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Thursday Reminder April 30, 2015
An Online Ezine
Easter 2015


Greetings from your church! 
In This Reminder
This Week
Items for Consideration
Coming Up
Your Stewardship
Housekeeping
Extras!
This Week

Saturday, May 2nd... J2A Rummage Sale!
Starts at 7:15 on Saturday morning. There is a pre-sale on Friday night. Please call the office, 860-928-7026 or Dee Dee Markes, 860-617-7996 if you can help move stuff as the sale ends at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday especially if you have a truck and a driver! But call first as there is a possibility that there will be some flea market folks taking some things as well. 



Thanks to all for your support when I was away this past weekend at a CREDO Conference for Episcopal Clergy in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina. Here's a view from the ridge on an early morning. We were at the camp at the head of Lake Logan below. Dave

Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 3rd, 2015
8 a.m. H.E. Rite 1
9:00 Choir Rehearsal
9:15 Rectory School Chapel with Nine6teen and Dave
10:15 Church First Eucharist... everyone in church for a shortened service (no sermon!); Coffee Hour with the White Team; Church School and Teen Programs as scheduled. The Adult Forum will feature John and Judy Busse and their "pilgrimage" trips which include Nepal.

Leaflet can be found here
Announcements can be found here

May Courier can be found here

Coffee Hour Team Schedule from February 1st to June 2015 can be found Here ..... on May 10th Parish Life is again doing the Mother's Day Breakfast so there is no 10:15 Coffee Hour after the service! 

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. 


In the Church School:

This week, our Holy High Five goes out to Peter Hale for his peaceful approach in the "Journey" workshop with Mrs. Groom. He did not mind being accidentally called by his big brother's name several times, and he was patient and focused throughout their exploratory activity. Well done, Peter! 


 

Don't Forget: Church First this week! Children attend the family service at 10:15am and then join us downstairs for regularly-scheduled activities: Our rotational workshop "Jesus and Discipleship" continues for grades 1-4 with "Evangelism" and "Journey" themes. Godly Play will be wondering about "Mother Mary". Grades 5 & 6 meet with Chris Carter, Peter Battye and Philippa Paquette. As we begin to practice songs and do other preparations for Youth Sunday, we would love to have as many children in attendance as possible over the coming weeks. Thanks for your support! 


 

If you and your child are attending the Heifer Field Trip and have not received your permission slips, please see us at coffee hour. If there are any Pre-K through 6th grade students who would still like to attend, please let us know. We still have space available! 

here is the flyer for the Heifer Fieldtrip (May 24). Thanks.


Christ Church School Co-directors, Amy Landis & Nicole Nichols
 
Teen Program Notes:



Rite-13ers: Great job on the 30 hour famine! You've raised over $1000. We have a Pizza Party this Sunday in celebration, during church time!

Looking ahead, on May 31st, the Rite 13 will run the service at church, so please have your children come as often as they can between now and then. (This is also the final Contemporary Service for the season)

 

J2Aers: One last fundraiser, our biggest, 10th Annual Rummage sale, May 2nd, all hands on deck.


 

YACers: Active Graduating Seniors: This SUNDAY.... It's that time for making an application for the Von Conta-Koerner Scholarship. Pat McCarthy will gather with interested Seniors in the Library during church on May 3rd. Remember that applying for a scholarship includes a commitment to address the church by giving a Credo Statement on a Sunday in June. App can be found here


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
Fifth Sunday of Easter, there will be a homily at the 8 service.

The readings are Acts of the Apostles 8:26-40 (Phillip's conversation with the Ethiopian Eunuch), Psalm 22:24-30, I John 4:7-21 ("beloved let us love one another because love is of God") and our Gospel is John 15:1-8 (the parable of Jesus as the vine with ourselves as the branches)
The full text of the readings can be found here at the Lectionary Website.

Ouch! I don't want to be "pruned". But that is part of what Jesus says here. He wants us to be "fruitful" in care and concern, in intention and responsiveness. Does "pruning" mean that I need to become clearer about the priorities in my life, to become alert to what habits I might leave behind, what might be changed over time? Dave

Adult Forum Experiments!
Do we want more conversation on the readings, or on current national or international issues and how they relate to who were are as Christians, or local issues like "parenting teenagers"? Guest speakers? Anyone interested in helping with this? :>) 4-5 sessions next year starting in September or October.

