Spiritual Life: October 2010

September 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The first weekend of October at the DuPont Memorial Retreat House in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is the third year and fourth parish retreat that this Commission has sponsored.  Each of these weekends has been well-received by the participants but we want to have greater participation.  As we have said before, our goal is to provide opportunities for members of the Christ Church family to come together; to talk with, get to know and support one another; to learn and to pray together.  We believe our spiritual journeys and growth as members of Christ’s body are enhanced through fellowship with one another.  If you have ideas about how we can best do that or if you have suggestions about future retreats or quiet days that will attract more people, please join us at one of our monthly meetings which are held the second Tuesdays at 7:30 P.M.  If your schedule does not permit you to attend one of our meetings, please share your ideas with one of our Co-Commissioners, Cindy and Donna in person or by placing a note in the Spiritual Life Commission mailbox in Parish Hall.

Home Bible Conversations resume on September 27 at 7:30 P.M.  The other dates for our “fall semester” conversations are October 18 and 25, November 22 and 29.  This year, we will be studying the Book of Genesis as are the Sunday School classes.   Whether or not you have children in Sunday School, want to learn more about Genesis for yourself, or would enjoy getting together with an informal and welcoming group for fellowship, please come!  We are not Biblical scholars; we are simply seeking to learn more by reading, listening to and sharing with one another.

Flea Market White Elephant Sale:  Many thanks to those who donated items to the sale at the Annual Flea Market.   Many nice things were donated to the sale and were quickly sold by the hardworking volunteers on the day of the Flea Market.  Proceeds from the white elephant sale will be used to support the Advent and Lenten Quiet Days, scholarships for the Parish Retreat, and other parish-wide activities.

Filed Under: Parish Life

Prayers: September 19, 2010

September 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As Timothy instructed those he was teaching, we today turn to God with supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings for the many joys and concerns in our lives. We pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and Humankind, saying Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for World leaders, and all those who are tasked with making decisions on the behalf of others. Help all leaders to put the welfare of others above their own wants, and guide us as we make decisions that affect those around us. We pray to the Lord: Lord, Hear Our Prayer

Support us as a Church family as we gather to hear the Word of the Lord and celebrate in community. We welcome and give thanks for our new Assistant Rector, Gina. We pray for all those who minister at Christ Church, especially our Sunday School students and teachers, past and present, whom we honor today. In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we
pray for the Church of the Province of Uganda. In the Diocese of Maryland we pray for Ascension, Westminster; Ascension, Middle River; and the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Baltimore. Be with us as we work together to do your will on Earth. We pray to the Lord: Lord, Hear Our Prayer

Be with us when we find ourselves in difficult situations that we cannot handle alone, or are asked to help others in their time of need. We pray for those who cannot find shelter or are in need of food, medicine, or other physical necessities. We pray for those who are sick in mind, body, or spirit, and in need of your comfort. May all who are suffering find comfort in Your love and the love of friend and neighbor. We pray to the Lord: Lord, Hear Our Prayer

Grieve with us as we pray for all the departed. Comfort those who mourn today. We pray to the Lord: Lord, Hear Our Prayer

Rejoice with us as we recognize those who have celebrations of joy and happiness, including birthdays, wedding and baptismal anniversaries. May we always be thankful for the blessings in our lives. We pray to the Lord: Lord, Hear Our
Prayer

Heavenly Father, you gave us the gift of Your Son, whose teachings we use to lead us through our lives. Be with us in our times of celebration, and our times of anxiety, as we continue our journey towards everlasting life with you. Amen

Filed Under: Prayers

Flea Market: September 18

September 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The annual FLEA MARKET is on September18 with a rain date of September 25.  If you have items you would like to donate, the WOCC will gladly accept donations of books and the Spiritual Life Commission will accept your donations of “thrift store” quality items.  The money we earn goes for items needed at church and contributions to church programs”.

All types of homemade baked goods are needed for the BAKE TABLE, including cakes, pies, cookies, brownies and breads.  A signup sheet is posted in the Narthex.  For further information please contact Ronnie.

We will be selling hamburgers, hotdogs and cold drinks.  Whether you are selling or spending, it promises to be a great event so note the date and come and join us.

