March 2011
1 post
Site has moved
Please note: our news/web site has moved. For the Vicar’s homilies, please go to astridstorm.com (now under construction, but pretty much up-to-date). For goings-on at the church, go to our FB page, facebook.com/stnicholasnewhamburg, or our website, stnicholasnewhamburg.org. Thank you!
September 2010
3 posts
Things to Do When the World Ends: Plant a Tree. A...
September 26 - 18th Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
I hope you won’t think that by preaching on our Old Testament lesson instead of the story of Lazarus and the rich man I’m trying to avoid something, though perhaps I am! It’s just that the Gospel parable is sort of self-interpreting, whereas our Jeremiah passage is not. And, in fact, what I especially like about our Old...
Homily on the Parable of the Lost Sheep & Coin
September 12, 2010 - Pentecost 17 + Holy Baptism
Nine years ago, I didn’t imagine I’d spend a September 11 weekend doing a wedding and a baptism, two of the happier events in a couple or a family’s life. In fact, several people asked me whether it was appropriate to do a wedding on September 11, and I replied that I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate than to celebrate the love of two...
Homily on Jeremiah and the Potter
September 5, 2010
After reading our Old Testament passage, in which God commands Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house to watch him work, I was inspired to go over to Polly’s (our neighborhood potter) and take my first-ever pottery lesson. Prior to that, I’m afraid to say my only exposure to a potter’s wheel was by watching Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the movie Ghost (and I...
August 2010
4 posts
Thoughts on Vacation Bible School
9 o’clock service
Since the kids will be performing their Vacation Bible school play during the 10 o’clock homily today, I’m just going to say a few words about this past week in lieu of a full homily.
The week’s theme was the creation story in the book of Genesis, and when it started out, I was nervous about the kids thinking that these Bible stories were somehow in...
The Parable of the Foolish Farmer
August 1, 2010
In looking back over our summer readings this past week, I noticed we’ve had quite a lot of parables - the parable of the Prodigal Son early on, the Good Samaritan, last week’s persistent neighbor knocking at the door, and now today’s parable of the foolish farmer. It’s hard to imagine our Gospels being half as compelling without the parables, and so it’s always nice when we get a...
July 2010
4 posts
Martha - Only One Thing!
Pentecost 8 - July 18, 2010
I trust you won’t fault me for refusing to go anywhere near that reading from the Old Testament book of Amos – or even the Psalm, for that matter – especially since we have as our Gospel reading this lovely story of Martha & Mary.
Martha and Mary were sisters who lived in the village of Bethany, whose house Jesus visited a lot during his travels. And as we...
Dangerous Unselfishness & The Good Samaritan
Pentecost 7 - July 11, 2010
Today we read the parable of the Good Samaritan, without which Christianity would hardly seem to exist. In fact, this parable is in only one Gospel, Luke’s, and it’s hard to believe that such an important parable is only narrowly in our Bible.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is also considered one of the most trustworthy parables of the Bible by the sort of people...
1 tag
Jesus' Eight-Point Sermon (July 4, 2010)
Today’s Gospel reading about Jesus sending out the seventy two-by-two brought to mind the view from our rental apartment in Harlem, which is directly across the street from an apartment that must belong to the Jehovah’s Witnesses because it’s always packed full of them. In fact, from the view out our window, it sometimes seems like up to seventy young men are jammed into that tiny space...
5 tags
Tough Talk ... Sort of (June 27, 2010)
I’ve taken lately to driving past the Presbyterian Church up on route 9D to read the sermon title for the coming Sunday, which the Rev. Lindsay Borden always has out by Monday afternoon (I can’t even think of a sermon title by Sunday after the sermon’s preached, much less by Monday a week before!).
Her sermon title for this week, which I especially liked, is “Tough Talk” named for the pretty hard...
June 2010
1 post
May 2010
6 posts
Homily for Pentecost Sunday
May 23, 2010
For those of you who have lived at some point in New York City, you know that watching the alternate-side parking schedule (which tells you when you don’t have to move your car) is practically a religion. I was touched that, for Ascension Day the Thursday before last, they suspended the rules; I mean, I had almost forgotten it was Ascension Day.
Last week, the rules were...
8 tags
Homily for Ascension Sunday 2010
May 16, 2010
Today is the Sunday of the Ascension. Ascension is a very short season in the church that goes from last Thursday, which was the day of the Ascension, to next Sunday, Pentecost Sunday. In fact, it’s so short that, if you skip just one Sunday, you’ve missed an entire church season! (So you’re one of those people who feel guilty for missing a Sunday, I guess this isn’t the one to...
1 tag
Vestry Minutes - May 8, 2010
Intro & Prayer by Astrid
Review of April 2010 minutes - approved by all
Old Business:
Discussion of outreach meeting to set time and date, possibly after the Sunday service on May 23rd.
Wedding after church on April 23 at 2 pm
Fund raising meeting to be held May 26th at 7:30 pm - the group will discuss the roof party and endowment Sunday. Zion will have their boot sale June 19...
2 tags
VESTRY MINUTES 4/11 2010
Present: Astrid Storm, Vicar, Diane Levitt,Warden, Paul Conrad, Dale Cunningham, Angelo Giamo, Larry Johnson, George Hemroth, Greg Citarella, Lithgow Osborne,Nancy Mahoney.
I. Introduction and prayer by Astrid.
II. February and March minutes approved by all.
III. Old Business:
a. Future committee updates:
Outreach meeting: May 19 @ 7:30 pm. ( Theresa and Katie)
Archive Meeting- April...
