Old Steeple Community Church · 5/9/2019 · United Church of Christ 656 Main Road/POB 154...

”We are faithful believers in and dedicated to God and Jesus, who practice selfless generosity from the heart, and who practice helping / serving others. Our motto: “You can count on us.”

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United Church of Christ

656 Main Road/POB 154

Aquebogue, New York 11931

May 2019

Old Steeple Community Church

Lent and Holy Week is a very special time in the life of the

church. So much of who we are as a Christ-focused-community

comes together in these few months.

The search for meaning is an endless human quest. Jesus is a beacon upon whom

many millions of people had set their sights, in this quest. There are multiple

interpretations as to how his life and teachings are to be internalized in one’s daily

living. But we know that love knocks hatred; humility knocks arrogance; kindness

overcomes selfish egoism. The world as we know appears to show little patience for

these lofty ideals. No wonder it’s in such a mess.

Jesus’s call for communities and individuals to align themselves with him, is to

practice a lifestyle that emulates his life and even his death. His stand for a world

where love guides all human choice has been mocked, ridiculed, embraced, with

different levels of conviction, or rejected. Yet, the human family has found no

alternative to the Jesus principle.

To work for a world in which this principle becomes one’s true north by which you

set your goals, is to work for the concept of divine justice. And where this divine

justice flourishes there the Kingdom of God “happens”.

The task of the church, and thus of us, is to prepare the soil of life for the seeds of

justice to sprout from.

To lose that focus is to render Jesus lifeless. To practice that principle is to empower

a resurrected Christ to lead us upon paths of righteousness, which is the only road

to take if we are to reach that destination called…meaning.

May you have a meaningful May.

In peace,

Anton


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Outreach

Go Green -

"Go Green" was a tremendous success thanks to your contributions of 152 canned veggies delivered to the

Food Pantry at St. John's Parish Social Ministry!

Please remember that if you see something that is a ‘good buy’, buy it! Just deposit your item(s) in the box

located in the Narthex. It is deeply appreciated.

Second Mile Giving

Ephesians 3:20

Now to God be the glory, who by the power at work within us is able to

accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.

April Focus - One Great Hour of Sharing

Thank You for your contribution to Old Steeple Church’s support of One Great Hour of Sharing. We do not

have the final numbers yet but our gifts are a lifeline to people in crisis. You have made a difference.

Our May Focus – Blanket Sunday

A blanket can provide warmth to a victim of a flood or fire or serve as

bedding to a guest in a homeless shelter or be a gift of welcome to a

newly arrived refugee or migrant worker. For only 10 dollars, you can give a blanket that can provide warmth

and shelter, comfort and privacy, and healing and hope wherever

God’s people may need care.

Memorial Day 2019 –

PBMC (Peconic Bay Medical Center) Veterans event will be held April 8 to May 29

in the lobby. You can buy a flag for $5 that will be displayed around the hospital!

The Riverhead Town Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday, May 27th

at 10 AM, rain or shine! Bring your family, lawn chairs and flags to wave and

show your support in memory of those who perished for our country.

Thank you for caring!


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Veterans and Soldiers Experience from Old Steeple Community Church members and family

Soldier’s Name: Benjamin Pileski

Branch of Service: U.S. Navy

Dates of Service: November 11, 2014 to present

Ranks Achieved: Petty Officer 3rd Class Builder

Medals, citations:

Two pins: Combat Warfare and Expeditionary Warfare.

Both required him to pass a “written and sit test” for five-hour review board.

Why did you select this branch of service?

Ben grew up on Long Island, surrounded by water, and

wanted to be able to stay close to the water no matter where he was stationed.

Assignments:

Ben was first assigned to the CVN72 Abraham Lincoln. * Later, he went to

LSD50 Carter Hall. While deployed in the Middle East, he was flown back

from Amman, Jordan to begin “A” school. He graduated as a BUCN

(Constructionman) with the Seabees. (He had worked in general construction

prior to joining the Navy and was happy to continue.)

He is currently with NMCB1, stationed in Gulfport, Mississippi. His battalion

was deployed to the Ukraine for six months, returning in February. He and 28

Seabees were deployed to the Ukraine. He was proud that they were able to

aid the Ukrainian Navy by building a marine operations center and a boat maintenance facility.

Ports of call:

During his time on the ships he saw Estonia, Amsterdam, Germany, Norway,

Iceland, Greece and Jordan. His favorites were Norway and Iceland. As much

as he enjoyed exploring the cities, he liked being able to hike the

countryside.

Memorable experiences:

At Christmastime, while in the Ukraine, he and some of his buddies went to a

local school and handed out

goodies to the school children.

Future:

Ben has about 18 months left in his contract and would like to

reenlist. He isn’t sure how long he will stay with the US Navy.