BOOKS for the WOCC book sale may be left in the back of the lower level of the Parish Hall beginning Sunday morning, September 12 or during office hours through Thursday, September 16.  Volunteers are needed to help move the books from the Parish Hall to the tables on the morning of September 18.  This will only take about an hour but involves heavy lifting and an early start.   If you can help please contact Mary.

The Spiritual Life Commission is looking for donations of kitchen items, knickknacks, toys, games, puzzles and small appliances. (No clothing, shoes, bedding or furniture items, please.)  Please make sure all items are in good condition, and please mark the price of any item worth more than $5.

Donations may be left in the Parish Hall after services on Sunday, September 12, between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM from Monday through Thursday, September 13 – 16, or from 7 to 9PM on September 18.

Filed Under: Parish Life

Prayers: September 12, 2010

September 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Father God, as your Christ Church family gathered here in fellowship to worship and to celebrate on this Parish Festival Morning, we thank you for abundance in our lives as we are blessed each day so fully by Your gift of grace.Spirit of God, on this first day of Sunday School we pray; fill the hearts of our teachers and parents and assistants with Your love and Your Will and Your words, that our children will learn to know You, to love You and to live in You and to become a new generation of disciples. We give thanks for the tireless dedication of our gifted teachers and we pray: Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and direct our lives.

We give thanks for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We welcome those who are new or are visiting with us today and we thank them for sharing this time of worship and fellowship with us. We reach out across our world this morning and in the Anglican Communion we pray for the Anglican Church of Tanzania. In our Diocese we lift up All Saints, Frederick, All Saints, Sunderland and Ascension, Scarboro. We pray for our Bishops, Eugene and John, and for our Rector Richard and we ask Your blessing on our new Assistant Rector, Gina as she prepares to join us next week. We pray: Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and direct our lives.

We joyfully celebrate and give thanks for Birthdays, Baptismal Anniversaries and Wedding Anniversaries this week.  And we pray: Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and direct our lives.

Compassionate Lord God, care for those who are troubled, suffering or who are ill. We pray: Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and direct our lives.

For those who have died, we pray that You will welcome them home to your eternal kingdom surrounded by your love. We pray for those who grieve this day that Your love will bring courage and healing to the brokenhearted.  We pray: Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and direct our lives.

On this Sunday following the anniversary of the tragedy of September 11th, we pray for those who lost their lives and we remember their families. We pray for compassion and for understanding among all peace loving people with whom we share this planet earth.

We give thanks this morning for all who serve this country and who protect us daily. Let us pray together:

Heavenly Father,
Hold our troops in Your loving hands,
Protect them as they protect us,
Bless them and their families for the
Selfless acts they perform for usIn this our time of need.
These things we humbly ask
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Amen.

Filed Under: Prayers

Middle and High School News: Sept. 2010

September 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
High School Youth

High School Youth

Welcome to the 2010-2011 School Year! Our Middle and High School teachers are gearing up for the new year, and we invite all Christ Church youth 6th grade through High School to join us.

The Middle and High School youth will meet together for Sunday School from 9:30-10:15am in the Parish Hall Lower Level. Classes will include Bible Study, whole and small group discussions and grade-level activities.

Christ Church has active Middle and High School youth groups. These groups provide the youth with more time for fellowship, fun, service, and exploration of relevant topics. The Middle School Youth Group will meet the first and third Sunday of the month, from noon – 2pm, in the Parish Hall lower level. Lunch will be provided.  The High School Youth Group will meet every Sunday from noon-2pm in either the Parish Hall lower level or New Brick lower level. Weekly schedule details will be provided in the Weekly News.

Youth Group Trip to Hershey Park– Sunday September 26th

The Middle and High School Youth groups will be heading to Hershey Park on Sunday, September 26th! Come one, come all and join us at the park. We will leave directly after the 10:30am service, and return around 8pm.  Cost is $25.00 and includes lunch and entrance to the park. Bring extra money for drinks/snacks and gifts at the park, and dinner (fast food) on the way home. Full costs are covered for drivers/chaperones. Please look for the sign-up sheet on the Narthex table, or contact Stacey or Ann if interested (youth and drivers).

Filed Under: Parish Life

Prayers: September 5, 2010

September 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Oh Lord, as we stand before you on this Labor Day weekend, the symbolic dividing line between the end of one secular season and the beginning of another, we pause to take stock of the season behind and the season ahead.  Only you fully know our hopes, fears, dreams, and disappointments as we say in the words of the psalmist “Oh Lord, you search me and you know me.”

