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
Happy New Year!
Feast of the Circumcision
Epiphany
From Fr. Matt
Pledge Cards
Stewardship
HomeFront
Birthdays
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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Holy Name
January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!

The Lord bless and keep all of you in this new year; may it be a happy and healthy year for all. You are all in our prayers, and please remember to pray for Christ Church in this new year.

--Fr. Matt and Doan 
Feast of the Circumcision (Happy New Year!)
January 1, 10am

January 1st has several designations in the Kalendar of the Church.  It is the Octave, or 8th, day of Christmas.  On this feast we remember that on the eighth day, according to Jewish custom, the Son of Mary was circumcised and "officially" given the Name of Jesus.  Because of this, January 1st has been designated the Feast of the Circumcision and also the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus - the current title in the Episcopal Church kalendar.  Another ancient custom dedicated the day to a celebration of Mary's maternity, so the day was known as "the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God."  That title has been restored in the most recent version of the Roman Catholic kalendar.
 
All of these titles are interconnected.  The Solemnity of Mary emphasizes that the Child she bore was and is the God the Son, and so she truly was and is the "Mother of God."  The Circumcision of Jesus, according to Jewish law and custom, is one way in which the humanity of Christ is shown, as he entered fully into the human community of Judaism-with the shedding of his blood. And the Name He was given, Jesus (in Hebrew, "Yeshua") means "Savior."  So this divine Son of Mary is also one who fully shares our humanity, and sheds his blood for our salvation.   

The "IHS" design which is seen frequently in Christian symbolism is  actually the monogram of the Holy Name: it represents the first  three letters of "Jesus" in Greek.  You can see that sacred monogram on our altar.
 
And, of course, January 1st is also the beginning of the secular calendar year.  We'll observe this feast, and New Year's Day, with Low Mass at 10a.m. - the best possible way to start the New Year!


Many thanks to Fr. Haynes for this above information - he sends his new year's greetings as well. 
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
From Fr. Matt

Happy feast of the Holy Name and a happy New Year!  I am terribly grateful for all those who worked so faithfully to make Christmas what it was (and is still) at Christ Church. I give thanks for our benefactors; for those who honored their loved ones with flowers, and for those who gave their time and skill using the flowers to beautify the church; for our Church School and for all that they teach us; for our staff, both paid and unpaid; for those who participated in the liturgies of the church; and for all who worshiped the Lord with us this Christmas. 

Doan and I wish you all many more blessings this Christmastide and all the best in the new year.

--MT+    



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.   

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.
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!
January Birthdays

Birthdays

1   Eric Pullen

3   Anne Lyon

4   Mary Kelly

4   Franklin Engler Jr.

5   Winifred Tootell

9   Sean Varga

9   John Voorhees

19  Frances Iorio

20  Paul Skalicky

21  Donna Hudak

21  Yvonne Berrio

24  Bryce Marsh

24  Danielle Marsh

25  Walter Galvin

25  Riley Brown

26  Mona Cartrwright

27  Col. Phillip Cooke

27  Tracey Waren  

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

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)

January 25, 11:15am: Parish Annual Meeting

 

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

The Propers
For Sunday, January 4

This Sunday is the Second Sunday after Christmas

OT:  Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 84:1-8
NT:  Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19
Gospel:  Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

  

Collect:
  O God, who didst wonderfully create, and yet more wonderfully restore, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, thy Son Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen  
The Music
For Sunday, January 4

Christmas Lessons & Carols
Serving This Week
For Sunday, January 4                   
 
Lectors:
5:30pm: Eliza Peterson
8am: Richard Trout
10am: Mary Ellen Carty & Andy Law

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
 
"You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them."
                                   ~Saint Therese of Lisieux
 
Church Schedule
The Week of January 4, 2015 
 
Saturday, 3 January :: The Vigil of the Second Sunday after Christmas
� 5:30 p.m. - Vigil Mass (Lady Chapel) 


Sunday, 4 January :: The Second Sunday after Christmas
� 8:00 a.m. - Low Mass (Church) 
No Church School
� 10:00 a.m. - Christmas Lessons & Carols (Church)
� 11:15 a.m. - Coffee Hour (Parish Hall)
� 7:00 p.m. - A.A. Meeting (Parish Hall)

Monday, 5 January :: The Vigil of the Epiphany
� Church Office Closed

Tuesday, 6 January :: The Epiphany
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel) 
� 12:10 p.m. - Low Mass (Lady Chapel)
� 7:00 p.m. - Sung Mass w. Procession and the Blessing of Chalk, Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh (Church)

Wednesday, 7 January :: Of the Octave
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel)
� 6:00 p.m. - Tai Chi (Parish Hall)  
 
� 6:30 p.m. - Rosary (Lady Chapel) 
� 6:50 p.m. - Low Mass (Lady Chapel)  
� 8:00 p.m. - A.A. Meeting (Parish Hall)


Thursday, 8 January :: Of the Octave 
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel) self-led 
� 10:00 a.m. - Low Mass w. Anointing (Lady Chapel) 

Friday, 9 January ::
Of the Octave
Normal Friday Abstinence
� 8:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer w. Angelus (Lady Chapel) 
� 12:10 p.m. - Low Mass (Lady Chapel)  
 
Saturday, 10 January :: The Vigil of the First Sunday after the Epiphany (William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1645)
� 5:30 p.m. - Vigil Mass (Lady Chapel) 


Sunday, 11 January :: The First Sunday after the Epiphany
� 8:00 a.m. - Low Mass (Church) 

� 8:00 a.m. - Church School (Church & Classrooms) 
� 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 25, 496: King Clovis, who united Gaul and founded France, is baptized in the Cathedral of Rheims, followed by 3,000 of his soldiers. "Worship what you once burned, and burn what you worshipped," the priest instructed him. However, Clovis and his troops showed little change after their "conversion" and apparently believed Christ was merely a war god who would grant them victory if they prayed for it.