*Ben was in severe auto accident at home on leave. He endured

many months of physical therapy.

Thank you, mom (Gwen Pileski), for your support and all the

prayers received from Old Steeple Congregation!


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A LENT, MAUNDY THURSDAY AND EASTER THANK YOU!

A very big thank you to all who made our Lent and Easter Season memorable and meaningful.

A special thanks to those who made Maundy Thursday possible.

To all the readers, singers, Guy, soup creators, bread providers, set-up volunteers, clean-up crew and all

the other worker-bees; thank you! It was a wonderful evening of remembering and giving thanks.

You are a special group of people and you enrich our lives with your gifts of time and talent.


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Crochet? Knit? Sew? Weave?The Old Steeple Stitchers will meet

on May 15th at 7 pm in the Church

Parlor. Beginners and novices are

welcome! You can also learn how to

make a shawl and why it’s called a

‘prayer shawl’.

The Steeple View

Articles for the June issue of the

“The Steeple View” are due in the church office by May 23rd.

May 2 – Choir rehearsal 7 pm

May 5 – Farmers Service 7 am at the farm of David & Liz Wines

May 5 – Sunday School

May 9 – Choir rehearsal 7 pm

May 12 – Farmers Service 7 am at the home of Carol Anne Vocelka

May 12 – Blanket Sunday

May 14 – Council meeting 7 pm

May 15 – Old Steeple Stitchers meet at 7 pm

May 16 – Council meeting 7 pm

May 19 – Sunday School (the last one until September)

May 23 – Steeple View articles due

It’s time to brag about your graduates! Please

e-mail Amy at [email protected] with your graduate’s

name, the name of the school they are graduating from, and

their future plans so Old Steeple can congratulate them.


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In response to the United States' war on drugs, the

24th General Synod in 2003 resolved to urge “the

federal government to: 1. Shift its emphasis from a

law enforcement paradigm in favor of a policy that

treats drug use as a health problem with social and

economic implications. 2. Eliminate racial disparities

in U.S. drug laws, such as unequal sentencing for

possession of crack cocaine and powder cocaine.”

At that time, General Synod could not have predicted

the epidemic of opioid addiction that the U.S. has

faced over the last decade. Moreover, it would have

been hard to predict just how large a role prescribed

painkillers – produced by major pharmaceutical

companies – would have in the creation of this

opioid crisis. This new addiction, born stateside and

impacting rural populations the hardest, will need a

multipronged approach to resolve.

United Church Funds (UCF) is a financial ministry of

the United Church of Christ (UCC), investing on

behalf of churches and institutions of the UCC. UCF’s

mission is “Investing for a Just World for All,” and as

part of this mission, UCF works to make the

corporations in which we invest more sustainable

and less harmful to communities and creation.

“Faith-based investors have a particular concern with

the opioid epidemic. Our clients are churches and

mission-oriented organizations that are more

challenged to minister to families being torn apart by

opioids. UCF believes that it is important for

pharmaceutical companies to examine their role in

the creation and continuation of the epidemic and to

revise their policies and practices to stem this

horrendous tide,” said Katie McCloskey, Director of

Social Responsibility.

To help address the opioid epidemic, UCF joined the

Investors for Opioid Accountability (IOA) in 2017.

The IOA consists of 54 investors with over $3.5

trillion in assets under management and reflects the

high level of concern investors have about board

accountability and oversight of these opioid

companies.

The IOA’s corporate engagements focus on adopting

or strengthening corporate governance practices that

improve board independence, accountability and

oversight related to opioid risks. The IOA focuses on

opioid manufacturers, distributors and retail

pharmacies.

Since its inception in 2017, the IOA has filed 33

shareholder resolutions and/or engaged with 22

companies resulting in several notable wins:

Forced several boards to separate their Chair

of the Board from their CEO - thereby

creating better oversight.

Filed a resolution with Rite Aid, seeking a

board report on the risks of opioids to its

business and received 61% support from

shareholders.

Filed a resolution at Amerisource Bergen,

seeking a policy of "clawing back" executive

compensation in instances of misconduct and

received 52% support.

UCF recognizes that opioids plays a critical role in the

treatment of cancer, end of life and certain chronic

conditions. However, there is no reason that West

Virginia should have received 110 prescriptions per

100 people in 2016. There is no reason that legal

opioid prescriptions should have led to a massive

uptake of illegal synthetic opioids and heroin. These

were avoidable outcomes. Poor oversight and

dishonest marketing of pharmaceutical companies

abetted this problem.


