Dear Friends, It is such a wonderful time in the life of our parish. Throughout the many challenges of the past couple of years, you have remained faithful, generous, compassionate, and diligent. Today, we'd like to share with you some of the exciting programs lined up for you this fall and beyond. We are grateful to the clergy, staff, and parishioners who worked so hard to put all of this together. Our goal is to serve, and we are eternally grateful for the opportunity to serve you. A few of the exciting programs lined up for Fall at Christ Church are: CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICE We are beginning a new worship opportunity for children and families at 9:00 a.m. This will be a 20–25-minute service with a children's homily and communion, and children will have the chance to actively participate in the service. Our Children and Family service will begin on Sunday, September 11th in New Brick. SUNDAY SCHOOL We are excited about the new curriculum we will offer for Children Formation. Sunday School begins September 11th and follows immediately after the Children and Family service. Kids will go downstairs with their parents to Sunday School, which will run for about 45 minutes, and we are hoping to have two separate classes for children. For questions about Sunday School, or to help us with this ministry, please call the Church Office. SUNDAY BREAKFAST Some of our parishioners are working to provide breakfast for Sunday morning. Breakfast will be in the Great Hall, right by the classrooms, and it will consist of juice, bagels, muffins, yogurt, fruits, etc. Breakfast will be served beginning at 8:30 a.m. To help us with breakfast, please call the Church Office. We're always looking for a few more hands to make lighter work. PARENTING GROUP During Sunday School, parents will get the opportunity of joining a gathering of Parenting Seminars. This will be an opportunity for parents to get to know each other, share the joys and challenges of parenthood, and learn new and exciting parenthood perspectives. Interested? Email info@christchurchcolumbia.org for more info. FIRST WEDNESDAY FELLOWSHIP AND COMMUNITY MEAL One of the exciting programs for the fall is the Community Meal and First Wednesday Fellowship. This is an opportunity to meet some new friends and reconnect with others. Children eat free, and parents don’t have to worry about cooking dinner. Parents are encouraged to make a generous donation towards dinner. Our inaugural First Wednesday Fellowship evening will be on September 7th in the Lower Level of New Brick, and everyone is invited to join us. CHILDREN'S CHOIR Did you know that our new Director of Music, Larissa Sanders, is also a 4th Grade Music teacher in Howard County? She is excited to begin the fall gatherings of a choir designed around youth. Christ Church Children's Choir meets on Tuesdays beginning September 6th from 5-6 p.m. and is open to children from ages 6 and up. For more information about Children’s Choir, or if you have any questions, please email Larissa at music@christchurchcolumbia.org THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY This is an opportunity for an in-depth study of the Bible. You don’t need to know much, or anything, about it - all we want you to do is to come and learn with everyone else. Thursday Evening Bible Study will begin on September 8th. This autumn, we will study some of the major themes of Paul’s Letter to the Romans and the Gospel of Matthew. Please bring a Bible and gather with us in Old Brick at 5:30 p.m. every Thursday. THEOLOGY ON TAP Looking for a space where you can have a long chat about interesting religious articles on the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or other publications? Well, here it is! Theology on Tap is an opportunity for informal, structure-free interaction and discussion with fellow parishioners on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. We will provide additional information about the venue soon, but flag September 14th on your calendar and get ready to join us for a fun evening! If you're interested, call the Church Office or email us at info@christchurchcolumbia.org Christ Church is very excited to be able to develop new activities and gatherings for every age, and hope you will find these programs fulfilling and spiritually nourishing. If you'd like to help in any way or have ideas for other gatherings, let us know at info@christchurchcolumbia.org

