St. Paul s Episcopal Church 31 Rider Avenue Patchogue, New York Bulk Rate US Postage Paid Permit No

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1 St. Paul s Episcopal Church 31 Rider Avenue Patchogue, New York Bulk Rate US Postage Paid Permit No ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Mailing Address Street Number and Name City, State Vestry Wardens: Robin Sconzo and Cathie Pliszak Mary Dykman, Dee Laffin, Scott Harris, Ronnie MacDonald, Conni Still, Maurine Jacobs, Barbara Ruest, Laura Cooley, Barbara Greco Clerk: Conni Still Treasurer: Barbara Lapinski; Parish Phone: Office Hours: Tuesday Friday, 9:30 AM- 1:00 PM Office Closed on Mondays Rector: the Rev. Elisabeth E. Tunney Parish Administrator: Ronny Pliszak Parish Ministers: All the People of St.Paul s.

2 St. Paul s Epistle Vol.XVII Ed.1 January 2018 St. Paul s Parish Mission Statement: to be a thriving, loving, Christ-centered parish; a parish who knows Christ and makes Christ known. We take seriously our Baptismal Covenant that says we will respect the dignity of every human being. You are welcome to worship with us, to join with us in fellowship, and in our ministries, regardless of age, economic status, marital status, nationality, race, sexual orientation or gender identity, ability or disability, and wherever you are in your spiritual journey. A Word from Mother Liz Happy New Year! But before we launch into 2018 you should know that we received an amazing Christmas present to round off the Back in 2009 Tony Pitti who owns Gold Brush Painting showed up unexpectedly and offered to paint the parish hall and kitchen. It was a generous gift at the time, even more so because it came out of the blue. Late in the fall I had contacted Tony to give us an estimate on painting the outside of the parish hall. He is a great guy, bursting with energy and loving life and committed to sharing his good fortune with others. He was pleased to be remembered so well. We had a good talk about what needed to be done but we couldn t get to it right away because there is still more woodwork to be replaced. I told him I would contact him in the Spring. He then said to let him know if we had any inside work that needed to be done. I mentioned that there was a bedroom in the rectory that was peeling and flaking badly but that it was not a priority at the moment. We parted ways but on the Monday before Christmas he called to say he had some time - did I want him to do the work. Sure, I said. He came by on Tuesday, looked at the room and then said to me What else you got? I mentioned that the parish hall kitchen needed work. The ceiling was a mess because of a leaky toilet on the second floor and the kitchen itself takes a lot of abuse from all the folks who use it. He said okay, I can have my guys here tomorrow. For real? I asked, for free? That s what I said, said Tony. Sure enough, early Wednesday morning he had two crews arrive and they worked until after 6:00 both Wednesday and Thursday doing a beautiful job. The bedroom took massive amounts of prep work, a huge chunk of plaster just fell off the 1

3 wall and by the time they were done patching cracks it looked as if the walls were covered with nothing but spackle. Vestry Highlights Sunday, January 7, take down Christmas decorations Sunday, January 28: Annual Meeting One service at 9:00am followed by brunch and Annual Meeting Seeking nominations to fill vestry seats: Warden, 1*2-year term. Vestry Member 3*3-year terms. Annual reports from committee chairpersons are due to Ronny Pliszak January, 18. New sign has been installed outside the Parish Hall Four coats of paint later it is gorgeous and they even painted the radiator, one of those steam radiators that looks diseased when they rust. Then Tony spotted some flaking paint in the rectory hallway and insisted his men give it a quick coat of paint because it was driving him crazy! Tony has been incredibly generous and I ask that you send a prayer of thanks that God has sent him our way. We will be using him to paint the parish hall in the Spring so I hope that you will have a chance to express your thanks yourselves - he deserves them all. Holy Eucharist Evening Service Celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany! Saturday, January 6 Pot-luck Supper: 6:00pm-7:00pm, Holy Eucharist 7:00pm and Three Kings celebration to follow. We welcome Christ Church, Bellport, St. James, Brookhaven, and the Lutheran Church of Our Savior. Please bring baby gifts as the Kings brought their gifts to an unknown child to benefit Mercy Center Voted to make a donation to The Cemetery Restoration Committee from the money made at the Christmas Fair Thanks to Cathie Pliszak and all who participated! SAVE THE DATE Sunday, October 14, 2018 Come celebrate the 175 th Anniversary of St. Paul s! Many events to come leading up to this to this blessed day! If you would like to be on the Committee planning these events please see Ronnie and Dave MacDonald. Stewardship Committee Coming Together in Faithful Community to Serve God in the World The Christmas season was the perfect time to see how St. Paul s came together in Faithful Community to Serve God in the World. All year the volunteers of the thrift shop kept their eyes open for coffee mugs with Christmas designs and placed them in a designated box. Seventy mugs were washed and filled with bags of donated candy to be distributed to the clients of the Food Pantry in addition to warm clothing and a substantial meal the week before Christmas. 2

4 Several weeks before Christmas Donna Sievers posted a notice and made a little Christmas tree with ornaments listing the gift ideas for several needy families who requested help. Within days Donna had gift cards to purchase gifts, and the specific gifts to take care of these families and deliver them for the personal touch from our congregation. The volunteers who came and hung the greens and perched precariously on the ladder to hang the wreaths certainly did so with a prayer offered for safe work. The beautiful flowers adorning the altar on Christmas Eve are another example of the giving in loving memory or thanksgiving for loved ones and brings those prayers in fellowship made clear in the Red Pointsettias. Three groups of us worshipped together, the 5:30 Family Service, 10:00 Service and Christmas Day Service, all celebrating the wondrous Birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, singing the same hymns and receiving the Holy Eucharist. Then Mary and I spent the second day of Christmas in the office counting the pledges and Christmas offerings and assorted donations all given to the Glory of God, in Faithful Community to Serve God in the World. Stewardship Committee: Laura Cooley, Martin Minogue, Conni Still, Mother Liz Tunney, Phyllis Voegeli Buildings and Grounds Please include in your prayers this month: The Church: especially: The Episcopal Church of Nigeria Diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry St./ Paul s Parish Administrator, Ronny Pliszak The world, the nation and our own community: Especially the people of Syria, the girls who were kidnapped in Nigeria, their families, the people of Sudan and South Sudan, the peace of Jerusalem, the people of Puerto Rico Those who are sick or in need: Craig Shaber, Dylan & Family. Ed Smith, Linda Bocca, Mary, Mike, Marcy, Lillian Hemmert, Hanis McEvoy, Loy Cooley, Nikki, Phyllis Trypuc, Johnny, Martin Gunkel, bill Whyland, the Rev. MItties De Champlain, Dick Root, Linda, Elisabeth, John Jacobs, Marilyn Moonan, AJeannine Cranor, Laney, the Mason Family, Tony Retenski, Joyce, Bill Harris, Larry Smith Those who are serving in the armed forces and their families: Nicholas Lo Russo, Danny Martin, Samantha Schwartz 3

5 Thanksgivings and Acknowledgments Conni Still for orchestrating the stuffing of the gift mugs for the Christmas giveaway. Phyllis Voegeli for playing on December 31 and January 6. Ronnie and David MacDonald for hosting the vestry s December meeting Geppie Celaro for plowing the driveway and parking lot Bill Beebe and Scott Harris for changing the filters in the furnaces. Donna Sievers for coordinating, collecting, and distributing, and all who contributed towards making Christmas possible for not one but three families. Together we donated more than $700 for gifts, many of which we would consider necessities. All those who helped to green the church and decorate the parish hall. And those who will help to take everything down and put it away! Robin Sconzo for clearing the debris from the parish hall after the kitchen was painted. Kevin Weeks and Robin Sconzo for leading services while Mother Liz was away. Judy Celauro and Barbara Greco and all the Food Pantry volunteers for all their efforts during the holiday season and for being willing to open the day after the snowstorm. All the organizations and people who collected gifts and coats for the Food Pantry so that each family was able to receive 2 gifts as well as a coat. We had received so many donations we were able to deliver what was left over to the Eastern Farm Workers. The choir for their commitment to providing beautiful music and for taking their show on the road to our shut-ins. Walter Schiff and Pam Iovine who jumped in to support the Altar Guild. Pam Iovine for ushering on Advent IV and coming back again to do it on Christmas Day. Martin Minogue for resuscitating the office computer when it decided to malfunction. The Wardens for dealing with the snow and cold while Mother Liz was away. Scott Harris for schlepping salt and sandbags to each doorway. Rita Hihn for getting the wreaths for the outside of the church. 4

6 Dee Laffin for her work with the Eastern Farm Workers. Tracy Classon for orchestrating the Christmas Pageant. Daniel Minogue for playing for the Christmas Pageant. Michael Daly for playing on Advent IV. Thrift Shop Visions of sugar plums and Christmas ornaments, placemats, decorative stockings, snow globes, nativity sets, ugly sweaters, Christmas mugs, have been dancing in our heads and our nightmares. As quickly as we arrange our specials table another group of donations of lights and animated snowmen come in to add to the merry chaos. We have been selling warm coats and winter apparel. One attractive client wearing a cool cowboy hat brought his elderly grandmother into the shop and spent $99 for her on clothing and earrings and a nice warm fur coat. You can get a lot of nice things at our reasonable prices. Over the past 5 years the Thrift Shop has been in operation, we have been generally blessed with wonderful volunteers and mostly good health. However, we have had our share of life s vicissitudes that have included deaths in the family, moving and several health emergencies. We have always been able to support one another and to manage our way around these challenges. We hope and pray that this will always be the case; but in order to be able to be ready if and when the next emergency presents itself, an increase of volunteers from St. Paul s congregation willing and able to eventually assume cash register responsibilities would be a gift straight from God. We hope and pray that such a person will be sent to us in Meanwhile, stop in and visit with us as you donate and shop! And, God Bless us, everyone! Respectfully submitted, Conni Still and Jeannine Cranor St. Clare s Guild St. Clare s Guild finished their needlepoint nativity for a successful donation to the Christmas Fair. Our next endeavor is to make children s hats with trimmings to look like fairy tale characters like Rapunzel or cats for children in the hospital. Please join us on Tuesday evenings at 7PM in the St. Nicholas wing. Coffee Hour Volunteers are needed to host the coffee hours after the 8 and 10 o clock services. Sharon Minogue will give you all the instruction on how to make delicious coffee and where all the equipment is kept, and the goodies are up to your imagination and baking or shopping skills! Best of all you can be reimbursed for your purchases. Please see Sharon to sign up. Dear Parishioners, The new 2018 pledge envelopes are in the narthex. Please pick up your envelopes and destroy any 2017 that you have left over after this Sunday. Thank you and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Ronny 5

7 Mother Liz blesses the new house for Diane and John Smith The children brought the figures up to the Nativity scene, including the new little squirrel! The Thrift Shop has been saving Christmas Mugs all year and two of our volunteers, Adrianna and Vanessa are filling them with candy to give to the Food Pantry clients. Beautiful floral memorials and lighted window. Just waiting for the acolyte to light the candles. 6

8 Completing lighting the Advent Wreath by Lighting the Christ candle We sang the same songs from Christmas Eve. Choir and Diane and Nancy came caroling to visit Richard Root. He welcomes your visits too. Caroled to Phyllis Trypuc too and her son Phil treated the choir to coffee and home made cookies. 7