| This Weekend's Readings | The Third Sunday of Advent
Click HERE to view this weekends readings.
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This Weekend's Preacher
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The Reverend Canon Dr. William J. Danaher, Jr.
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12/10 Thursday
| 8;00 AM - Vestry Executive Board Meeting
8:30 AM - Morning Prayer
5:00 PM - Cranbrook Choristers Rehearsal
7:30 PM - Christ Church Choir Rehearsal
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12/11 Friday
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8:30 AM - Morning Prayer
9:30 AM - Al-Anon Holiday Party
11:30 AM - Women's Spirituality
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12/12 Saturday
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5:00 PM - Sanctuary with Holy Eucharist: Rite II
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12/13 Sunday
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8:00 AM - Holy Eucharist: Rite I
9:00 AM - Rector's Forum
9:00 AM - Middle School Sunday School
10:00 AM - Holy Eucharist: Rite II
11:15 AM - High School Hangout
11:30 AM - EM Training
11:30 AM - God and Me
11:30 AM - Docent Tour
11:30 AM - Healing Ministry (Order of St. Luke)
11:30 AM - Saint Francis Choir Rehearsal 6:00 PM - Congregational Evensong
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12/14 Monday
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8:30 AM - Morning Prayer
12:00 PM - Prayer Shawl Ministry
7:00 PM - Cranbrook Choristers Rehearsal
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12/15 Tuesday
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8:30 AM - Morning Prayer
11:00 AM - ECW Program
1:00 PM - Career Transitions Network
4:30 PM - God and Family
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12/16 Wednesday
| 7:30 AM - Bible Study
8:30 AM - Holy Eucharist: Rite II
9:30 AM - Adult Children of Alcoholics Meeting
6:00 PM - Renew Service
7:00 PM - Cranbrook Ringers Rehearsal
7:00 PM - Adult Confirmation
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12/17 Thursday
| 8:30 AM - Morning Prayer
5:00 PM - Cranbrook Choristers Rehearsal
7:30 PM - Christ Church Choir Rehearsal
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| Fresh Eyes on the Familiar: What Jazz Brings to Christian Worship | | This year, Christmas came early. Just yesterday, I came home to find Josh Bivins' new book, Spirits Rejoice!: Jazz and American Religion (2015). Bivins is both an accomplished guitarist as well as a brilliant scholar who studies the intersection of religion and American culture. His book therefore is not just a history of Jazz; it is also a meditation on why - in his estimation - Jazz is a genre in some ways best understood by employing religious categories.
Musicians and musicologists have often found it difficult to define what makes a given piece Jazz and not something else. To say that Jazz is about "improvisation," for example, is like saying that "water is wet" (9). We can find instances of improvisation in several musical genres. Bach and Mozart were renowned improvisers. Bivins asks: "Does jazz sound like the joyous diatonic song of Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives, the elegant section work of an Ellington ensemble, the angular harmony of bop, or the 'love cry' of Albert Ayler? Is it the sound of a Harmon mute on a trumpet, the crack of a Roy Haynes rimshot, of a walking bassline?" (9). On these points, many agree to disagree.
Perhaps because of this vagueness, Jazz musicians often treated the word, "Jazz" with suspicion. Duke Ellington avoided using the word, "Jazz," and instead insisted that there were only two kinds of music, good and bad. Thelonious Sphere Monk merely said that Jazz is "about Freedom, more than that is complicated" (10).
If there is one thing, besides improvisation, that defines Jazz is that it is a musical genre that tries to be a vehicle of transcendence. Although birthed in New Orleans and African-American culture, Jazz has always tried to find in the midst of this particularity a unifying, comprehending cultural unity as symbolized in its melodies. What's more, Jazz melodies have tried to reach beyond the limits of musicality. This is, Bivins argues, best understood as a religious quest: "however far we have traveled, we are aware that the cosmos still expands, and no matter how often we seek to look with fresh eyes on the familiar, we know our vision is blinkered" (22). In other words, Jazz reveals the startling presence of a God that lies beyond what we can imagine.
Consequently, although once dismissed as the product of the 'devil's workshop,' Jazz has the power to transform us spiritually. The harmonies and melodies that Jazz musicians like Rodney Whitaker create out of complex cultural and musical sources is a testament to the fact that we all can find a comprehending order to meet the chaos of our lives. Jazz musicians are not just preachers, but priests. The music they share is not only uplifting, but sacramental - Jazz reminds us of the Spirit's presence in a broken world.
At its heart, Christianity is based on a moment of incredible musical improvisation. For reasons little understood, an all-powerful God became an all-vulnerable baby so that we might sing a new song. Jazz concerts have long been part of the musical offerings at churches like ours, but this will be the first time that the music for an entire feast day is dedicated to Jazz. We do this to emphasize the fact that we worship a God who is a melody maker, who surprises us with joy in the midst of sorrow, laughter in the midst of tears, peace in the midst of warfare, and love that is stronger than death.
