From the Vicar... We're asking folks to "Come and See." What do we hope they find? As we issue our "Come and See" invitations these next three weeks, what do we hope our guests will find? Lots of things, I would imagine - but here are the things I'm thinking about. In a world full of change and seeming vulnerability, I believe people are looking for communities of support and love. We have that in our two churches - and I think our guests will discover that if given the opportunity. But I think there's more for them to discover - and some of that has to do with what makes us distinctive as Episcopalians. Let me share just four of our defining, bedrock principles, and see if they resonate for you as they do for me: - Worship defines us. The worship of God through our celebration of the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our life in Christ. In our worship through the magnificent liturgy that is our Episcopal/Anglican hallmark, we meet Christ. It is in our worship that the Word of God comes alive, and worship is what gives us a deeper life. It is in worship that the community gathers to be nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ, and prepared for mission.
- The Incarnation of Jesus Christ compels us to action. We believe that we cannot truly be said to worship the infinite God who took on frail human flesh without also serving all of God's children in our community. If God cared enough about the material world to become "one" with it, then we too must become one with this world. The concerns for health, food, clothing, and education of the poorest of the poor must also be our own concerns.
- While respecting the faith journeys of others, we hold Jesus to be our Way, our Truth and our Life. We are called to be heralds of the good news of God in Jesus Christ, to proclaim what God has already done, and continues to do, for our sake. But we are not called to proclaim this in a way that excludes or renders invalid the faith journeys of others. We tell - and hold to be true - our understanding of Christ as Incarnate Savior...and we listen for the ways we can learn from others who understand the eternal, the divine, differently.
- Truth, like God, does not evolve or change - but our perception and understanding of that unchanging truth grows as we grow in Christ. In a culture that is confused and conflicted about human relations, politics, medical ethics, war, peace, and the dignity of human life, we believe that the Church can and should speak with clarity, calling all of us to the risen life of Christ. In doing so, Jesus alone should always be our model. To my mind, Jesus was both conservative and liberal. He was conservative in that he backed down not an iota from the truth God had already revealed to the Hebrew people. But he liberally applied that truth with mercy and forgiveness, and asked those who would follow him to do the same.
As we issue our invitations, I pray that God gives to each of us the courage to model these distinctive principles. As we show our guests a way of worshipping God in a way that is as faithful as it is beautiful; as we demonstrate to them the channels by which we serve the "least of these" our sisters and brothers in our community; as we continue to live ever more deeply into our mission of proclaiming a Christ who urges us to continual growth in our own understanding...we will become ambassadors of a faith that people will want to embrace and become part of. We have a lot to offer - and I look forward to welcoming the people who will "come and see" who we are as the next three weeks unfold. Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer for February Each week, in both of our churches, we pray for one ministry we share and one or two households in each church. About once every six weeks, we will instead using the Shared Ministry Collect we prayed throughout the opening months of our Shared Ministry.. In our prayers the next two weeks, we give God thanks for... Feb. 16 Come and See (both congregations); Terry Corringham of Christ Church; Bob Busch of Trinity Feb. 23 Hampton Nursing Home Service; Craig Davis & Kris Ebbeson Christ Church; Carol Dostie, Jane Eiras and family of Trinity Church Looking beyond "Come and See" - Join us for "Via Media" Lenten program  Via Media is a 6-week education series open to anyone who is curious or interested in the Episcopal/Anglican tradition. Each of the Via Media sessions begins with a meal and then a short video about some aspect of our faith. A portion of our time together is dedicated to open discussion and conversation as well. All people are encouraged to ask questions and to learn how to answer their own questions of faith. At Trinity Church, Hampton... Sessions will be held Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. beginning Ash Wednesday, March 5. That evening, the program will begin with the Ash Wednesday liturgy in the church, followed by video and discussion in the adjoining Narthex. Subsequent sessions will be in the parish hall, Hobbs Hall, beginning with a simple soup and bread supper at 6:00 followed by the video and discussion. At Christ Church, Portsmouth... Sessions will be held Sundays at 12:00 noon beginning Sunday, March 9. Each session will begin with a soup and bread lunch in the Marshall Room (the room where coffee hour is held), and will continue with video and discussion in the classroom next door. Here is our schedule of sessions: Wed. at 6 p.m. in Hampton and Sun. at 12 noon in Portsmouth Wed Sun Mar. 5 and Mar. 9 - Session 1: Anglican Way of Being Christian Mar. 12 and Mar. 16 - Session 2: God & Creation: The Abundance of God's Goodness Mar. 19 and Mar. 23 - Session 3: God in Jesus: An Incarnational Faith Mar. 26 and Mar.30 - Session 4: God the Holy Spirit: The Breath of New Life April 2 and April 6 - Session 5: The Word of God for the People of God (The Bible) April 9 and April 28* - Session 6: So What? What does it mean to be a Christian today? * skips Palm Sunday/Easter at Christ Church We are looking for Via Media discussion leaders for each church (two or three per church should meet our needs). If you can help, please speak with Fr. Chip. Training will be provided. Making our churches ready for our "Come and See" guests
Our three "Come and See" Sundays are just around the corner: Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and Mar. 2. But inviting people to come on those three Sundays is only part of the campaign. Another important part is getting our churches ready for our guests to show up. A key part of the program is a "behind-the-scenes" effort to make sure our churches' buildings are visitor friendly - and be sure those who come can easily follow and participate in the service. The Come and See campaign manual encourages local churches to pay attention to small details-like clean and clutter-free entryways and clean bathrooms - that are important to visitors.
