The The
July 2010
518-767-2243
Inside
the Star:
Page 2-
Pastor’s Letter
Page 3- Carrie
Brown wins
the Peace and
Justice Award!
Page 3- Picnic and Games
Page 4- Blue
Star Mothers
Page 5- The
Garden Grows
Page 6-
Christian Ed. News Carrie Brown
accepts the
Page 8- Plan
to Celebrate on Celebration Sunday!
Page 9- Parish
Nurse Corner
Page 10- Pet
Show!
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
And this our life, exempt from public
haunt, / Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, / Sermons in
stones, and good in everything. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet
(1564-1616)
From the Pastor’s Study 
July, 2010
Dear Members and Friends of First Reformed
It is the last Sunday in June, 2010 as I write this note to you. The weatherman, (really, this time it was a man) sounding authoritative, announced that there would be very few rain showers, and the few that might occur would last only five or six minutes, as they raced over the Capital District. We in the 9-W corridor near Selkirk are here to tell you that he was right about the humidity, but dead wrong about the rain. Needing very much to be outside and in the garden pulling weeds, or using the chain saw to cut up nuisance brush, we were often forced back inside, frustrated at our foiled attempts to tend this home and yard.
Most of you know about our grief
and sorrowful loss. Clint, Ellen’s
beloved son, died by his own hand two weeks ago on Friday. We were in
“I want to go home!” I am always
touched by those instantaneous responses we make, those places where our
deepest truth just pops out. Sometimes
embarrassing, sometimes insightful, always significant. Her cry matched exactly my thought; “We have
to go home.” And “Home” was here in
Selkirk, in this, your wonderful house, and at this point in life, our
home. But at this point, it was not
merely about a structure, a house, but about a relational home. We wanted to go home, and we are so blessed
to have a home to go to, something Clint, in spite of having a house, could not
seem to achieve for himself.
So we flew home days earlier than
planned. By
We are so grateful to you all. The gathering, the surrounding, the voices raised together in song continue to be a balm to our pained souls. We have commended Clint into God’s care. God’s care to us is abundantly manifested in the community that has been so caring and that gathered with us to affirm God’s grace amidst great loss.
Ellen found Psalm 116 especially moving, speaking to her about this loss. While in exile, unable to go “home”, the people cry out to God, whose temple is also destroyed, so the homeless God comforts the homeless people. The remedy for their grief is to do the ordinary things they always have done, such as make an offering of thanksgiving. It would not fix the problem, would not restore their home, but it would change things. And that is what you have done: your “I’m sorry”, your offering to help in one way or another, your quiet respect have made a difference. These simple and kind acts didn’t make it better, but they changed everything. And for that we are grateful.
Finally, our grief and our loss has opened the door for a significant number of people to share their grief, their loss of a loved one to this kind of death, or their worry about someone who is deeply depressed and unable to find “home.” I have experienced that this community of faith can be such a place of practicing “home”, of providing a safe haven for such deep wrestling of the soul. As you have been for us, so we can continue to be for one another, a community of “home”, seeking to address the deep human need for a safe haven, a home.
May Christ’s Peace be with you this day.
Harlan E. Ratmeyer, Pastor
Picnic and Games Night! Please Join Us!
.Thursday,
July 22 at
Congratulations!
Carrie Brown has received the Campbell Peace and Justice Award, from the Capital Area Council of Churches. Watch the Spotlight for the full story of that awesome night…
…we are
so proud of you!
Our chapter is located in the
We are strictly non-political and non-partisan.
Gerri Roth marches with pride in the Memorial Day parade.
The
Blue Star Mothers of America in the Capital Region, Chapter 2- “Supporting our
sons and daughters in military service since 1942.”
Food
for Thought
Millions of
American homeowners grow more food in their backyards than they can possibly
use.
One out of six
Americans needs food assistance, but can’t get fresh produce from the local
food pantry.
