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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... 
Christmas is coming...but Advent isn't done with us yet
I have to admit that I'm a little sad that Advent is almost over. It just might be my favorite liturgical season. It isn't just the Christmas pre-show that points toward and helps us prepare for the Big Event on December 25. Indeed, what the Advent readings - especially the gospel readings - urge us to long for expectantly isn't so much the birth of the Christ child as it is the full realization of God's redemption of the world in Christ.
That's why I love it - and why I need it. I need regularly to get in touch with that big-picture view. There is so much going on in the world that, taken in isolation from the big picture we see in Advent, might make me think that the world's a depressing place - a word I use advisedly here - one in which everything seems to have gone horribly wrong.
Advent reminds us that this way of looking at the world is missing a crucial piece - actually, several crucial pieces - of the picture: God made this world. God loves this world. And God is redeeming this world. The universe arcs toward the peace, joy, love, and wholeness in and for which it was made.
All of that scary stuff we've been reading and watching about terrorism and gun violence and fear over the last few weeks isn't how the world ends; it lets us know even when we are surrounded by fear and disaster God is there with us - suffering with us, yes, and also working among us to bring an end to suffering.
Christmas is coming. It's mere days away - but in my estimation, anyone who misses observing the fourth Sunday of Advent misses out in a big way - misses out on the moment in Luke's gospel in which we truly see hope born. It isn't Christmas yet, but this is Advent, and in this very moment, we see born among us the hope for which the whole world hasn't dared hope.
Fr. Chip
Notes from the December Bishop's Committee meeting
The December meeting, held at Christ Church, opened with a moment of silence to give us time to decompress from the stresses of the season.
The minutes of the November meeting were approved. Final results of the fall Stewardship campaign were shared. At Trinity, 39 pledges are expected, totaling $67,500. With 12 increases and 4 decreases, plus 3 new pledges, it was deemed a successful campaign. At Christ Church, there are 28 pledges totaling $37,500, with 7 increases and 5 decreases. Complicating matters there is the departure of the Sewards, who moved to N.Y. state mid-2015, which will result in a lower pledge total than we had in 2015.
Trinity treasurer Robert Bischoff presented his year-end projections and a draft 2016 budget. There having been no inflation in 2015, no cost-of-living increases are anticipated. We will need a Fair Share adjustment again in 2016, as the deficit will be in the $5,000 range - an amount we cannot sustain. Christ Church will need an adjustment as well, for the aforementioned reason of decreased pledges in 2016.
The joint meeting closed with an evaluative discussion of our reformatted agenda, which we'd been trying for the past three months. It was decided to try a reverse version of this agenda for Jan. 2016: after opening reflections, etc., moving directly to our breakout sessions and concluding with our joint business. This should incentivize us to keep the breakout sessions concise and on-target.
In its individual session, the Christ Church committee received a final report on that church's Capital Campaign, and voted to release the first extra principal payment of $1,000 for the furnace loan (which will leverage $1,000 in matching funds from the diocese). A preliminary discussion of the 2016 budget included a discussion of Millennium Development Goals grants, which were budgeted at $600 for 2015, but for which cash flow does not appear feasible. There was also discussion of appropriate markers for the new pet memorial garden, which will be implemented in the spring.
Trinity Church's session also discussed Millennium Development grants, but decided to take a different approach: to have a targeted giving campaign in the spring rather than a line item in the budget. There will also be a campaign to retire the remaining $3,400 in mortgage debt so that is off the books by the end of 2016. A routine Vicar's housing allowance resolution was passed, and several property matters were discussed. It was decided that, for now, we will continue to hold Coffee Hour in the Narthex but rearrange the furniture to provide more floor space (it's getting crowded!). In the spring, we may move Coffee Hour to Hobbs Hall.
Full minutes will be posted when available. The January meeting will be a Trinity Church on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and will finalize 2016 budgets and annual meeting agendas.
Notes by Fr. Chip
It's that time of year already...
Annual Meetings are coming up in both of our churches this January with Trinity Church going first this year (Jan. 24) and Christ Church's meeting following on Jan. 31. Annual Reports are due from all ministry chairs and coordinators no later than Friday, Jan. 8. Please e-mail your report (if at all possible) to Nita in the Shared Ministry Office: trinity55ad@gmail.com. Written reports can be mailed to the office at 200 High St., Hampton, NH 03842 for either 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...
