Our entire Christ Church Family so deeply thanks Hou Fei for so faithfully and magnificently leading our Music Ministry. We wish you and your husband a joyful future as you move south to pursue your professional futures in Texas.

Please click on the calendar graphic to open a new tab in your browser and take you to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland website with instructions on how to find the daily Advent meditation which is described below:

The following text comes form the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland website:

Reflecting themes of Advent, our online Advent calendar contains daily meditations on presence, rather than presents and waiting, rather than being weighed down by the stresses and concerns of our secular pre-Christmas season. The Diocesan Staff will “open” a window each day during Advent. Click on the open window to find a brief thought for the day. The full meditation can be read, and you can listen to a shorter audio version of the same message. These audio meditations are also available daily by listening to WBAL-AM’s streaming audio broadcast at www.wbal.com.

We invite you to take a moment each day to pause and reflect, turning away for a time from the busyness and business around us.

On October 23, 2011, Christ Church will host its Annual Meeting which will include the election of new members to the Vestry and the presentation of the Rector’s Annual Address. The Annual Meeting is a time for our congregation to celebrate our achievements as a Christian Community and set goals for the coming church year.

Our Annual Report is available prior to the meeting for your review. Hard copies are on the table in the Narthex. Please contact us if you would like a copy of it emailed to you.

A copy of the Rector’s Annual Address will be posted after the meeting on October 23.

The audio recording of the Rector’s Annual Address is posted here.

As a reminder, we will have 1 service to celebrate Eucharist this Sunday at 9:30AM. It will be followed by a continental potluck breakfast at 10:30AM. Parishioners are encouraged to bring breakfast items to share. The Annual Meeting will begin at 11:00AM.

Thank you all for the wonderful expression of love and caring at the Pentecost services on June 12^th as we celebrated the 10^th anniversary of my beginning our ministry together.  The affirming words and gifts were extraordinary and Carolyn and I were overwhelmed and humbled by them.  Thank you to all who participated in the planning and to all who contributed to the album of memories.  I look forward to sitting with the book in quiet reflection and appreciation for all of you and your gifts of ministry.

Christ Church is a powerful and loving home for me; one that centers my life and nourishes my faith.  It is so evident that the Grace of God and Christ’s reconciling love is always at work in each of us.  You are my blessing, and not a Sunday goes by without my being enriched and energized to do the work God has set before us.  I wish you knew how often I brag about this congregation; not that we have it all worked out, but that we are working it out together in a journey that begins, continues and ends in Christ.

I particularly owe so many words of thanks to our Vestry and its leadership.  To Ellen and Pete, our Wardens, and to each beloved member, I share my gratitude and love, and hope that my presence among you and in your life is a positive and faithful one.  To those who have been with me for our full ten years, and to those who have joined this family since, – you are truly a gift in my life.

And so we turn to the Lord for continued strength, guidance and amazing love as we share God’s abundance with one another and a world in need of what we have discovered.  Let’s go!

Enthusiasm is currently used to convey that a person has excitement or intense energy and interest in his endeavors.  In early Christian times, enthusiasm meant inspired by God or spirit filled.  Enthusiasm is the key word for the approaching season of Pentecost.  Christ has assured us that He will always be with us, never leaving or forsaking us.  This promise is carried out by Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

At Pentecost, the Church became universal, speaking in the tongues of many nations and proclaiming the Kingdom of God in our midst. God’s love promises to cast out fear, as we spread the love of Christ to the entire world.

Our God brings new Life and limitless possibilities through Him. We are challenged to see the beauty of Creation, to share its bounty and to live in Godly love. What an awesome thought!

Graduations, Fathers’ Day, Pentecost and Tongues of Fire, Baptisms and Confirmations… the month is filled with important and exciting stories for this parish.  As I look over the activities of this congregation, I often wonder if there is any month that is not so filled.  It is a wonderful parish and I am blessed to be a part of its life.

And this gets me to remember that I celebrate my tenth anniversary of being your Rector this June 13^th (This Date in Christ Church History helped me remember).  As I reflect upon this, I simply want to thank each of you for your prayers, support and trust.  You have opened your hearts to me and invited me into life changing events; they certainly have changed mine. You have trusted me with your joys and sorrows, accomplishments and failures, moments of glory and times of despair.  Together, we have held the faith and sought the power of our Lord to carry us day after day.

We are such a strong parish, and I owe that to you, your work in and through Christ Church.  May God continue to bless you and Christ Church with His bounty.

“Remember that thou art but dust, and unto dust shalt thou return” are the words (traditional version) used as the sign of the cross is marked upon our foreheads on Ash Wednesday.  The message is clear; we are mortal beings and in need of repentance.  The season of Lent begins on March 9^th as we participate in the ritual of the day.  I encourage you to join us at one of our three services, or to find a church near where you work and to attend its service.  It is a good thing for the community to gather together and to reflect upon our need for God’s love and forgiveness.

But Lent need not be seen as a “dismal time” (as one of my priestly colleagues describes it).  It is a serious time of reflection and opportunity for increased study and devotion. We change the liturgy on Sunday mornings to shift away from the manner of worship throughout the rest of the year.  There is something very different about Lent, and the Church offers its worship, programs and meditations toward discovery.

It is the season set apart by the Church in preparation for the Easter proclamation.  I invite you to journey with us this Lent, especially on Sundays.  To those who have been away for awhile and may not know how “to return,” know that we will welcome you, no matter how long it has been.  This year’s Lenten Program features clergy from our surrounding Episcopal parishes, all of which have a history tied in with ours.  Look for further information in the rest of this issue, but come and be with us.  The journey is meant for us all, and all of us need the support of one another.

Sharing the Love of Christ,
Richard +

Lent is a pivotal time each year in the life of the Church. It is a time of reflection, re-assessment, repentance and a re-commitment of ourselves on our journey with Christ.  Forty days is a tenth of the year, a tithe, as we hopefully try to find the Holy in our life at this time.  Buechner, one of my favorite authors and an Episcopal priest, proposes that each Christian specifically asks what his Faith means to him.  He asks us to contemplate: what makes us happiest, what do we regret the most, what sacrifices are we willing to make for what we believe, what is most meaningful to us in our lives and how do we communicate our deepest hopes and desires of our soul to those around us.  We should also ask: Has the fruit of our labors been well spent?

Our humanity in God’s hands has so much potential.  Are we taking our directive from Christ to follow Him as “The Way, the Truth and the Life”?  The only hope is to hold tightly to our Lord and His promises.  It’s so easy to be distracted in the busyness of our lives and to lose the Path and ignore His continual Presence.  Christ is always ready to enliven our hearts and enrich our lives, if we only take time to listen and navigate by His compass.

Click to open this week’s Weekly News: January 16, 2011 in PDF format. This file will give details about upcoming events at Christ Church.

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Click to open this week’s Weekly News: January 9, 2011 in PDF format. This file will give details about upcoming events at Christ Church.

If you can not open the link, please click the title of this post above first.