 

December 25, 800: Pope Leo III is crowns Charlemagne, the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

 

December 25, 1931: Missionary radio station HCJB, run by World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc., begins broadcasting the Gospel from Quito, Ecuador, to eastern Asia.

 

December 26, 1065: The first building of Westminster Abbey is dedicated, though legend holds that the abbey was founded as early as 616.

 

December 27, 1784: Francis Asbury is ordained superintendent of the Methodist Church in America. He later took the title "bishop," against the wishes of John Wesley.

 

December 27, 1899: American temperance leader Carry Nation wrecks her first saloon in Medicine Lodge, Kansas.

 

December 28, 1714: George Whitefield, called "the marvel of his age" for the way his preaching could move an audience, is born in Gloucester, England. His message kicked off America's first "Great Awakening".

 

December 28, 1797: American theologian Charles Hodge, whose three-volume Systematic Theology has influenced seminarians for over 100 years, is born.

 

December 29, 1809: William Gladstone, four-time British prime minister, is born in Liverpool, England. One scholar has called him "the epitome of all that the evangelicals and the English public asked for in their politicians".

 

December 29, 1849: The carol "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," by pastor Edmund H. Sears, appears for the first time in The Christian Register.

 

December 29, 1851: The first Y.M.C.A. in the United States is organized in Boston.

 

December 30, 1823: Charles G. Finney, the most effective evangelist America had ever seen, is licensed to preach.

 

December 30, 1852: Future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes marries "Lemonade "Lucy," so called because, as first lady, she forbade alcohol in the Executive Mansion. The Hayeses were both devout Methodists who began each day with prayer and organized Sunday evening worship services at the White House.

 

--taken from Christianity Today
Saint of the Week
St. Thorfinn
Bishop, 1285                   

 

In the year 1285, there died in the Cistercian monastery at TerDoest, near Bruges, a Norwegian bishop named Thorfinn. He had never attracted particular attention and was soon forgotten. But over fifty years later, in the course of some building operations, his tomb in the Church was opened and it was reported that the remains gave out a strong and pleasing spell. The Abbot made inquiries and found that one of his monks, and aged man named Walter de Muda, remembered Bishop Thorfinn staying in there monastery and the impression he had made of gentle goodness combined with strength. Father Walter had in fact, written a poem about him after his death and hung it up over his tomb. It was then found that the parchment was still there, none the worse for the passage of time. This was taken as a direction from on high that the Bishop's memory was to be perpetuated, and Father Walter was instructed to write down his recollections of him. For all that, there is little enough known about St. Thorfinn. He was a Trondhjem man and perhaps was a Canon of the Cathedral of Nidaros, since there was such a one named Thorfinn among those who witnessed the agreement of Tonsborg in 1277. This was an agreement between King Magnus VI and the Archbishop of Nidaros confirming certain privileges of the clergy, the freedom of episcopal elections and similar matters. Some years later, King Eric repudiated this agreement, and a fierce dispute between Church and state ensued. Eventually the King outlawed the Archbishop, John, and his two chief supporters, Bishop Andrew of Oslow and Bishop Thorfinn of Hamar. Bishop Thorfinn, after many hardships, including shipwreck, made his way to the Abbey of TerDoest in Flanders, which had a number of contacts with the Norwegian Church. It is possible that he had been there before, and there is some reason to suppose he was himself a Cistercian of the Abbey of Tautra, near Nidaros. After a visit to Rome he went to TerDoest, in bad health. Indeed, though probably still a youngish man, he saw death approaching and so made his will; he had little to leave, but what there was, he divided between his mother, his brothers and sisters, and certain monasteries, churches and charities in his dioceses. He died shortly after on January 8, 1285. After his recall to the memory of man as mentioned in the opening paragraph of this notice, miracles were reported at his tomb and St. Thorfinn was venerated by the Cistercians and around Bruges. In our own day, his memory has been revived among the few Catholics of Norway, and his feast is observed in his episcopal city of Hamar. The tradition of Thorfinn's holiness ultimately rests on the poem of Walter de Muda, where he appeared as a kind, patient, generous man, whose mild exterior covered a firm will against whatever he esteemed to be evil and ungodly. His feast day is January 8th.  

 

-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, William Sweeney, Fran Gripp,  Raymond Witte,  Roger Kafer, Alice Brumfield, Chet Rhodes,  Karl Johnston, Lori Forenson, Greg Poole, and Eunice Campbell.

 

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.

 

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 Jr, 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