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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
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 December Bishop's Committee meeting
The December meeting, held at Trinity Church, Hampton, opened with a reflection by Robert Bischoff on the wonderfully worn Prayer Books in our pews, prayers from which have enriched our spiritual journeys. He shared the hope that we would read and learn from the pages not as worn as those in the portions most often used on a Sunday morning.
There not being a quorum of Christ Church members present due to illness and travels, there was no Christ Church breakout session, and the two Christ Church attendees remained as the Trinity business was transacted. Among the items covered in that session were:
- An update on the efforts to determine the fair market value of the space used by the Village Preschool. The current donation is within the "fair" range according to realtor Anne Russell, who deemed the 1,800 usable square feet used worth between $900 and $1,600 per month.
- A report on the recent pantry reorganization meeting. Much progress has been made on client privacy, rotation of stock, and retraining of volunteers.
- A review of plans for January's Annual Meetings in both churches. The meetings will begin with the enactment of a new set of bylaws, and, presuming passage, will conduct elections in accordance with the new provisions. The remaining business will follow. At Trinity, a Clerk and one new at-large member of the Bishop's Committee will be standing for election. At Christ Church, a new Warden, Clerk, and at-large member will be needed. Two current at-large members will be shifted into new terms according to the provisions of the new bylaws.
- A review of November financials for both churches, which showed a positive cash flow for the month in each. The overall deficit year-to-date is also slightly reduced from a year ago in both churches.
In joint business:
- The lease of a new copier to succeed the one on which our current lease was expiring was approved unanimously.
- Fall stewardship results were reported, with pledges up at Trinity, but slightly down at Christ Church. Preliminary budgets look more promising at Trinity than Christ Church as a result, but final budgets will not be presented for approval until we have final figures for 2016. It was agreed to rebalance the cost-sharing formula for shared expenses to reflect this reality, as the ratio of Trinity Church income to Christ Church's is 62%/38%.
- Plans were made for Christmastide events, including an Epiphany Feast of Lights on Saturday, Jan. 7 at Trinity.
Full minutes will be posted as they become available. The Jan. meeting was set for the 17th at 7 p.m. at Christ Church.
Notes by Fr. Chip
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 Christmastide 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.
Epiphany Feast of Lights
Saturday, Jan. 7 at 5:00 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 five years ago, it is a moving, candlelight service that celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the world.
This year, we will celebrate it at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 - 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!
Christmas Eve at Christ Church
Christmastide
in our
Shared Ministry
8:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite Two
no 5:00 p.m. service Dec. 31
The Epiphany
Saturday, January 7
5:00 p.m. The Epiphany Feast of Lights
8:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite Two with the renewal of baptismal vows
Christ Church, Portsmouth
Feast of the Holy Name
January 1
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite Two
The Baptism of Christ
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite Two
with the renewal of baptismal vows
Official Notice of Annual Meetings
Know all persons by these presents that the Annual Meeting of Trinity Episcopal Church will be held on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2016 at 10:15 a.m. in Hobbs Hall at Trinity Church and that the Annual Meeting of Christ Episcopal Church will be held on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 12:00 noon in the Christ Church Undercroft.
The purpose of these meetings shall be:
- to enact a new set of bylaws for each congregation;
- to receive the Reports of the Officers and Organizations of the Congregations;
- to elect Officers and Delegates for the terms specified for their offices; and
- to conduct such other business as may lawfully come before these meetings.
Any baptized person, sixteen (16) years of age or older, who acknowledges in writing the authority of the By-Laws of the Congregation her or she attends and who declares his or her intention to aid in maintaining public worship therein by regular attendance at such worship and who is a contributor of record, is entitled to voice and vote.
Suanne George & Lynda Swartz, Acting Wardens, Christ Church
Patrice Wood, Senior Warden, Trinity Church
Annual Report deadline is Jan. 6
Annual reports are due to the shared ministry office no later than Friday, Jan. 6 (earlier is better!). Conveners of all committees as well as activity/ group coordinators are asked to submit reports. Please email these to trinity55ad@gmail.com. Thank you!
An important note about year-end charitable giving for 2016
Internal Revenue Service regulations regarding year-end giving are quite precise - and are enforced vigorously. Please be aware that gifts in check form made by mail must be postmarked by Dec. 31 to qualify as a gift in the current tax year. Gifts given in person cannot be back-dated to 2016 if physically given in 2017. The date on the check is irrelevant to the tax treatment of that check. The date of transmittal if mailed, or receipt if delivered in person, is the determining date for tax purposes.
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, who we suggest seeing themselves as Prayer Partners. As in the past, about once every six weeks, we will instead using the Shared Ministry Collect. The next two weeks, please hold in your prayers...
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Jan. 1
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Trinity Church Altar Guild
Prayer Partners: Barbara Allen; Alberta True;
Howard & Nancy Stiles
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Jan. 8
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Christ Church Altar Guild
Prayer Partners: Jim Ashworth & Dawn Ayer
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Offering envelopes
This year, as a cost-saving measure, we are only preparing packets of offering envelopes for those who requested them on their stewardship pledge form in November. If you did not request envelopes, but would like a set, please speak with Nita in the Shared Ministry office at 926-5688 and specify whether you want weekly, monthly, or quarterly envelopes. Those who requested envelopes at Christ Church will find them in their mailboxes. Those at Trinity who requested them will find them on the table in the Narthex.
Seacoast Choral Epiphany Celebration
Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m.
First Congregational Church, Hampton
What a joy it is to share with you that there will be six participating churches in the 2017 Choral Epiphany Celebration on Sunday, January 8, at 3 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, Winnacunnet Rd., Hampton! Choir members from our two churches will be joining a massed choir to sing the final anthem of the afternoon.
As you may remember, if you've been to one of these before, the service is a beautiful mix of poetry, scripture and the choir anthems of our various church choirs along with one massed choir piece that concludes the service. It is our hope that as many of you as possible can join us for this festive, uplifting close to Christmastide!
Coming in January 2017...
Love your Muslim neighbor as yourself
 This program will look at the basic tenets of Islam. We live in an era in which much of what passes as information about Islam is "disinformation" rooted in stereotype and watered by fear.
This program will weed out the tares of ignorance by speaking to some actual Muslims and to Christian scholars who will provide us with the tools of "fact-based" knowledge. We will gain a harvest of reliable information about what our Muslim neighbors believe, and about how they live out their faith.
When: Thursdays, Jan. 5th thru Feb. 2nd, 2017, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: Corpus Christi Parish Hall, St. James Church,
2075 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth
Program facilitator is the Rev. Bayard P. Herndon, M.A., M.Div., a United Methodist pastor. There is no cost for the program. To pre-register, call Carol at Corpus Christi Parish, 436-4555 ext. 15.
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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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