Invitation to Take a Virtual Trip to Uganda as Leaders of Friends of Sabina Join the Sunday Zoom Coffee Hour at Noon on Aug. 21st Plan to see and hear the latest on how leaders of Friends of Sabina (FOS) are making progress at Sabina Primary School in rural Uganda. At noon on Sunday, Aug. 21, the Outreach Commission will host FOS leaders Maria White, who recently returned from Uganda, and Ann Marie Davis, who went last spring. The FOS Adult Forum will flow seamlessly from our regular coffee hour. The link to our Zoom gathering can be gotten by emailing outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Or participate as a small group after the second worship service by assembling downstairs in New Brick at the laptop. Sabina students returned after the pandemic lockdown in Uganda to find many improvements on campus in 2022, such as upgraded sanitation and better dormitories. Currently, the school enrolls 321, consisting of 138 boarding students and 183 day scholars. Davis described what a difference the upgrades have made for students, teachers, and staff in an April 23 letter posted online during her stay from March 10th through May 2nd. White traveled to Sabina from July 18th to Aug. 10th and is eager to tell you about her stay on Zoom. Some of the latest changes include the introduction of a music program, advances in agriculture, and progress on the new computer lab that you can read about in a July 2, 2022 newsletter. For more than a decade, the Outreach Commission at Christ Church has backed efforts at the school, especially in a library that serves as a community center. In May, Christ Church sent $2,000 in Vestry-approved budget funds to pay for internet service, periodicals, and the annual salary of the librarian, Richard Tumusiime. Thanks to all for making that possible! Outreach also encourages parishioners to sponsor Sabina students whose families otherwise cannot afford fees and tuition (they are among Sabina students pictured here). Since 2020, members stepped forward to sponsor nine children, who then ranged in age from 8 to 15. Parishioners and the first names of the students are Steve and Linda Alpern (Sharon); Tim and Sherry Beaty (Herbert and Sylivia); Ellen and Charles Hoke (Josephine); Patricia Fanning (Patricia); Diane Phillips Laguerre (Jackson); Paula and Chuck Rees (Sandra); Catherine Whittaker (Brian); and Melanie and Nick Yaksich (Marvin). We’re hoping sponsors and would-be sponsors will join Zoom to hear about possibilities. And for everyone, seeing the FOS leaders' shared images will be like traveling to Uganda’s Central Region, which is west of Lake Victoria and north of the border with Tanzania. For some members of Christ Church – the Hokes, the Alperns, and Teddy and Sonni Aribiah and their sons, Jonah and Luke – it will remind them of their own travels to what is now called the Kyotera District to visit Sabina Primary School. For more information, please contact Davis or White directly at info@friendsofsabina.org. LEMS Ministry Update: School Supplies Have Been Delivered! Our summer-long drive to provide much-needed school supplies for local students at Lake Elkhorn Middle School has been a resounding success, and we've delivered these important items to LEMS this week. You can see the photos and read all about it on our website's LEMS update. Columbia Community Care Requests Diapers, Personal Care Items At Christ Church, members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission ask parishioners to continue supporting the all-volunteer organization, Columbia Community Care (CCC). Please collect diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Put them in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sunday. Our representative is Violet Smith, who takes parishioners’ donated items to a CCC site for distribution on Saturdays. Updated information about distribution can be found on the CCC Group on Facebook. Donate Snacks, Crackers, and Cookies to FISH in Bin on our Breezeway Organizers for FISH of Howard County are continuing to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill its shopping lists. The yellow bin is between Old Brick and the Parish Hall. Thanks for your contributions to our neighbors in need. In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

Once again, our parish has made a significant difference in the lives of students and their families at Lake Elkhorn Middle School (LEMS) in Columbia, MD. Thanks to the generosity of many Christ Church individuals, we collected over $6800. which was used to purchase school supplies for 125 students, contribute towards spiritwear for the teachers, and provide a lunch for the staff at LEMS at the beginning of the 2022 school year. LEMS provided us with a list of required student items, and on July 30th we gathered together in order to assemble notebooks, pens, pencils, scissors, earbuds, folders, and many other items into bags for fifty students. The remaining materials for 75 more students were left in boxes so the teachers could access them as they need throughout the coming school year. On Tuesday, August 16th, we began our annual delivery of these important items to LEMS. Nine Christ Church parishioners loaded the supplies into their vehicles - in record time! - and we were on our way. We caravanned over to LEMS and, with the help of school staff, delivered everything well before their Student Orientation Day. Our thanks go to each and every person who contributed financially to this project, as well as to the folks who organized, moved, lifted, drove, and delivered every item with happy hearts: Emily Aubin Ann Barnes Virginia Jarrett Merial Mathews Pam Pruitt Shannon Pruitt Denise Schiavone Mary Vail Roger Vail Rebecca Warlow Cathy Whittaker We have offered to assist LEMS further in the future. For example, we are hoping to be able to resume after-school tutoring or get more involved with the families and their needs for the students during the 2022–2023 school year... so stay tuned!