Christ Church Cranbrook has a long history of musical excellence. This will be the first time that we are dedicating a whole service to Jazz led by a truly amazing Jazz musician. We are grateful to Professor Whitaker, and I look forward to further collaboration. We are truly grateful to the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Foundation for the generous, catalytic and visionary support it has provided us so that we might find "fresh eyes on the familiar" this Christmas season.
- Bill Danaher |
| This Week's Intercessions | | |
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| Item of the Month | | |
In keeping with the Spirit of Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, we will be collecting BABY ITEMS this month. These donations will be delivered to the Center for Children, a division of Focus:HOPE and Crossroads of Michigan. Some suggestions are layette sets, baby toiletries, crib sheets and blankets, children clothing 0 - 4T, diapers newborn to 4T and bottle sets. Please place your donations in the bins located in the Narthex and at the South Entrance. Thank you for helping these precious children.
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| The Rector's Forum | | |
Living Religion(s)
Sundays at 9:00 AM in the Hospitality Center
We live, as the saying goes, in interesting times. Religion, once considered a spent force in society, continues to figure in world events as a source of conflict and compassion, of violence and peace, of wounding and healing. Join us for an informative and interesting look at some of the world's religions as we look for the overlaps that exist between them as well as their different claims about God and humanity.
The Rector's forums are recorded and can be viewed by clicking HERE.
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| Blue Christmas Service | |  Sunday, December 20 at 4:00 PM - St. Dunstan's Chapel
This service offers comfort, hope, and healing for all who are challenged by this year's holiday season. The holidays have a way of focusing and heightening our sorrows, sadness and fears. We are missing our loved ones, worrying about money, and obtaining suitable employment, wondering what's true. At the Blue Christmas service, we will have a chance to address the sad, dark things that are weighing us down and ask God's help to endure them, pray for their healing, and reach for hope. The Service will include: Prayer & Song, Comforting scripture and words of encouragement, Holy Eucharist, Healing station for very specific and private prayer, and Pastoral counsel, light refreshments and friendly companionship.
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| Christmas Services | | Please join us for Christmas Eve services on Thursday, December 24th. This year we will be offering four services:
Jazz Mass, 1:00 PM
Family Service, 4:00 PM
Festival Holy Eucharist, 7:00 PM, featuring brass and choir
Festival Holy Eucharist, 10:00 PM, featuring brass and choir
On Christmas Day, we will have celebrate Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM, followed by the Christmas Brunch (for more details on the brunch, see below).
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| Christmas Day Brunch | |  Join us on December 25th at 11:00 AM for a traditional Christmas Day feast with turkey, ham, and all the trimmings. You will also enjoy appetizers, festive music and warm-hearted conversation with others in the community. Please RSVP by December 22 to Shirley Green at 248.253.1316 or the church office at 248-644-5210. Transportation can be arranged if needed. All are welcome! |
| Serve a Meal at Baldwin Center | | In 2016, consider making it part of your walk with Christ to do an act of service to others once a month or quarter. Serving lunch at Baldwin Center is an easy and fun way to fulfill this resolution! Dates are available all year, but we need helpers now for Wednesday, January 6 and Saturday, January 16.
Sign up HERE or contact Pastor Manisha (mdostert@christchurchcranbrook.org).
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| Episcopal Church Women | |  Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 11:00 AM
Back by popular demand, Lay Reader: Eric Linder will recite the Christmas Story and other selections of his choice as we are seated near the Christmas tree in the Guild Hall. Everyone is welcome to come. Luncheon will follow the program in the Hospitality Center. If you wish to make a reservation for lunch, please call the church office by noon on Monday, December 14. |
| Trinity Institute comes to Cranbrook! | |
Sponsored by Trinity Wall Street, an Episcopal parish in New York City, the 45th Annual Trinity Institute is a theological conference that equips lay and ordained Christians for imaginative and catalytic discipleship. TI2016: Listen for a Change - Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice- is being webcasted live at Christ Church Cranbrook on Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23. Participants from all faith perspectives are welcomed. Tickets for the events and lunch are $15 per day and more information is available HERE.
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| Sunday School Outreach | |  Pennies for Piggies
In November and December we will collect a special offering during Sunday School for the Episcopal Relief and Development organization to help impoverished families make a living by raising pigs. Go "Hog Wild" and help the Sunday School with your spare change.
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| High School Hang Out | | An opportunity for High Schoolers to hang out and connect with their peers and make a connection. If you are in 9th - 12th grade come check it out, come to the parlor immediately following church service. Youth Leaders will be there to greet you: Pastor Manisha, Jill Bednas, David & Joan Jensen,or Michael & Maryilyn Roche. This is sort of High School coffee hour with guided conversation.
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| Women's Spirituality Group | | Women's Spirituality Group (WSG) on Fridays from noon to 1 PM. WSG is a way for women to develop a rhythm to their spiritual life by living in "seasons." We are in the season of the Scriptures. Pastor Manisha is leading a study on Galatians, a book in the Bible with a razor-sharp focus on Christ's work of setting humans free. Come for any or all sessions through December 18. Brown bag lunch and fellowship begins at 11:30 AM in Room 201-202. All are welcome!
