St. Andrew's Episcopal Church of New Paltz

09/10/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

“Behold, I am doing a new thing!” says God in various places in Isaiah and Revelation.

This Sunday we will use a new Order of Service emphasizing God’s work in creation, and soon we will install two hangings depicting the Lenape Creation Myth and the Christian Holy Spirit.

The inspiration for this comes from an ecumenical movement started in 1989 by the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios. It is usually celebrated between September 1, a day in the Orthodox calendar celebrating the creation of the world in Genesis, and October 4, the Western Church’s celebration of the Feast of St. Francis. The Eucharistic prayer we will use from Sept. 13 until the beginning of Advent comes from The (national) Episcopal Church. Episcopal Relief and Development offers daily prayers for this season. I will look to emphasize various creation themes in sermons and family services.

I’m also trying an experiment. We finally took down the Pentecost “flames,” but I’d like to try a temporary model of a creation-cross themed banner over our wooden crucifix for this season. If we like either the idea of a banner to cover the crucifix sometimes and more specifically a banner for creation or for other themes, let’s talk—it will be a decision made after my time with you, when a new priest is in place.

Finally, a poem from Wendell Berry to celebrate creation and the season of fall!

Again the air is full
of falling: the fall of the leaves
in the weighty season that brings
all home again to the lowly
miracle from which they came.

Nature, the mother and maker,
requires that life take form,
enflesh itself in the shapes
and habits of the world's unnumbered
kinds. And then she requires
each one at last to shed
its guise, giving up
its matter to the life to come.

Think of a world of no fall
no gravity calling downward,
homeward, bringing all
by the light uprisen down
to rest in the resting land
- a world, instead, where all
that dies would fly upward
and outward, nameless and alone.
How sterile then would be
the earth, seasonless the year.

The year is the showing forth
of the heavenly love that is
the being of the present world.
The leaves, opening and at last
falling, hold a while
the beauty of God who made them
by the work and care of Nature,
His vicar and our mother.
His only is the light
of which all things are made,
the beauty that they are,
the delight that is our prayer.

09/02/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

“This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance” (Exodus 12:14). We’ll hear this Sunday about the institution of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

“I received a tradition from the Lord, which I also handed on to you: that on the night before he died . . .” (1 Corinthians 11:23) writes Paul in one of the earliest descriptions of Eucharist.

Why do we do the same thing every Sunday in church: a pattern of Scripture, song, prayer, and Eucharist? It’s a particular sacramental type of liturgy that draws some people into the mystery of God and bores others almost to death. If I’m honest, some Sundays I find myself “going through the motions” without much thought.

And yet, those rituals shape us, in some ways whether we are paying attention or not. We hear Scripture—sometimes one word is all we need to send us down a fruitful path of reflection. Or we come to the altar worried about something or because it’s time and then find some sense of peace or presence.

Every religion has rituals, meant to shape the lives of believers towards holiness, goodness, freedom, forgiveness, and countless other blessings. Humans seem to need some repetition of word and deed (even the most free form worship service!) to center ourselves and become more open to the Divine in and around us. Thank the ancestors who first received and then passed on the traditions which sustain us. (Some other time, maybe on Sunday, we can talk about traditions that have been not so healthy!!)

08/27/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore
We hear the story of Moses’ encounter with the burning bush in Sunday’s lesson. Sometimes I think believers domesticate God, as if God is a vending machine for desires, or our best friend, or a comfy couch—Moses’ encounter was anything but comforting, lovable, desired. And yet . . . here are two poems that remind me to open my heart to the wildness of God beyond human knowing.

Fire in the Earth
And we know, when Moses was told,
in the way he was told,
"Take off your shoes!" He grew pale from that simple

reminder of fire in the dusty earth.
He never recovered
his complicated way of loving again

and was free to love in the same way
he felt the fire licking at his heels loved him.
As if the lion earth could roar

and take him in one movement.
Every step he took
from there was carefully placed.

Everything he said mattered as if he knew
the constant witness of the ground
and remembered his own face in the dust

the moment before revelation.
Since then thousands have felt
the same immobile tongue with which he tried to speak.

