April 26, 2013

Editor’s Note: The Reverend Tom Lenhart will leave the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua soon to begin another part of his life.  This week he shared with NCNOW a sermon he preached last Sunday, one of his last here in Chappaqua, about the Boston tragedy,

Monday, June 25, 2012
by Christine Yeres

At 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 27, at town hall, the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold public hearings on its continued review of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society’s application for a special permit to construct a house of worship on Pines Bridge Road in the West End, or Ossining, portion of New Castle on slightly more than 8 acres.  The Society’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) treating such issues as traffic and parking, noise, setbacks and impact on town services, is available online.

April 29, 2012
Press Relase from FCC

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y.  This spring the Chappaqua Interfaith Council is holding a Family Fun Day. People of all faiths can come together for a relaxed afternoon of shared food, games and music, and community service.  The event will be held on Sunday, April 29 (1:00 - 4:00 p.m., rain or shine) at Wagon Road Camp, 431 Quaker Road in Chappaqua. It is free to the public. All ages—from young children to high schoolers, adults and sprightly seniors—are encouraged to attend.  Please mark your calendar for the event:

February 3, 2012
by Rachel Rosin
                                             
Fiber Artist Heather G. Stoltz tells the stories of homeless men, women and children through her installation piece Temporary Shelter. The art piece, which takes the shape of a sukkah (free-standing hut), will travel to Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester starting today, February 3.

December 23, 2011
by Joseph Enzweiler

Because we wanted much that year
and had little. Because the winter phone
for days stayed silent that would call
our father back to work, and he
kept silent too with our mother,
fearfully proud before us.

fills the whole room now, that whole year
out across the snowy lawn. Because
a drop of shame burned quietly
in the province of love. Because
we had little that year
and were given much.

From “The Man Who Ordered Perch.” © Iris Press, 2004. Reprinted with permission.

See more photos of the dedication and feast in “Read more…” and in Photo Gallery.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
by Christine Yeres

Last Sunday, Interfaith Council clergy and their congregants—men, women and children—assembled on the plaza in front of the two-story gleaming glass hall and entryway connecting Temple Beth El’s 1972 Louis Kahn temple sanctuary with the new addition of a social hall, kitchen and classrooms arranged around a center courtyard.  Rabbi Josh Davidson officially dedicated the new Temple Beth El campus. His remarks follow.

Interfaith Council members planning last year’s event
Monday, November 14, 2011
by Rachel Rosin

From the opening musical strands of “Let There Be Peace on Earth” to the last crunch of apple crisp or pumpkin pie, the Chappaqua Interfaith Council’s Annual Thanksgiving Service and Dinner is a much-anticipated community event.  It will be held this year on Sunday, November 20, at 4:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, after a short dedication ceremony at 3:30 p.m. for the temple’s new campus.  A free Thanksgiving feast will be served immediately following the service when everyone can mingle and get to know other faith groups in the community. Everyone is welcome.

May 20, 2011
by Pam Wright

This past November, a group of us from the First Congregational Church were fortunate to hear Westchester’s own Vaneese Thomas perform the mezzo-soprano role in “Too Hot to Handel” at Carnegie Hall. Her singing was mesmerizing. Most recently, Ms. Thomas performed to a packed house during a torrential rainstorm at the Town Crier in Pawling.

March 4, 2011
by Lisa Flanagan

While some students are flying to warmer locales for Spring Break, others are dedicated to the arts and to the fulfillment of scholarship requirements.  This was the case for me when I was on a Music Scholarship to Muskingum University in Southeast Ohio.

December 17, 2010
by Jack Lohr, interim pastor of PCMK

I get into the spirit of Christmas by listening on Christmas Eve to National Public Radio’s broadcast of the “Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” from King’s College, Cambridge.

If you have a score, bring it with you.
December 3, 2010
by Penny Vane

The music is familiar, uplifting, inspiring . . . and now part of a new community tradition! It’s time to take your holiday voice out of the shower and join friends and neighbors at the Second Annual Messiah sing-along.  Lest we forget, Handel’s famous Messiah is much more than just the Hallelujah Chorus! 

There’s a whole score-ful of beautiful music, and we’ll perform it all together this Sunday, December 5, at 5:00 p.m., gently guided by the skillful direction of Stephen Fancher, music director of St. Mary the Virgin, and featuring solos by numerous talented local vocalists.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010
by John Ehrlich

Chanukah is just as much a celebration of food as of light.  Here is a sampling of easy-to-make, healthy and traditional oil-based Latkes to enrich family celebrations and tickle holiday palates.  Kids love them.  Tired of potatoes?  Consider using zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms, noodles, even almonds or pecans.  Make your own frying-pan miracle.

October 15, 2010
by Maud Bailey

Tonight, Friday, October 15, The First Congregational Church of Chappaqua, will host a Quilt Show and Sale presented by PeaceQuilts from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.  The story behind the PeaceQuilts Project is an intriguing one, and Jeanne Staples, director of PeaceQuilts, will be on hand to explain its mission to help Haitian women earn a living wage.

See more photos in Photo Gallery
October 8, 2010
by Rachel Rosin

This past Sunday, October 3, more than thirty parents and children from Temple Beth El gathered along with their Muslim neighbors at the Upper Westchester Muslim Society Mosque to pack boxes of relief aid to be sent to Pakistan.

September 17, 2010

Reprinted with permission from Rev. Thomas Lenhart of the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua. [Bracketed subheadings added]

Though I was on the Maine Coast for a few weeks this summer, I heard about the controversy over the proposed building of an Islamic Center two blocks from “ground zero,” the site of the World Trade Center destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001.