Angelus
The Christ Church Bordentown Weekly Newsletter
www.ccbtown.com - 609.298.2348 - Fr. Matt (pastoral emergencies) 732.859.5823
Prayer for Christ Church
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for Christ Church Parish. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the  careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In This Issue
Pageant
From the Church School
Christmas Masses
Epiphany
HomeFront
Citrus Pickup
Thank you!
Pledge Cards
Fun Fact
Stewardship
Thirsty Thurdays for Bordentown's Bravest
Upcoming Events
The Propers
The Music
Serving This Week
Quote of the Week
Church Schedule
This Week in Church History
Saint of the Week
Parish Prayer List
Sermon Blog
Posting in the Angelus
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December 18, 2014
Advent Pageant
Saturday, December 20, 5:30pm

Join our Parish children on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 5:30pm for our annual Advent Pageant and Vigil Mass. All are invited to the Pizza and Bring a Dessert to Share Party following the pageant and Mass 

From the Church School
 
We have been working hard to learn our roles and would like to remind everyone that the Christmas Pageant is Saturday at 5:30 p.m.!  Come enjoy the fruit of our  work.  You will definitely be blessed.  Please share in the fellowship which follows while enjoying pizza and home-made desserts.  The teachers are requesting all students to be at the church at 4:30 p.m.

Looking forward to seeing you all,

--The Church School
Christmas Mass Schedule
 
Christmas Eve

6pm: Family Mass
11pm: Sung Mass

Christmas Day
10am: Said Mass w. Carols

If you or someone you know cannot make it to Mass due to frailty or illness, please let Fr. Matt know
so that he can offer the Blessed Sacrament this Christmas.

Epiphany Mass & Blessings
January 6, 7pm

Come celebrate the manifestation of our Lord to the Gentiles on Tuesday, January 6, at 7pm, with a full Choral Mass w. Procession, the Blessing of Chalk, and the Blessing of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  Please contact Fr. Matt if you would like him to bless your house this Epiphany.
Epiphany1
Our Parish HomeFront Efforts Need Your Help!

Each month our HomeFront meal ministry feeds around 70-110 homeless people, and we are desperately in need of help. The people that we feed are housed in local motels and have very limited resources to sustain themselves. We could use any contributions of time or money that you are able to offer--whether occasional or regular. There are envelopes on the welcome table at the entry to the church. Any thoughts, questions or considerations, please contact Gloria Jukes at 609-883-9895. Thank you!
Citrus Pickup

Have you picked up your citrus order? Contact the Parish Office to schedule a time to pick up your delicious citrus fruit.
Thank You!

A big thank you to Andy Law, Fran Sutter, Bill Collom, Brian Maugeri, Ed Ackerman, Kathy Ackerman, Mary Ellen Carty, Charles Reeder, Donna Kirk and the many sales people who made this year's fruit sales a tremendous success. The net income exceeds $900!

Pledge Cards

Have you remembered to turn in your pledge card? Please remember that every pledge counts and is a representation of your commitment to the parish and to our mission. Many thanks to all who have already pledged for the coming year.   

Christmas Fun Fact

What U.S. city banned the celebration of Christmas from 1659 to 1681?

Boston. The Puritans did not permit the exchanging of gifts, singing of Christmas carols or other acknowledgements of the holiday. Law-breakers were fined five shillings. The Puritan influence lasted well into the 19th century, and although celebrations were not illegal, they were considered sinful and frowned upon by leaders.

2015 Stewardship Materials

In an effort to save time, paper, and postage, it is our intent to use email to circulate our 2015 Pledge Cards and Stewardship materials. Please email [email protected] with your updated email information. If you prefer to  receive this material in paper form, we will have packets in the back of the Church for pick up. If you are interested in eliminating paper - please see our electronic giving option on the Church's website. Any questions, call the office or Darrell Vigh.
Thirsty Thursdays for Bordentown's Bravest
Every Thursday, 5pm-10pm

Christ Church has partnered with the Farnsworth House to raise money for our city's fire companies. Come out to the Farnsworth House on Thursday's from 5pm to 10pm, and $1 from any beverage purchase (even coffee and other soft drinks) will go to Consolidated Fire Association and Hope Hose Humane.  

Upcoming Events
 

December 20, 5:30pm: Advent Pageant, Vigil Mass, Pizza Party

December 24, 6pm & 11pm: Christmas Eve Masses

December 25, 10am: Christmas Day Mass w. Carols

January 4, 10am: Christmas Lessons & Carols

January 6, 7pm: Sung Mass w. the Blessing of Chalk, Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh    

January 17, 3pm: Evensong & Fr. Salmon made Canon (Cathedral) 

 

Every Thursday, 5pm-10pm: Thirsty Thursdays for Bordentown's Bravest at the Farnsworth House.  

The Propers
For Sunday, December 21

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Advent

OT:  2 Samuel 7:4,8-16
Psalm 132:8-15
NT:  Romans 16:25-27
Gospel:  Luke 1:26-38

  

Collect:
  We beseech thee, Almighty God, to purify our consciences by thy daily visitation, that when thy Son Jesus Christ cometh he may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen  
The Music
For Sunday, December 21

Ordinary - Communion Service in D - Leo Sowerby
Organ - Variations - Jehan Alain
Anthem - The angel Gabriel from heaven came - arr.
 