Pentecost X 8:00 & 10:30 a.m. in New Brick Today's Collect: Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Readings for Pentecost X: Jeremiah 23:23-29 Psalm 82 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 Today's Sermon: Deacon Denise delivers today's sermon, entitled "Let's Get Fired Up" and you can read the text of her sermon here. Today's Service Livestream: You can worship with today's livestream by using the service leaflet that's located here.

Last Sunday, Hebrews reminded us of what faith is. This Sunday wouldn’t be any different. Hebrews will lay bare for us how a liberated faith worked in the life of others and invites us to look at Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. It is he who makes possible all that was thought to be impossible - for he, too, had a liberated faith and so he found God to be trustworthy and capable of all things. It will interest you to know that Christians are often called the people of possibilities because we believe in the possibilities of a future with God. And because we sincerely believe that with God, all things are possible, we freely take on the task of God, and freely participate in God’s creative agenda. We have come to believe that if others can experience the freedom to which God invites us, we are obligated to freely share our stories with them. Over the past several weeks, we have been talking about Lake Elkhorn Middle School (LEMS) and our School Supply Drive in support of the students. Oakland Mills High School (OMHS) is presently hosting the Cy Paumier SAT Summer Camp. Last Sunday, we had representatives from Saint Luke Youth Center (SLYC) worship and preach at Christ Church. Amanda Gardner Talbot, the Executive Director, reminded us in her sermon of a “faith that has legs.” That is a liberated faith. And this faith is liberated because it can freely walk. The interesting thing about our outreach is that we are not required to do anything. However, being a part of the story of LEMS, OMHS, SLYC and many others evolves from the idea that giving alms, and in fact giving, in itself, is part of our contribution towards the creative tasks of God. More than that, we are, by our acts, affirming that we believe in the future God has for each child and each person - and it, indeed, takes a liberated faith to embrace this idea. A liberated faith is not one compelled by tradition or custom - for these hold us captive, requiring us to build treasure where thieves can steal, or moths can destroy. A liberated faith is one that recognizes itself as the beginning of freedom that renews the whole of life and overcomes the world. It requires you to offer no sacrifices or offerings for sins. For the Lord says, sacrifices have I not desired, but a pure heart - a heart that is willing to will one thing, which is to be obedient and not rebellious. A liberated faith makes us the free masters of all things, and subject only to one thing - love. It is this love that makes us ministering servants of all people and free subjects to everyone. In other words, a liberated faith honors you with a freedom that makes you the master of all people and the subject of love. And being the subject of love makes you a servant of all, for God’s treasured future is dependent on those who are servants of all and masters of none. A liberated faith brings us into the deepest truth that says we are in the image of an unlimited, unrestricted, unimaginable love. And we dare not forget that, for the moment we forget that religion becomes a shield or a closed refuge instead of a way to boldly throw ourselves into a harsh world knowing that that is precisely where we will discover a generous God. The moment we forget that is when we falsely come to believe that we cannot share God’s table of welcome with others because of their belief - as happened at the recently ended Lambeth Conference. (more on the conference later). I am an optimist. I know we will get through all our deepest challenges because we are a people of possibilities and that a liberated faith awakens trust in the still unrealized possibilities in human beings - in oneself, in other people, and in God’s future with us. The point is there’s an unbelievable potential in each of us. And for that, I am reminded that God doesn’t move mountains, but God gives us the faith with which to move mountains. Because of our liberated faith, the hitherto unexplored creative powers of God are thrown open to men and women - people like you and me - to use that creative power for good, for changing lives, and for the building of God’s kingdom. To have faith in a God of unconditional love is to realize how intimately close God is. He is so close that we often forget His presence. In his own day, Jesus was immersed in a violent culture, a culture of conflict and anxiety. But he also knew of the deeper truth hidden beneath the surface of human judgment; namely, that this broken and anxious world is oozing with God. The same Jesus invited us to have faith, to believe that the reign of God is among us and within us, he reminds us that it is for the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom - that treasured space where you feed not on your own abundance but on the abundance of God. A liberated faith makes you vulnerable to love, and to love is to risk being rejected by the other. God takes a risk in loving us because the gift of divine love bears with it the possibility of refusal. God’s love respects the independence and freedom of the other because love does not seek to control, dominate, or manipulate; rather, love seeks to empower the other for the flourishing of life. A liberated faith trusts in the power of love within us to do incredible things because this love is God’s unlimited power. God doesn’t move mountains but gives us the faith with which to move mountains. Your treasure is a liberated faith that knows there’s no mountain too big or too small. Hold on to it. Nurture it to love God for His sakes only. God’s desire is for you to have a liberated faith. Manny.

