Shelter Island Yacht Club Memorial Sunday at Union Chapel on July 9: Noted musicians to perform

Vintage burgees will bedeck the Union Chapel rafters for Yacht Club Memorial Sunday on July 9 when the antique Chapel bell will toll for SIYC members who passed away since last July.

Elizabeth Sternlieb, Senior Cantor of Temple Beth El (Westchester) will preach about “Living Your Best Life.” Classical guitarist Robert Secrist will be the guest musician and Nelson Bogart will return to play his haunting rendition of Taps.

Jay Sterling, SIYC Fleet Chaplain and Chairman of Union Chapel, will lead the service in which flag officers and trustees will participate.

As the bell tolls, SIYC Commodore Lisa Reich will read the names of the deceased: Chuck Baker, Jean Schultheis Brechter, Robert Bronson Haines, Timothy Hogue, Betty Jane Thompson Jones, Eugene Harold Luntey, Olive Buerk Reich, Carol Benedict Russell and Charles Wallace Tiernan, Jr.

About Elizabeth Sternlieb

Elizabeth and her husband, Michael, have been members of the Yacht Club since 1995, where she often sings patriotic songs at Commissioning and Decommissioning ceremonies.

Elizabeth has served as the Senior Cantor for Temple Beth El in Chappaqua for the last five years. Previously, she was Cantor/Educator at Sinai Free Synagogue in Mt. Vernon.

She was ordained in 2014 at The Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR) NY and simultaneously received a Master of Arts in Jewish Studies from Gratz College. She has been a guest conductor for the Academy for Jewish Religion choir and served as a mentor for cantorial candidates and soloists.  Elizabeth has appeared in community and regional theater productions in the tri-state area; her voice (both narration and singing) has been featured in commercials and audiobooks. 

As she prepared to speak at the Union Chapel service, Elizabeth reflected on one of her favorite responsibilities as Senior Cantor at Temple Beth El. “I am immensely fortunate to work in a vibrant and growing congregation and I co-officiate our weekly Shabbat morning services as our 13-year-old members become Bar or Bat Mitzvah,” she said. “I consider myself lucky to be a part of their learning process. Their words and thoughts are an inspiration and this brings me hope for the future of our world.”

About Robert Secrist

Robert made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 21. He graduated from the Mannes School of Music with the “Best Performance Award,” the only guitarist in the school’s history to receive this honor, and was appointed to the faculty upon graduation. His teachers have included Italian guitarist, Oscar Ghiglia, Russian violinist, Leonid Bolotine, and the Spanish master, Andres Segovia. Robert was the first North American to win the IV International “Alirio Diaz” Competition in Caracas, Venezuela. His recording credits include an all-Bach album, “Bach to the Country.” His latest recording, due for release this summer, features Robert’s signature arrangements from the great American Song Book, jazz standards and contemporary songs.

About Nelson Bogart

Nelson plays both trumpet and guitar and is 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.

Join us at Union Chapel for our indoor service on July 9 at 10:30 am for Yacht Club Memorial Sunday. An outdoor reception in our shady grove, hosted by the Yacht Club, will follow the service.

Next week: Camp Quinipet Sunday with Rev. Matthew Querns.

“All Are Welcome:150 years of Shelter Island’s Union Chapel in the Grove,” by Carrie Cooperider, is available for purchase after the service, at Finley’s Fiction or by contacting Trustee Kathy Dinkel.

The book makes this historical mention of the Yacht Club:

“The Yacht Club appointed Episcopal Reverend A.J. Aspinwall [one of the eleven original trustees of the Yacht Club] as Fleet Chaplain in 1907…he began the custom of having a ‘dress’ service in the chapel that continues to this day. Though women eventually began to be included in the ranks of the Yacht Club, little else has changed since this description from ‘Brooklyn Life’ in 1909:

‘There was a decided nautical air about the Prospect House early Sunday morning and tanned men, looking very trim in dress uniform of the Shelter Island Yacht Club, began assembling on the west piazza of the hotel. At a quarter of eleven they marched in a body to the Union Chapel, where the Rev. John A. Aspinwall, chaplain of the organization, preached the annual sermon…In the chancel were displayed the club burgee, yacht ensign and the American flag.’” Shelter Island Yacht Club Memorial Sunday at Union Chapel on July 9: Noted musicians to perform