Thank you, Lord, for the values of labor, whether as a child, a student, a parent, a volunteer, whether in or out of the paid workforce, by our choice or not of our own making.  Thank you for setting us at tasks that challenge and fulfill us.  Help all those seeking work to find what they need.  We ask your help in discerning the ways by which our labor can better your world, as we acknowledge:

“Oh Lord, you search me and you know me.”

As Paul worked with Timothy, Onesimus, and the other early Christians to build your Church, may we follow in their examples, in our own time, in our own labors.  In our tradition, we give thanks for the Church around the world, today remembering the Episcopal Church of the Sudan.  In our Diocese of Maryland, we give thanks for the work done in your Name in Advent, Baltimore; All Hallows’, South River; and All Saints’, Reisterstown.  Here in our own Christ Church, giving thanks for all who labor in your Name, and asking your blessing and guidance on our new assistant rector, Gina, we acknowledge: “Oh Lord, you search me and you know me.”

We rejoice in this community of Christians, giving thanks together in our times of joy – our birthdays, baptismal anniversaries, and wedding anniversaries that are celebrated this week.  We welcome everyone here today who is new or visiting.  We lift up those who are ill or especially need our prayers..  We pray for those who have died..  In recognition that only You know all that’s in our hearts and on our minds, we acknowledge: “Oh Lord, you search me and you know me.”

Oh Lord, as the people listening to Jesus in today’s Gospel struggled with what it meant to be His disciple, so we also labor for understanding.  Help us embrace the comfort of knowing that we are as clay in God the potter’s hands, able to be vessels that seem good to Him, ready to labor in His service.  Thank you for your unending and unshakeable presence in our lives, as expressed in today’s psalm: “I come to the end – I am still with you.”  Amen.

Filed Under: Prayers

Spiritual Life: September 2010

September 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Spiritual Life Commission sponsors programs for the entire congregation.   We invite and encourage parish-wide participation in all of these activities.  Our goal is to provide opportunities for members of the Christ Church family to come together; to talk with, get to know and support one another; to learn and to pray together.  We believe our individual spiritual journeys and growth as members of Christ’s body are enhanced through fellowship with one another.

Stop by the Commission’s table at the Parish Festival to learn more about our programs and meet some of our members.   We also welcome your participation on the Commission, attendance at our monthly meetings (held at 7:30 P.M. on second Tuesdays) or any suggestions you might have for our programs.   Upcoming programs and activities are:

Wednesday Evening Prayer services at 7:30 P.M. in New Brick (when Healing Eucharist is not offered)

A half-hour of quiet worship and prayer by candlelight.   Prayer requests for those who can’t attend may be placed in the green and white checked box on the Narthex Information Table or emailed to the Church Office.

Home Bible Conversations

begin again in September with a kick-off barbeque and potluck meal.  Look for information about the date and time in the Weekly News and for a sign-up sheet on the Information Table, or contact Donna for details.

Flea Market White Elephant Sale

See the WOCC section for more information about the Flea Market.   Proceeds from the white elephant sale support the Advent and Lenten Quiet Days, scholarships for the Parish Retreat, and other parish-wide activities.

Filed Under: Parish Life

From the Rector: September 2010

September 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Holy WeekEvery year I think of September as a kind of “Starting line.” It is as if everyone were preparing for the start of a race, digging their toes in and just waiting for the starter’s gun to signal – “and they’re off!”  The fresh start of school is obvious, but it seems that every other aspect, certainly of Church life, also gets into the race; every committee renews its energy; organizations regroup; so many schedules renewing their demand upon our time.

It is good that we have taken time to refresh ourselves this summer, but now, the “race is before us.”

“Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he shall not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6)

This quote from Proverbs has always been among my favorites, and I believe it as well.  Our children need to be with us on Sunday mornings to receive their Christian education with others; our children need to be here to experience the love of God in liturgy and worship; our children need to be here to experience the power of a community that accepts us as we are while calling us to be all that God invites us to be.

Yes, your children need to be here – every Sunday in one of our classes.  If not here, where will they be “trained in the way that they should go…?”  And while it is good for us to say that THEY need to be here, I trust that you will see to it that YOU are here as well.

See you in Church!

Sharing the Love of the Risen Christ,

Richard+

Filed Under: News