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| Healing Ministry | |  Are you interested in joining our Healing Ministry? Members of Christ Church Cranbrook Healing Ministry are embarking on a new study for induction into the Order of St. Luke. The International Order of St. Luke the Physician is made up of clergy, health professionals, and lay people who feel called to make Jesus' ministry of healing a ministry they will engage in at their respective churches. Our brown bag studies will take place on Sunday from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on December 6, January 17, January 24, and February 7. We welcome those from other Christian churches who want to discern their call to healing ministry. Please contact the Reverend Joyce Matthews if you are interested at jmatthews@christchurchcranbrook.org or 248.644.5210, Ext. 15. |
| Saint Francis Children's Choir | | St. Francis Choir meets on Sundays following the 10 AM Service! All children, 4 years old to second grade, are welcome and encouraged to join the St. Francis Choir and experience the joy of choral singing. Kate Bublitz will direct the choir again this year. Rehearsals are held in the Choir Room immediately following Sunday's 10:00 AM service. For more information contact Kate at kate.bublitz@hotmail.com.
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| Member Directory Advertising | | Cathedral Directories is publishing our annual member directory and is looking for advertisers in support of this publication. If you would be interested in advertising this year or would like more information please contact Cathy Hunley at Cathedral Directories, 248.545.1415, Ext. 110. The deadline for ads is February 15, 2016.
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| Do You Need a Ride to Church? | |  Do you or someone you know need a ride to the 10:00 AM service on Sundays? We now have a shuttle running from Fox Run retirement community in Novi to CCC every Sunday for the 10:00 AM service. The shuttle leaves Fox Run at 9:15 AM and will make stops between there and Christ Church Cranbrook. If you or someone you know lives in Farmington Hills, W. Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills or Birmingham and would like a ride to church, please contact Mr. Don Canavesio at 586.747.6587.
If a ride is needed, you need to contact Don by Saturday at Noon for a ride for the next day. Seating is limited so rides are on a first come-first served basis. There is no charge for this service. |
| Cub Scouts / Boy Scouts / Venturers | | A religious education program is being offered at Christ Church Cranbrook to encourage the spiritual growth of youth. This Religious Emblem Program is recognized by the Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA. The programs offered are: God & Me (grades 1 - 3), God & Family (grades 4 - 5), God & Church (grades 6 - 8) and God & Life (grades 9 - 12). Upon completing the program, a scout is awarded the religious emblem medal suitable for uniform wear. For registration and additional information, contact Scott Bednas at 313.686.1020, or email: sbednas@umich.edu
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| Old Rectory Resale Shop at All Saints', Pontiac | |
The Old Rectory Resale Shop at All Saints' Pontiac has new hours and all new stock. Fridays & Saturdays 10-2. All new, but gently used, fall and winter clothes, kitchen and decorating items, plus a huge stock of Christmas decorating items, at fabulous prices. The Produce Market is right next door, open Saturdays 10-2, with fresh fruits and vegetables at near wholesale prices. Our Book Nook has thousands of gently read titles for adults and children, Saturdays 10-12. Come by to shop or to volunteer. New help is always welcome for these major ministries of All Saints'. Pike & Exchange Sts., west of Woodward, between Orchard Lake and M-59. Check out our new website www.allsaintspontiac.org or Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/oldrectoryresaleshop.
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| Interfaith Question of the Week |
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As a way of learning about our neighbors of different faith traditions, we will be providing a link to the Question of the Week on the InterFaith Leadership Council (IFLC) of Metro Detroit's website. Please feel free to submit our own questions to IFLC for consideration to be featured.
The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is a faith-based civic organization made up of visionary religious and lay leaders of many faiths whose shared values compel them to work toward a community that lives together in harmony.
Our Goals:
BRING TOGETHER, encourage and nurture interfaith groups and networks
SUPPORT CONCILIATION between and among religious groups as well as the community at large through active conflict resolution
PROMOTE INTERFAITH EDUCATION so that the metropolitan Detroit community can benefit from the synergies and creative benefits that knowledge and understanding can provide. |
| CCC Services Live Streamed | | Christ Church Cranbrook is now live streaming our 10:00 AM Sunday service! No matter where you are you don't have to miss a service. To view services, please click HERE. Videos of previous services are archived on this page as well.
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| Online and Text Giving - It's Easy! | | |
 Contributions can now be made online and by text messaging. Please click HERE and see how quick and easy it is.
We invite you to consider our new electronic "Online Giving" program as a way to automate your donations to Christ Church Cranbrook. Read more
We encourage you to consider these new giving opportunities.
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| Follow CCC on Facebook! |
|  We hope you "Like" us!
 You can view our Facebook page even if you don't have a Facebook account! Our page show a more "relaxed" version of CCC! If you have a Facebook account, simply click the button above and then click the "Like" button on our page. We're just getting started and we need your help to really get moving. |
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