May 1, 2014
News from the Shared Ministry 
of Christ Church, Portsmouth & 
Trinity Church, Hampton
In the Episcopal Diocese of NH
 
Death and Resurrection Surround Us Daily!
 
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Worship Services
The Rev. David "Chip" Robinson

Vicar 

 

All people of faith are welcome to receive Holy Communion at the Lord's Table 

 

Christ Episcopal Church 

1035 Lafayette Road

Portsmouth, NH 03801

Rite II at 10:30 am
Coffee Hour follows
 
Clergy office hours 
Tues & Thurs 9am-12noon  
200 High St.
Hampton, NH 03842
Saturday Rite l at 5pm
Rite II at 8:45 am
Coffee Hour after the service
 
Clergy office hours
Mon & Wed 9am-12 noon
 
Pastoral Care/Stephen Ministry Leaders
 
Jean Shula
Linda McVay

603-430-9888 (home)
603-988-9755 (cell)
Links

Little Blessings Child Care Center at Christ Church Portsmouth  

Little Blessings Child Care Center 

(603) 431-1809 

Village Preschool at Trinity Church, Hampton

Village Preschool
(603) 929-7349

Episcopal Churches on the Seacoast
 
Seacoast Convocation
 
Christ Church,Portsmouth
St. John's, Portsmouth
St. Thomas, Dover
St. George's, Durham
Ministry Schedule

 

Christ Church
 

 
"What act of grace will you perform today? What blessing will you embody? We are all, each in our own way, agents of God's grace. Every day we are given an opportunity to live out that calling, to be a source of mercy or healing or hope for another human being, perhaps even for many people, or even for the Earth we share with every living creature. Our acts, great and small, matter. They are the endless string of grace that encircles our world like a necklace of light. The choices we make, the things we do, turn the wheel of blessing, bringing goodness into being, kindness into life. What act of grace will you perform today?"

The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, Choctaw
 

 Shared from 

Steven Charleston's 

facebook page.

Going into the hospital?

 

Due to privacy laws, churches are no longer routinely informed if you or a loved one is admitted to the hospital.  Please be sure you let us know when and where you will be a patient so we can be in touch with you and include you in our prayers and healing ministry. Don't assume the Vicar knows - he would much rather hear from several people than from no one!

 

A Parishioner's Spiritual Journey 

Trinity Church's editor for the newsletter, the Rev. Dr. Bob, requested that I consider writing an article for it. After consideration, and fully realizing that choosing a topic would be challenging, I accepted. Immediately, many possible options flooded my mind. However, one word repeatedly presented itself--journey. I am opting to go with that.

Life is often seen as a journey--physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Each of us has been collecting many lessons, experiences, and stories in all these areas of our personal journeys. For some of us, that has been for a goodly number of years.

One, seemingly small, but very valuable highlight in my personal journey occurred when we were in Israel, in 1996. Part of our time there we stayed at The Anglican Guest House, just inside the Jaffa Gate in the old city of Jerusalem. While there we met a man from Texas who had been to Jerusalem many times. He loved to share his knowledge of and fondness for the city and his faith journey. One memorable piece of his sharing was introducing us to an unusual translation of the Bible--both the Old and New Testaments. The translator, David Stern, is a Messianic Jew, gifted linguist and Biblical researcher, who used the currently known and available ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for his translation. Being a Messianic Jew means he is a Jew who believes Jesus is the One sent, the Messiah from God, and who follows the Jewish traditions and worship.

I was intrigued, and purchased The Jewish New Testament first, and then The Jewish New Testament Commentary, and finally, The Complete Jewish Bible. This translation provides expanded insights into the ancient Hebrew and Greek languages and ways of thinking and understanding of the time.

The meaning of one particular word in The Jewish New Testament hit me like a flash of light. It is the word generally read or heard read as "believe," or "faith." David Stern translates that word, in almost all instances, as "trust."

Think about it! Do you see a distinction there? I do!

"Believe" and "faith" strike me as essentially mental, intellectual processes--usually based on what a person perceives as observable, specific, factual information, a more or less objective judgment about a person, event, situation, etc.

"Trust" indicates a relationship dynamic, a connection, and personal involvement. Solid evidence has a place in it, but essentially it is a strong social and emotional connection and closeness.

Was and is Jesus ultimately looking for mental, intellectual recognition and acceptance? Or is he looking for our courage to actually trust -- relate, follow, and stay close to him--no matter what? I'm betting on trust!