March 2010
2 posts
Homily for Nan Smith's Funeral
Thursday March 11, 2010
I’d like to start by welcoming everyone here, especially Nan’s friends and family – her husband Tom, her daughters Dori and Carolyn and their families. It would mean a lot to Nan to see you all here in this church she loved so much.
Nan attended St. Nick’s for last few years of her life, and she always sat in that same section way in the back so she could be near the...
Vestry Minutes - 2/7/2010
Present: Astrid Storm, Vicar, Diane Levitt, Warden, Larry Johnson, Angelo Giamo,George Hemroth, Lithgow Osborne,Nancy Mahoney, Greg Citarella, Dale Cunningham.
Absent: Paul Conrad
I. Meeting opened with prayer and vestry meditation by Astrid.
Lithgow made a motion to approve Jan. minutes. Second by Larry. Approved by all.
II. Election of new warden: ( Diane Levitt) Lithgow made a motion to...
February 2010
5 posts
3 tags
Homily for Transfiguration Sunday
LET’S BUILD HUTS!
Sunday of the Transfiguration - February 14, 2010
Today is the Sunday of the Transfiguration, which every year both closes out the season of Epiphany and helps usher in the season Lent. And perhaps apropos of little, but sort of humorous, is this blurb from an essay on the Transfiguration by the writer Mary Gordon:
“I heard this story for many years, probably well...
5 tags
4 tags
Homily for Candlemas
Homily for Candlemas - February 7, 2010
Today we’re celebrating Candlemas, which, in the usual way of St. Nick’s, we’ve informally transferred from its proper day on February 2. And this is one of those lovely Christian traditions that seems to have pre-Christian origins. Candlemas falls each year right at the midpoint between the winter equinox and the summer solstice, when...
Vestry Minutes - January 2010.
Present: Astrid Storm,Vicar,Nancy Mahoney,Angelo Giamo, Vicki Kolb,Troy Graves-Abe, Edie Palm,Lithgow Osborne,Larry Johnson, Dale Cunningham, George Hemroth, Diane Levitt„Warden, Paul Conrad, Geg Citarella, Organist.
I. The meeting opened with prayer by Astrid.
II. Approval of December minutes.Motion to approve-Larry. Second-Lithgowe.Approved by all.
III.Welcome new members: Diane...
January 2010
2 posts
7 tags
Homily for Epiphany 2
Second Sunday after the Epiphany - January 17, 2010
Well, for starters this week, I want to remind you all that we priests don’t pick the readings for Sundays - they’re assigned by the national church. Which I mention because the Gospel reading for today seems so insensitively out of sync with events this past week.
I sat down on Wednesday to start reading for this sermon at about...
December 2009
5 posts
6 tags
Homily for Christmas 1
December 27, 2009
If church buildings could speak, then I think our little church would probably beg for some rest after last Thursday night’s service. Actually, never mind the church – that’s probably how we all feel! (Hence the lack of Sunday bulletins and the hay all over the floor here.)
Anyway, today, the first Sunday of Christmas, we can all get a little of that. And I always like that...
December Vestry Minutes
St Nick’s Vestry minutes for 12/6/2009
11:50- Called to order, Astrid opened with prayer
Those present: Troy, Astrid, Edie, Howie, Dale, Vicki, Larry, Lithgow - review of minutes for Nov 2009 meeting, motion to approve- Larry, 2nd Lithgow, approved by all. -
Old business, Roof is finished, documentation of final cost with Michael Rebic. Article on roof in Southern Dutchess News, article for...
November Vestry Minutes
VESTRY MINUTES 11/1/09
Present: Astrid Storm,Vicar, Troy Graves-Abe,Warden,Paul Conrad,Larry Johnson, Vicki Kolb, Greg Citarella, Lithgowe Osborne
Absent: Edie and Howard Palm.
I. Meeting opened with prayer by Astrid.
II. Approval of October minutes. Minutes accepted by Larry. Seconded by Lithgowe. Approved by all.
III. Old Business:
Melanie Hexel- co-chair of Chili Fest.Larry and Greg will...
November 2009
1 post
October 2009
13 posts
October Vestry Minutes
Present: The Rev. Astrid Storm, Vicar; Troy Graves-Abe, Warden; Lithgow Osborne; Larry Johnson; Paul Conrad; Nancy Mahoney; Dale Cunningham
Absent: Howie and Edie Palm, Vicki Kolb
I. Meeting opened with prayer by Astrid.
II. Approval of September minutes were tabled.
Church growth - Second Sunday service discussed. Rite I monthly service brought up by Paul on a trial basis. Troy mentioned...
September 2009
2 posts
Homily for Pentecost 16 - September 20, 2009
“A Capable Wife, Perhaps. A Capable Christ, that’s Something Else.”
Andrew, who can’t be here today, glanced at today’s readings and announced that he would have loved for his inaugural read as lay reader to begin with that odd first line from our Proverbs reading: “A capable wife who can find?!” To which I say, it’s a good thing I have complete control over who reads...
Homily for Pentecost 14 - September 6, 2009
When God Argues With a Woman
My research for today’s sermon jogged a not too pleasant memory of a job interview several years ago at a large church in London. Thinking back on it, it almost had a reality-show air about it: we started out as a large group and, over the course of a few days, were subjected to various challenges (singing auditions, multiple interviews, social engagements), until...
August 2009
5 posts
Homily for Pentecost 13 - August 30, 2009
Not Everything Has to Be Chaste
For every book that made it into our Bible, there’s probably at least one other book out there that didn’t made it in - sometimes we know of these because they were found squirreled away for centuries in desert caves; sometimes we know of them because they’re mentioned in some other work of literature, maybe even the Bible; and sometimes...