From the Vicar...
A holy Lent starts with being here
I want to take this opportunity to invite you to keep a holy Lent.
For me the emotional heart of Lent is the reading of Jesus' story as it unfolds from the temptations in the wilderness (1 Lent) through Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus (3 Lent). On 4 Lent we will read the long story, which I love, of Jesus stopping by the blind beggar, and healing him (from John, chapter 9). On 5 Lent, we have the story (from John 11) of Jesus going to his friend Lazarus who has died, and at the door of the tomb ordering the people to unbind him and let him go. The journey is from God urging us to let go of our temptations, to Jesus urging us to let go from the past, from what binds us, to enter into the new resurrection life.
How do I suggest that we keep a holy Lent? Come to the altar of your church! Come gather with your Christian family on Saturday night or Sunday. In addition, join in our Via Media study Wednesday nights at Trinity Church or Sunday at noon at Christ Church, which will provide the opportunity to share your understanding of the faith we share with others, some of whom may be new to the Episcopal Church, and others of which may have long experience as Episcopalians.
Come to the altar on Palm Sunday, at the beginning of Holy Week, and then through the week: to Tenebrae on Tuesday evening at Trinity Church, to the Maundy Thursday liturgy, at Christ Church, when we remember Jesus at the Last Supper. And then come on Good Friday, when, at Trinity, we remember the story of his laying down his life for us in love. And then come on Easter Eve, to the great Vigil at Christ Church. And then to the light and joy of Easter Day, to be celebrated in both congregations.
I know this sounds awfully simple. I've suggested here no "spiritual exercises," no particular course of reading or study, no "extra stuff" that we normally associate with Lent. What I desperately want in each of our churches is a congregation that has committed itself to simply coming week by week and letting Lent state its case and make its point. The best Lenten gift you could give me is your presence each week so you can hear and see God at work in this powerful season and its stories.
I invite you - please - make that commitment and join us week by week as Lent unfolds.
In Christ,
Fr. Chip
Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer this week and next
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...
Mar. 9
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(we will use the Collect for our Shared Ministry)
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Mar. 16
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Pastoral Care ministries of both congregations; Leo & Lori Gagnon of Christ Church; Barbara Hall of Trinity Church
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Vicar's Discretionary Fund needs your help
The new joint Vicar's Discretionary Fund has now been set up to serve the pastoral needs of both of our churches. This fund exists to quietly and confidentially assist people in need either through direct personal aid (helping people with utility bills, rental and heating assistance, etc.) or through participation in community-wide charitable efforts.
If you are in a position to help bring this fund to full operating strength, any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Please make your check payable to your own church (Trinity or Christ Church) with a memo, "Vicar's Discretionary Fund." Even better: why not consider making a quarterly (monthly?) contribution? Calls for assistance come in throughout the year and it would be good to know the fund is ready to meet these needs at any time.
The Vicar
"Via Media" Lenten program continues
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. in the parish hall, Hobbs Hall, beginning with a simple soup and bread supper followed by the video and discussion.
At Christ Church, Portsmouth...
Sessions will be held Sundays at 12:00 noon beginning this 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.
This week and next...
Session 1:
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Anglican Way of Being Christian
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Mar. 9 in Portsmouth
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Session 2:
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The Abundance of God's Goodness
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Mar. 12 in Hampton; Mar. 16 in Portsmouth
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Our Lenten worship
Sunday services throughout the season of Lent strike a simpler, more penitential tone than those normally offered through the rest of the year. By changing the liturgy in different seasons of the Church Year, our worship will be deepened as we experience different windows that are opened to God by our service.
At Christ Church... On the first Sunday of Lent, March 9, Christ Church's 10:30 a.m. service will begin with the Great Litany sung in procession. This will then be the last form of sung liturgy until Palm Sunday. By offering the Eucharist in a more austere setting through the remainder of Lent, we will be reminded of that "stripping away" that is at the heart of the season's self-examination and repentance.
At Trinity Church... At Trinity Church's Saturday evening and 8:45 a.m. Sunday offerings of the Eucharist this Lent, the Penitential Order with Holy Eucharist, Rite One, will be offered. Like the Litany being used at Christ Church, this liturgical setting reminds us, through its penitential language and tone, of our call to prepare our hearts for the Paschal feast.
Episcopal Relief and Development Sunday
We invite you to join us as we commemorate Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday on the first Sunday in Lent, March 9, 2014.
At the 2009 General Convention, Lent was officially designated as a time to encourage dioceses, congregations and individuals to remember and support the life-saving work of Episcopal Relief & Development. We invite all Episcopalians to join together on Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday, and throughout the Lenten season, to pray for those living in need.
The Rite of Reconciliation - a Lenten opportunity
Lent is a time of seeking right relationships with God and other people. Some people find that it is a good time to use the Reconciliation of a Penitent (pp. 447-452 in the Book of Common Prayer) to let go of past hurts, or take an inventory of their lives and sort of get a fresh start. Although we regularly have a General Confession in our services, the opportunity to use this form of private confession, to speak out loud to a priest (or another person) the things we have been holding in our hearts and to hear words of counsel and absolution, can be a gift to renew us. You are assured that anything shared in this Rite of Reconciliation will always remain confidential. If you would like to learn more about the Rite of Reconciliation or would like to schedule a time to do the rite, please contact Fr. Chip at 926-5688.
Presiding Bishop's Lent Message 2014
The word "Lent" means "lengthen" and it's about the days getting longer. Th e early Church began to practice a season of preparation for those who would be baptized at Easter, and before too long other members of the Christian community joined those candidates for baptism as an act of solidarity.
It was a season during which Christians and future Christians learned about the disciplines of the faith - prayer and study and fasting and giving alms, sharing what they have.
But the reality is that, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, the lengthening days were often times of famine and hunger, when people had used up their winter food stores and the spring had not yet produced more food to feed people. Acting in solidarity with those who go hungry is a piece of what it means to be a Christian. To be a follower of Jesus is to seek the healing of the whole world.
And Lent is a time when we practice those disciplines as acts of solidarity with the broken and hungry and ill and despised parts of the world.
I would invite you this Lent to think about your Lenten practice as an exercise in solidarity with all that is - with other human beings and with all of creation. That is most fundamentally what Jesus is about. He is about healing and restoring that broken world.
So as you enter Lent, consider how you will live in solidarity with those who are hungry, or broken, or ill in one way or another.
May you have a blessed Lent this year, and may it yield greater light in the world.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
After the welcome...
Diocesan Evangelism forum to focus on how we include
and incorporate new members after they've "come and seen"
On Saturday, Mar. 15, the 2014 Diocesan Evangelism forum will be held at the Lake Opechee Inn in Laconia. The topic of the day will be including and incorporating new members into the church's ministry once they have been initially welcomed and shown a desire to belong.
Several members of our Bishop's Committees have already expressed an interest in attending the 10 a.m.-3 p.m. forum. If you would like to join our team, you may register (free!) at www.nhepiscopal.org/evangelism-forum. See the recent Episcopal News for further details.