Weekly Services

 

~ Sunday ~

1. 8:00am, Morning Prayer & Holy Eucharist           
2. 10:30am, Organ & Choir with Holy Eucharist  
3. 5:30pm,  Sung Vespers & Holy Eucharist

~ Wednesday ~


7:15am Holy Eucharist,

located in the Parish Hall,
 in Fr. Wilkins's Office

Rev. Dr. Christopher I Wilkins,  

Priest-in-Charge

ciwilkins@christepiscopalchaptico.org 

Office: 301-884-0644  

Cell: 301-247-2482

Crystal Spranger, 

Parish Administrator

Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday  

10AM to 2PM

Office Phone: 301-884-3451  

Email: office@christepiscopalchaptico.org  

Vestry Members

Robbie Loker, Sr. Warden

Robert Oppermann, Jr. Warden

Bill Dollins, Treasurer

Betsy Franklin

Julie Burch

Sheila Hiebert

Mike Oliver

Jill Oliver

Donna Gutierrez 

 Hall Activities

and   

Rental Information    

Hall  

Rental Availability

http://www.christepiscopalchaptico.org/parishhallevents.html   

~ Wednesday  ~     

Holy Eucharist, 7:15am,   

Priest's Office   

Wine and Bibles, 6:30pm,   

~  Every Thursday ~ 

Yoga 

9 -10:15am  & 10:30am -12:00pm  

Narcotics Anonymous  Mtg, 

7:00-8:00pm  

Historic Churches

We are one, but not the only one. Whereas  all modern churches look the same, each historic church

is historic and intriguing

 in its own way.

Check them out at http://www.daytrippingmetro.com/historicchurches.html

Other St. Mary's County

.Episcopal Churches   

St. George's Episcopal, Valley Lee, MD

Diocese of Washington   

Bishop Mariann Budde

Bishop's Photo Journal

The Bishop's Blog

Letters & Writings

Sermon

Visitation Schedule

To learn more about the

Episcopal Faith,

Please visit

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/

The Episcopal Church

You can find it online at:

http://www.lectionarypage.net/      

February 21, 2013

Frederick Douglass

"Dust in the air suspended / Marks the place where the story ended."-T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Having told a good story, the storyteller closes the book, perhaps even the Good Book, and leaves a little dust-cloud of witness to the tale just told. A memory like that stays with a boy until he becomes a man and weaves it into his last great poem. The line above comes just after last week's one about the burnt rose-ash on that old man's sleeve. It puts me, like the poet, in mind of happy memories.

This is not a day when the church celebrates only happy memories. Frederick Douglass, who was born a slave and who died as one of America's most powerful speakers and thinkers and one of the most influential abolitionists and advocates for equal rights we've ever produced, had a wealth of horrors in his memory to draw upon. His forthright honesty about them helped compel the nation not to look away from what slavery and the slave power-the economic might of those who, in Lincoln's words, "wring their bread from the sweat of other men's faces"-was doing to this country and, most viciously, to its victims. Much as sight is most precious to those who have been blind, and health dearest to those wracked with illness, freedom is most loved by those who have known the weight and terror of chains. Douglass knew that well, and made sure that everyone could hear it.  

Here are some quotes to remember:

"Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave."

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

"The American people have this to learn: that where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither person nor property is safe."

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

"The soul that is within me no man can degrade."

"The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims, have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. [....] This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

Jesus knew that quite well, as did all who followed him-and as should all who follow now. What Jesus did to free humanity from the power of sin and the dread of death took pain and made him suffer in both body and mind. Though we are bear our own crosses, not his, and though it is not for us to repeat his agony and bloody sweat, it is likely that any liberty we seek will involve struggle, conflict, and a challenge to power. Jesus's oblation, his offering of himself to God, risked what we must risk as well as Christ's body on earth. Those who lose their lives and give themselves over fully to him will find the abundant life that does not decay, say the gospels, but no others will.

The church sets for Douglass's day a gospel reading from John (8:30-32), the point of which is verse 32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Douglass lived that verse in ways that few of us can-his cross is not ours any more than Jesus's is-but his witness to this gospel's power demands that we seek and know truth-all truth and each truth-ourselves, and welcome the freedom it brings.

Blessings,

Fr. Christopher

Liturgical Schedule - February 24, 2013 

Second Sunday in Lent  

Propers

1st Lesson - Genesis 5:1-12 

  Psalm - 27

2nd Lesson - Philippians 3:17-4:1  

 Gospel - Luke 13:31-35

Greeters - Julie & Austin Burch 

Lector -  Tom Oliver 

LEMs - Greg Penk & Fred Wyant 

Greeters - David & Crystal Spranger 

Lector -  David Spranger 

Acolytes - Nick Oliver and Harmony Spranger 

10:30 Refreshments:  Potluck Sunday, bring something small to share. 

Please pray for the following parishioners: Clare Whitbeck, Chris & Bonny Moore,  William Mattingly,  Russell Maske, Rayetta McWilliams, Keith Owens,  and Ed Moore.

Please also pray for: Richard Griffith - Colton; James McCarty, Judy Thomas - Rogers, Robert Whitlock - Donahue; Bill Armstrong - Baldwin, Marvin Miller, Carol Stockman, Dee Brooks, Greg Rumph - Penk; Henry & Melba Lauver, Chrissy Cliff - Moore; Michael Mulling, Grace Ann Guy, Irving Hall - Zantizinger; Claire Broadhead - Tyner; April Sauerwein - Swann; Kay DesMarais - Edger; Dana Biacetti - Weston; Laura Wible - Cooper; Katherine Stormont - McQuilkin; Karli Trost, Janice Chearney - Sirk; Rose Kinnaman - Oppermann; William Turner  - Derrington, The Reisinger Family, Shingo Yamamoto - Fitch; John Lawton - Burch; Rebecca Comp - Drumgoole; John Woodward - McGarity Deborah Schoenbauer - Rocheleau; Michael Montillo - Montillo; and Rafaela Mesa - Gutierrez.