Serving This Week
For Sunday, December 21                              
 
Lectors:
5:30pm: Eliza Peterson
8am: Barbara Fusco
10am: Donna Lundeen & Ed Ackerman

Ushers:
8am: Linda Voorhees
10am: Open

Acolytes:

8am: Wayne Voorhees, Richard Trout, Alex Vigh
10am: Mary Ellen Carty, Chris Neal, Brittani Kintner

Altar Guild:
Preparation: Joan Corbo
Linens: Kate Williamson 
Quote of the Week
 
"Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the tangible witness of one's life." 
                                   ~ Pope Francis 
Church Schedule
The Week of December 21, 2014 
 
Saturday, 20 December :: The Vigil of the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Ember Day)
� 5:30 p.m. - Pageant & Vigil Mass (Church) 

� 6:15 p.m. - Pizza Party (Parish Hall)

Sunday, 21 December :: The Fourth Sunday of Advent (St. Thomas the Apostle)
� 8:00 a.m. - Low Mass (Church) 
No Church School
� 8:45 a.m. - HomeFront Meal Prep (Kitchen)
� 10:00 a.m. - Sung Mass (Church)
� 11:15 a.m. - Coffee Hour (Parish Hall)
� 7:00 p.m. - A.A. Meeting (Parish Hall)

Monday, 22 December :: Advent Feria
� Church Office Closed

Tuesday, 23 December :: Advent Feria
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel) 
� 12:10 p.m. - Low Mass (Lady Chapel)
 � 6:00 p.m. - Tai Chi (Parish Hall)

Wednesday, 24 December :: Vigil of the Nativity (Christmas Eve)
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel)   
� 6:00 p.m. - Family Mass w. Carols (Church)   
� 8:00 p.m. - A.A. Meeting (Parish Hall)

� 11:00 p.m. - Sung Mass of the Nativity (Church) 

Thursday, 25 December :: The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas)    
� 10:00 a.m. - Low Mass w. Carols (Church) 

Friday, 26 December ::
St. Stephen, Deacon & Martyr
Abstinence Dispensed
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel) 
� 12:10 p.m. - Low Mass (Lady Chapel)  
 
Saturday, 27 December :: St. John the Evangelist
� 5:30 p.m. - Vigil Mass (Lady Chapel) 


Sunday, 28 December :: The Holy Innocents
� 8:00 a.m. - Low Mass (Church) 
No Church School
� 10:00 a.m. - Sung Mass (Church)
� 11:15 a.m. - Coffee Hour (Parish Hall)
� 7:00 p.m. - A.A. Meeting (Parish Hall)

The Parish Office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 8:30am to 2:00pm.

Fr. Matt is available during normal business hours and most evenings. Please don't hesitate to call or stop by the church.

Confession is available by appointment. Please call the Church Office or Fr. Matt to schedule a time.

This Week in Church History

 

December 10, 1824: Scottish writer and poet George MacDonald, whose fairy tales and mythopoetic novels inspired C.S. Lewis, is born.

 

December 11, 1640: English Puritans introduced a petition with 15,000 signatures to Parliament, seeking to abolish the church episcopacy, "with all its dependencies, roots and branches." The House of Commons accepted what has become known as the "Roots and Branch Petition," but the House of Lords (many of whom were bishops) rejected it, and the episcopal organization of the Church of England remained.

 

December 11, 1792: Jacob Mohr, author of the poem "Silent Night," is born.

 

December 11, 1984: The White House displays a nativity scene for the first time since courts ordered its removal in 1973.

 

December 12, 1189: King Richard I "the Lion Hearted" leaves England on the Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem, which had fallen to Muslim general Saladin in 1187.

 

December 12, 1667: The Council of Moscow deposes Russian Orthodox Patriarch Nikon. A "man of great ability and sincerity but of autocratic temper," according to one historian, his calls for liturgical reform grew into a fight over the relationship between church and state. Though deposed at the council, banished, and imprisoned for 14 years, his liturgical reforms were sanctioned. In 1681, he was recalled to Moscow by the new tsar, but he died on the way. He was buried with patriarchal honors and all decrees against him were revoked.

 

December 12, 1712: The colony of South Carolina requires "all persons whatsoever" to attend church each Sunday and refrain from skilled labor and travel. Violators of the "Sunday Law" could be fined 10 shillings or locked in the stocks for two hours.

 

December 13, 1250: Frederick II, the messianic German Emperor (1212-1250) who fought repeatedly and heatedly with popes, dies suddenly of dysentery at age 55. He called himself "lord of the world"; others either praised him as "stupor mundi" (wonder of the world) or damned him as Antichrist.

 

December 13, 1294: After issuing a constitution giving popes the right to quit, Pope Celestine V shocks the world by resigning. An aged, nearly incoherent hermit when he was chosen to succeed Pope Nicholas IV, Celestine was desperately unsuited for the job and served only 15 weeks before Cardinal Gaetani, masquerading as a voice from heaven, convinced him to step down. Gaetani then became the infamous Pope Boniface VIII, and he imprisoned Celestine until the old man's death.

