About Us and Our History
What is an Episcopalian?
The Episcopal Church is a member of the world-wide Anglican Communion, with 70 million members in 164 countries. We are a community of Christians bound together by our belief that Holy Scripture contains the very core of all Christian faith and thought, by the many ancient and modern stories that connect us to Jesus and his teachings, and by discovering daily God’s hope and call to us through our life together. The precise beliefs and practices of Episcopalians can be a puzzle to those raised in more rigid traditions—and even sometimes to Episcopalians themselves! We are not fully protestant, but at the same time are not Roman Catholic either. We offer no unquestioning obedience to a central authority—instead debating doctrine among ourselves and often agreeing to differ on it. Yet we also have splendidly dressed bishops and priests and deacons, just as the Roman Catholics do (except, of course, that many of ours are women, and our senior bishops are all elected), and we center our worship on the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. The connections that bind us can sometimes get lost in the smoke of debate, but they are there nonetheless, have deep historical roots, and are much more powerful than they sometimes seem.
What We Believe (from episcopalchurch.org)
As Episcopalians, we believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world.
We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.
The Episcopal Church embraces a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; people of all genders and sexual orientations serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy work together in leadership and governance.
The Sacraments
“Sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 857).
Besides baptism and the Eucharist (Holy Communion), the church recognizes other spiritual markers in our journey of faith.
Found in the Book of Common Prayer, these include:
- Confirmation (the adult affirmation of our baptismal vows), pp. 413-419
- Reconciliation of a Penitent (private confession), pp. 447-452
- Matrimony (Christian marriage), pp. 422-438
- Orders (ordination to deacon, priest, or bishop), pp. 510-555
- Unction (anointing with oil those who are sick or dying) pp. 453-467
Our History
St. Nicholas Church on the Hudson has been a vital part of New Hamburg for well over a hundred years. From our early beginnings as an Episcopal Sunday school, through the years we served as a Memorial Chapel for Zion Church in Wappingers Falls, to our current incarnation as a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, we’ve responded to every challenge the times have demanded.
The first service held in our Carpenter Gothic Style building took place on January 30, 1903. The style, common in the late 19th century for residences, was less commonly used for churches. In fact, our building qualified to be placed on the National Historic Register in 1987.
In the early decades of the 20th century, life on our part of the Hudson had been relatively stable for many years. Fertile farmland gave way to homes, with most people working within short commutes. Slowly, New Hamburg became more of a bedroom community, with many residents commuting into Manhattan via rail. As New Hamburg changed, worship changed as well. By 1980, Zion Church could no longer financially support two churches, and their vestry voted to close the Memorial Chapel. But chapel leaders decided the little church had more work to do, and they convinced Archdeacon Robert Willing to allow them to prove their viability.
In his plan of action, Father Willing wrote, “Having won the right to self-determination…if the chapel is to continue beyond June 30, 1982, it will be because there has been a continued growth rate and a determined reason for being.”
A small group of people, mostly women, worked hard during those eighteen months to attract more congregants and get the finances of the church in order. Their efforts allowed for St. Nick’s to be reborn.
On June 10, 1982, they petitioned the diocese to recognize the parish as St. Nicholas Church on the Hudson, and their request was granted. Our first vicar was The Reverend Deborah Tammearu, who served both St. Nick’s and our Chelsea neighbor, St. Mark’s, from 1984 until April of 1994.
In January of 1995, St. Nick’s and St. Mark’s were on firm enough footing to hire a part time Priest, but by 1998 St. Marks’s considerably smaller congregation could no longer remain independent. St. Nick’s, however, grew strong enough to hire our first full-time priest in 2006, The Reverend Astrid Joy Storm.
Mother Storm was our rector for ten years, and helped guide us through successful fundraising efforts to allow us to make significant improvements to our beautiful, but often fragile building.
When Mother Storm was called to a new church in 2016, we embarked on an in-depth search for our next rector, and called The Reverend Leigh Ellen Hall in 2017. Mother Leigh recently helped oversee yet another large project, the complete rebuild of our lower churchyard, with new retaining walls, stairs, and pathways to provide safe and very attractive access to the undercroft.
Our building is now in better shape than it’s been since 1903, underscoring our commitment to our future. Of course, we fully realize that the building is not the church. The church is our congregation, our community, and our love for all of God’s creation. Those connections will continue to grow, while we endeavor to faithfully serve as the Church With The Open Heart.
