Wise Maiden Heading
Thursday Reminder for March 12th, 2015
An Online Ezine
Lent 2015


Greetings from your church! We hope the thaw continues!
In This Reminder
This Weekend
Items for Consideration
Coming Up
Housekeeping
Extras!
This Weekend
Fourth Sunday of Lent: March 15th
8 a.m. H.E. Rite 1; Coffee Hour; 9:00 Choir Rehearsal;10:15 Family Eucharist, Coffee Hour with the Blue Team.

Leaflet can be found Here
Announcements can be found Here 

The March Courier can be found here

Coffee Hour Team Schedule from February 1st to June 2015 can be found Here

Pastoral Emergencies... please call the office.. 860-928-7026 or Dave's Cell Phone, 860-608-7632. You can also call the office to place a person on our Prayer Chain. The current Prayer Chain List for Crisis Intercessions is found Here 


In the Church School:


 

This week's Holy High Five goes to Henri Bessette, who was a curious and courteous participant during Mrs. Rigney's "Senegal" presentation and the Heifer Storytelling workshop!

This Sunday, March 15th children in grades 1-6 will work on preparations for the Heifer Living Market (Palm Sunday, March 29).  Lots to do, but many hands make light work! (so we need your "hand" to help out!) Godly Players will ponder the "Faces of Easter".  Collection for Heifer International continues throughout Lent.

 

Here are our needs for the Easter Eggstravaganza which needs parent support (April 4: Flyer can be found Here) and here is the information for the Heifer Overlook Farm Fieldtrip (May 24)...  Children in preschool to grade 4 welcome to join us, but we need to know by March 18th.  Thanks!


Christ Church School Co-directors, Amy Landis & Nicole Nichols
 
Teen Program Notes:
Thanks so much for you support at the Corned Beef Dinner! We raised over $1300! Special thanks to Joanne Fagan for her recipe talents! The J2A presented her with a thank you card, flowers and a bottle of "Lenten" wine on Sunday at Announcements.
Rite-13 & J2A meet on Sundays regularly

YAC meets as scheduled.

Rummage Sale: May 2, 2015
Pilgrimage 2015, August 6-12th

Dee Dee Markes 
79 Mashamoquet Road
Pomfret Center, CT 06259
860.963.0846 860.617.7996
deedeespa@charter.net
 
Items for Consideration
The Labyrinth

 










First Take
This Sunday, Lent 4, there will be homilies at both the 8 and the 10:15 services.

The scheduled readings are Numbers 21:4-9 (Moses saves the the Israelites in the desert from poisonous snakes); Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10 (in which Paul speaks of how the folks in the Ephesus congregation were "dead" inside and have now been made alive in Christ). The Gospel is John 3:14-21 (This is is the passage at the conclusion of the Nicodemus story in which Jesus reminds us that Son came not to condemn but to rescue). The full text of the readings can be found Here at the Lectionary Website.

One of the details of the strange Numbers passage that I had never noticed until this reading was the extent of the "saving" power of the bronze snake that Moses uses to rescue the Israelites from the bites of the real poisonous snakes (all who look upon the bronze snake are rescued). I had remembered that those who were bitten recovered, but more so, even those who had died from the snake bites recovered. No wonder John uses the image of the "lifted snake" in our Nicodemus passage to indicate the depth and breadth of the saving work of Jesus. John understands Jesus as someone who is available to "rescue us" from the "poisonous bites" of our world, of ourselves, of happenstance. I wonder what kind of "rescue" this is? .... Dave

Poems by Merrill Ann Gonzalez

Special Mission Outreach: 
In recent conversations with folks we'll probably try to schedule so of these events: 

1) Having a day/morning/evening "meal packaging" event for Stop Hunger Now. Proposed by Nicole Nichols/Church School. We're thinking about this for the early fall.
2) Doing a Habitat for Humanity weekend. Proposed by Kirsten Rigney. There is some person-to-person prep for this online (safety, procedures, etc. before you can be a volunteer).
3) Joining an 8 day trip with PID (Partners in Development) who work in Haiti, Guatemala & Mississippi. Note that PID has already scheduled a number of trips and the offer is to "sign on". Proposed by Mitzi Davis who has gone with PID recently. She will be suggesting trip.

Please speak with the "proposers" or Dave on Sundays during Coffee Hour.

It's that time again: Relay for Life (Woodstock)
The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at the Woodstock Fairgrounds will be from 11am on 5/16- 11am on 5/17.
Registration is free this year but participants should try to raise $100 in donations and they will get a t-shirt. T-shirts must be ordered by 4/5.
Here is the link to Register. Our team name is Christ Church Family and Friends. Last year, we had a great time with members of Rite 13 and hope they will participate again. 
Contact Ginger Lusa with any questions at gingerlusa@gmail.com or by calling 860-428-5351.

