Union Chapel in the Grove honors the Shelter Island Yacht Club for its Memorial Sunday, on July 11 at 10:30 AM. Guest preacher is Elizabeth Sternlieb, senior cantor of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester in Chappaqua. Nelson Bogart joins her on trumpet.
Flag officers and trustees will participate in the service. SIYC Commodore Bruce Brewer will read the names of Yacht Club members who passed away since last year as the Chapel bell tolls.
The SIYC members memorialized are:
- Wade Westlake Badger
- Richard Warren Baron
- Mary Jane Fenn
- Frederic Wheeler Hills
- Elizabeth Holmes
- Karen Toohey Hughes
- F. Kenneth Ivers II
- Nancy Tuttle Ivers
- Commodore Loren King
- Lois “Pat” Lockwood
- Peter Martini
- Christopher H. Smith
- Charles Weiner
Jay Sterling, SIYC Fleet Chaplain and chairman of Union Chapel, will lead the service.
About Cantor Elizabeth Sternlieb
Since 1995, Sternlieb and her husband, Michael, have been members of the Yacht Club, where she participates in the Commissioning and Decommissioning ceremonies.
When asked about the most profound gifts of the pandemic, she mentioned the time she spent at home with her husband and cats, Niko and Bugsie. But equally important was figuring out how to get through those long days of lockdown and uncertainty.
“Finding a way into equanimity, to stay centered and to be in each moment, in each day,” she said. “Discovering new and innovative ways to reach out to people I love and to continue my work of healing and hope through poetry, songwriting and video production.”
During the pandemic she wrote “The Sun Will Shine Again,” (partial lyrics are below), which she posted on her YouTube channel, along with other original song videos.
She’s been senior cantor for Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester for the last three years and previously served at Sinai Free Synagogue in Mt. Vernon.
Sternlieb was ordained in 2014 at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR) and simultaneously received a Master of Arts in Jewish Studies from Gratz College. She has appeared as a guest conductor for the AJR choir and has served as a mentor for cantorial candidates and soloists. She also coordinated and produced two virtual concerts to raise funds for “Mazon,” an international organization that feeds the hungry. These “Cantors and Company” concerts ran live on YouTube.
She has appeared in community and regional theater productions in the tri-state area, and her voice (both narration and singing) have been featured in commercials and audiobooks. She and her husband love sailing, both around the Island and off the coast of Maine.
SIYC Memorial Sunday service
Musician Nelson Bogart is a summer resident of Shelter Island who has performed at many Union Chapel services. Bogart, who plays trumpet and guitar, describes himself as being in his fourth career as a full-time composer. He was also a studio musician, lawyer and professor. He and his wife, Ellen, have been members of the Yacht Club since 1994.
Please join us at Union Chapel for our interdenominational service on July 11 for Yacht Club Memorial Sunday. Next week, Union Chapel celebrates Shelter Island’s Quinipet Camp & Retreat.
As we emerge from last year’s pandemic, the words from Sternlieb’s song act as a benediction:
Take a breath, prepare to carry on
Take a breath, reach out to those you love
Stay centered through shadows and rain
Summon all your courage
Summon all your strength
The sun will shine again…
Keep us in health
Keep us in wholeness
Hold us in love
Hold us in peace.
JoAnn Kirkland assists the trustees of Union Chapel in the Grove. To learn more about the nonprofit, seasonal chapel, visit its website, unionchapelinthegrove.org.
