January 8, 2015
News from the Shared Ministry 
of
Christ Church, Portsmouth  & 
Trinity Church, Hampton 
In the Episcopal Diocese of NH
 
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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
 
 
The Vicar's sermons can be found by clicking on the link for either church and going to the Worship page.
Pastoral Care
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 

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
 

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!

 



 

  

From the Vicar...

The epiphany of the Epiphany

 

As I write this, we are on the eve of the Epiphany, an ancient Christian feast which dates from at least 361 AD. With it, we move beyond the twelve days of Christmas into the startling discovery of just exactly what the hubbub surrounding this baby's birth is about. The Greek meaning of the word Epiphany is "appearance" or "manifestation." In common parlance, the word denotes a striking (and usually sudden) realization of the essential nature or meaning of something.

 

In the coming weeks, we will see more "epiphanies." Demons will flee, the sick will be healed, and common people from far and wide will see that something new has broken into their world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus will call disciples into his ministry, and they will enter it with great trepidation and awe, as indeed we all must. Finally, just before the season yields to the penitence of Lent, all will be unveiled on the Mount of Transfiguration where the picture will take absolute clarity: in Jesus, God has come onto our turf, and the consequences of his coming will not be small, isolated, contained or reversed.

 

In each of these turns, the essential nature of God will be revealed in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who is THE epiphany, THE manifestation of God. Yet also unveiled are the cosmic and personal implications of such an earth-shaking event. With Jesus' advent, things have changed, which means we must also change. This will also be made undeniably clear. However, human history has proven this manifestation of God will be resisted in human hearts. Nothing is so common as to deny the reality, and thus consequences, of God's coming into our world. Indeed, never has so foolish a statement been made as, "you can't deny reality." Just ask King Herod; it is the easiest thing to reject.

 

So the question comes to each of us: how will we receive the reality of this God made manifest? Will we, like the Magi of old, have the good sense to recognize the seismic shift taking place under our very feet? Or will we fight like Herod to defend our little piece of a dying world?

 

Epiphany shouts, "Be ready! Be on guard for a revelation of unbelievable proportions." God is out to turn the world on its head. Nothing will be the same with King Jesus around. He will make the first, last; the outcast, embraced; the dead, alive. Nothing, despite our desperate efforts to the contrary, can stay the same. Nothing. Not even us.


 
The Creator just entered creation. This is the epiphany of the Epiphany.

 

Fr. Chip



"We the People" lecture in Exeter

Exploring the Northeast's history of race relations

 

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, the Congregational Church of Exeter at 21 Front St., will host a free lecture in the "We the People" series. Jason Sokol, author and assistant professor of history at UNH and the Rev. Robert Thompson, minister at Phillips Exeter Academy, will discuss the Northeast's history of race relations.

 

The 7:00 p.m. lecture will be based on Sokol's new book, All Eyes Are Upon Us: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn. His thesis is that there is a "disconnect" between the ideals the Northeast takes pride in and the reality of our racial history. At this lecture, he and Rev. Thompson will explore the factors that lead to racial tension, including patterns of discrimination in policing and the criminal justice system.

 

This event is free and open to the public.

 

 

Official Notice of Annual Meetings  Shared Ministry Logo

 

Know all persons by these presents that the Annual Meeting of Christ Episcopal Church will be held on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015 at 12:00 noon in the Christ Church Undercroft and that the Annual Meeting of Trinity Episcopal Church will be held on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 10:15 a.m. in Hobbs Hall at Trinity Church.

 

The purpose of these meetings shall be to receive the Reports of the Officers and Organizations of the Congregations; to elect Officers and Delegates for the terms specified for their offices as stated in the By-Laws of the Congregations; and to conduct such other business as may lawfully come before these meetings.

 

Any baptized person, sixteen (16) years of age or older, who acknowledges in writing the authority of the By-Laws of the Congregation her or she attends and who declares his or her intention to aid in maintaining public worship therein by regular attendance at such worship and who is a contributor of record, is entitled to voice and vote.


 

Craig Davis, Warden, Christ Church            Patrice Wood, Senior Warden, Trinity                                                                                                                        Church

Linda Seward, Clerk, Christ Church              Diana Jodoin, Clerk, Trinity Church

 

 

Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer

 

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...

 

Jan. 11

Christ Church Altar Guild; Mary Lou Barrett of Trinity Church; Sarah Wolf Boyd & Graeme Boyd of Christ Church

Jan. 18

Christ Church Annual Meeting; Phoebe & Robert Bischoff and family of Trinity Church; Steve Adair of Christ Church

 

Silent Vigil at the NH Supreme Court in support of Death Penalty repeal

Thursday, January 15th, 2015 - 8:15-9:30 a.m. and 2:45-4:00 p.m.

 

On this date, the New Hampshire Supreme Court will hear the next mandatory appeal in the Michael Addison case.  If you would like to attend this vigil, sign up on the web here: tiny.cc/NHSC-Jan15 or visit the website below. For information, email Marti Hunt,   [email protected].

 

Sponsored by NH Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

http://nodeathpenaltynh.org

  

Offering envelopes

 

This year, as a cost-saving measure, we are only preparing packets of offering envelopes for those who requested them on their stewardship pledge form in November. If you did not request envelopes, but would like a set, please speak with Nita in the Shared Ministry office at 926-5688 and specify whether you want weekly, monthly, or quarterly envelopes. Those who requested envelopes at Christ Church will find them in their mailboxes this Sunday, Jan. 11. Those at Trinity who requested them will find them on the table in the Narthex.



A Note Regarding Shared Ministry Office Hours

 

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will be out of the office one day every other week through the beginning of May.  It is also beyond my control to choose the day I am out so please bear with me.

 

I will not be in the office on Tuesday, January 13 and Wednesday, January 27.  I will be checking messages email periodically on those days. As always, if you have a pastoral emergency, please contact Fr. Chip directly.

 

Thank you!

 

Nita Niemczyk

  

 

 


 

 

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