"When people come to church for the first time, or come back after a long absence, they notice everything," says the Rev. Jason Wells, chair of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire's Evangelism Commission. "In fact, most of them form innate judgments about the environment within seven seconds of walking through the door."
To make ourselves ready for the 16th, we are asking folks to come down on Saturday, Feb. 15 for a cleaning and de-cluttering in each of our churches. Work will begin at 9:00, and, if enough folks show up, we should be done in short order. Quick "retouches" may be needed each of the following weekends, but with perhaps only one or two persons just making sure all is ready for Sunday.
- Fr. Chip
Upcoming Weeks' Calendar
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February 15 Our first "Come and See" weekend
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9:00 a.m.
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Cleaning and "de-cluttering" in preparation for
Come and See
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5:00 p.m.
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Holy Eucharist, Rite One, at Trinity Church
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February 16
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8:45 a.m.
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Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Trinity Church
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10:30 a.m.
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Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Christ Church
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February 18
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7:00 p.m.
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Bishop's Committee meeting at Christ Church
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February 22 Our second "Come and See" weekend
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5:00 p.m.
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Holy Eucharist, Rite One, at Trinity Church
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February 23
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8:45 a.m.
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Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Trinity Church
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10:30 a.m.
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Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Christ Church
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Bishop's Committee retreat sets goals for our Shared Ministry
The annual retreat for the Bishop's Committees of Christ Church and Trinity Church was held at St George's Church in York Harbor, Maine on Saturday, Feb. 8. After a brief morning service and some introductory exercises providing those in attendance the opportunity to come to know one another better, Fr. Chip introduced the ideas of William Easum who wrote the book "Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers." We discussed some of the "sacred cows" we have in each respective church, and the need to confront some of these long-standing institutions and practices. Due to the small size of each congregation, and the very limited resources available, we need to create a plan to increase attendance and income. Among other alternatives, this may need to involve substantial changes in how the church buildings are used, in how we encourage the general public to join us, and in how we relate to the pre-school families whose children attend Little Blessings at Christ Church and the Village Pre-School at Trinity.
After lunch, we split into groups based on which congregation we belong to, and worked on specific ideas which are measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
For Christ Church this involved:
- Inviting parents whose children attend Little Blessings to join us for worship, for specific events like Come and See, etc. This would entail handing out fliers, and personally making contact with parents as they pick up their children. All new people attending a church service should be made welcome and a follow-up call should be considered. This would go on for the rest of the year.
- Increasing the use of the church by renting out space to other churches which do not have a building, other venues such as performing arts groups, etc. Changes in the sanctuary may need to be made and possible grant sources would need to be researched. This would occur over the next 2 years.
For Trinity Church, goals included:
- Setting a measurable goal of increasing attendance by 10% by year's end, and plate and pledge income by 5% within that same period. Some of the same techniques were named as were outlined by the Christ Church members above.
- Dealing creatively with deployment of our volunteers to help prevent burnout. An example is our current reliance on a single vested lay minister at the Eucharist, which limits participation by those who might want to serve but don't wish to be vested. We also know that our buildings, especially Hobbs House, are older and need maintenance.
The retreat ended with a Celtic Eucharist. Notes from other aspects of the retreat will be published in future editions of the ENews.
Save the Date! Planning for the March 4th Shrove Tuesday dinner is under way! Bob Main (Trinity) is planning to host the annual 'pancake dinner' - with a twist. A New Orleans twist, that is! Gumbo and jambalaya have been added to the menu AND the music of the Episco-cats will fill the hall! Watch for more details! Christ Church Announcements Crossroads House, the homeless shelter just about across the street from us, can use your donations of non-perishable food, - personal toilet items, and clothing items such as sox, gloves, hats, sweaters and coats, or most anything else. Bring items and leave in the basket marked "Crossroads near the front door Intercessory Prayer Book: Do you have a prayer concern that you would like the people of Christ Church to pray for? If so you may add it to our Intercessory Prayer Book which is located in the chapel below the sculpture of the Good Samaritan. If you have an urgent concern, please contact the Vicar at the church office phone number or email. Adelynrood: If you are looking for a place to have a private retreat or attend a spiritually enriching program, Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center in nearby Newbury, MA offers an inviting space and a group of wonderful programs. To see additional information, click here or talk to Betty Lane at Christ Church. Seeking women who like to sing: Women Singing Out, a chorus which practices and preforms here at Christ Church, welcomes any woman who likes to sing and would like to join us. Our rehearsals this semester begin Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 from 7-9 PM. For more information, see Betty Lane at Christ Church, or checkout our website at www.womensingingout.org |
