Father Shane (second from left) at Easter bonfire
Interested parties should contact St. Mary’s
For the 10th year, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Cold Spring, again invites all those in need of being baptized – or having children baptized — as Christians to do so at the church’s candle-light Easter Vigil, this Saturday (April 7). According to the rector, Father Shane Scott Hamblen, St. Mary’s “open baptism,” with “no questions asked” accommodates not only parents of young children or adults who “forgot or never quite got around to it” but anyone turned away from another congregation in the past. Over the last nine years, dozens of families and individuals have accepted the invitation.
To participate, interested parties should contact Father Shane, in advance, if possible, by phone or e-mail: 845-265-2539; [email protected] If unable to do so, he asks them to arrive at the church about 20 minutes early and speak with the parish verger, Thom Harrington. The service begins at 7 p.m., on the church lawn, with the lighting of the Easter bonfire. Held the night before Easter, the vigil ushers in Easter, considered the greatest day in the Christian calendar. St. Mary’s suggests that attendees “bring a bell to ring in Easter with sounds of joy!” A champagne reception in the parish hall follows the service. Absolutely everyone is welcome, the church emphasizes.
St. Mary’s is located on Chestnut Street, at the traffic light in Cold Spring (intersection of Route 301/Main Street and Route 9D/Chestnut Street-Morris Avenue).