Parish Notes & Events   

 

 

Wednesday's, Wine and Bibles

This coming week we focus on the Didache (DID-a-kee), an early near-New Testament work that is also called the teaching of the 12 apostles. It almost made it into the Bible, but was, you might say, a bit too harsh even for those days. You may find it at earlychristianwritings.com, under "D". Come read and hear what some of our Christian ancestors thought, taught, and believed at the beginning. Wednesday at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall.

 

 

 Foundations of Episcopal Identity - Why was Jesus Jewish? Who invented the catholic church, and are we part of it? The Church of England? The Nicene Creed? Whose ideas were they? Where is this See of Canterbury, and who lives there and why? Why do we have communion every Sunday? What is communion anyway? What is the meaning of this Book of Common Prayer, and why is it sometimes so hard to read? Who wrote it and why? These questions and more lie at the heart of our particular form of Christian faith and our Episcopal identity. If you're interested in exploring these and other related questions, please see Fr. Christopher, who's looking to start a new study group for adults and clever teenagers to ask and answer them.

 

  

Vestry Meeting - tonight, Feb. 21, at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall. Please let Crystal know if you will not be able to attend.

  

 

Mens Night for the Ladies Dinner  

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013

Cocktails start at 5:00pm, dinner starts at 6:00pm. 

Menu: Beef Tenderloin and Crab Imperial, and live entertainment with Jennifer Cooper and the Groovespan duo from 6-9pm. Come out for an evening of elegant dining, fellowship and fun. A $50 donation per couple, and/or $25 per guest. BRING YOUR FRIENDS!

Saint Patrick's Dinner

- Saturday, March 16, 2013, at 6:00pm, located

at the Parish Hall. Enjoy Corned Beef and all the trimmings. Live music, and great dancing. Tickets with a reservation are $15 each, and $20 at the door. Cocktails will be provided for a free will donation. Come out for an evening of dining, dancing, fellowship, and fun. Please R.S.V.P. to the office, or call 301-884-3451. Accepting all major credits cards.

     

 Friday-Night Sunday School Welcomes You -  Preschool to High School Ages!   Friday, March 15, 22, & 28, 2013, 6:30 - 8:00pm.  Family & friends are welcome. Contact us at the Office, or Muriel Dollins at 301-884-4710, if you are interested in participating or volunteering with this growing and vibrant program. To learn more, please visit 

http://www.christepiscopalchaptico.org/Our%20Ministries.html  

Annual Church Rummage Sale & Refreshments

On Saturday, April 6, 2013, 7:00am to 1:00pm, on Christ Church Parish Hall grounds.  Proceeds from table rental and donations to the Christ Church Rummage Table will support ministry programs.  Refreshment proceeds from drinks, breakfast foods, and baked goods will support our Friday Night Youth Program. Bring your own table and rent space - $25, or for space and a table - $30.  Contact Crystal at mailto:office@christepiscopalchaptico.org or 301-884-3451, to rent your space. Mark Your Calendar Now! Rain or Shine!

  

 

CAMP EDOW (Episcopal Diocese of Washington)

- Save the date!  For rising 4th-8th graders, at Lions Camp Merrick in Nanjemoy, MD; Sunday, July 28 - Friday, August 2, 2013. Cost is $500, scholarship application will be available.  Get ready for a week of fun, faith, friends, activities, and memories with an Episcopal flair! More information visit www.edow.org/camp

 

Snow, snow, ice and snow -  MIA. If it returns, use caution on both highway and byway. If these be iced or unclear and church time looms, stay indoors, pray for those who must be out in the wet cold, and maybe feed them hot cocoa or something stronger when they come inside to rest from their labors to rid of ice and snow the fields of the Lord.

On WARM -  If you would like to volunteer at any of the host sites for the WARM program during this season or otherwise support the program, please be in touch with Fr. Christopher or the parish office to learn of the schedule of host sites and their various needs. Under new management, the program has strengthened its ability to safely and efficiently serve, during the chilly months of the year, those in our community who lack permanent housing. All reports indicate that the new, improved program is going quite well this season.

What's Happening In Your Community?

Safeguarding God's Children

Christ Church, Chaptico  

Saturday, April 13, 2013

9:30am - 12:30pm 

Our Growing and Vibrant Youth Group

Child Abuse Prevention Training for Paid Full-time Staff and

All Who Work With Children & Youth

Safeguarding God's Children provides participants with the information they need to protect the children they know and care for in their personal lives and the ministries in which they serve. The program is based on the philosophy that if every adult can protect just one child, the will forever change one life. If we can all change one life, together we will make a difference in this generation of children.

In the Diocese of Washington, we want each of our parishes to actively protect their children and youth so that we may live into our baptismal covenant and to help them grow stronger in their life in Christ.

Who needs to attend?

• All paid parish staff members who have not completed a child abuse and sexual misconduct prevention of program in the last three years
• Any volunteers working with children and youth (including Christian education leaders) who have not completed a child abuse and sexual misconduct prevention of program in the last three years
• Anyone who wishes to learn more about how their parish can protect children and youth.
•  

Please contact the Crystal Spranger if you are interested in registering, or helping with setup and cleanup. 

Light refreshments will be provided by Christ Church Parish.

For further details visit http://www.edow.org/news-and-events/events/featured-events/safeguarding-god-s-children