Spirituality Workshop Experiments continue.... 
The Rev. Oscar Brockmeyer is offering Group Spiritual Direction as well as One on One work to anyone in the community within and beyond the church. Once a month he will also do a Saturday morning presentation with plenty of time for sharing.  Here is an overview. Looks exciting. It starts this Saturday in the downstairs areas in the church and then again on May 16th.

Relay for Life (Woodstock)
The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at the Woodstock Fairgrounds is 11am on 5/16 to 11am on 5/17.
Registration is free but if participants raise $100 in donations by 4/5  they will get a t-shirt. 
Here is the link to Register. Our team name is
Christ Church Family and Friends. 
Contact Ginger Lusa with questions: gingerlusa@gmail.com or 860-428-5351.
Coming Up










May-June:

Saturday, May 2, Rummage Sale starts at 7:15 a.m.!

Sunday, May 3rd, 8 and 10:15 Services only. The 10:15 is a Church First Sunday. (No Rectory Service)

Thursday, May 7th, 7:30 a.m. Healing Eucharist

Saturday, May 9th, Spirituality & Health with Quiet Corner Community Health Care @ 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, May 10th, 8, 9:15 and 10:15 services (Liliana Moran's Baptism at 10:15), Mother's Day Breakfast starts at 9 a.m.; Vestry Meeting for May with Bishop Ian Douglas at 11:30 a.m. in the Library.

Thursday, May 14th, 7:30 a.m. Healing Eucharist

Saturday-Sunday, May 16-17th Relay for Life

Saturday, May 16th, Spirituality with the Rev. Oscar Brockmeyer in the Great Hall

Sunday, May 17th, All Services, Ellsworth Baptism at the 10:15 service

Thursday, May 21st, 7:30 a.m. Healing Eucharist

Sunday, May 24th, All Services, Tyler Baptism at the 10:15. It is also Choir Sunday!

Thursday, May 28th, 7:30 a.m. Healing Eucharist

Sunday, May 31st, All Services, Contemporary Eucharist at the 10:15 (last of the season). The Rite-13ers are helping run the service!

Saturday, June 6th, Spiritual Practice with the Rev. Oscar Brockmeyer in the Great Hall

Sunday, June 7th, 8 and 10:15 Services, Youth Sunday at the later service. Parish Picnic at 11:30!

Saturday, June 13th... Nine6teen at the Bean, 8 p.m., Fundraiser for the Deary Fund sponsored by Longmeadow Automotive!


Google Calendar 
Your Stewardship!











How your gifts are "invested"!
One of the highlights of our budget is Christian Social Outreach. Every year we try to set aside at least $20,000 as grant money to local, national and international organizations that do both direct aid & development. More recently the Diocese has allowed us to keep 2.5% of our usual assessment to use for special mission beyond what we usually do. The Vestry, the Rector and your input is helping us (it's about $7,000 and we'll have to account for it at convention next year). Our possible outreach trips, our support for Oscar Brockmeyer's work are part of this.

Thank you for your generosity!

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. Right now our Pledged Income is $190,000. Thank you!

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 Here Thanks! 
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). We are in the Easter Season: Flower donations are encouraged. There are always applications for flowers in the back of the church ($30).

Vestry Notes
Next Vestry meeting is May 10th with Bishop Ian Douglas after the 10:15 in the Library. We'll try to include some snack items from the Mom's Day Breakfast as well as Coffee for the meeting time.

Buildings and Grounds
Our current plan is to repair the floor in the kitchen around the dishwasher over the summer as a volunteer initiative (Rich DiBonaventura). We have some roofing work to do where there was winter damage on the church roof outside the Sacristy (hopefully the Roofing Store). The organ will also need some attention as the seasons change; Dennis Patton is helping assess this with the Foley Baker company.

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
Sunday Gifts 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 April 27th at the 1st Congregational Church of Woodstock (the Hill Church). Contact Pauline Phillips at Christ Church. CSO Committee meets periodically to recommend grants.
Extras!
Youtube: A video by one of my conference-friends, the Rev. Tony Holder, a native of Barbados and currently Rector of the 900 member Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church in Pembroke Pines, Florida. (He does not have an Assistant yet!)

Rector of Holy Sacrament on vacation
Rector of Holy Sacrament on vacation
Dave Carter
Christ Church Pomfret
(Box 21) 527 Pomfret Street 
Pomfret, Ct. 06258

Feel free to contact us: christchurchpomfret@gmail.com

 
Welcome to your church!
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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