Like the moment you too saw, for the first time,
your own house turned to ashes.
Everything consumed so the road could open again.

Your entire presence in your eyes
and the world turning slowly
into a single branch of flame.

-from David Whyte River Flow: New & Selected Poems

To lie back under the tallest
oldest trees. How far the stems
rise, rise
before ribs of shelter
open!
To live in the mercy of God. The complete
sentence too adequate, has no give.
Awe, not comfort. Stone, elbows of
stony wood beneath lenient
moss bed.
And awe suddenly
passing beyond itself. Becomes
a form of comfort.
Becomes the steady
air you glide on, arms
stretched like the wings of flying foxes.
To hear the multiple silence
of trees, the rainy
forest depths of their listening.
To float, upheld,
as salt water
would hold you,
once you dared.
*
To live in the mercy of God.
To feel vibrate the enraptured
waterfall flinging itself
unabating down and down
to clenched fists of rock.
Swiftness of plunge,
hour after year after century,
O or Ah
uninterrupted, voice
many-stranded.
To breathe
spray. The smoke of it.
Arcs
of steelwhite foam, glissades
of fugitive jade barely perceptible. Such passion —
rage or joy?
Thus, not mild, not temperate,
God’s love for the world. Vast
flood of mercy
flung on resistance.

+ Denise Levertov, from Sands from the Well (poem found here)

08/20/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

Daybreak in Alabama
by Langston Hughes

When I get to be a colored composer*
I'm gonna write me some music about
Daybreak in Alabama
And I'm gonna put the purtiest songs in it
Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist
And falling out of heaven like soft dew
I'm gonna put some tall tall trees in it
And the scent of pine needles
And the smell of red clay after rain
And long red necks
And poppy colored faces
And big brown arms
And the field daisy eyes
Of black and white black white black people
And I'm gonna put white hands
And black hands and brown and yellow hands
And red clay earth hands in it
Touching everybody with kind fingers
Touching each other natural as dew
In that dawn of music when I
Get to be a colored composer
And write about daybreak
In Alabama.

08/13/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

For your summer enjoyment:

A Newcomer's Survival Guide: The Unofficial Episcopal-to-English Dictionary

07/30/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore
“It’s not fair!” God, and the brothers in this story, all too often turn human notions of fairness on their heads. We’ll hear one of the accounts of the feeding of the 5,000 on Sunday. Jesus looks at the crowd with compassion; may we also learn to look on others with a compassionate heart and willing hands.

A Jewish/Arab Folk Tale (found at Suzanne Guthrie’s website Edge of the Enclosure)
Once there were two brothers who inherited their father's land. The brothers divided the land in half and each one farmed his own section. Over time, the older brother married and had six children, while the younger brother never married.

One night, the younger brother lay awake. "It's not fair that each of us has half the land to farm," he thought. "My brother has six children to feed and I have none. He should have more grain than I do."

So that night the younger brother went to his silo, gathered a large bundle of wheat, and climbed the hill that separated the two farms and over to his brother's farm. Leaving the wheat in his brother's silo, the younger brother returned home, feeling pleased with himself.

Earlier that very same night, the older brother was also lying awake. "It's not fair that each of us has half the land to farm," he thought. "In my old age my wife and I will have our grown children to take care of us, not to mention grandchildren, while my brother will probably have none. He should at least sell more grain from the fields now so he can provide for himself with dignity in his old age."

So that night, too, he secretly gathered a large bundle of wheat, climbed the hill, left it in his brother's silo, and returned home, feeling pleased with himself.

The next morning, the younger brother was surprised to see the amount of grain in his barn unchanged. "I must not have taken as much wheat as I thought," he said, bemused. "Tonight I'll be sure to take more."
That very same moment, his older brother was also standing in his barn, musing much the same thoughts.

After night fell, each brother gathered a greater amount of wheat from his barn and in the dark, secretly delivered it to his brother's barn. The next morning, the brothers were again puzzled and perplexed. "How can I be mistaken?" each one scratched his head. "There's the same amount of grain here as there was before I cleared the pile for my brother. This is impossible! Tonight I'll make no mistake - I'll take the pile down to the very floor. That way I'll be sure the grain gets delivered to my brother."