 

December 14, 1591: Spanish poet John of the Cross, one of the greatest Christian mystics, dies. His "Dark Night of the Soul" is one of the era's best known religious poems, and his treatises have profoundly influenced both Catholic and Protestant thought.

 

December 15, 1418: English pre-Reformer John Oldcastle is burned alive for his efforts to preserve and promote the cause of the Lollards (preachers who spread John Wycliffe's views). Shakespeare reportedly based his character Falstaff on Oldcastle.

 

December 15, 1900: Count Leo Tolstoy writes to the tsar asking him to end religious persecution in Russia.

 

December 16, 345: Eusebius (not to be confused with historian Eusebius of Caesarea) becomes bishop of Vercelli, Italy. After refusing to sign the condemnation of Athanasius at the Council of Milan, he was exiled. But he was pardoned by Julian the Apostate and led the movement to restore the Nicene Creed-and thus orthodoxy-to the empire.

 

--taken from Christianity Today
Saint of the Week
St. Juan Diego
Visionary, 1548                   

 

Juan Diego was born in 1474 in the calpulli or ward of Tlayacac in Cuauhtitlan, which was established in 1168 by Nahua tribesmen and conquered by the Aztec lord Axayacatl in 1467; and was located 20 kilometers (14 miles) north of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City).

 

On December 9, 1531, he rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is now Mexico City. Juan lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow. A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, "I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings."

 

The bishop was kind but skeptical. He asked Juan to bring proof of the Lady's identity. Before Juan could go back to the Lady, he found out his uncle was dying. Hurrying to get a priest, Juan missed his meeting with the Lady. The Lady, however, met him on his path and told him that his uncle had been cured.

 

She then told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where they first met. Juan was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen soil. He gathered them in his cloak and took them at once to the bishop.

Juan told the bishop what had happened and opened his cloak. The flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (which were not grown in Mexico). But the bishop's eyes were on the glowing image of the Lady imprinted inside Juan's cloak.

 

Soon after, a church was built on the site where our Lady appeared, and thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the patroness of the Americas.

He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74.  

 

-Catholic Saints & Angels 
Parish Prayer List

Of your charity, please pray for:

the sick: Stella Eichenger, Steve Vigh, Bob Bernard, Pat Temple, Danielle Morgan, Jai Autar, Emma Burris, Kelly Jones, Ardelle Zervous, Kelley Gilger, Lynn Ford, Sister Gussie, Nancy Biocco, Jane Humble, Michael Chahanovich, Cheryl Leavers-Morrow, Gary Rutherford, Morgan Ackerman, Lorriane Sickels, Nicole Pelligra, Addolorata Martelli, Suzie Mertz, Nancy Hayes, William Sweeney, Fran Gripp, Raymond Witte, Roger Kafer, Alice Brumfield, Chet Rhodes, and Karl Johnston.

    

and those who have long term illnesses: Paula Flesch, Jean Weitzel, John Moscatiello, Mark Casais, Kevin Kintner, Arthur Jukes, Dixon Leavers, Robin Kintner, John McCoy, The Rt. Rev. George Councell, Michael Slaper, Lorraine Kunkel, Alice Ward Carriger, Karen Campbell Hillman, Carla Douglas, Richard Cook, Ryan Murray, Lester Sickels, Justin McCafferty, Zachary McCafferty, Jeanine Walker, Brianne Nicosia, Mario Batist, Treavor Curtis, Dean Curtis, Robert Ackerman, Paul Wesley Morrison, Bob Liberman, Kelly Bergen, Bill Yale, Hannah McNinch, Gabe Fresco, Fr. Ted Anderson, Norma Stirpe, Linda Sue Slone, R. Loraine Burke, Katherine Carter, Shawna Catarinicchia, Patricia Dixon, Mackenzie Sutter, Daniel Applegate, Alma Poksay, Roberta Cash, Patti Beddia, Geobel Marin, Jennifer Vigh, Peggy Tunney, Jean Fithian, Gwen Boner Nancy Dix, Jim Tranter, Cole Carver, Joe Lobos, Jonathan Okeson, and John O'Malia.

 

for those in military service: 

Ben Skarzynski, USMC; Maxwell W. Warrack, USMC; Col Kelly Scott, USAF; Neil Gerrish, USNG;  Abbygale Albert, USN, CSM John Seelhorst, USA; James F. Preto, USNG; Frank L. Blades, USA. 
Sermon Blog
Domine, non sum dignus

In case you missed it, couldn't hear it, or wish to send it to a friend, Father Matt's sermons can be found online at:

http://etsanabituranimamea.wordpress.com
Posting in the Angelus

Please let Fr. Matt know if you would like any announcements to be included in the weekly Angelus. Submissions must be made by Tuesday noon.
Grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, His Excellency William H. Stokes, Bishop. Our parish reflects the joy found in Anglo-Catholic worship and tradition, taking the joy and strength found at the Altar and bringing it out into the world in service to our neighbours.    

In Christ,

Fr. Matt+
Rector