One solution-
AmpleHarvest.org. The AmpleHarvest campaign diminishes hunger in
Birthdays
Robert Babcock-Ellis, 7/17 John Biernacki, 7/2
Adrienne
Davis, 7/8
Laurie Lambertsen, 7/4 Samuel Mohler, 7/29
Ronald
Williams, 7/22
Well another wonderful Sunday School year has ended! We are so proud of all of our Sunday Schoolers and the gifts that they bring to our church each week. What a wonderful group of students we are blessed with!
Celebration Sunday took place on June 6th as our Sunday Schoolers led us in Worship. Many of them also shared their musical talents. Thank you all! What a wonderful job you all did!
As you’ve all heard by now, we plan to have two Sunday School classes next year, as we are combining our 3-5 year old class with our 1st-4th grade class. This group of children will form our first Children and Worship class! We are so excited to begin working with this wonderful curriculum. Stay tuned…there will also be opportunities for families and adult members of the congregation to learn what this exciting way of teaching and learning is all about!
This summer, we will be doing some room “switching”, cleaning and painting as we prepare the spaces for next year’s classes and Nursery. We continue to have a need for some items used for this curriculum. These include: carpet squares or new medium size bath towels, and felt (3 yards) of various colors including: green, light and dark blue, tan, cream/beige, white, yellow, rust, purple, brown, red, and purple. If you are able to donate any of these materials it would be much appreciated!
Last year, the Sunday School implemented an email group to be used for announcements and reminders pertaining to activities going on at our church. Since we have found this system so helpful in providing this information, we would like to offer it to all members of the congregation. If you’d like your email address to be added to this list, please contact Tracey at Lteawaters@aol.com or at 462-9546.
Please contact Debbie at 475-0824 or dera0326@yahoo.com or
Blessings and Peace, Debbie Ennis and Tracey Waters
Register
For
Grace United
Hillcrest Drive
$5
per student (Pre K – 6th grade)
$10 per family For
information call
Registrar Pam Hull
756-9408
Sponsoring Churches
Abounding Love
Grace Covenant Grace United Methodist Ravena
Evangelical
Saint Patrick’s
Debbie Ennis will be leading the Pre K – Kindergarten class again this year. You can contact Debbie (dera0326@yahoo.com or 475-0824) for registration forms and to sign up to volunteer. We will need helpers to assist in the classroom, crafts, snack and music
And…
July 19th – 23rd
(dinner included)
All children are invited!
To register, call 756-8764 or 756-8962
We are going to have a great time
exploring the Mighty Love of God!
New
New
Food Pantry News
Save the Date 
& Share the News!
The Shawl Ministry Retreat at New Baltimore Reformed
will be November 20!
Pre- register now by calling
756-8764- more to come in future newsletters!
Parish
Nurse, Health Ministry Corner
Here are some tips for surviving the hot summer days:
|
|
|
Creative Play Preschool is
facing a deadline
The Creative Play Preschool is
accepting registrations for the fall—and
the deadline for registering is July 31. The preschool needs to have at
least 10-12 children registered to stay in operation; unfortunately, they are
well short of that number. Please continue to present the preschool as an
option for children 3-4 years old in the community. Many thanks.
The First
Reformed
A Children’s Pet Show!
Saturday, July 17 at
11AM Registration; judging begins
at
All
pets! – all children under 12 are welcome!
(Each
child and their pet must be accompanied by an adult, who must be present and in
charge at all times; “ pet rental” available-
call the church office.)
Judging
by The First
Reformed Church of
Silly Pet
Tricks and Talent
Contest!
A Blessing of the Animals
A Presentation by
Peppertree Rescue
Ribbons for All!
Refreshments
and More-
Enter your pet in the Costume
Class!
You may pre-register
by calling the church office, 767-2243, or email frcb@verizon.net.
Proof of vaccination may be requested, if applicable.
