From the Vicar...
The "age of distraction" affects our mission
I have been wondering about what it means to be Christian these days. I grew up as one firmly a part of the "boomer" generation. At that time there was still a presumption of religious practice in the general society. Stores were closed on Sundays, there were no school sports scheduled, and unless someone called you on the phone (which, of course, was wired to your wall!) you weren't likely to be interrupted.
Fast forward to today and the world is a different place. Everything is 24/7. For those who work, the weekend may allow escape from the office, but the office follows you home. If you have kids, sports events and birthday parties can pack your weekend. With busy weeks, we try to grab some down time for being with our families as well.
What this means for church is that a time that used to be set aside to come together for worship and learning is now one of many possible activities. Our society doesn't place much value on stopping, resting, ceasing as it did when the idea of sabbath (if not always the reality) gave some structure to a time of refection.
So what does it mean to be Christian, and part of a Christian community, these days? How do we find ways to form our children in faith, reach out with the love of Christ, and feed our own souls? How does our church community support us and help us love God with our whole hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves?
I don't have the "right" answer. I have a hunch it has something to do with the decisions and commitments we make, but those decisions and commitments might not look like they did in the 50s or the 80s. So how will it look? How will we do it?
At our Bishop's Committee retreat later this spring I will be inviting our church leaders to begin to consider what it really means to be a 21st century church on the Seacoast. This will be a time of listening for what the realities of life are these days. It will be a time of reflecting together on how we live out our deepest values and commitments in ways that are both realistic and challenging.
Our Canon to the Ordinary, Hannah Anderson, along with experienced retreat leader, Dave Young, will be with us to help us look at our mission going forward - and how today's changing realities may affect the way we "do church." We will also lay the groundwork for expanding the conversation to all of you. The end result may mean that we need to explore creative ways for doing things in new and different ways - but, then, we've gotten pretty experienced at creative change as we have "lived into" our life together in the Shared Ministry.
I hope you will hold your lay and clergy leaders in prayer as we prepare for this conversation and then, join us as we take it forward to guide our journey into the future.
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...
April 10
|
Outreach Ministries of both congregations; Liza & David, Colin & Griffin McGuckin; Joanie Gagnon; Carol Gobar
|
April 17
|
Christ Church Sunday School; Melanie Harden, Jim Heinz & Jeffrey Heinz; J.R., Coleen & Faith Bridle
|
Fundraiser for Discretionary Fund is now underway
Between now and the Day of Pentecost (May 15), we will be undertaking a fundraiser for the Vicar's Discretionary Fund. Peter Monte (at Christ Church) and Gordon Lane (at Trinity Church) will be selling raffle tickets for a $200 gift card from the Atlantic Grill in Rye. Tickets are $15 each or three for $30. See Peter or Gordon at coffee hour if you'd like to help us beef up this Fund, which helps people in need both within our congregations and in the community at large.
Calendar drawing winners
Throughout the month of April, we will be publishing the winners of our daily Calendar fundraiser drawings. Cindy Robinson will draw a name each morning and the winner will be notified they've won - and how to retrieve their gift. All names go back in the basket - so each person has thirty chances to win. Here are our winners for the April 1-5 drawings ("GC" means "gift card"). On Sunday, we did a "bonus" drawing for a gift card we received that didn't get listed on the calendar.
Date
|
Prize
|
Winner
|
Apr. 1
|
$34 GC: Two deluxe car washes at Pro-Wash, North Hampton
|
Louise Bridle
|
Apr. 2
|
$50 cash
|
Russell D'Auria
(sold by Lynda Swartz)
|
Apr. 3
|
$25 LL Bean GC
|
Donna Joy
(sold by Lynda Swartz)
|
Bonus:
|
$25 Footlocker GC
|
Nita Niemczyk
|
Apr. 4
|
$25 GC for Ron Jillian's Restaurant, Hampton
|
Diane Spires
(sold by Suzanne George)
|
Apr. 5
|
|
Mary Ellen Morrissey
(ticket sold by Liz Malone)
|
Kay Scott, rest in peace
Catherine "Kay" Tallmadge Shriver Scott, a deeply-loved member of our Trinity family, passed away peacefully on March 31, at the age of 81.
A memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, April 9 at 2 p.m. at Trinity Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Kay's name to the charity of one's choice or to Habitat for Humanity, PO Box 4428, Portsmouth, NH 03802-4428.
Trinity to host Seacoast Convocation
On Tuesday, April 12, Trinity Church will host the Seacoast Convocation. Among the items on the agenda are a "mapping" of needs and resources our congregations can address and/or utilize, and a report on the recent Seacoast forum on partnerships between the N. H. Department of Children, Youth and Families and New Hampshire faith communities.
Any who can help provide refreshments for the evening are invited to bring them to the Narthex at Trinity by 6:30 p.m. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the church nave.
An invitation from our neighbors at Hampton United Methodist Church
The Hampton United Methodist Church will host its annual charity golf tournament and challenge at the Breakfast Hill Golf Club in Greenland on Monday, June 6 with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Entry fee is $115 per golfer which includes 2 mulligans and 1 putting contest for 50/50, also great food and prizes. If you would like to register as a single golfer or as a team, see the church website, hamptonnhumc.com or contact the church for a copy of the registration form. Proceeds will benefit the hurting, hungry and homeless of the Seacoast.
Lay Leadership Institute
Saturday, May 7, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Rundlett Middle School, Concord
The Lay Leadership Institute is again being held at the Rundlett Middle School in Concord. The seminars for this year are as follows:
Rite Essentials: Acknowledging that service in worship is an exercise of leadership, Bishop Rob Hirschfeld will guide seminar participants through our liturgies. He'll explain what is really happening at the altar, how our rites took shape, the importance of place and word and symbol in our worship, and why we do things as we do.
The Art of Narrative: Telling stories is a powerful tool for reaching others - to inform, explain, persuade, support, inspire and spread the faith. Sharing stories builds community. Moreover, perceiving our lives as stories helps us make sense of our history and our relationships, inviting us to deeper spirituality. Participants in the Art of Narrative will gain practice in forming and telling stories.
The Greening of the Church: Representatives of Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light will assist congregations toward environmental soundness by helping participants track energy use and carbon footprint, install no-cost and low-cost projects and practices that reduce energy bills, update heating and electrical equipment, and locate rebates and financial assistance that help pay for sustainability projects.
Wardens' Round Table: This annual seminar brings wardens together for peer-talk about issues unique to their canonical office and to learn from one another's experiences and insights, led by a seasoned moderator. This year's Round Table will include Mutual Ministry Review, as Canon Hannah Anderson guides wardens through the process vital to healthy congregational life.
To register for the Lay Leadership Institute, go to the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire's website, www.nhepiscopal.org, click on congregations and click on Lay Leadership.
|