Francelia (Fran) Plank 
Trinity Church

All Parishioners are invited to contribute their own "Parishioner's Spiritual Journey" Column. King's or Queen's English not one of your gifts? Not to worry; syntax editing provided. Columns posted in the order in which received.

 

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 use 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...

 

May 4

Seacoast Area Youth Ministry; Lee Hoginski of Christ Church; Nancy McEachern, Ida Moriarty of Trinity Church

May 11

Worship Committee at Christ Church; Joan HoSue of Christ Church; Hope Murray & Tommy, Ann Newell of Trinity Church



Eastertide choral celebration this Sunday at 3:00  

(not 2:00 as previously announced)

 

After the success of our Epiphany ecumenical choral celebration, we've decided to offer a sequel. On Sunday, May 4 at 3:00 (please note the correction in time), the combined choirs of several area churches will be gathering at Hampton's United Methodist Church on Lafayette Rd. for an Ecumenical Eastertide Choral Celebration. Each participating choir will offer one Easter anthem from its repertoire - then all will join for a mass singing of Handel's "Hallelujah!" chorus. A new twist this time: Four of our area clergy (Fr. Chip among them) will join to form a quartet for one anthem.

 

  Upcoming events... 

 

 

 

 

May 3    

 

9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Lay Leadership Institute - Concord

 

 

May 4 Third Sunday of Easter

 

3:00 p.m.

"Spring Sing" - Ecumenical choir festival at Hampton United Methodist Church

 

 

 

 

 

May 5

 

7:00 p.m.

Capital Campaign Team - Christ Church

 

7:00 p.m.

Isles of Shoals Committee - Trinity Church

 

 

 

 

 

May 7

 

6:30 p.m.

Evangelism Team - Trinity Church

 

 

 

 

 

May 10

 

8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Plant Sale - Christ Church

 

 

 

 

 

May 17

 

7:00 p.m.

History, Lore and Legends of the Isles of Shoals - Trinity Church

 

  

Plant Sale asst-flowers.jpg

The annual Christ Church plant sale will be held on Saturday, May 10th, from 8-2.  Please consider donating some of the perennials from your gardens or something for the bake sale. 
 
There will be pots available at Christ Church on Sunday, May 3rd, in case anyone needs them for the donation of perennials.

 

A sign-up sheet will be posted in the Marshall room for anyone who would like to donate time as well to make the plant sale a success. Smiling faces help make our plant sale GREAT!


 

Calendar Drawing winners

On Tuesday, April 1st, we held the first drawing of our Calendar Fundraiser. Fr. Chip and Cindy are drawing the winning ticket each morning and notifying the winners. Here are our winners so far:

 

Thursday, April 24

4 hrs. online or in-person tutoring donated by Bob Gallagher, valued at $100

 

Winner: Colleen Tam (two-time winner!)

 

 

Friday, April 25

$25 Olive Garden gift certificate donated by John & Tena Wolf in memory of John's mother

 

Winner: Suzanne George

 

 

Saturday, April 26

Sony movie streamer/DVD player donated by Mike Spinelli

 

Winner: Meg Horan

 

 

Sunday, April 27

$25 Barnes & Noble gift certificate donated by Paul & Linda Seward; hand-crafted 'paper' floral bouquet made by Gretchen Gobar

 

Winner: Mary-Lou Ireland

 

 

Monday, April 28

Hand-crafted necklace and earrings made by Carol Gobar; Knife set donated by Christ Church, valued at $20

 

Winner: Debbie Stillings (another two-time winner!)

 

 

Tuesday, April 29

$75 gift certificate for a massage donated by Mary Remick

 

Winner: Barbara Allen

 

 

Wednesday, April 30

2-hour hands-on Reiki Wellness Session gift card valued at $150, donated by Craig Davis

 

Winner: Richard Maxfield (also a two-time winner!)

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

Bereavement Support Groups

 

Rockingham VNA & Hospice will be offering three separate Bereavement Support Groups this May. A General Group will be held on Monday afternoons from 1:00-2:30, May 5th-June 16th. A Motherless Daughter Group, as well as a General Group, will be held Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:00 May 6th-June10th. To register, please call Dick Munsey at 772-2981. All meetings, which are free of charge, will be held at the offices of RVNA & Hospice, 137 Epping Rd., Exeter, and must have four registered participants to be offered.