The third night, more determined than ever, each brother gathered a large pile of wheat from his barn, loaded it onto a cart, and slowly pulled his haul through the fields and up the hill to his brother's barn. At the top of the hill, under the shadow of a moon, each brother noticed a figure in the distance. Who could it be?

When the two brothers recognized the form of the other brother and the load he was pulling behind, they realized what had happened. Without a word, they dropped the ropes to their carts and embraced.

07/22/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

“Grace is the celebration of life, relentlessly hounding all the non-celebrants in the world. It is a floating, cosmic bash shouting its way through the streets of the universe, flinging the sweetness of its cassations to every window, pounding at every door in a hilarity beyond all liking and happening, until the prodigals come out at last and dance, and the elder brothers finally take their fingers out of their ears.”
― Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon & Three: Romance, Law & the Outrage of Grace

Robert Farrar Capon is a New Testament scholar, priest, and foodie—The Supper of the Lamb: A culinary book (1996) is full of recipes and comments on Eucharist, the Supper of the Lamb. Whenever we get to Matthew’s parables of the Kin(g)dom of God, with all the promises of people being cast out into outer darkness “with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth” I turn to his interpretation of Jesus’ parables.

Good news: With Jesus’ death and resurrection anyone who wants can accept the unmerited grace poured out for all—no requirements, no condemnation for “bad” behavior or rewards for “good” behavior, just say “yes” to grace. Bad news: often humans don’t want that grace! It’s not fair, not in our control, not our plan. When we don’t accept grace, we condemn ourselves, in this life and the next, to life of worry and pain, self-pity and judgment that backfires on us and those around us. Good news: the invitation is always open.

Sunday, while I’m away celebrating my daughter Marin’s marriage in Great Barrington, MA, you’ll hear several parables of the kin(g)dom. The kindom is like a mustard seed, or yeast, or hidden treasure, or a pearl of great price, a net full of “all sorts and conditions” of fish. It is in this world, in unexpected places, and it nurtures life. Its joy is contagious. Love God. Love yourself. Love others. Love creation. Love enemies. That’s all and everything grace empowers us to do. So say yes!

07/16/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.” (Matthew 13:24). Matthew has more parables of people being condemned to outer darkness, with “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth”, than any other gospel. Matthew interprets some of Jesus’ parables in a very binary way, perhaps reflecting tensions in his congregation between different factions.

Matthew’s not the only one. Language of enmity—“we’re good and you’re evil”, “it’s your people’s fault that my people are suffering,” “Those people” are hurting “my country” pervades human civilizations.

Jesus (and teachers in many religious traditions) offers another way. Pay attention to the weeds growing among the wheat in your own field. Humans are capable of immense good, food to feed ourselves and others abundantly. The same humans, each of us, are capable of immense evil. I so much prefer to condemn others than to acknowledge my own part in the evil of the world. That’s not helpful. Acknowledging my part opens the way to repentance, forgiveness, new life.

“The whole creation has been groaning in labor pains,” (Romans 8:23) shaped by the conflict within each human, between humans and humans, between humans and other parts of creation, and arguably within God who created both good and evil, right and wrong, hope and despair, compassion and hatred. We can choose to project evil onto others and deny it in ourselves, or we can choose to see ourselves and others as struggling to survive, to love, to contribute to the world together.

Padraig O’Tuama is a poet and story teller who has worked to help Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland soften their enmity towards each other. Here’s his prayer in time of violence:

A prayer in times of violence

God of all humanity
in times of violence
we see how inhuman we can be.
We pray for those who, today,
are weighed down by grief.
We pray for those who, yesterday,
were weighed down by grief.
And the day before,
and all the days before the day before.
We pray, too, for those who help us turn towards
justice and peace.
Turn us all towards justice and peace
because we need it.
Amen.

07/09/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore

The New York Times reports that ICE has doubled its arrest numbers, deporting 10,000 people in five days, quietly and without fanfare.

