Newsletter
The Steeple
Christ Episcopal Church
"Binghamton's Oldest Church—Founded in 1810"
10 Henry
Street, Binghamton, NY 13901
Summer 2010
607-722-2308
www.ChristChurch1810.net
The Very Rev. John R. Martinichio, Rector
Message From Father John
As I sit and reflect on my twenty five years of
priesthood, I see a change and varied path. A
path that I never imagined that I would walk
that June 8, 1985 as I was ordained a priest. I
look back and see clearly that I did my best with
what God had given to me in the place where I
found myself. I realize I have made mistakes
and hopefully learned from them and have be- come a better person. I also know that God has
walked with me every step of the way. That
walk was easy
some days and others a real
I take hope in the future knowing that Jesus is
praying us through. The vestry prayed this
prayer through song and we must make it our
song and have strength and courage knowing
that God is praying us through all of life.
I hope and pray that the next 25 will be as
fruitful as the last. But, I also know that it is
you and I that have control of our destiny. Life is what we make of it. Life gives us choices. My
prayer is that
we have the strength and cour-
Save these dates!
September 17, 2010
200th Anniversary
Banquet at
Traditions At The Glen
September 18, 2010
200th Anniversary
Worship Service at
Christ Church followed
by a Reception
More Details
Page Three
struggle, but here I am. I have always believed
that if it was meant to be it would and having
that trust in the midst of humanity has not been easy. The system that we are all a part of and at
times are in charge of is not perfect. Some
would say that God tests us and others, like me,
would say that the challenge is to find God in
the midst of it all and to allow His grace to work in us.
I also look to the future and wonder what it
holds. We are at a turning point in our life as we struggle with some issues facing us as indi-
viduals and as a church. We can throw in the
towel and give
up in discouragement or we can be part of the solution. You pick? I am not will-
ing to give up.
age to allow God to walk with us in our journey
trusting in His love to bring His kingdom to reality.
Pressing over me like a big blue sky
I know someone has me on their heart tonight
That's why I know it's gonna be alright
'Cause somebody's praying me through Somebody's praying me through.
It may be my Mother, it might be my Dad
Or an old friend I forgot I had
But whoever it is I'm so glad that Somebody's praying me through.
Through the tears, through the rain
Through the sorrow, through the pain
It keeps bringing me through over and over again
So when you're drowning in a sea of hurt
And it feels like life couldn't get any worse
There's a blessing waiting to push back the curse
'Cause somebody's praying you through
Someone is
praying you through.
The Restoration
June 1, weather per-
mitting, the construc-
tion will begin on the
exterior of the church.
Lupini, the construction
company will begin by
putting up scaffolding in
various areas around
the church. They hope
to complete the entire
restoration project by
the end of October
2010.
Special Thank Yous
There are many church tasks that happen through out the year that
we just assume are going to be done, and we forget to thanks those
individuals, so we thank:
Joan and Glen Taylor for distributing the altar flowers.
Ernie Hein for plowing the parking lot this winter.
The counters who give time every Sunday to count the offering. The choir members who sing every Sunday, ten months a year. The volunteers who provide coffee hours each week. Sally Owen for folding the weekly bulletin.
Tammie Mangano for straightening the pews after the 10:00 service.
The Altar Guild who prepare the altar each week for the services.
Lynda Helmer
for proofing the announcement bulletin each week. Ed Cermak for
maintaining our church grounds.
Summer 2010 The Steeple Page 1
"Gratitude is
not only
the greatest
of all
virtues, but
2010 Event on June 4
Get ready to enjoy the music of
the Savoyards and dance the salsa
with Roxanne Maestre and Shelley
Otero as we open our doors to the
general public and participate in June First Friday.
Tours of the church will be offered
from 6:00- 7:00 PM by Gene and
Don Stanton. From 7:00—7:45
and then again from 8:00—8:45,
members of the Savoyards will fill
the church with selections from Gilbert and Sullivan.
In the Great Hall salsa demonstra-
tions and dancing will be offered
all evening, from 6:00—9:00 PM.
Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to learn a step or two.
Coordination for this event was
made by Nancy
Boyd-Goff and Bill Snyder. Refreshments will be pro- vided by the
Christ Church Ushers.
2010 Event on June 5
The 200th anniversary year celebration continues on Saturday,
June 5 with Bonnie Adams, wife of Bishop Skip Adams as our
guest. Beginning with a dish to pass dinner at 6 PM in the Sears
Great Hall, we will enjoy conversation with Bonnie regarding
work she has spearheaded in serving the medical needs of resi- dents in our companion diocese in El Salvador. Bonnie has led a
group of volunteers once a year for several years to a week of mission activity in El Salvador and will be sharing with us how those efforts have improved the lives of some our most desti-
tute brothers and sisters in Christ. Bonnie will have items for sale
available, proceeds from the sale of which will entirely go to-
wards the work in El Salvador.
Many of our celebratory events this year have been for the en-
tertainment of our audience. Yet, in recognition of the multiple blessings we enjoy here in America and specifically as the family
of Christ Church, we present an opportunity to "give back" to
those less fortunate than ourselves. Please make it a point to
share dinner and conversation with Bonnie and learn more
about the needs that still exist in our companion diocese.
Please bring a dish to pass and consider bringing one of the fol-
lowing to be sent to El Salvador: Tylenol for various ages, anti-
fungal cream,
nasal saline spray and/or muscle rub. Hope to see
the parent
of all others"
~ Marcus Tullis
Cicero
you on June 5th!