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Council Meeting Minutes April 10, 2019

The monthly meeting of the OSCC Council was called to order by the Moderator, Donna Doroszka, at

7:07 pm. Those in attendance were Tom Behr, Rev. Dr. Anton DeWet, Donna Doroszka, Edgar Goodale, Jean

Lapinski, Rick Reeve, Sandy Reeve, Rev. Janet Wright and Keith Young. Donna Atkins was unable to attend.

The opening prayer was given by Pastor DeWet.

Treasurer’s Report

Edgar Goodale gave a complete report on all transactions during the past month as well as the balance

sheet, Profit and Loss of the budget vs the Actual expenditures, the monthly profit and loss and the

information on the Endowment Fund. He pointed out that some items which required an expenditure were not

budgeted, but financially we are in a good place. Following our last Council Meeting with our financial advisor,

Joseph Gaviola, we will divest our shares in Philip Morris companies in the Endowment Fund due to our

Christian values.

Meeting Minutes

The meeting minutes from our March meeting were included in our April Newsletter. There were no

corrections or additions. Edgar Goodale moved that the minutes be accepted. Rick Reeve seconded the motion

and it passed.

Pastor’s Report

Pastor DeWet mentioned several

persons in our congregation who need

our support. Betty ter Kuille, George

Schoenberg and Debbie Reeve are

mostly homebound and would benefit

from a call or note from those who wish

to keep in touch with these members.

The Atkins family is experiencing health

issues as Ray will have surgery this

week. Bobby Goodale was in the

hospital for a couple of days and will

return home this week. Pastor DeWet

asked that we also keep the Sherman

family and the Makowski family in our

prayers as both families struggle with

health issues. Between May 14 and May

28 Pastor DeWet and his wife Henza will be on vacation. A retired pastor, Rev. Jack Donahue, will preach on

Sunday May 19; and Rev. Janet Wright will preach on May 26. The Outreach Ministry has prepared the bulletin

board in the Fellowship Hall through the years. The ministry team leader may need some assistance with this

project this year.

Ministry Team Reports

Building and Grounds: Cell Tower — Rick reeve reported that Verizon is in the process of obtaining the necessary permits to complete

the installment of their cell tower in the Steeple of our church. It may take up to a year before any work is begun.


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Church Building — The Riverhead Town inspector has completed the inspection of the church. The closet in

the Fellowship Hall must be cleaned out, old broken tables disposed of and serviceable tables will be “recycled”

or sold.

The vent above the stove in the kitchen must be cleaned and/or replaced and it must be tagged when the job

is completed.

The Carbon Monoxide detectors will be linked into our security system which is covered by Lighthouse Security

Systems.

We are gathering estimates for carpeting the sanctuary. Some preparations will be necessary before the

carpeting will be installed. It is hoped this project will take place during the summer months when our worship

service takes place in the Fellowship Hall.

There was a suggestion at the last meeting that a new AA group would like to have their meeting on Saturday

mornings at 10 am in our Fellowship Hall. The issue was discussed at this meeting at length with each Council

member giving a point of view on the matter. It was decided that Pastor Anton will approach First

Congregational Church and Riverhead United Methodist Church to see if they would sponsor this group as the

Council decided against the proposal presented by Sandy Reeve.

Parsonage — There has been an ongoing problem with sewage backing up in the parsonage. The troublesome

house trap will be re-routed or replaced so this continuing complication will not persist.

Fundraisers — The annual Chicken Barbecue will be on Saturday, July 13th. Jean Lapinski will be in charge of

the tickets again this year. More information will be forthcoming and opportunities to volunteer for support will

be available.

There has been an ongoing debate about the Antique Fair that has been held each August. Pat Iadereste has

approached the church with the idea of having vendors set up and the church have their own table of items as

well as a “farmer’s” table. Jean Lapinski gathered information about the permits for such an event and learned

that the Town now requires a $150.00 application fee as well as fees from $300 - $450 to provide for traffic

control. There are many new additional requirements which may add additional costs. There was a lengthy

discussion on the matter and it was decided that the church should not incur such expenses and would turn

the permit application over to Ms. Iadereste. Edgar Goodale made a motion that we turn the application

process over to Ms. Iadereste and if she accepts the responsibility of the many fees, the church will proceed

with preparations for the Antique Fair, scheduled for August 3 with a rain date of August 10. If she declines to

proceed with the application process, the church will not have the event. The motion was seconded by Rick

Reeve and the motion passed.

Outreach: The church has asked the

congregation to bring donations for

the Soup Kitchen held at the First

Congregational Church. Pastor DeWet

has been in contact with the chef for

the group and has found

communication to be sparse. As the

Soup Kitchen chef plans the meals,

Old Steeple would like to donate

appropriate items to complete the

meal. This format does not seem to be

working, therefore, we will return to

having our church members bring in

items that can be shared with various food pantries in our area. There was a discussion on this topic and it

was suggested that an email requesting specific items on occasion would be helpful. Our April focus will be on

the “One Great Hour of Sharing” and the continuing donations of nonperishable food products and paper

products brought by the congregation to worship on Sundays. Our focus in May will be Blanket Sunday in

addition to the food donations. Tom Behr will meet with Pastor Anton to regroup and plan outreach for the

upcoming year.


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The Scholarship Committee of Jean Lapinski, Ann Priapi and Rick Reeve have provided the application for the

Scholarship to the schools and it is also in the newsletter. The deadline is fast approaching and there have

been only two applications at this point. More information will be given at our next meeting.

Maureen’s Haven is still providing support to the homeless throughout April. The last session for this “season”

will be April 15th. The crew from the Riverhead Building Supply will treat our guests to a barbecue on that last

evening. Rev. Janet Wright is the coordinator for this ministry and she suggested that the Director of

Maureen’s Haven be invited to speak before one of our Community Board meetings to give us an overview of

the work done by this organization. Janet would like to express her sincere appreciation to all those

volunteers who supplied foods for the evening meal and the eggs for the breakfast on Tuesday mornings.

Caring Ministries: There was no report. The Prayer List is updated often and the Sunshine Team is always busy with wonderful

cards being sent to those in our congregation. The cards bring joy and comfort to those who receive them.

Worship: Sandy Reeve has placed a sign-up sheet in our Coffee Hour area for those who would like to greet and assist

in the worship services. Please consider supporting this ministry. The last Lenten Worship Service will be held

at Old Steeple Community Church on Wednesday, April 10. The service begins at 7 pm. The Maundy Thursday

service will be on April 18th at 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall of OSCC. It is a worship meal of soup and bread, a

communal meal remembering the Last Supper.

Andrea Hanulec has ordered the palms for Palm Sunday and

she will be handing them out as people enter the church.

The Annual Easter Sunrise Service will be at Indian Island

County Park at 7 AM in the usual location. OSCC is

responsible for the coffee and juice at this event. Following

our 10 am service on Easter, there will be an Easter egg

hunt for the children.

This spring’s Farmer Services will begin on April 28 at 7 AM

at the home of Fay Young. Liz and David Wines will host the

second Farmer’s service on May 5 at 7 AM and the last

Farmer’s service will be on Sunday May 12, hosted by Carol

Ann Vocelka in Jamesport.

Welcoming: Keith Young stated that his project of placing the sign in

front of the church is completed. He will meet with Pastor

DeWet to decide on a new project.

Old and Ongoing Business

A committee of Donna Atkins, Donna Doroszka, Jean Lapinski and Janet Wright will resume meeting to

update our membership rolls. The OSCC pays dues on all active members to the Suffolk Association and our

records should be current. They will plan to meet in late April or early May and could have a report ready at

the next Council meeting.

New Business

Guy Fein has requested a new desk for his office in the choir room. The desk is falling apart. Edgar

Goodale will investigate the matter and a replacement desk will be provided.


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Heather Barrett requested the use of the coffee area on one Saturday evening a month for a meeting

of the “Writer’s Group”. There was a brief discussion and it was decided that this group could be

accommodated. Further information will be required from Heather concerning this group, the number of

persons attending, time and dates. This information will be supplied at the next Council meeting.

Adjournment

Edgar Goodale made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Tom Behr and

passed. The meeting ended at 8:58 pm.

The next Council Meeting will be on Tuesday, May 14th at 7 pm.

The next Community Board Meeting will be following the worship service on April 28

Respectfully Submitted, Rev. Janet Wright

Do It Anyway Peopleareoftenunreasonable,illogicalandself-centered;Forgivethemanyway.

Ifyouarekind,peoplemayaccuseyouofselfishulteriormotives;Bekindanyway.

Ifyouaresuccessful,youwillwinsomefalsefriendsandsometrueenemies;Succeedanyway.

Ifyouarehonestandfrank,peoplemaycheatyou;Behonestandfrankanyway.

Whatyouspendyearsbuilding,someonecoulddestroyovernight;Buildanyway.

Ifyoufindserenityandhappiness,theymaybejealous;Behappyanyway.

Thegoodyoudotoday,peoplewilloftenforgettomorrow;Dogoodanyway.

Givetheworldthebestyouhaveanditmayneverbeenough;Givetheworldthebestyou’vegotanyway.

Yousee,inthefinalanalysisitisbetweenyouandGod;Itwasneverbetweenyouandthemanyway.


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Old Steeple Community Church POB 154 / 656 Main Road Aquebogue, NY 11931

Old Steeple Community Church · 5/9/2019 · United Church of Christ 656 Main Road/POB 154...

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Transcript of Old Steeple Community Church · 5/9/2019 · United Church of Christ 656 Main Road/POB 154...