June 5, 2014
News from the Shared Ministry 
of
Christ Church, Portsmouth & Trinity Church, Hampton
In the Episcopal Diocese of NH
  
purple-flower-tree.jpg
 
Shared Ministry Logo  
Like us on Facebook
 Christ Church
 Trinity Church
Diocese of NH
The Episcopal Church



Spread the word! Forward this email to your friends and invite them to sign up.

 E-News Archives

 

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
 
 
The Vicars sermons can be found by clicking on either church's link and going to the Worship page.
Pastoral Care
 
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 

 

Outreach Ministries at Trinity

 

Trinity Food Pantry

 


 

Dress 4 School Success 

 

 
Listen to the voice within, the one you know so well. You have heard it forming its message in your mind, like a whisper in your ear, words that you recognize as being part of your own spirit, but from some source you cannot claim or control. God offers us insight and understanding, truth and clarity, comfort and courage, if only we choose to hear it, not as the drama of a finger writing on the wall for all to see, but as quiet wisdom that rests like a hand on the shoulder. Be still, be alert, be open to what you may be receiving. It is meant just for you: an answer to your question, a direction for your faith, a healing for your heart.
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!

 

Healing ministry

  

Each month, both of our churches offer the Laying on of Hands with Anointing for Healing. 

 

At Christ Church, this occurs at the conclusion of the Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month. We will hold the next healing liturgy at at Christ Church on Sunday, June 8th

 

At Trinity Church, it is an integral part of the Saturday evening liturgy the third weekend of the month. The next healing liturgy at Trinity Church will be on Saturday,

June 21st.

From the Vicar...

God's peace: The Holy Spirit's inheritance to us

 

It has been suggested that one can determine the true character of a family by observing how they handle an inheritance. That scene has been the point of many comedy routines over the years, with each family member sitting in the lawyer's office, listening to the reading of the "last will and testament." Sometimes the inner thoughts of the characters are given voice. Each family member hopes for the largest gift of money, house, land, antiques, or heirloom jewelry. In reality, there is not much that is funny about it. When life is measured by material possessions we have little alternative but to rank ourselves with others, even members of our own family.

 

The members of the family of Jesus Christ, the continuing Body called the Church, have been made inheritors of precious gifts. Thank God, they are not material objects to squabble about. This Sunday's Gospel gives a description about that inheritance. Jesus comes and stands before his fear-filled followers and says, "Peace be with you." He breathes his resurrected, life-giving breath on them and bestows the Holy Spirit. The peace of God and the Spirit of God cannot be weighed, cannot be held in our hands, cannot be used to rank ourselves against others, and cannot be enshrined. But, make no mistake - the presence of these gifts in the life of the Church can be measured. The impact of these gifts can be seen in the lives of those who make up the membership of the Church. When we come to realize how precious and priceless these gifts are we have no recourse but to use them as intended by the giver. God's peace and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit are not things to be placed in mothballs and kept in a storage trunk. They are to be used in the everyday living of our Christian lives.

 

The Day of Pentecost falls this Sunday. I wish we could find some way to elevate the importance of Pentecost in the Church. It is one of the High Holy Days in the Christian experience. We usually have increased numbers in church on Christmas Eve and Easter. Sadly, for most churches (our two included), Pentecost is just another Sunday that has to compete with the beginning of summer activities, cookouts, family get-togethers, and early vacations. Schools are still in session and graduations mark an important transition for many. Pentecost takes a back seat and does not have the same cultural attention paid to it.

 

I would like to suggest that, without Pentecost, we would probably not even bother with Christmas - and Easter would be a yearly memorial service, if anything. It is Pentecost that gives the power to remember a God who would loves us enough to become like us, in order that we might know something of the life and love of God. It is Pentecost that gives shape to Easter as the celebration of the resurrection and not a solemn reenactment of a death. If death were all we had, we would stop at Good Friday. The gifts of Pentecost allow us to move beyond death to life.

 

We have been given God's peace and the Holy Spirit. At the very least, this means that love is the measure of all things and, we the inheritors must use that standard in measuring our actions in the world. We have inherited the most precious gifts ever given and it remains as true today as ever. Our character will be determined and demonstrated for all to see by the manner in which we handle this inheritance. 

 

 In Christ,

Fr. Chip

 
 

 Let's wear red for Pentecost!

 

On the Day of Pentecost, Sunday, June 8, we will continue our custom of wearing red as a small sign that the Holy Spirit lives within each of us. Our services in both churches that day will feature some powerful Pentecost hymns - including some from more contemporary sources - and a multi-lingual reading of the Acts passage describing the manifestation of the Holy Spirit (see below). I'll be adorned in bright red vestments, the altar will be decked in red as well - why don't we all wear red to make the scene a "sea" of Pentecost color!      

Fr. Chip

 

 

Then on Pentecost evening...

 

 

Join us as Christ Church, Portsmouth, hosts a Seacoast Convocation Pentecost Taiz� service. This 7:00 p.m. service of prayer, song and contemplation is sponsored by all six of our Seacoast Episcopal congregations, and will be offered to the general public. If you have not experienced a worship service in the style of the Taiz� community in France, you have missed an extraordinary worship opportunity. 

 

It has been said that what touches people in Taiz� is the sense that, in it, we strive to make the expression of faith as simple as possible. The sung prayer is an invitation to a search that draws us onwards beyond ourselves. By placing on our lips words from another age, it is a form of worship that gently forces us to de-center ourselves, to empty ourselves. In another way the repetition of the songs many be a kind of turning the scriptural text around and around in all directions so that they may be illuminated by an unexpected light and emerging feelings.

