From the Vicar...
An inspiring visit from our Presiding Bishop
On Monday, some 250 or so Episcopalians from around New Hampshire, including several from our two congregations, had the opportunity to hear Presiding Bishop Michael Curry speak at St. Paul's, Concord, on the ministry of our Church and the "Jesus Movement" we are called to represent.
After an informal gathering with the clergy in the church hall, the general appearance began with words of introduction from our own Bishop, Rob Hirschfeld, followed by a passionate, powerful address by Bishop Curry. After the address, Bishop Curry was given the opportunity to address questions from those present. His mastery of the issues and articulate and persuasive sense of mission left us all with a wonderful sense that we are being led well by this, our first African-American Presiding Bishop. His story, his gifts, his experience, and, most of all, his lively and inspiring faith, touched us all.
An approachable man and a charismatic preacher, Bishop Curry is a passionate advocate for social justice and racial and gender equality, and encouraged New Hampshire congregations to undertake that work even in our less racially diverse state.
In his introduction, Bishop Hirschfeld outlined Bishop Curry's journey to the Presiding Bishop's office. Born in Chicago, Curry was raised in Buffalo; received a master of divinity degree in 1978 from Yale University Divinity School and became an ordained priest that same year. He served parishes in North Carolina, Ohio, and Baltimore before being elected Bishop of North Carolina, a diocese with 112 congregations and 48,000 members.
After his introduction, Curry told a bit of his personal story and then launched into a description of why he calls the Church the "Jesus Movement." In a later answer to one of the questions posed to him, he suggested we might want to substitute the word, "movement," for "Kingdom" wherever that word appears in our liturgies. Imagine the power, Curry suggested, if we were to say, in the Lord's Prayer, "thy movement come" instead of thy Kingdom come. In a world where "kingdom" represents established authority and often-misused power, "movement" shows a dynamic quality that is always seeking a deeper understanding of God's will.
While he sometimes speaks from the pulpit, Curry often chooses, as he did Monday, to deliver his message from the center aisle of the sanctuary, constantly pacing forward and back, raising and lowering his arms for emphasis. As in previous addresses I have seen, he spoke without notes. He bellowed, he whispered...and he captured the imagination of each person present.
Want to hear more about his visit? Ask the folks from the Shared Ministry who attended: Robert Bischoff, Craig Davis, Gary Dozier, Audrey Murdock, Hope Murray, Dave and Fran Plank and Patrice Wood all were there and can tell you about it.
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...
June 12
|
The Clerks, Suzanne George & Diana Jodoin; Betty McKinney; Wes & Anne Rowe
|
June 19
|
Trinity Church Bishop's Committee; Richard McLoughlin & family; Anne Russell; Lois Schmelzer
|
Coffee Hour hosts wanted
Summer Coffee Hour needs hosts for June, July, and August at both churches. You can bring a simple snack of donuts and juice, or you can get creative and bring bagels, fruit, or whatever you choose. After coffee hour you clean up, and then you are done! You can sign up on the sheet near the coffee pot at either church. Peter Monte generally brews the coffee at Christ Church; Wes Rowe does the same at Trinity - so unless they let you know they can't be here, you generally won't have to worry about how to make the coffee.
One-hour gardeners and garden help wanted
Do you enjoy being outdoors? We would love to have your help maintaining the Memorial Garden at Christ Church and flower beds next to both churches. There's no sign-up sheet involved - just stop by whenever you can.
Here are some of the tasks that you could do when you come to help:
- Weed the Memorial Garden and trim bushes
- Weed the flower beds around the church buildings (both churches)
- Weed and maintain the flower bed by the signs: at the church's entrance for Christ Church; in the midst of the lawn at Trinity
- Remove the spent daffodil foliage
- Tend to the daylilies and iris along the Christ Church walkway
- Cut dead limbs off ornamental trees
- Trim bushes and shrubs
- Water flowers
Thank you for helping keep our Memorial Garden and flower beds beautiful this summer!
Explore your Medicare options
A free public information night at Hobbs House
Mark your calendars for this free workshop to help you understand the basics of Medicare and discover options available to you. The workshop will cover Social Security and Medicare, Medicare Parts A, B and D, supplements, deductibles and coinsurance, how to apply and much more!
Join us on Monday, June 27 at 7 p.m. in Hobbs House's Hall for an informative session about your personal Medicare options with Tom Hutton, a trained representative from the Brownell Insurance Co.
"End 68 Hours of Hunger" planning session
To help address hunger among children around the Seacoast area, the six Episcopal congregations of New Hampshire's Seacoast are joining forces to provide children served on weekdays in the public schools' free lunch program with food for weekends through the End 68 Hours of Hunger Campaign.
Under the program, food is purchased and packed into bags by volunteers, and delivered to the offices of local schools. From there, a school employee delivers the food to the classrooms of the individual participating students. The students take the bags home on Friday afternoon to provide nourishment for the 68 hours that fall between the close of school Friday and arrival at School the following Monday morning.
On Tuesday, June 14 at 7 p.m., the Episcopal Church's Seacoast Convocation will host an awareness-building event at St. George's Church, at the corner of Main and Park Sts., Durham. Officials from area End 68 Hours organizations will be on hand to provide details and answer questions. We are encouraged to send at least one or two representatives from each church to help with this organizing phase. If you can attend, speak with Fr. Chip or either of the Wardens.