Protests led to a decision not to build an ICE detention center in Chester, New York. Albany News10 reports that federal records show the GSA awarded a 15-year lease on June 24 to Leverage Enterprises Inc. The contract covers a 42,377-square-foot property at 800 Corporate Boulevard in Newburgh. The building requires a secure garage for government vehicles, including detainee buses and vans.

Temporary Protected Status, that lets people stay in the United States during a crisis, has ended for Haitians and Syrians as of July 1, 2026.

Here is a prayer for all immigrants to encourage empowerment, justice, and hope.

Prayer for all immigrants

Holy God, your presence transcends all human made borders and your love crosses all boundaries. Help us join you at the borders and help us to extend some hope to those who live without future and dignity at the border. We pray that you help us to promote laws that protect the rights and dignity of everyone, especially those most vulnerable.

God of justice, your love transcends our limitations and our unfair rules that divide humankind. We pray that the dignity of all God's children will be acknowledged and protected in every country of the world but especially in our country.

God of mercy, your wisdom transcends our limited understanding and our conditioned charity. Help us to end the violence and poverty and climate catastrophes that displace so many people from their homes and homelands to find new dreams and horizons. We pray that employers and corporations may choose the dignity and worth of each human person over profit and power.

God of all peoples, your merciful compassion transcends our unlimited selfishness that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery, hungry, sickness and despair. May we be agents of your compassion and hope.

God of all nations, we are indeed a nation of nations. Help us to incorporate newcomers into the ever growing and diverse body we call the United States of America. You made us different yet all bearing your image. As we work to live in community with our brothers and sisters help us to discern that image in those around us.

Amen.
(Source: Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago )

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/ice-immigrant-arrests-surge.html

https://www.news10.com/capitol/newburgh-ice-lease/

A Texas developer recently won a $35.5 million federal lease for a Newburgh office space, which Democrats worry could house a new immigration detention center, though there is no confirmation of th…

07/02/2026

A PRIEST’S PONDERINGS… The Rev. Allison Moore
Here comes the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The Book of Common Prayer offers two prayers and two sets of readings for July 4, which should properly be observed on the day itself, not the adjacent Sunday.

And yet, and yet . . . there has rarely been a time for the church to be clearer about how we love God, others, ourselves, and all creation as participants in the United States. We will hear Paul’s sometimes contradictory injunctions to “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1) and “Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8). And Jesus’ command to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:17). The sermon will explore these texts, with perhaps more questions than answers!

On Saturday afternoon July 4 I invite you to a prayer vigil sponsored by Rural and Migrant Ministry in Cornwall, NY (you can probably be back in time for fireworks at the Ulster County Fairgrounds!). RMM, along with St. John’s Episcopal Church and Cornwall Presbyterian Church, are coming together to claim the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the concept of LIBERTY and JUSTICE FOR ALL.

3:30 for a vigil of prayers for the nation at RMM’s Grail campus, 119 Duncan Avenue, Cornwall on Hudson
5pm to march in the Town of Cornwall 4th of July parade, with what RMM promises to be a “really cool float”.
RMM suggests you wear white to be in solidarity with RMM and the immigrant community.

Pray for the nation wherever you are on the 4th (and many other days and times as well!). Here are some websites with perspectives from various residents and citizens of the United States, beginning and ending with Episcopalians!

[SEE LINKS FOR BELOW IN OUR PARISH EMAIL NEWSLETTER ON OUR WEBSITE WWW.STANDREWNP.ORG ]

1776 Abigail Adams, “Remember the Ladies”

1776 The Indigenous Foundation, who lifts up the fact that the Declaration of Independence, for all its rhetoric of freedom, labeled indigenous peoples of this land “Merciless Indian savages.”

1785 Establishment of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America as worshippers in the Church of England in the Colonies had to sort out their loyalties

1852, Frederick Douglass, “What to the slave is the 4th of July?”

1860, Walt Whitman, “I Hear America Singing”

1936, Langston Hughes, “Let America be America Again” (a dramatic reading)

2026 Haywood County North Carolina Pride, “Rethinking July 4,”

2026 Episcopal News Service interviewing Bp. Heyd

Home