Remember, all pets are welcome,
so bring your
hamster, cat, dog or goldfish!
|
Your July NewsletterCHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
|
The Reverend |
Pastor |
|
|
Vice President of Consistory |
|
|
Organist & Choir Director |
|
Sarah Hafensteiner |
Treasurer |
|
Debra Ennis Tracey Waters |
Director of Assistant Director of |
|
Richard Kaser, Jr. |
Sexton |
|
|
Secretary |
CHURCH OFFICE
(518) - 767-2243
Hours:
E-mail address:
Fax: (518)-767-3310
www.firstbethlehem.org
| July 2010 38 Church Rd. Rev. Harlan E. Ratmeyer, Pastor Selkirk , NY 12158 518-767-2243 Page 2- Pastor’s Letter Page 3- Carrie Brown wins the Peace and Justice Award! Page 3- Picnic and Games Page 4- Blue Star Mothers Page 5- The Garden Grows Page 6- Christian Ed. News Carrie Brown accepts the Campbell Peace and Justice award- see page 3 Page 8- Plan to Celebrate on Celebration Sunday! Page 9- Parish Nurse Corner Page 10- Pet Show! A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: And this our life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in everything. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) From the Pastor’s Study July, 2010 Dear Members and Friends of First Reformed Bethlehem, It is the last Sunday in June, 2010 as I write this note to you. The weatherman, (really, this time it was a man) sounding authoritative, announced that there would be very few rain showers, and the few that might occur would last only five or six minutes, as they raced over the Capital District. We in the 9-W corridor near Selkirk are here to tell you that he was right about the humidity, but dead wrong about the rain. Needing very much to be outside and in the garden pulling weeds, or using the chain saw to cut up nuisance brush, we were often forced back inside, frustrated at our foiled attempts to tend this home and yard. Most of you know about our grief and sorrowful loss. Clint, Ellen’s beloved son, died by his own hand two weeks ago on Friday. We were in Orange City Iowa, at the Chaplain’s conference, and Ellen to the work of General Synod. Calvin and Hobbs had appeared at the Chaplain and Stated Clerk breakfast on Thursday morning. I was set to fly home Saturday, and Ellen to attend to the work of General Synod. But Friday morning, around 8:10 AM our world changed. Ellen’s first response, after the deep lament for her son Clint, was clear: So we flew home days earlier than planned. By 1:15 AM Saturday morning we were home, and some time after 2:00 AM we fell into bed. The pain was/is deep, but the comfort was/is enormous. Yesterday we gathered to hear the scripture, to sing some of the great hymns, and were surrounded by this enormous community; Ellen’s colleagues, members of her family and mine, colleagues of mine from the medical center, former and current CPE students, members of the Albany Classis, friends from near and far, great neighbors. And what allowed all of this to happen was the hard and faithful work of so many of you in this congregation. In the middle of summer vacations, graduations, hot weather and your own busy schedules, this great work of hospitality and care was taking place, upholding us. We are so grateful to you all. The gathering, the surrounding, the voices raised together in song continue to be a balm to our pained souls. We have commended Clint into God’s care. God’s care to us is abundantly manifested in the community that has been so caring and that gathered with us to affirm God’s grace amidst great loss. Ellen found Psalm 116 especially moving, speaking to her about this loss. While in exile, unable to go “home”, the people cry out to God, whose temple is also destroyed, so the homeless God comforts the homeless people. The remedy for their grief is to do the ordinary things they always have done, such as make an offering of thanksgiving. It would not fix the problem, would not restore their home, but it would change things. And that is what you have done: your “I’m sorry”, your offering to help in one way or another, your quiet respect have made a difference. These simple and kind acts didn’t make it better, but they changed everything. And for that we are grateful. Finally, our grief and our loss has opened the door for a significant number of people to share their grief, their loss of a loved one to this kind of death, or their worry about someone who is