 1st at 11:15am.

8 First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton 120 Main Street East Hampton, NY Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage Paid East Hampton, NY Permit No. 11 This publication was prepared especially for: