THE OPEN DOOR

The Briarcliff Congregational Church 30 South State Road, PO Box 290, Briarcliff Manor, New York 10510

914-941-4368 www.briarcliffchurch.org

“Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” Revelation 3:8

Volume 65 Number 9 June 2013

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Guest Preacher, 6/30 2

New BCC Members 2

Moderator’s Report 2

Women’s Society 3

Church School Sunday 3

Notice of Call 4

Celebrations 4

Summer Programs 4

Faith in Action Sleepover 5

Prayers 5

June Calendar

Dear Good People of Briarcliff Church,

I’ve got a bunch of stuff on my mind (and with the deadline for this issue of The Open Door

passed, not much time to write); so …

Did you hear? Over a thousand dollars were raised at the Heifer Fair, thanks to so many who

participated so generously. Great cause, great occasion, great congregation. And on the exact

same note: What a Rummage Sale the Women’s Society organized! AMAZING, it was.

I’m so excited about our choir offering the Mass in G Major No. 2 by Franz Schubert in worship

on June 2nd. The choir has been working on the music for several seasons and tempting us

this spring with some movements that have sounded terrific. Featuring a collaboration with

strings (a quartet which will also provide Prelude and Postlude that day), the whole shebang

is under Dr. Lin’s direction. A mass like Schubert’s is a musical setting of the Eucharist (which

we will celebrate later in the service) and intended to enhance one’s experience of the

sacrament. It will be sublime. I hope you come and I hope you bring others who might be

nourished by it.

Presumably, you all have the Annual Meeting on your calendars. It’s scheduled every year for

the first Monday of June. While the meetings aren’t awfully exciting, there’s a great

satisfaction to being a part of this wonderful church and to gathering “…to receive the Annual

Reports…to elect Trustees, the Clerk and all other officers and members…as provided

for…and to transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting” as the

generations before us have. Come.

Please also note that we will embark on an experiment this summer, beginning with the first

Sunday in July when the First Presbyterian Church (Ossining) and BCC join for shared

worship, 7 July in Ossining and 21 July in our sanctuary. This comes at the prompting of our

Deacons and will provide the basis on which more shared activity/ministry between our

parishes may develop. (There’s talk, for example, of BCC getting involved in the annual

Thanksgiving Day dinner that First Presbyterian sponsors.)

The United Church of Christ is coming to town – the New York Conference Annual Meeting

is being held in Tarrytown, 7 June through the 9th. Anyone want to participate?

Breathlessly,

The Rev’d Dr. Bonnie Rosborough, Pastor

SAVE THESE DATES

JUNE

2 Choir sings Schubert

3 Annual Meeting

9 Church School

Sunday & Picnic

21-22 Faith in Action

Sleepover

Contact Us At:

rosborough@

briarcliffchurch.org

AND

church-office

@briarcliffchurch.org

2

GUEST PREACHER, 30 June

We will welcome Mr. Derrick McQueen to the

pulpit on Sunday, 30 June, when Pastor

Rosborough is in Scotland celebrating her son’s

graduation from the University of St. Andrews.

Mr. McQueen has been a guest preacher here

before and always has been well received. He is a

candidate for the doctoral degree at Union

Theological Seminary (NYC) where, under the

guidance of Professor Vincent Winbush, he is

exploring the nature of preaching in the early

(New Testament) church.

WELCOME TO NEW BCC MEMBERS

What a terrific Pentecost we celebrated –

welcoming new members and celebrating the

choir. New Members include:

Becky Adams has been worshipping at BCC this

year. Two of her three children, William and

Caroline, are enrolled in the church school while

Christopher, yet young, stays home with Dad. A

writer, Becky was in the magazine business before

moving to Briarcliff. Having previously

worshiped in a Quaker meeting, she finds the

stimulation of BCC exciting.

Eileen Edwards-Lew is retired after working

many years at Bedford Correctional Facility. She

has two children, Jennifer who lives in Germany

with Eileen’s two grandchildren, and an ex-Marine

son, John, who lives in California.

Brian Lewis, the son of Seth and Sally, was

confirmed at BCC but has been away from the

parish for many years. He is now married and a

dad and is returning with his family. Danielle

Lewis is Greek Orthodox in her background but

happy now to be raising their daughter, Niki, as a

Protestant (Niki’s to be baptized on June 16th).

Both Danielle and Brian work in the insurance

industry.

Orial Redd moved to The Atria from Rye two

years ago. An Episcopalian for much of her adult

life, Orial first came to BCC at the invitation of

Jelane Caspar’s mom and now finds she enjoys

what she’s discovered to be our “truly welcoming

congregation.” She retired from a long career in

public service, notably Westchester County

government.

Debra Stewart grew up in the mid-West. An

attorney, she came to Briarcliff with her husband,

Jim; and they are happily raising their two boys,

Sam and Matt, here. Deb is not practicing law at

the moment; being a mom, serving a Tarrytown

philanthropy and other commitments keep her

busy. Jim Stewart grew up in England and now

works in the financial industry, developing

software and overseeing its use.

Becky Adams: 6 Hyatt Road, Briarcliff Manor; 924-

7165 Eileen Edwards: 32 Round Hill Rd, Briarcliff

Manor; 769-1214 Brian and Danielle Lewis: 416

Kemey’s Cove, Briarcliff Manor; 917-681-4922 Orial

Redd: 1025 Pleasantville Rd., Briarcliff Manor;

304-1042 Debra and Jim Stewart: 40 Nichols Place,

Briarcliff Manor; 923-0076

MODERATOR’S REPORT

Church life is so busy at this time of year but I

hope people will find time to come to the Annual

Meeting, which is on Monday, June 3 at 8:00 PM

in the Eastman Room. At that time we will vote

on the slate of officers and board/committee

members presented by the Nominations

Committee for the coming year. We will also

discuss any items that come up; and you never

quite know what will. This meeting is an

important part of our life as a self-governing

“free” church and, if we value this concept, we

should try to attend.

This will be the last meeting I will preside over as

Moderator and I would be remiss if I did not take

this opportunity to thank the many people who

have helped me over the past four years. The

number is too great to list and I wouldn’t venture

to try for fear of leaving someone out. But, you

know who you are and I do too. I am always

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Weekly Camp Examples: Engineering Olympiad,

Momentum Madness, Heroes Week and much

more. Members who register will receive $30 off

each Full-Day one week session (promo code

BCC30SUM) and $20 off each Half-Day one week

session (BCC20SUM).

Visit www.engineeringforkids.net/westchester to

register now!

Ever Sleep in Church? If not, this is your chance! Inviting all 6th, 7th or 8th grade

Sunday School students & a friend to the

Faith In Action Sleep Over Friday, June 21 - 6:00 pm to

Saturday, June 22 8:30 am

We’ll view Cecil B. DeMille’s The TEN Commandments movie! Work on a living faith

in action project! Meditate to music at

midnight. Celebrate the Summer Solstice,

6/21 the longest day & shortest night of

2013. Yoga & a sunrise service. We’ll

celebrate the beginning of summer and share as we live our faith in action together.

Dinner at the Manse! Snacks & breakfast

served at church.

Bring a sleeping bag, pillow, & flashlight.

All other electronic devices will be checked at the

door! To reserve your spot on the sanctuary floor,

email Gae at ghsavino@aol.com by 6/16 with

emergency contact #’s. Each participant must be

pre-registered with signed parent consent to

attend. Pastor Bonnie, Gae & Carly Savino will be

chaperoning! The Faith In Action Sleep Over is

sponsored by BCC’s CE & Sunday School.

Requests for Prayer in May have included

those who are ill:

John Reese, recovering from a coronary

Laura, in pain

Bill Sharman, undergoing cataract surgeries

Jennifer Schneider, undergoing surgery

Sophie Schneider, recovering from a stroke and

bronchitis

Pastor Monica, recovering from an

automobile accident

Continued healing for Janine Bake

Charnelle Barlow

Robert Moller, undergoing by-pass surgery

Barton Willis, suffering with nerve damage

Suzie’s brother-in-law

those who are homebound:

Evelyn Aszmus

Keith Williams, and Eulalee who cares for him

those grieving:

family and friends of Dom Lupo,

Peggy Cadman’s dad

family and friends of Berta Bixby,

Keith Austin’s aunt

those in need:

children who do not have the love of a mother

those suffering in Bangladesh

the war weary of Syria and

other places of violence

in celebration of:

the marriage of Amy Gasparik and Nils Swanson

the BCC choir and it’s many gifts

our new members

our baptismal babies, Cameron Kluge

and Hunter McKay

and, on Mother’s Day, Mary, Mother of Jesus.

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amazed and inspired by the willingness of the

BCC community to work many hours to further

the well-being of our church.

Joan Austin, Moderator

WOMEN’S SOCIETY NEWS

On May 9, having recovered from the Rummage

Sale, sixteen ladies of the Women’s Society hied

themselves off to the Katonah Museum of Art.

The Museum supplied us with a marvelous docent

who explained the exhibit’s traditional and

contemporary examples of the art of quilting.

There was the unexpected—a quilted coffin

cover—and the surprising—a sculptural piece that

all swore must have been made of cloth but was

actually wooden. Lunch at the Kittle House

followed, delicious and convivial.

Valerie Nelson coordinated and assembled the

afghan we knit to be raffled off in support of

Heifer International. The lucky winner was

Kristen Basil. Congratulations to her and thank

you to all who bought raffle tickets. I’m hoping

the money buys a flock of chickens, but the

Church School will decide. Cluck cluck….

Our Annual June Luncheon will be held on June

13, beginning at 11:30, at the home of Rosalie

Matsuoka, 16 Hollow Oak Road, Chappaqua.

Directions will be emailed out. Carpooling, if

needed, will be arranged by Helen Buerger, who

can be reached at 914-552-3975 or

coopbuerger@aol.com. Food is the bailiwick of

Carol Mickel, 944-9160 or Mickelcj@aol.com.

Please let her know what you would like to bring

to add to the meal. This is always a fun event

before everything slows for the summer break.

Everyone is welcome. We’d be so pleased to see

you.

The BCC Rummage Sale was held on Saturday,

April 27th, and it was a resounding success! Our

gross receipts exceeded $28,000, a truly amazing

amount.

The Rummage Sale is a church-wide effort and

thanks go out to everyone who contributed to this

great undertaking. Thanks to everyone who

brought things to sell, helped us sort during the

week, and worked the day of the sale. Thanks to

everyone who purchased Rummage Sale items,

supported, encouraged and cared for our workers,

and to those who enlisted friends, family members

and neighbors to help us.

Our Rummage Sale is a much anticipated event

and reflects a powerful demonstration of our faith.

The money we earn enables us to care for each

other and the church and to support benevolence

activities.

On Thursday, May 23rd, at 9:30 AM, we will be

meeting in the Eastman Room to talk about this

year’s Rummage Sale, to consider alternate

fundraising activities, and to pick a date for the

Rummage Sale next year. If you are unable to

attend, please send comments, suggestions or

ideas to Penny Wolf or any member of the

Rummage Sale Team. Penny can be reached at

wolfempire@aol.com or (914) 762-7937.

CE ANNOUNCES CHURCH SCHOOL

SUNDAY PICNIC & DESSERT CONTEST

The CE committee and the Church School will be

holding our annual Church School Sunday event

on Sunday, June 9th. The festivities will begin with

a Church Service that is created and led by the

students of the church. It is so

youthful, innocent and

special to experience the

service through the eyes of a

child! Following the service

will be a tasty picnic lunch so

that not only are your spiritual needs sated but so

is your hunger. At the end of our event we will be

holding our delicious dessert contest. You can

make this contest the best ever by bringing in your

homemade, delectable creations for our judges

and congregation to feast on! There will be prizes,

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smiles and exclamations of delight when the

desserts are unveiled! We hope to see you on the

9th for all three events –the service, the

picnic, and the dessert contest!

BENEVOLENCE THANKS YOU!

It's been an amazing year of outreach efforts -

Midnight Runs, the IFCA Coat Drive, Sandy

Relief, Giving Tree and Christmas sponsors,

Peanut Butter Sundays and Peace Corps support.

Every time the Benevolence Committee provided

an opportunity to help those less fortunate, you

responded generously and enthusiastically. We

wish to acknowledge and thank you for your

encouragement of new possibilities and on-going

support of our initiatives. Thank you, one and all!

*********************************************************

NOTICE OF CALL

In accordance with Article III of the By-Laws, the

Annual Meeting of The Briarcliff Congregational

Church will be held on Monday, June 3, 2013 at 8

p.m. in the Eastman Room.

The business of this meeting will be:

1. To receive the annual reports of Officers,

Boards, Committees, Special Committees and

Task Forces;

2. To elect the Clerk, Trustees and other

officers and members of Boards and Committees;

3. To hear a report from the Board of Trustees

regarding our year-to-date financial status;

4. To transact such other business as may

properly come before the meeting.

The retiring Trustees are Beverly Aisenbrey, Barry

Bosak and Robyn Wild. Those proposed for election

to the Board of Trustees are Barry Bosak, Carol

Mickel, Henrietta Porter and Robyn Wild.

By order of the Board of Trustees

The Briarcliff Congregational Church

Dated May 26, 2013

*********************************************************

CELEBRATIONS

The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea

are made of the same water.

It flows down, clear and cool, from the

heights of Hermon and the roots of the

Cedars of Lebanon. The Sea of Galilee

makes beauty of it, for the Sea of

Galilee has an outlet. It gets to give.

It gathers in its riches that it may pour them

out again to fertilize the Jordan plain. But

the Dead Sea with the same water makes

horror. For the Dead Sea has no outlet.

It gets to keep.

Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969)

Happiest of June Birthdays to our friends:

Myrtle Nichols June 6

Louisa Myers June 15

Bill Sharman June 16

Elly Robinson June 17

BCC WELCOMES SUMMER

PROGRAMS

In the last week of June, BCC will be welcoming

two programs which will be in residence with us

through much of the summer: *Engineering For

Kids (in the Stimson Room) and The Ossining

Children’s Center (in the Parish House and Beebe

Hall). Please welcome participants and staff

members (and be patient with any inconvenience)!

*Engineering For Kids, inspires children ages 4 to

14, to learn science, technology, engineering, and

math (STEM) through fun, hands-on programs.

This summer we are offering one week sessions,

Full-day and Half-day, from June 24th to August

2nd at the Briarcliff Congregational Church.

BRIARCLIFF CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

TEL: 914-941-4368 FAX: 914-941-1513 EMAIL: church-office@briarcliffchurch.org

JUNE 2013

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Childcare is

available during

worship. Sunday

School meets

simultaneously.

1

2 WORSHIP 10 AM

BCC Choir sings

Schubert Mass

In G major

3

Annual Meeting

8 pm

4

5

Deacons, 7:30 pm

6 Senior Choir

rehearsal, 8 pm

7

8

9 WORSHIP 10 AM

Church School

Sunday & Picnic

(last day of

Church School)

10

11

CE Picnic

12

13 Women’s Society

Lunch, 11:30 am

Senior Choir

rehearsal, 8 pm

14

Deacons’

Dinner

15

16 WORSHIP 10 AM

17

18

19

20 Senior Choir

rehearsal, 8 pm

21 Faith in Action

Sleep Over,

6 pm until >

22 Faith in Action

Sleep Over

> 8:30 a.m.

23 WORSHIP 10 AM

24

25

Trustees, 7:45 p.m.

26

27

28

29

30 WORSHIP 10 AM

Best Wishes to All for a Happy, Healthy Summer!

See you in church!