deeply depressed and unable to find “home.” I have experienced that this community of faith can be such a place of practicing “home”, of providing a safe haven for such deep wrestling of the soul. As you have been for us, so we can continue to be for one another, a community of “home”, seeking to address the deep human need for a safe haven, a home. May Christ’s Peace be with you this day. Harlan E. Ratmeyer, Pastor Picnic and Games Night! Please Join Us! .Thursday, July 22 at 6:30 there will be a picnic and games night for the congregation and our Sunday School families. Bring your friends along and invite your neighbors to join you. There are events planned for the children and opportunities for adult fellowship. The barbeque main course will be provided. You are invited to bring a salad or dessert dish, and lawn chairs/ blankets if possible. Congratulations! Carrie Brown has received the Campbell Peace and Justice Award, from the Capital Area Council of Churches. Watch the Spotlight for the full story of that awesome night… …we are so proud of you! We are the Blue Star MothersOur chapter is located in the Albany, New York area. We are proud mothers of children who are either on active duty or have been honorably discharged from the military. Our associate members are a wonderful group of dads, relatives, friends, and other supporters of our troops. We always warmly welcome new members. Our mission is to provide emotional support to each other and participate in projects that benefit both active duty military personnel and our veterans. We are strictly non-political and non-partisan. Gerri Roth marches with pride in the Memorial Day parade. The Blue Star Mothers of America in the Capital Region, Chapter 2- “Supporting our sons and daughters in military service since 1942.” Food for Thought Millions of American homeowners grow more food in their backyards than they can possibly use. One out of six Americans needs food assistance, but can’t get fresh produce from the local food pantry. One solution- AmpleHarvest.org. The AmpleHarvest campaign diminishes hunger in America by helping backyard gardeners share their excess garden produce with neighborhood food pantries. Just go online to Amplharvest.org to find a food pantry near you (Venture Churches Food Pantry is now on the list of choices). You will get all the information you need to arrange for your donations. Birthdays Robert Babcock-Ellis, 7/17 John Biernacki, 7/2 Dawson Brown, 7/21 Edward Brown, 7/26 Savannah Brown, 7/21 Carley Cross, 7/1 Adrienne Davis, 7/8 Laurie Dickerson, 7/6 Michael Ellis, 7/1`0 Macayla Farrell, 7/17 Laurie Lambertsen, 7/4 Samuel Mohler, 7/29 Ellen Ratmeyer, 7/12 Susan Stahlman, 7/4 Ronald Williams, 7/22 Christian Ed ucation News Well another wonderful Sunday School year has ended! We are so proud of all of our Sunday Schoolers and the gifts that they bring to our church each week. What a wonderful group of students we are blessed with! Celebration Sunday took place on June 6th as our Sunday Schoolers led us in Worship. Many of them also shared their musical talents. Thank you all! What a wonderful job you all did! As you’ve all heard by now, we plan to have two Sunday School classes next year, as we are combining our 3-5 year old class with our 1st-4th grade class. This group of children will form our first Children and Worship class! We are so excited to begin working with this wonderful curriculum. Stay tuned…there will also be opportunities for families and adult members of the congregation to learn what this exciting way of teaching and learning is all about! This summer, we will be doing some room “switching”, cleaning and painting as we prepare the spaces for next year’s classes and Nursery. We continue to have a need for some items used for this curriculum. These include: carpet squares or new medium size bath towels, and felt (3 yards) of various colors including: green, light and dark blue, tan, cream/beige, white, yellow, rust, purple, brown, red, and purple. If you are able to donate any of these materials it would be much appreciated! Last year, the Sunday School implemented an email group to be used for announcements and reminders pertaining to activities going on at our church. Since we have found this system so helpful in providing this information, we would like to offer it to all members of the