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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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(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...
A rising tide lifts all boats
This phrase is said to have first been uttered by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Actually, he borrowed it from a brochure he had seen highlighting the work of the New England Council, a region-wide chamber of commerce. Whatever its origin, its point is that, when the economy as a whole improves, the well-being of individuals within it rises as well.
This has been shown to be largely true on the national stage. When the economy is strong, employment improves, poverty decreases, and the quality of the lives of people within that economy are strengthened as well. On as local a level as a congregation (or, in our case, two congregations working together), the same seems true. As the economy improves, the pressure on our ability to fulfill our ministry eases, and we can move beyond mere "survival" to actual mission.
It is with this thought in mind that our Stewardship Team this year has chosen "A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats" as our theme. As the generosity of the individuals within our congregations is unleashed, the "rising tide" lifts everything we do. And, conversely, as the tide of our work together lifts, it encourages us to be bolder, more entrepreneurial, about how we go about our ministry.
The period following the 2008 "meltdown" of the American economy has been hard on non-profits in general and churches in particular. As discretionary income dries up, people re-prioritize their giving to concentrate on "getting by." Now that the economy is - finally! - lifting out of the recessionary times of the last near-decade, and energy prices decline, making discretionary income more available, the time has come to ask people to rethink their giving in light of the improved economic reality.
Our two churches, like many others, have made difficult choices in getting through these tough times. We have asked for help from our larger New Hampshire Episcopal family by way of Fair Share abatements. We have "scraped by" on deficit budgets (or, as I prefer to call them, "faith budgets"). New ministry initiatives have had to be "on a shoestring." With the approaching retirement of Trinity Church's debt to the Diocesan Advance Fund, this may be the year Trinity can wean itself off Fair Share support. For Christ Church, the road may be a bit harder - but, the "rising tide" should allow a lifting of the Christ Church boat as well.
I am so grateful for the generosity all of you have shown. You have, in both churches, shown remarkable dedication to the ministry we share. If each of us prays diligently about a "first fruits" proportion of our household income we can make available to continue to grow our ministry, the rising tide of that giving can indeed lift the boats named "Trinity Church" and "Christ Church."
Fr. Chip
"Rising Tide" campaign kicks off Oct. 24/25
Festive brunch on Sunday, Nov. 1 to be centerpiece
We have come to the time when each of us must decide how much of our income we will use for the ministry of our spiritual community. Some might look upon the annual Stewardship Campaign as something of a nuisance, but we've learned to have some fun with it, making it much more. It allows us to hear the voices of people in our congregations who have been positively touched by our ministries. It gives us a chance to join in a festive meal together across congregational boundaries. And, let's face it, this Campaign has everything to do with the continuing life and health of our Shared Ministry and each of our individual congregations.
In the coming days, the Stewardship Team will launch its 2016 Campaign under the theme, A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats. The campaign will begin with a mailing the week of Oct. 19 outlining the goals of the campaign and providing inspiration for all of us in making our stewardship decision. Then, on Sunday, Nov. 1 at noon, we invite everyone in both congregations to come together at Christ Church for a festive brunch. At that brunch we will highlight our priorities for ministry not in the numbers of a budget, but in the witness of our people. Finally, the week of Nov. 2, we will send out a second mailing enclosed with which will be this year's Pledge Form. We will ask that these be returned by Sunday, Nov. 15, the last day of our Campaign.
Your Stewardship Team
Craig Davis, Kris Ebbeson, Mark McCaddin,
Anne Newell, Patrice Wood, Chip Robinson
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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Oct. 18
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Christ Church's choir; Clayton & Beverly Dearth of Trinity Church; Betty Raitt of Christ Church
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Oct. 25
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Delegates & Alternates to Diocesan Convention as they prepare for this year's event (Nov. 7); Chip & Cindy Robinson; Thelma Hutton of Trinity Church
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Upcoming dates |
October
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Sun., Oct. 18
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10:30 a.m.
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Renewal of Wedding Vows at Christ Church: Tanya and Freddy Miranda invite their Christ Church friends to help them celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary!
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Mon., Oct. 19
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5:30-7:00
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Family Night Out at Trinity Church
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Sat./Sun.,
Oct. 24/25
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at all services
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Fall stewardship campaign gets underway: four weeks, concluding Nov. 15
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November
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Sun., Nov. 1
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12 noon
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Stewardship Celebration Brunch at Christ Church: be watching for your invitation!