Lenten Study Continues Living Islam with Krista Tippett on being a practicing American Muslim. Wednesday at the Carters (the Rectory) on March 18 and 25th with a possible extension to April 1st. 7:00 p.m. Anyone can join us for one or all. Here's a link to look at the materials: Click Here

Pledges so far: Your pledge is the way we have a fully-funded ministry at Christ Church. That is how important you are! Current pledges are running at about $189,000. Thank you!
Coming Up









March into April:

Lent 4, Sunday, March 15th.. 8 and 10:15 services

Wednesday, March 18th: Lenten Study, 7 p.m. at Carters 

Saturday, March 21st, Altar Guild Cleaning Day begins at 8:00 a.m.; Spirituality Workshop at 9:30 a.m.

Lent 5, Sunday, March 22nd... 8 a.m. and 10:15 Services. Contemporary Service at 10:15, Hymns at 8

Wednesday, March 25th: Lenten Study, 7 p.m. at Carters 

Palm Sunday, March 29th! 8 and 10:15 Services; Church School Heifer Fair; Procession of the Palms from the Great Hall at the 10:15 service. 

April 2nd, Maundy Thursday: 6 p.m. potluck & table eucharist at the Rectory (the Carters house). All are welcome, young and old. 

April 3rd, Good Friday: Walking the Labyrinth in the Great Hall, starting at 8 a.m. (gentle music and suggested directions available); Good Friday Liturgy (and meditation), 7 p.m. Eucharist in the Church (hymns with Dennis)

April 4th, Holy Saturday: Eggstravaganza for our young folk with parents in the Great Hall and the reading of the Passion Story with the felt board, starts at 10 a.m.; Rectory School Easter Service at 4 p.m. with brief Easter Eucharist (to be confirmed)

April 5, Easter Sunday, 8 a.m. and 10:15 Services (no Church School or Teen Program... Childcare for younger kids downstairs)

Link to the Readers/Acolyte Schedule

Link to the Google Calendar 
Housekeeping












Flowers
Sign Up Master List is posted to the left of the office door. You can sign up there, call the office (928-7026) or respond to this email to Make a Memorial or a Thanksgiving for a loved one ($30/Sunday). Easter Flower donation time has arrived. There are applications for the Easter Lillies in the back of the church ($15).

Stewardship: Visions and Ventures
Your pledge remains the most important source of income for us to continue our ministries, by far. Thanks! See to the right, both pledge materials and a pledge card download.

How about Pledging and Donating by eCheck, Credit Card, etc.? And more, keeping track of your own donations in the same secure way? You now can with our direct on-line option:

(Note: when you wish to access the Christ Church easytithe donation site you will need to go through this button, here on the Reminder, or on the website. It will not work on the easytithe site directly. That log in is for account managers.)

Amazon Smile: Amazon.com will donate .5 percent of eligible purchases to Christ Church. Amazon pays these donations. You can still shop through your own account but Christ Church will benefit. Link is through smile.amazon.com Thanks! 

Vestry Notes
The Vestry had an excellent planning meeting on March 1st. One of the salient conversations was around newer members and helping folks find their way around our program.  

Buildings and Grounds
We're investigating how to repair the floor in the kitchen around the dishwasher which seems to have sustained a great deal of water damage (Rich DiBonaventura). John Murphy is completing the Library Door project. 

Spirituality & Health Workshops 
Saturday mornings: 9:30 to 11:30 am. 
Mar 21: Explore the connections among physical, mental, & spiritual health
Original Flyer is found: HERE

Shawl Ministry:
 Blessed shawls on the back table in church (fill out the log book). We have had a number of folks respond with thanks after receiving one of the shawls. Rebecca Patenaude, Coordinator Email her

Sunday Donations for Access.. Suggested Sunday morning donations: canned vegetables, canned protein (chicken, tuna, ham, beans and etc.), pasta, deodorant and 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner. List? Click Here

Outreach....  Next cooking for Community Kitchen on March 23rd at the 1st Congregational Church of Woodstock (the Hill Church). Contact Pauline Phillips at Christ Church. CSO Committee recommended and the Vestry approved the first of our 2015 Grants. Craig Tiffany is the new Vestry Liaison for CSO.
Extras!
Some Episcopal Youtube Videos: the first is a recording of one of the great anglican/episcopal hymns, the second, a dub of Pharrell Williams "Happy" by Episcopal HS in Virginia, the third is that take on the priesthood (Scottish Episcopal Church). 

Come Down O Love Divine (Down Ampney) - King's College, Cambridge
Come Down O Love Divine (Down Ampney) - King's College, Cambridge


Episcopal HS in Virginia is happy!
Episcopal HS in Virginia is happy!



Rev Kate Reynolds - Being a Priest
Rev Kate Reynolds - Being a Priest


 
Dave Carter
Christ Church Pomfret
(Box 21) 527 Pomfret Street 
Pomfret, Ct. 06258

Feel free to contact us: christchurchpomfret@gmail.com

 
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Steeple
Mission Statement

To seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, welcoming all who come through our doors to participate in worship, education, service and fellowship on a journey in Christ, a journey that we believe not only has power to heal and change us but also has potential to transform the world.

(Vestry 2003)


 

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