Shelter Island’s Union Chapel to honor Garden Club

Garden Club Memorial Sunday will take place at Union Chapel on Aug. 4, at 10:30 a.m. This marks the 88th annual memorial service for The Garden Club of Shelter Island, a tradition begun in 1936.

Members of the Garden Club who passed away in the last year will be memorialized with a rose, a remembrance and the tolling of the antique Chapel bell.

Garden Club President Jean McClintock will speak on behalf of the Club; Barbara Hayes is chairing the service. Suzanne Louer will read the Scriptures; Joan Buonocore will arrange flowers for the altar and Lucy Browne for the reception table.

Pastor Tom MacLeod of the United Methodist Church will preach about “Invasive Species,” and cellist Jeannie Woelker will provide music for this indoor service.

Doris Schultz is the Garden Club member whose memory will be honored.

The Garden Club of Shelter Island is a chapter of Federated Garden Clubs, a national organization that promotes interest in horticulture. The club beautifies our island by planting flowers in public places, like the post offices and on Route 114, as well as sponsoring flower shows and educational workshops.

As an entity, the Garden Club aims “to stimulate the knowledge and love of horticulture, gardening and flower arranging. It is dedicated to promoting interest in wayside plantings and home gardens and to protect and enhance the natural beauty of Shelter Island, its roadsides and shorelines.”

Members of the Garden Club create wreaths for the Memorial Day ceremony, host garden tour fundraisers and sell a unique, much-sought-after ornament at Christmas. On the Friday before Mother’s Day, Garden Club members were at the library, and with the youth librarian, they helped young children plant succulents in china teacups, encouraging the use of moss, gravel and tiny lawn ornaments.

Pastor Tom MacLeod has had a varied career path. He worked as a veterinarian tech for seven years, followed by 25 years in the construction field, and finally 25 years in ministry.

Pastor Tom served as a campus minister of the Peconic Fellowship at the Suffolk Community College in Riverhead and received two awards for distinguished service.

He was first appointed to the Sag Harbor United Methodist Church in 2002. During his 12 years there, the church experienced a rebirth in worship attendance as Pastor Tom guided parishioners in selling their old building and building a new sanctuary. The Sag Harbor Express named him Person of the Year in 2010. The church was also featured in Paul Nixon’s book, “We Refused to Lead a Dying Church.”

In 2014, the New York Annual Conference appointed Pastor Tom to oversee the merger of the four United Methodist churches on the North Fork including Cutchogue, Southold, Greenport and Orient.

They planned to sell all four churches and use the accumulated assets to buy land and build a new centrally located sanctuary in Southold. This became a reality on June 16, 2019, when the new sanctuary was consecrated. Pastor Tom received the Harry Denman Award for Excellence in Evangelism.

He retired in June of 2021. He and his wife, Bobbie have two children and two grandchildren and enjoy retirement in Mattituck.

Cellist Jeannie Woelker has appeared at Union Chapel as part of the group Basically Baroque and the Cottage Trio. With a degree in music from Stony Brook University, she also attended the Boston Conservatory of Music and C.W. Post College.

She has been teaching strings for over 20 years. As a certified Suzuki instructor, she teaches both Suzuki and traditional methods to students ranging in age from two-years-old to adults. She also teaches at East End Arts in Riverhead.

Join us for Garden Club Memorial Sunday on August 4 at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Tom MacLeod. Members of the Garden Club will host an outdoor reception following the service. 

Next week: Art Sunday with Rev. Candace Whitman; Jed Feldman will play flute.