 

Through singing and silence, people discover they are able to have new hearts, simple hearts in the original meaning of the term, one that is stripped to its essentials, a heart that remains close to its desires, and in this way we discover more clearly how God calls us to be creative.

 

We are grateful to have musicians from four of the six Seacoast Convocation congregations leading us in Sunday evening's service. Our thanks to them and to all who have helped in planning for this worship opportunity. We look forward to seeing you Sunday evening at 7:00.

  

 

 

Kind words from some Canadian visitors

 

Hello Father Chip and your congregation,

 

My friend and I visited your church last Sunday (May 25), and wanted to thank you for the very warm welcome. Firstly, when you came to us and welcomed us yourself. At the end of the service, everyone else was very friendly. We're both Canadian, and come from Newfoundland (the most easterly point of North America). Where we come from, friendliness is a way of life. To go to your church was like visiting one of our outport churches: small, comfortable with a huge sense of belonging. Once again, thank you very much.

 

Sincerely,

June Dawson and Rosalind Slade  

 

 

Summer event calendar

 

June 7/8

(usual times)

Festival Pentecost Eucharist at both churches

 

7:00 p.m.

Seacoast Convocation Pentecost Taiz� Service - Christ Church 

June 29

10:30 a.m.

Holy Eucharist at Christ Church - The Rev. David Plank, Celebrant

 

11:00 a.m.

Outdoor Eucharist and cookout - Trinity Church
(note special time!)
 

July 

13

8:45 a.m.

Said Holy Eucharist at Trinity Church

 

11:00 a.m.

Outdoor Eucharist and cookout - Christ Church

(note special time!)

Mid-July

TBD

Trip to see NH Fisher Cats play Portland Sea Dogs at Delta Dental Stadium, Manchester (tent. July 19) 

Aug. 

17

11:00 a.m.

Joint Outdoor Eucharist and cookout for members of both churches - Trinity Church (note special time!)

Note: There will be NO service at Christ Church this Sunday; notice will be posted on the doors in advance 

Sept. 14

8:45 a.m.

Holy Eucharist at Trinity Church

 

11:00 a.m.

Homecoming Sunday: Outdoor Eucharist and cookout - Christ Church

 

 

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... 

 

June 8

The Prayers of the People will conclude with the Collect for our Shared Ministry

June 15

The Clerks of both churches; Carolyn Matthews of Christ Church; The Rev. Bob Gallagher and Wes & Anne Rowe of Trinity Church


 

Are you going on vacation?

 

hiking-equipment-trail.jpg
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.

 

 

 Coming Sunday, June 29 at Trinity...

Outdoor Eucharist and cookout

 

graphic-bbq-dad.jpg It's time to kick off the summer season! On Sunday, June 29, Trinity Church will host an outdoor Eucharist and cookout (members of both churches welcome!) to give us an opportunity to worship and enjoy fellowship together. The service will be at 11:00 a.m. in the shaded rear courtyard of the church. The cookout will follow on the side lawn. Bring your lawn chair and a side dish or dessert to share. Hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages will be provided. Please RSVP indicating how many from your household are coming to [email protected] . This will help our food and set-up crews in their planning. Oh, and as for a rain date...we won't need one. It never rains on our cookouts! (If, ahem, it does, we'll come inside.)

 

For those of you who cannot (or prefer not) to come to the outdoor service, there will be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Christ Church that morning at the usual 10:30 a.m., with the Rev. David Plank as Celebrant.

 


What is the Discretionary Fund - and how can you help?

 

Our Vicar's Discretionary 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 (for example, a community "Fire Fund" for a family burned out of its home).    

While honoraria from weddings and funerals form much of the Fund's regular income, individual contributions are also very much needed - particularly at Christ Church, whose share of the Fund carries a lower balance right now. Your gifts go a long way toward our help to people in need.

                                                                                                                - Fr. Chip

 

 

How about making it official?

 

With the arrival of summer comes that moment when we can "catch our breath" in the church office and attend to matters that tend to get put off through the winter. One of these is parish record keeping.

 

If you are worshiping with us, and consider yourself part of our church family, but have not yet "made it official" by asking for a letter of transfer from your previous congregation, please take a moment to be in touch with us and ask that we issue a Request for Transfer. (You can contact your previous congregation directly if you would prefer.)

 

If you are worshiping here but have never been confirmed or received by a bishop of the Episcopal Church, it would be helpful to let Fr. Chip know that as well, as Bishop Rob is visiting us (with Christ Church hosting) on Sunday, Nov. 16 and we'll want to put together plans for fall classes in preparation for that.

 

 

Saturday Food Pantry at Hobbs House 

 shopping-cart-grip.jpg

Sandra Nickerson - Coordinator - 926-2909

Thelma Hutton - Intake Specialist - 601-6622

Gordon Lane - Assistant (e-mail - [email protected])

Diana Jodoin - Trinity Bishop's Committee Liaison (e-mail - [email protected])

 

The Saturday Food Pantry at Hobbs House is an outreach program managed by a devoted team of Trinity Episcopal Church members. It is the ONLY food pantry in the Seacoast area that is open every Saturday. We turn no one away. If you are interested in a truly spiritual experience...come and see!        Open 10 AM - 12 N 

     

 

 

Safe Church Training

 

The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire recently revised the Safe Church Policy.  The curriculum now consists of three hours of online training and three hours of class training. Click here for Safe Church training dates and requirements.

 

Please register with your Safe Church Minister. For Christ Church, contact Patsy Tremblay at [email protected]or call 603-205-2195. At Trinity Church, contact Patrice Wood at [email protected]. 

 

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