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Dec. 20
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Christ Church's partnership with Cross Roads House; Allyson Young; Peter & Cathy Wahl, Trevor & Ethan
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Dec. 27
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(Lessons and Carols - no Cycle of Prayer)
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Schedule of Christmas Services
Christmas Eve
Christ Church
4:30 p.m. Christmas Carol Sing
5:00 p.m. Festival Holy Eucharist, Rite II A family-friendly celebration with children's sermon. We are inviting parents of Little Blessings and the Village Preschool children to bring their families.
Trinity Church
7:30 p.m. Christmas Carol Sing
8:00 p.m. Choral Holy Eucharist, Rite II
A joyous Christmas Eve candlelight celebration with music and combined choirs
Christmas Day
Trinity Church
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I
A quiet celebration for those who desire a more traditional setting for the Nativity service
First Sunday after Christmas
5:00 p.m. Sat. The Holy Eucharist, Rite One - Trinity Church
8:45 a.m. A Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist - Trinity Church
10:30 a.m. A Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist - Christ Church
Second Sunday after Christmas
Services will follow our usual schedule
The Epiphany (Wed., Jan. 6)
7:00 p.m. The Epiphany Feast of Lights - Trinity Church
A festive service of candlelight and song
Christmas Home Communion
The Sacrament of Holy Eucharist is available to any church member at home or in the hospital who desires to receive it. Fr. Chip will be setting aside time during Christmas week to make visits. If you find yourself temporarily sick or confined at home or in the hospital and would like communion brought to you, please call the shared ministry office, 603-926-5688, to set up a convenient time.
Christmas Festival Lessons and Carols
Sunday, Dec. 27 in both churches
The Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols is adapted from an Order drawn up by E.W. Benson, who would later become Archbishop of Canterbury, for use on Christmas Eve 1880 in Truro Cathedral. King's College later adapted the service for their own use, and that is the version that has become most familiar today. Wherever the service is observed and however it is adapted, whether the music is provided by choir or congregation, the pattern and strength of the service derive from the lessons and not the music. The center of the service is still found by those who "go in heart and mind" and who consent to follow where the story leads.
I would encourage you to invite friends to join you on Sunday, Dec. 27 as we hear again the readings from Holy Scripture that tell the story of God's enduring promise of redemption through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus. The carols sung are chosen to reflect on these passages and meant to help anchor us more securely in heart and mind as we rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Savior. It is a fitting way to remind ourselves that Christmas is a twelve-day feast, full of rich opportunities for enjoying the narrative and music that open to us the mystery of the Incarnation.
If you would be interested in reading one of the Lessons that day, please sign up on the sheet at the church entrance, speak with me or contact me by email (see below). We will need several readers in each church, so there is plenty of room for volunteers!
- Fr. Chip
New Year's Open House at Liz and Lynda's
14 Kensington Road, Hampton, NH
Please join us Friday, January 1, 2016 starting at 4:00 p.m. for a New Year's Day open house to benefit the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SCPA) in Stratham. Food and drink will be provided. If able, please bring a donation to help the SCPA.
Seacoast Choral Epiphany Celebration
Sunday, Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Hampton
What a joy it is to share with you that there will be six participating churches in the 2016 Choral Epiphany Celebration on Sunday, January 10, at 3 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, UCC, in Hampton! Our own choir, under the direction of Alexis Zaricki, is among those participating, and our two churches will be responsible for one of the portions of the service.
Choirs from several of the participating churches will sing anthems of the season, and at the end of the service, a massed choir from all six churches will sing "Journey of the Kings" by John Hopkins. The text of this piece is just perfect for concluding the Christmas Season and carrying the message through the year.
Be watching for more details as they become available.
Epiphany Feast of Lights
Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at Trinity Church
The Feast of Lights is one of the oldest observances of the Christian Church dating back to the Fourth Century after Christ. Introduced here two years ago, it is a moving, candlelight service that celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the world.
As Epiphany falls on a Wednesday this year, we will celebrate it at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 - with a festive "Twelfth Day" gathering to follow. Bring any "leftover" Christmas goodies to share.
If you have not yet experienced this service, you are in for a remarkable worship opportunity. Do plan to join us!
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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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