LEMS Partnership: We're Almost There! - Tuesday, August 16 Thanks to all of you who have helped us get the Lake Elkhorn Middle School Partnership off to a great start this summer. The bags are all stuffed (thank you!) and now there's one final step before the students to put these items into action. If you can, please meet us at the church this Tuesday, August 16th from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. to deliver the supplies to Lake Elkhorn Middle School. We are also in need of a truck or van to transport the supplies and people who are able to load and unload heavy boxes, so if you can help in any way, please let us know. If you have questions about our LEMS partnership, need info on how to donate to LEMS, or can help us on August 16th, please email us at info@christchurchcolumbia.org. Help End Homelessness by Getting Outdoors and Having Fun at a Golf Tournament to Benefit Bridges to Housing Stability Advocating for affordable housing and helping individuals and families who struggle to keep a roof over their heads is the mission of Bridges to Housing Stability. It’s a daunting task, but the nonprofit organization is offering a new activity to lure supporters to the cause. And the event gives participants a way to get fit and enjoy being outdoors. On Friday, Sept. 23, Bridges will hold the Sheehy Toyota Bridges for Birdies Golf Tournament at The Timbers of Troy, 6100 Marshalee Dr., Elkridge, MD. The tournament begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. and features a full day of golf, food, and awards. Bridges said the field was nearly 50 percent sold out at the end of July and urged would-be participants to register. The cost for a single golfer is $150, which covers greens fees, unlimited range balls, food, and two beverages. A foursome costs $600. Sponsorships also remain available at various cost levels; please spread the word among Howard County businesses. The cause is a crucial one. The housing crisis is worsening nationally and in Howard County, according to an update by Bridges Executive Director Jen Broderick in a July newsletter. Renters are now reporting large rent increases of as much as $400 a month. “At Bridges, we have experienced a surge in phone calls from residents seeking housing assistance, and calls to the Grassroots Crisis Line are spiking as well. In addition, the Sheriff’s Department reports rising levels of court filings for delinquent rent (the first step in the eviction process),” she wrote. Christ Church has a warm relationship as a supporter of Bridges, starting with our participation in a countywide chili cook-off in 2019. At the Chili & Challenge virtual fundraiser held in 2020, Christ Church won a Silver Ladle Award. Then, at the 2021 Chili & Challenge, we won gold. The relationship began at the urging of parishioner Jim Collins, who is among those “Heroes for Housing” who were honored earlier this year by Bridges. At the July Outreach meeting, members approved sending $1,000 to Bridges for its Help End Homelessness Howard County (HEHHC) program. HEHHC involves ownership of five rental homes in a program that has served 10 families. It’s described online in Bridges’ June newsletter and by Broderick in a 6-minute video on YouTube. Funds were derived from a parishioner’s donation to Christ Church and earmarked for Bridges. For a list of organizations that are supported through the Outreach Commission, such as Bridges and the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, and how to contribute, please contact outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Columbia Community Care Requests Diapers, Personal Care Items At Christ Church, members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission ask parishioners to continue supporting the all-volunteer organization, Columbia Community Care (CCC). Please collect diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Put them in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sunday. Our representative is Violet Smith, who takes parishioners’ donated items to a CCC site for distribution on Saturdays. Updated information about distribution can be found on the CCC Group on Facebook. Donate Toiletries, Cleaning Supplies for FISH in its Yellow Bin Organizers for FISH of Howard County are continuing to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill its shopping lists. The yellow bin is between Old Brick and the Parish Hall. Thanks for your contributions to our neighbors in need. In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

Pentecost IX 8:00 & 10:30 a.m. in New Brick Today's Collect: Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Readings for Pentecost IX: Genesis 15:1-6 Psalm 33:12-22 Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Luke 12:32-40 Today's Sermon: Today's Sermon is presented by Executive Director Amanda Gardner Talbot of St. Luke’s Youth Center, which operates year-round as the nonprofit SLYC. You can read the Sermon text here and learn more about Christ Church's outreach efforts on behalf of SLYC by visiting our Outreach blog. Today's Service Livestream: You can worship with today's livestream by using the service leaflet that's located here.

