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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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Notes from the April Bishop's Committee meeting
The April meeting, held at Christ Church, opened with a meditation by Suzanne George on the meaning and importance of church family - and the sadness we feel when one of us dies, as has recently happened in both our congregations.
The minutes of the March meeting were approved.
Final results of the Fair Share adjustment process were shared - a disappointing bit of news, as we only received about a third as much Fair Share forgiveness as we had asked for. At Trinity, we had asked for $9,000 in Fair Share relief, but received only $2,500. Christ Church also received $2,500, against a request for $5,900. As a result, Christ Church is budgeted to run a deficit of $5,300; Trinity's is even higher: $10,400.
Fr. Chip introduced a proposal he has been working on to make a systemic change to how Fair Share is determined starting in 2018. He noted that other dioceses support their Mission congregations by having a graduated Fair Share, not unlike the graduated income tax imposed on individuals in our society. He proposed a resolution for consideration at this year's Diocesan Convention whereby the first $50,000 of parish operating revenue is assessed at a lower level than the remaining revenue - and to adjust for that, the revenue of the largest congregations (those with over $200,000 in annual operating income) is assessed at a somewhat higher rate. After doing extensive calculations to assure that such a system is both fair and revenue-neutral to the Diocese, he presented a detailed proposal. It received the unanimous and enthusiastic support of our Bishop's Committee, who voted to have us pass it along to the other congregations around the diocese to sign on as "co-sponsors."
In its individual session, the Christ Church committee received an update on our planned Ministry Review for Little Blessings; finalized policies for our new St. Francis Pet Memorial Garden; set April 30 as a date for grounds clean-up around the church; and heard an update on our Capital projects. We are currently having our floors refinished and sealed to preserve them from wear and tear. This was last done quite some time ago. The Treasurer's Report showed positive cash flow for March, but is cumulatively in deficit for the first quarter of the year.
Trinity Church's session discussed a targeted giving campaign to help retire the church's remaining debt - a small amount, but one that places a $3,000 burden on the annual budget. This would make it more feasible for Trinity to meet its Fair Share obligation going forward. Several property matters were discussed, including the replacement of two small areas of roofing and reseeding a portion of Hobbs House's front lawn. The March financial report shows a positive balance as the first quarter ends, largely due to some prepaid pledges.
In other business:
- The Bylaw Review Team is making good progress and should be ready to present a proposal to the Bishop's Committee by June.
- The rescheduled Bishop's Committee retreat was set for June as well, with the final date up to the availability of our retreat leaders.
- Fr. Chip reviewed his vacation plans.
- It was decided that we would try again this summer to do a group outing to a Fisher Cats game - but on our own this year, as we had less interest when we tried to do it jointly with Christ Church, Exeter and St. Thomas' Church, Dover, last year.
Full minutes will be posted when available. The May meeting will be at Trinity Church on Tuesday, May 17.
Notes by 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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May 1
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Closing collect for our Shared Ministry
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May 8
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Seacoast Area Youth Ministry; Joan HoSue; Nancy McHeachern, Ida Moriarty
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Last weeks for our Discretionary Fund fundraiser
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) are 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 20-26 drawings ("GC" means "gift card"). On Sundays, we are holding a "bonus" drawing for gift cards we received that didn't get listed on the calendar.
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Prize
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Winner
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Apr. 20
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$50 Cash
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Paula Parisi
(sold by Carol Gobar)
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Apr. 21
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$25 GC: Panera Bread
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Shaunna Martin (yet another sold by Carol Gobar!)
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Apr. 22
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$35 GC: A Hair Ahead Salon
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Joan HoSue
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Apr. 23
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Photo Card Notes (value $50)
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Betty Lane
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Apr. 24
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$25 GC: 99 Restaurant
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Richard Maxfield
(another Carol Gobar winner!)
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Bonus
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GC for three deluxe car washes at Pro-Wash in N. Hampton
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Richard Maxfield
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Apr. 25
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$50 GC: Trader Joe's
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Lenny Fortier
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Apr. 26
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$50 GC: RiverStones Custom Framing
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Candace Merrill (repeat winner; sold by Carol Gobar)
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New Hampshire Gay Men's Chorus to sing at
Christ Church Sunday, May 1 
The New Hampshire Gay Men's Chorus will give four performances of its Spring 2016 concert, Dudes and Divas! Concert dates are April 30, May 1, May 14, and May 15, in Nashua, Portsmouth, Concord, and Manchester. The Sunday, May 1 performance at 4 p.m. will be right here at Christ Church.
Tickets are $20 per person, and can be bought in advance here- or at the door.
Stamp Out Hunger food drive is May 14
On Saturday, May 14, 2016, letter carriers across the country will be collecting food for families in need. Our own pantry at Hobbs House is among the agencies that will be receiving this food for distribution. It's easy to help:
1. Collect and bag non-perishable* food items
2. Place by mailbox for letter carrier to deliver to a local food bank or pantry
*Donate items like canned meats, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal, peanut butter and rice. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.
Plant and Bake Sale
Saturday, May 7 at Christ Church
The annual Christ Church plant sale will be held on Saturday, May 7th, from 8-2. Please consider donating some of the perennials from your gardens or something for the bake sale.
There will be pots available at Christ Church on Sunday, May 1st, in case anyone needs them for the donation of perennials.
Anyone who would like to donate time to make the plant sale a success is welcome to come give us a hand. Smiling faces help make our plant sale GREAT!
Tena Wolf
Ascension Day Eucharist
Christ Church Chapel
Thursday, May 5 at 12:15 p.m.
Ascension Day stands alongside Christmas, Easter and Pentecost as one of the four "Major Feasts of Our Lord." Following the chronology outlined in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, it commemorates our Lord's Ascension to the Father on the fortieth day after the Resurrection.
We will offer a joint celebration of the Holy Eucharist in honor of this occasion on Thursday, May 5. The 12:15 p.m. service will be held in the Lady Chapel at Christ Church.
As with Ash Wednesday and the Holy Week Triduum, all baptized Christians are asked to make the effort to be in attendance. I encourage you to come - you will find it an uplifting (sorry for the pun, it's not entirely unintentional...) experience.
Fr. Chip
Let's wear red for Pentecost!
Plus...can you offer a reading in another language that day?
On the Day of Pentecost, Sunday, May 15, we will continue our custom of wearing red as a small sign that the Holy Spirit lives within each of us. Our services in both churches that day will feature some powerful Pentecost hymns - including some from more contemporary sources - and, at Christ Church, we'll even have a Baptism: Patrick Tremblay is being baptized that day.
At both churches, we will have a multi-lingual reading of the Acts passage describing the original Day of Pentecost. If you know another language, I encourage you to sign up to help out with this. I'll have a sign-up sheet at each church along with copies of the text in various languages.
So come join us for a festive day! I'll be adorned in bright red vestments, the altar will be decked in red as well - why don't we all wear red to make the scene a "sea" of Pentecost color!
Fr. Chip
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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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