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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.
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Leaders
603-430-9888 (home)
603-988-9755 (cell)
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(603) 431-1809
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at Trinity Church, Hampton
(603) 929-7349
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Episcopal Churches on the Seacoast
Seacoast Convocation
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Ministry Schedule
Christ Church
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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!
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From the Vicar...
The joyful - yes, joyful - season of Lent is upon us
Lent is upon us. It began yesterday with Ash Wednesday. In preparation for the sermon I preached yesterday, I was reading an essay on Ash Wednesday by novelist Ron Hansen and found this:
"It would be a mistake to think of Lent solely as forty days of hunger and denial. In one Eucharistic prayer in the Roman Missal we find these words addressed to God: 'Each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed.' Renewal and growth are what Jesus sought for his disciples, and are fundamental to the teaching of all our readings for Ash Wednesday..."
What if we were to consider Lent as a joyful season? What would that look like? (Notice that the quote from the Roman Missal says "joyful" and not "happy.") As I reflected on this I thought about how life gets so full of preoccupations, worries, resentments, distractions and the like...so much so that there is little room for joy. It could be compared to what happens to a computer when the cache and cookie "basket" get too full of stored ads and web information: it slows down and begins to malfunction. So too our lives malfunction when they lose sight of what is life giving, life restoring, and love giving. Joy comes when we, like the prodigal son, wake up and return to the "Father."
So how can a season of Lent restore us? A colleague quotes Jan Richardson, in her "Painted Prayerbook" blog:
"Ash Wednesday beckons us to cross over the threshold into a season that's all about working through the chaos to discover what is essential. The ashes that lead us into this season remind us where we have come from. They beckon us to consider what is most basic to us, what is elemental, what survives after all that is extraneous is burned away. With its images of ashes and wilderness, Lent challenges us to reflect on what we have filled our lives with, and to see if there are habits, practices, possessions, and ways of being that have accumulated, encroached, invaded, accreted, layer upon layer, becoming a pattern of chaos that threatens to insulate us and dull us to the presence of God."
When we reflect, repent and release those things that "dull us to the presence of God," it is truly a joyful return, a renewal of life, and a restoration of who we were created to be. So will you join me in this time of prayer, repentance and fasting to renew our hearts to the rhythms of God? Praying for a joyful season of Lent for all of us!
Fr. Chip
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...
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Feb. 22
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Our Nursing Home services at Oceanside Rehabilitation Center in Hampton and Sanctuary Care of Rye; Carol Dostie and Jane Eiras, both of Trinity Church; Craig Davis and Kris Ebbeson of Christ Church
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Mar. 1
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The Bishop's Committees of both congregations; Dorothy Flynn and James Dilts, both of Trinity Church; Roy & Marilyn Bunting of Christ Church
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Our Lenten series for 2015...
 Our Lenten series for 2015 is titled "The Parables of Lent" and will focus on a series of biblical parables that connect to Lenten themes. Meditations by renowned Lutheran theologian Dean Nadasdy will show us that within each parable's plot is woven a unique message about what we receive through the crucified Christ. Parishioners can take the message with them to enrich their own stories of faith in Christ as they journey through Lent.
Our schedule will be as follows:
Christ Church: Soup and bread luncheon and session at noon on five Sundays, beginning Feb. 22.
Trinity Church: Soup and bread supper and session on five Wednesday evenings at 6:00, beginning Feb. 25.
Coming up first: "Receive the Word: The Sower and the Seed"
- Sunday, Feb. 22 at noon, Christ Church
- Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., Trinity Church
In this parable, found in Matthew 13:1-8, 18-23, the seed that falls on fertile soil takes root and grows, while seeds in other soils fail. The program includes a reading from Scripture, a meditation and a thematic Bible study that is designed to help us to remember that when we are open to receiving the Word, the Word of Christ flourishes within us.
Also this Lent...Stations of the Cross at Christ Church 
During the last five Saturdays of Lent, Feb 28 to Mar 28, Christ Church will be offering Stations of the Cross at noon followed by soup and bread. All are invited.
Episcopal Relief and Development Sunday
 Feb. 22 at both churches
We invite you to join us as we commemorate Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday on the first Sunday in Lent, Feb. 22, 2015.
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.
A Notice 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 be out of the office on Tuesday, February 24. I will be checking messages and email periodically. As always, if you have a pastoral emergency, please contact Fr. Chip directly. Thank you! Nita Niemczyk
Fundraising News There will be a fundraising meeting this Sunday, February 22, directly after the services, at Christ Church. We are planning to have the Calendar raffle for the month of April again. This is a fundraiser for both parishes and we are asking for your donations for the various winning days. Please email me at spring987@comcast.net, if there is something, such as a gift card, that you would like to donate along with the date or a note that simply says "any date." This is a joint fundraiser for both parishes so please consider providing a gift. Due date for all gift ideas is March 10. We will then be able to have the calendars available shortly after that so that you will all have the opportunity to win some of the daily prizes. Thanks, Tena Wolf
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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
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