October 22, 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
Rev David Robinson
 
The Vicar's sermons can be found by clicking on the link for either church and going to the Worship page.
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 faith that makes us well
 
This Sunday brings us to the gospel story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus, the blind son of Timaeus. The phrase by which Jesus opens the blind man's eyes will be familiar. "Your faith has made you well" is most often associated with the gospel story of the woman who has been suffering from a hemorrhage or when Jesus cleanses ten lepers, and one in particular returns to thank him.
 
Faith can make us well, but being well does not always mean "curing" in what our concept of being well is. This is not magic, or superstition, or some simple fix, of course. It seems clear, to me at least, that when Jesus says, "Your faith has made you well" he is not saying that these people somehow believed their way into wellness.
 
Rather he is pronouncing their wellness, declaring it, making it happen for them. It is Jesus who heals, and faith that receives that healing. And so it is, or can be, for those who hear this story and this good news. Faith can make us well. Faith can open our eyes, unstop our ears - even raise us from death. This is the power of the promise wherein faith and forgiveness, faith and wellness, meet; this is the power of Jesus' word for salvation.
 
What in your life needs healing? What in your life holds you captive? What in your life longs to be free? We see the great reversal that happens so much in scripture. We see the blind ones healed, the lame ones walking, the barren ones giving life. This passage reminds me that the Christian Church is a community of blind people seeking clarity of sight so that we might in turn help our brothers and sisters see. Who could you help see this week? What scales need to fall from your own eyes that you might see more clearly the path God would have you follow?
Fr. Chip


"Rising Tide" campaign kicks off Oct. 24/25
Festive brunch on Sunday, Nov. 1 to be centerpiece
 
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 you should receive in the next day or two 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...
 
Oct. 25
Delegates & Alternates to Diocesan Convention as they prepare for this year's event (Nov. 7); Chip & Cindy Robinson; Thelma Hutton of Trinity Church
 
Nov. 1
The souls of all who have died since All Saints' Day last year; Gretchen Gobar of Trinity; Robert & Jennifer Stiefel of Christ Church

Upcoming dates
 
October
 
 
 
 
 
Sat./Sun.,
Oct. 24/25
at all services
Fall stewardship campaign gets underway: four weeks, concluding Nov. 15
                                                
November
 
 
 
 
 
Sun., Nov. 1
12 noon
Stewardship Celebration Brunch at Christ Church: be watching for your invitation!


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. The program provides a book and a present for the parents to give to their children at the annual holiday party.
 
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. 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 
Oct. 24/25
 
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.
 
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. 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 weekend of Oct. 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.


All Saints' Day: A day to remember those who have gone before us in faith
 
All Saints' Day is not among the most ancient of Christian festivals (it is only about 1,200 years old), nor among the most universal (the Orthodox churches commemorate the saints in conjunction with the Feast of Pentecost). The feast is believed to have been originated in the British Isles, and emphasis on it remains characteristically Anglican.
 
This Sunday is an absolutely splendid occasion to sing some very stirring hymns, to renew our baptismal vows, and to dramatize the meaning of being "the communion of saints" as living members of the Body of Christ.
 
At both churches, we will pray on Nov. 1 for the souls of those who have been buried from our congregations since All Saints' a year ago. If you would like the name of a loved one (whether or not from the last year) added to that list, e-mail it to Nita in the shared ministry office or call her at 926-5688 no later than noon, Wednesday, Oct. 28. Some have found this an occasion to make a thank offering to the congregation in memory of those so listed. You are invited and encouraged to do so.
 
 
Seacoast Convocation Ditty Bags for Seafarers appeal
 
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. 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.


 Trinity Church's Holly Berry Fair coming up  
 
We're planning the Holly Berry Fair, Trinity Church's biggest event of the year!
 
Mark your calendars for November 21st !!
    
Anyone can contribute in big or small ways and we hope that you all will do so.
 
Can you bake, craft, sell?  Would you be willing to be in charge of a table and sign up people to help?
   
Here are some ways you can contribute to with the fair:         
  • Home baked goods
  • Hand crafted items
  • Silent Auction items
  • Jewelry
  • Christmas Treasures
  • Attic Treasure
  • Publicity - Help get the word out with everyone you know, everywhere you go!
  • Kids' Activities, face painting, or something you're willing to do
  • Cookies (for a cookie walk) anyone want to head this up?
  • Kitchen help and Waiters
  • Set-up & Clean-up 
Please call Carol Gobar at 926-2768, and let her know how you can help.

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