Church Ministries 

  • Saturdays: Food Pantry at Hobbs House Trinity. 10:00 am - noon  year round (Sandi Nickerson, Gordon Lane & Thelma Hutton) 
  • 1st Saturday of the month: Portsmouth Salvation Army Suppers, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Susan Ott) 
  • 1st Sundays of the month: Pastoral Visit to the Oceanside Rehabilitation Center, Hampton (Bob Main & Belinda Wilkes)
  • 4th Thursday of the month: Ecumenical service for residents of Sanctuary Care, Rye, 11:30 a.m. (Fr. Chip & Peter Monte)

 

Sanctuary Care in Rye

 
Christ Church has begun a new ministry at Sanctuary Memory Care on Route One in Rye. On the fourth Thursday of each month, an ecumenical service for residents will be offered at 11:30 a.m. Fr. Chip will provide the general leadership. It is hoped volunteers might take an interest in assisting, either by offering readings, assisting residents with their service booklets, or - if we have any among us who have this ability - playing the piano for the hymns. If you are interested in helping us with this ministry (from either church), speak with Fr. Chip
 
Hobbs House at Trinity Church

  
Providing transportation assistance to eligible seniors and others with medical mobility issues. Currently serving the NH seacoast communities of Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Kensington, North Hampton, Rye, Stratham and Seabrook.  Contact:  603-926-9026

Dress4 School Success
Contact Amanda or Aidan at Dress4 School Success for clothing donation drop off or clothing needs 603.918.6816 or email  [email protected]. during the school year.  All requests are confidential.

    

 

Fr. Chip's sermons online

 

Our Vicar, after several requests,  now posts his sermons on the church 

websites. You will find them linked to the "Worship" page on our websites.

 

 

Music Ministry

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Please consider joining one of our choirs.  Trinity Church's choir meets in rehearsal on Sundays at 8 a.m.   At Christ Church, the rehearsal follows the 10:30 a.m. service.  

 

Every voice is welcome; every voice is special; every voice is needed.

 

 

 If your ministry is missing from this list please send an email to [email protected]  

  

  

Safe Church Training

 

The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire has revised the Safe Church Policy during the summer of 2013. The curriculum for Safe Church Training now consists of three hours of online training and three hours of class training. On-line Modules must be completed prior to attending any Safe Church Class.

 

Anyone in need of refresher training is asked to take the new Initial Safe Church Training. Refresher training is required every three years vs. five years. Please contact your Safe Church Minister to verify when you are due to take your refresher training.

 

Please register with your Safe Church Minister. You may register anytime. Even if you plan on attending a class this fall you may register now and complete your online training whenever is convenient for you between now and the fall. For Christ Church, contact Patsy Tremblay at [email protected]or call 603-205-2195. At Trinity Church, contact Patrice Wood at [email protected].

 

Training classes for this spring are offered the following Saturdays from 8:30am to noon except as noted on May 22nd below:

 

May 22, 2014 - Trinity Church, Meredith, 6pm to 9pm, Thursday

May 31, 2014 - Trinity Church, Claremont

 

Training classes for the fall are offered the following Saturdays from 8:30am to noon except as noted on October 7th below:

 

September 13, 2014 - Trinity Church, Meredith

September 20, 2014 - Christ Church, Exeter

October 4, 2014 - St. Barnabas, Berlin

October 7, 2014 - Church of the Good Shepherd, Nashua, 6:30pm to 9:30pm, Tuesday

November 15, 2014 - St. Thomas, Hanover

November 22, 2014 - St. Paul's, Concord 

 

 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.


Please email submissions to [email protected] or mail to the office at Trinity Church, 200 High St, Hampton, NH 03842 or Christ Church, 1035 Lafayette Rd, Portsmouth, NH 03801. Entries should follow the Submission Guidelines.

 

NOTE: The deadline to send most submissions is Wednesday at noon. 

However, the deadline to send a Parishioner's Spiritual Journey column is Monday at noon. 

 

Contacts
The Rev. David "Chip" Robinson, Vicar
Christ Episcopal Church, 1035 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801
phone: 603-436-8842
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-Noon

Trinity Episcopal Church, 200 High Street, Hampton, NH 03842
Shared Ministry Administrator: Nita Niemczyk
phone: 603-926-5688
Office hours: Monday-Friday from 9:00-1:00