When you come to church this Sunday, be sure to look up towards the choir loft and give a huge, warm welcome to our new Director of Music, Larissa Sanders! Larissa (pronounced La-REE-sa) grew up in the Baltimore area and currently resides in Columbia with her family. You can learn more about her on our website's Staff page and if you need to reach her by email, just send yours to music@christchurchcolumbia.org. We are so happy to have you as part of the Christ Church family, Larissa!

This Sunday, the writer of Hebrews will remind us that “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I have read, and have heard it read, countless times. Those words come alive in unimaginable ways, and I want to use this week, and next, to share some thoughts about faith - but more so about the Christian’s treasure, which is a liberated faith. A Christian’s treasure is a liberated faith in God’s future. It is a faith that is so free it sees no limitations in its attempt to be committed to the discerned purposes of God. The Christian’s treasure is a liberated faith that moves mountains because it is grounded in the abiding hope of the God who invites us into His life. It is a liberated faith that makes possible all that was thought to be impossible. A liberated faith sees the upside of human convictions; it takes a step into the future not knowing what can happen, but yet feels unbelievably liberated and amazingly free to take that step into the future with God. A liberated faith is one that thrives on the assurance of things unseen, and because it believes in the possibilities of God’s future, that faith builds up a storehouse full of treasure that neither thief can steal nor moth can destroy. Liberated faith. I may not have told you the following story about me before, but when I first arrived in the United States, it was the middle of wintertime, and I was wearing a pair of sandals. I remember arriving at BWI airport, amazed at the beauty of the airport and by the snow, and wondering what was going on. Later in the day, my friend took me to a Chinese buffet restaurant. It was my first time ever at a buffet. He simply asked me to eat whatever I wished. I was a little hesitant, never having been to a buffet before. After eating - and eating more - all sorts of food, he asked that I try some ice cream. He again said that I could have as much as I wanted. After every round of ice cream, he would ask me to have some more, and then I would ask the same question. Keep in mind, dear reader, that it was in the middle of winter, and while we ate I had forgotten where I was. After we were finished, we got up to go home. The instant I stepped outside that door, I quickly had to run back into the restaurant. I had never felt such cold in my entire life! A liberated faith is like being at a buffet restaurant and asking about limits to what you can eat. But you are repeatedly reminded that you are free to eat as much as you want in so far as you have the stomach for it. That is liberating; it is freeing. At the buffet, you only wonder which food to eat, what to do with all this stuff. You feel overwhelmed by the abundance. It is the same with feeling the presence of God. There are no limitations - you feed on God’s abundance, abide in God’s presence for as long as you have the stomach for it, and your heart can rest easy because you can look into that treasured future with God. Liberated faith. A liberated faith isn’t about a formal assent to the doctrine of the church, nor is it one that compels you to participate in the church’s faith, it is one that takes us personally captive - the love that refuses to let you go, if I may add. It sets you free, for as Jesus said, I came that you might be free and be free indeed - your treasure is the liberated faith that moves you to hope in the future of God. And because you do not know when this future will come to pass, you stay awake. You don’t grow weary either in waiting or in doing good; you live not in anxiety but in anticipation. You live not in fear but in love... the love of all creation. That is not to suggest that we will not be anxious. We are reminded that we shouldn’t be anxious or worry about anything. Read Matthew 6:25-32. A part says: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” No, we