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Healing Service
Our next Saturday evening Healing service at Trinity will be on October 17, at 5:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend the service, which includes healing of mind, body, and spirit through laying on of hands, prayers, and anointing with holy oil. Holy Eucharist will also be celebrated at this peaceful service. In November, the healing service at Christ Church will be on the 2nd Sunday of the month, Nov. 8, at 10:30 a.m. Please feel welcome to attend.
Gifts for ChIPs
ChIPS may very well be the most important outreach program of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire because it touches the lives of the people society would prefer to forget: incarcerated parents and their children. Last year we provided over 700 gifts for the parents who are in the New Hampshire state prison system.
What the program provides is a book and a present that the parents choose to give to their children at the annual holiday party. It is the one time of the year where the incarcerated parents can actually provide for the children they leave behind when they are sent to serve time. However, it is up to us to provide those presents.
If you would like to make a donation for the ChIPs Christmas giving there will be a special collection box at each church on Oct. 18 & 25 and Nov. 1. Those who prefer may give by check. Make your check payable to the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire with "ChIPs" in the memo line.
United Thank Offering Ingathering
The United Thank Offering of the Episcopal Church supports projects that address poverty of women and children; that makesignificant impact; that demonstrate new and innovative work; and that are a part of a planned diocesan or provincial mission strategy.
Grants made this year total nearly $1.4 million. The awards range from $1,250 for the Diocese of Maine to support thePortland Emergent Missional Community; to $136,750 for the diocese of Jerusalem, to renovate and equip critical service departments of St. Luke's Hospital in Nablus, Palestine.
UTO works because women, men and children of the Church use a UTO "blue box." As we recognize and name our many daily blessings, we put a small offering into the box. We develop a habit of giving thanks to God, perhaps using the UTO prayer:
Gracious God, source of all creation, all love, all true joy: Accept we pray, these outward signs of our profound and continuing thankfulness for all of life. Keep each of us ever thankful for all the blessings of joy and challenge that come our way. Bless those who will benefit from these gifts through the Outreach of the United Thank Offering. This we ask through him who is the greatest gift and blessing of all, Jesus Christ. Amen.
There are UTO boxes on the Guest Book tables at both churches. Take one home; make it a daily habit. We will have a UTO collection on the weekends of Oct. 17/18 and 24/25, and we will add it to other congregations' offerings during the annual Diocesan Convention, this year on Nov. 7.
Count your blessings and make your blessings count.
Flowers for Trinity's Chancel
If you have a special remembrance or occasion that you'd like to buy flowers in remembrance for, or if the Spirit moves you to enhance a Sunday service, please call our florist, Pam Boutilier, at Drinkwater Flowers, 819 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 603-926-4181. She will be able to help you create bouquets, give you prices and deliver the arrangements. Let Nita know if you plan to do this so that the bulletin will contain the appropriate information about your flowers.
Seacoast Convocation Ditty Bags for Seafarers appeal
Here on the Seacoast of New Hampshire we are surrounded by the ocean  and the world that comes to us by sea. For more than 150 years The Mission to Seafarers has brought compassion and care to seafarers in desperate need around the world.
Between now and Nov. 15, members of our Seacoast Convocation parishes are asked to donate items for what our seafaring friends call a "ditty bag."
What is a "ditty bag"? It is a small "care package" of items that may be needed and useful during a voyage at sea. Each church in our Convocation has taken on one aspect of collecting items for the bags: Christ Church will be collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste (full-size tubes, please - not travel size). Trinity Church will be collecting disposable razors and shaving cream (again, full-size, not travel size).
We are also looking for a few more expensive items: tee shirts (smaller sizes preferred - many seafarers are small in stature) and wool knit caps. They may be new or used, but in clearly like-new condition. Shirts need not be plain white, so if you have a lightly-worn promotional tee shirt around (with a slogan on it, for instance) that is acceptable.
We are also looking for a few folks who can make fabric drawstring bags in which to place the items collected (see instructions online at www.neseafarers.org or decorate a shoe box with wrapping paper). These and all other items need to be in to your church's office by Sunday, Nov. 15.
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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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