congregation. If you’d like your email address to be added to this list, please contact Tracey at Lteawaters@aol.com or at 462-9546. Please contact Debbie at 475-0824 or dera0326@yahoo.com or Tracey Waters at 462-9546 or Lteawaters@aol.com if you have any questions. Blessings and Peace, Debbie Ennis and Tracey Waters Register For Vacation Bible School July 26-30, 2010 9 a.m. – 12 noon Grace United Methodist Church Hillcrest Drive Ravena , NY 12143 $5 per student (Pre K – 6th grade) $10 per family For information call Registrar Pam Hull 756-9408 Sponsoring Churches Abounding Love First Reform Church of Bethlehem Grace Chapel Grace Covenant Grace United Methodist Ravena Evangelical Saint Patrick’s Debbie Ennis will be leading the Pre K – Kindergarten class again this year. You can contact Debbie (dera0326@yahoo.com or 475-0824) for registration forms and to sign up to volunteer. We will need helpers to assist in the classroom, crafts, snack and music And… ALL HANDS ON DECK VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL July 19th – 23rd 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. (dinner included) All children are invited! To register, call 756-8764 or 756-8962 We are going to have a great time exploring the Mighty Love of God! New Baltimore Reformed Church PO Box 434 New Baltimore , NY 12124 Food Pantry News Food Pantry Update: The entire food pantry and 3 supporting rooms have all been cleaned from top to bottom. The shelves are full with food from three food drives, including the Boy Scouts, Glenmont Post Office and Selkirk Post Office, as well as various individual donators. Our new brochures have been distributed to current clients, schools, other pantries, the fire houses, and local social workers. On June 10th, we were officially accepted as members of the Food Pantry of the Capital District, and will receive our first food shipment from them before the end of June. We continue to await our date for the Regional Food Bank site visit. Once that occurs, we will be official members of that as well. We are in the planning stages for collecting donations and doing fundraisers. We are currently open on Tuesdays from 9:30am - 11:30am and from 5:00pm - 7:00pm . We have volunteers distributing food from the First Reformed Church of Bethlehem, Jerusalem Reformed Church, Glenmont Reformed Church, Selkirk #2 Fire Department, and Circle of Friends Preschool. Thank you everyone for all of your support! Please contact Tracey (858-9092) or Tricia (858-8889) with any questions, comments, or interests in volunteering. Save the Date & Share the News! The Shawl Ministry Retreat at New Baltimore Reformed will be November 20! Pre- register now by calling 756-8764- more to come in future newsletters! Parish Nurse, Health Ministry Corner Here are some tips for surviving the hot summer days:
Creative Play Preschool is facing a deadline The Creative Play Preschool is accepting registrations for the fall—and the deadline for registering is July 31. The preschool needs to have at least 10-12 children registered to stay in operation; unfortunately, they are well short of that number. Please continue to present the preschool as an option for children 3-4 years old in the community. Many thanks. The First Reformed Church of Bethlehem Presents: A Children’s Pet Show! Saturday, July 17 at 38 Church Rd., Selkirk 11AM Registration; judging begins at 11:45 All pets! – all children under 12 are welcome! (Each child and their pet must be accompanied by an adult, who must be present and in charge at all times; “ pet rental” available- call the church office.) Judging by The First Bethlehem Sunday School Silly Pet Tricks and Talent Contest! A Blessing of the Animals A Presentation by Peppertree Rescue Ribbons for All! Refreshments and More- Enter your pet in the Costume Class! You may pre-register by calling the church office, 767-2243, or email frcb@verizon.net. Proof of vaccination may be requested, if applicable. Remember, all pets are welcome, so bring your  THE FIRST REFORMED CHURCH OF BETHLEHEM
 Your July Newsletter CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED THE CHURCH STAFF
CHURCH OFFICE (518) - 767-2243 Hours: 9am-1pm E-mail address: frcb@verizon.net Fax: (518)-767-3310 www.firstbethlehem.org |
The Bethlehem Star 
Inside the Star: 
Reformed Church of 
hamster, cat, dog or goldfish!