From the Vicar...

Getting to the Roots  

We have now entered the season after Pentecost, the longest season of our church calendar. It is a teaching season. It is a season for getting to the roots of our Christian faith. One thing we will hear again and again is the love theme: the reminder, in Christ's words and actions, that love is God's grace in action. So, again and again, we will find Jesus preaching, teaching and living out love.

This Sunday, we'll be reading a Gospel passage about a notorious woman (Luke would have us understand a serious sinner), who turns to Jesus seeking Jesus' healing touch of love. She seeks him, finds him and in faith and hope gives herself over totally to his mercy.

What does the story teach us? First of all, it teaches that moral failure is not the end of the road for the follower of Christ. We do not and cannot earn our salvation by good behavior. If there is anything we learn from this passage, it is that to be Christ-like is to be understanding, forgiving and accepting above all.

In one sense, we Episcopalians get that point pretty well. We bend over backwards to make a point of trying to avoid being judgmental and to concentrate on love, grace, acceptance, and forgiveness. But in the process, we may miss another aspect of this story - and its other great teaching point. One of the great healing secrets of Jesus' ministry is his art of coupling empathy with accountability.

What we see in the Gospel story this week is a magnificent display of our Lord's empathy coupled with an expectation that this encounter with the woman will result in changes - indeed, a transformation - in this woman's life. It is an utterly grace-filled encounter. He could have destroyed her with a single word, a single judgment, or a single act of rejection. But he did not. He didn't need to. The woman came to an accountability regarding the shape and character of her life simply by receiving our Lord's unconditional love.

The teaching point for us is this. If we would be disciples of Jesus, we must seek the good in others, and in our loving and accepting and our best efforts at understanding, allow that which is good in the other to come out while they embrace the accountability that enables the bad to go away. We follow Jesus not by demanding to be understood, but by trying our very best to understand. Above all, we are to love. And that is the root of who we are and what we about as the Christian community.

Faithfully,

Fr. Chip

Are you going on vacation?

Are you going on vacation this summer? Your church family hopes you have a great time - but, before you go, just a reminder: the Church doesn't go on vacation! Our services continue throughout the summer months - and our bills still need to be paid. So please, take the time to keep your pledge up-to-date while you are away. Perhaps it is easiest to write a check before you leave, so you don't have to worry about it when you return.

I'm going to the ballgame - are you?

Last I heard, the signups have been slow coming in for our June 29 outing to see the New Hampshire Fisher Cats play the Portland Sea Dogs at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. Lynda Swartz (Christ Church) and Patrice Wood (Trinity) really need to know by this Sunday if we have enough participants to make a go of it. Sign-up sheets can be found at both Trinity and Christ Churches.

The Holy Roller bus will leave Portsmouth at 5:45 - and I'll be on board. But if you don't want to take the bus, that's no problem, we can car-pool, too! I'm told last year's game was a lot of fun. And...we have had 20 tickets donated for our use so "young-uns" from the area youth groups can join us.

Tickets are $7.00 each. The game is set for Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. I'll be there - will you?

Fr. Chip

Children and Youth Programs  

Gospel for Kids * 

During the Gospel for Kids we will be looking at how we sometimes reject Jesus from our lives and do things that do not please him. We will look at how when people rejected him in his hometown. We will work on ways that we may welcome him into our lives.

Youth Database

If you have a youth between preschool and High School please consider sending J.R. Bridle your e-mail address, so that he can add you to the youth e-mail list, and get you the most up to date information the fastest. 

JR Bridle 

j_bridle@hotmail.com

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Sunday Schedule

         1st & 3rd Sundays

• At Christ Church: Godly Play (10:30 am) 
• At Trinity: Gospel Lessons for Kids (8:45 am) 

 2nd & 4th Sundays

• At Christ Church: Gospel Lessions for Kids (10:30 am) 

• Gospel for Kids 

Volunteers Needed:

*final Sunday School of the year is scheduled for 6/23/13  

• Saturdays: Food Pantry at Hobbs House Trinity. 10:00 am - noon  year round (Sandi Nickerson & Gordon Lane)
• Sundays: The Christ Church "Holy Roller" Bus (Chuck Ott)
• 1st Saturday of the month: Portsmouth Salvation Army Suppers, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Jean Wadman)
• 1st Sundays of the month: Pastoral Visit to the Oceanside Rehabilitation Center, Hampton (Bob Main & Belinda Wilkes)

Contact Amanda or Aidan for clothing donation drop off or clothing needs 603.918.6816 or email  dress4schoolsuccess@comcast.net. during the school year.  All requests are confidential.

 Content Submission Guidelines 

The Shared Ministry E-News is an electronic newsletter for members of Trinity Episcopal Church, Hampton and Christ Episcopal Church, Portsmouth. It is published weekly on Thursdays. We welcome submissions that have a connection to the ministry of these churches. Inclusion of submissions is at the discretion of Reverend Robinson.

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