Annual Church Picnic, With a
Little Twist
~Lynda Helmer
- Event Chair
The Parish Picnic will be held on Sunday, July 11. Parish Members and their guests can Road Rally to the undisclosed picnic area and compete for the coveted "Road Rally Trophies", where everyone
will be treated to live entertainment from the Vestal Community
Band, games, and a BBQ luncheon. If you do not want to partici- pate in the road rally, you will be given the secret picnic location. Stay tuned for more information.
~ Liz and Jim Davidson, Event Chairs
August Glow Ball Tournament
Saturday, August 28 (rain date, Sunday August 29) Have you ever played
golf in the dark? With the aid of glow stick and glow-in-the-dark golf balls,
we will play nine-holes at the Chenango Bridge Dobbs Golf Course. Plan to
join the fun, whether you are a seasoned golfer or a novice. Food and bev-
erages will be served prior to, and during the event. Who knows maybe
you will win a prize. Non-golfers may participate in the fellowship and the fun! Watch for more information. Volunteers are needed for this event. Please see Jim and Liz Davidson.
Just a reminder
SATURDAY SERVICES WILL NOT BE HELD THIS SUMMER
DUE TO THE
RESTORATION OF OUR CHURCH BUILDING.
Summer 2010 The Steeple Page 2
200th Anniversary Weekend
In honor of Christ Church's 200th anniversary,
we will host two events to celebrate this his-
toric event. On
Friday, September 17, begin-
Congratulations to our 2010 Graduates
Zachary Manchester Vestal High School
Zachary will
attend Binghamton University in the Fall.
ning at 6:00PM, come celebrate at the Tradi- Connor Alford Susquehanna Valley High School
tions at the Glen with an evening of fine din- ing, entertainment, and fellowship.
On Saturday,
September 18 at 4:00 PM, we will
Anthony Tiziani Susquehanna Valley High School
Anthony will be
joining the Navy in January 2011.
present a
worship service of Thanksgiving and
Evan Lippolis
Windsor High
School
Rededication,
with a reception to follow in the Sears Great Hall.
Evan will be attending Broome Community College in
the Fall.
Invitations to
the weekend's
Katie Keesler
Broome
Community College
events will be sent to pre-
sent and past
Christ Church
Katie will
attend Binghamton University in the Fall.
parishioners.
If you have
Ticia Elser
Masters in
Elementary Education
addresses of former mem- bers who you think should
receive an
invitation, please give them to Fr. John.
Math and Literacy from Walden University
Alicia MacLennan Masters in Nursing
Science from
La Salle University
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of
which every
The Deacon's Corner
He's back before he even left. What can I say!? When the Bishop told me I would be doing my Deaconal work at Christ Church I think I literally jumped for joy. I did not find out my assignment until 15 minutes before the Ordination Liturgy began. So the smile on my face was for two very good reasons.
I want to again thank you all for everything you have done for me during
my stay with you, and now that my stay has been extended, I look forward to enriching my relationship with all of you.
Having my ordination at Christ Church was an honor and the degree of
your participation was beyond my expectations. The music was wonderful
and the serenade to my Dad at the reception is a moment in time I will never forget.
Fr. John and I have met once already about the path my stay will take and
we will be filling in those details shortly. I look forward to working with the different ministries at Christ Church and perhaps work on starting a few new ones. As I stated in my Mother's Day sermon, my job is to get
you out into
the community and I intend on taking that job very seriously.
man has
plenty; not on
your post
misfortunes,
of which all
men have
some"
~ Charles
Dickens
The Rev. Deacon Richard Schaal is presented to the The Rev. Deacon Richard Schaal
congregation after his ordination by Bishop Adams.
Christ
Church Treasure Hunt
Did You Know?
Can you find the following items at the When the Parish House was completed in 1970 the "Christ
Church? Blessing the Children" stained glass window was installed in
the new building. It was originally purchased with funds
1.
2.
Where is the "Church Mouse"?
There is a stained glass window near
the altar with a pane of glass upside
down. Can you find it?
Answers on page 4
raised by the Sunday School in 1886.
The largest and lowest bell in the bell tower weights one ton.
In 1930, Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the
church. Later,
upon request he sent an letter and an auto- graphed picture to the church.
Summer 2010 The Steeple Page 3
Christ
Episcopal Church
"Binghamton's Oldest Church—Founded in 1810"
10 Henry Street
Binghamton, NY
13901
at www.bible-puzzles.com
More puzzles like this can be found on-line
6:24-26
thee, and give thee peace. Numbers Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the the Lord make his face shine upon The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
Solution to Bible Scramble:
Bible Scramble
Unscramble the letters in each word to discover the passage. Solution on last page.
EHT ROLD SSLEB EEHT, NDA PKEE EEHT: EHT ROLD
MKEA SIH FECA SNIHE NOPU EEHT, NDA EB US-
ROIGCA UTON EEHT: EHT ROLD TLIF PU SIH
UTONNNEECCA NOPU EEHT, NDA VIGE EEHT PEECA.
See the
solution to the right
1.
2.
Trivia Answers
The "Church Mouse" is on the door stop for the South Church door.
The pane of glass is in the win-
dow on the right side of the organ. In the middle of the
window one of the clear glass piece, the "flower" etching is
upside down
Summer 2010 The
Steeple Page 4