GATHER WITH US. Christ Church's 2025 Advent and Christmas Schedule is live. The season is upon us! Christ Church's Advent and Christmas page provides an overview of upcoming services and gatherings throughout the season; visit christchurchcolumbia.org/advent-and-christmas-2025 for many special worship and fellowship opportunities. And be sure to check back for Mother Marcia's Weeknight Vespers reflections, Pam Pruitt's beautiful Advent Poems, and young people's Jesse Tree f

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them.  Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. A prayer of thanks on this day of gratitude. #Thanksgiving #Tha

Gratitude to All Who Donated to Our Thanksgiving Food Drive Your donations of groceries such as stuffing mix, gravy, and canned goods are making a big difference starting this week. The Howard County Food Bank expects to provide menu items for about 1,000 people for Thanksgiving and 1,000 for Christmas.   Christ Church collected 372 pounds of food during our annual drive for the Community Action Council of Howard County (CAC) , which operates the food bank. On Nov. 21, Outr

Worship with us at Christ Church on Thanksgiving Day November 27 Join Christ Church's parishioners in giving thanks to God on Thanksgiving Day. Our Thanksgiving Day Eucharist will be held this Thursday, November 27, at 10 a.m. in the New Brick sanctuary at Christ Church in Columbia, Maryland. The Rev. Emmanuel Ato Mercer will be our Celebrant, and The Rev. Marcia Davenport will deliver the Thanksgiving Day sermon. We welcome everyone to gather with us in person, but we will a

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And the spirit and tradition surrounding the Thanksgiving celebration is already in full flight. Schools are closed so children can travel to be with families far and near. Many people are also traveling to join friends and families to celebrate the ‘Feast of Thanksgiving.’ From my first Thanksgiving experience to today, Thanksgiving is for me a feast about families and friends coming together, irrespective of what is going on in our individual and c

Christ the King Sunday Multicultural Sunday 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist in Old Brick 9:00 a.m. Family Worship in New Brick 10:30 a.m. Choral Eucharist in New Brick Collect for Today: Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with y

Flowers and Music given in memory or dedication of a loved one during the Christmas season are gratefully accepted, as they help fund the wonderful greenery, flowers, and musicians who help bring this season to life for everyone. There are two ways you can donate - you can do so digitally using our Online Giving Form at https://cecliturgy.org/christmasflowersandmusic and select "Christmas Flowers & Music" or "Christmas General Offering" from the FUND dropdown menu and write

A few days ago, I visited with a parishioner who had a very complicated surgery. It was a heart transplant. It takes my breath away just to hear the extent of the surgery and what went into it. Human ingenuity has come a long way. Medicine has come a long way. Technology has come a long way. And many, many Americans and people around the world are benefitting from these scientific leaps because people of goodwill believed that if we are to make progress, to live long and heal

Angel Tree Drive Will Brighten Christmas for Howard County Children In a heartfelt tradition, the Outreach Commission invites parishioners to purchase new clothing and special items to complete Christmas gift “packages” for young angels. We are supporting a dozen children ages 8 to 13 to meet a need identified by the Howard County (Central Maryland) division of The Salvation Army . The nonprofit organization oversees the Angel Tree initiative here and elsewhere.   To particip

It was truly an inspirational Youth Sunday at Christ Church last weekend! The incredible youth led us in worship, served as ushers and readers, and the middle and high schoolers collaborated on a sermon that reminded us that, when we deal with an uncertain future, the people we care about the most will support us, and most importantly, we know God is always with us. But remember - EVERY Sunday is a Youth Sunday here! Youth Group and Sunday School gather weekly and we also hav

Pentecost XXII and Youth Sunday 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist in Old Brick 9:00 a.m. Family Worship in New Brick 10:30 a.m. Choral Eucharist in New Brick Collect for Today: Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and t

Over the years, Youth Sunday at Christ Church has created many wonderful memories, and seeing these outstanding individuals lead us in worship and song is always a joy. Today, we celebrate Youth Sunday once again and invite everyone to join us at the 8:00 (Old Brick) and 10:30 a.m. (New Brick) services. You can also gather with us for Family Worship in New Brick at 9:30, but whichever service you choose, we look forward to gathering with you - EVERYONE IS WELCOME AT CHRIST CH

For those of us who have had the benefit of taking Confirmation or Inquirer’s class offered periodically in different Episcopal Churches, you would have learned that Sacraments are an integral part of our Christian vocation. The classic definition of Sacrament by St. Augustine is ‘An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.’  The act, right, or sign must be outward. It must be visible. You and I need to see it and testify to it. But the inward isn’t visible

Christ Church volunteers succeeded during our Fall Food Drive this past Saturday, November 8, in collecting items for the Howard County Food Bank and its partner pantry, SAFE. The collection filled the Knox family’s truck to the brim, and we raised over two thousand pounds - ONE TON - of donated food and goods, which is the most we've ever collected when compared to our eight previous drives. Incredible! We also raised over $400, including some donations by parishioners, for

Setting Our Own Record, Volunteers Collected More Than One Ton of Goods During the Christ Church Fall Food Drive Christ Church volunteers succeeded during our Fall Food Drive this past Saturday, November 8, in collecting items for the Howard County Food Bank and its partner pantry, SAFE . The collection filled the Knox family’s truck to the brim (see photos) and amounted to 1,776 pounds at weigh-in. SAFE reported its portion of gluten-free goods weighed 307, giving us a tot

Women are invited to gather with us for the WOCC's Christmas Feast next month! We'll meet after church on Sunday, December 7th, at 1:00 p.m. at Kings Contrivance Restaurant for a wonderful meal, some holiday cheer, and some fellowship and fun. We’ll be collecting unwrapped gifts for Springfield Hospital to help bring some Christmas cheer to those in need, and you can find their wish list at https://cecevents.org/WOCC-SpringfieldGifts . The cost is $63 per person for a delicio

This month, the Men of Christ Church have started their new Random Act of Kindness , by supporting youth entering the foster care system, and they invite you to take part. Comfort Cases is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth in the foster care system. The organization provides children entering foster care with a new backpack or duffel bag filled with essential and comfort items, replacing the practice of giving

Youth Sunday is always one of those special days that we mark on the calendar well in advance - it's a day when our incredible youth serve as lectors sharing the readings of the day, as ushers and greeters who welcome us all to church, who lead us in prayer for one another and the world, and who provide a unique sermon from their essential point of view. This is a day of worship not to be missed. Come and gather with us - ALL ARE WELCOME.   #YouthSunday   #youthsunday   #OurY

IT TAKES A COMMUNITY. This Auction was absolutely the most fun! And that is due to all the people who participated. THANKS FOR WHAT YOU DID BEFORE THE AUCTION BEGAN. ~To those who donated such splendid items ~To those who came early on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to set up ~To those who stayed to the bitter end to help put everything away ~To those who spent many long hours entering all the items into the Catalog ~To those who arranged the displays so beautifully THANKS FO