cannot!! That is precisely why faith is so important in our lives, for it is only a liberated faith that feels the need not to worry in the face of all the trials and temptations that he or she may endure. I have no doubt that you are a person of faith and that your faith means more to you than I can ever imagine. But my question is, to what extent does your faith stack up? Is it a faith that is under a constant strain because its moorings are weak, or one which feels liberated? Is it a faith that is grounded and rooted in Christ, or one that is like a feather flying by itself with no sense of direction? At any point in our lives, we get tested. Whether we like it or not, whether we anticipate it or not, or whether we are ready or not, we get tested. My attitude has never been about the temptation itself; it has always been about whether I feel liberated enough to overcome any temptation. Do you feel your faith as being liberated? Faith is a powerful resource, and one that is anchored in Christ is one that has been liberated to offer hope and a sense of direction, and to offer itself as a sacrifice. My desire is for you to be a person of faith - one with a liberated faith. Manny.

Saint Luke’s Youth Center Leaders To Describe Its Mission and Launch a Raffle of Our Parishioner’s Handmade Quilt on Sunday, August 7th Please tune in virtually or come in person to welcome Executive Director Amanda Gardner Talbot of St. Luke’s Youth Center, which operates year-round as the nonprofit SLYC. She will deliver the sermon at Christ Church during both services on Sunday, August 7th. Christ Church is also happy to participate in the launch on Sunday of an SLYC fund-raiser made possible by a parishioner. Nancy Winchester has donated one of her lovely, handmade quilts - this one is designed in a fall theme. You can admire the quilt and buy raffle tickets in the Narthex. Future stops for Nancy’s quilt will involve some of the area congregations that support SLYC, which is the former St. Luke’s Episcopal parish. The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland is among the partners, and its reparations task force recently awarded a grant to SYLC and five other organizations. Read about the grants in a May 25th press release from the diocese. You, too, are partnering with SLYC in that Vestry-approved funds for Christ Church Outreach are supporting its Camp Inspiration. SLYC held one session of its summer camp in June and will hold a second one Aug. 15-26, as described in the July newsletter. The Outreach Commission contributed $500, and others at Christ Church made donations. West Baltimore families collaborate in SLYC’s leadership and offerings, which include “Moms on a Mission” and an after-school program. Our liaison to SLYC is Michon Semon, who led an Outreach field trip in June to St. Luke’s at 217 N. Carey Street, Baltimore, MD. Take three minutes to enjoy a virtual field trip by viewing “This is SLYC” on YouTube. The May 10, 2022 newsletter of the diocese has an article on the historic church and how it became a youth center. That was the mission of Talbot’s father, the Very Rev. Van Gardner, after retiring as Dean of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore. After his death, his daughter pursues their dream. Please say hello to Amanda on Sunday or, if you can’t be with us, post a comment online or send an email to amanda@bmoreslyc.org. JOIN US! Virtually Attend our Christ Church Outreach Meeting this Monday, Aug. 8th The Outreach Commission invites you to join its monthly meeting to learn about opportunities this summer and fall. In keeping with our mission, the scope is local, national, and international. We meet virtually at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, August 8th. The Zoom link is HERE, Meeting ID is 876 3365 4968 and Password is Outreach! Looking forward to seeing you! It’s the Second Monday of the Month! Volunteer to Serve a Meal or Add to the Menu for Our Homeless Friends at the DRC and Grassroots If you haven’t yet experienced the Christ Church tradition of helping the homeless on the second Monday of each month, give it a try on Monday, Aug. 8. You can read a thorough description of the heartwarming routine on the Christ Church website in the Outreach Blog of July 7, 2022. We most recently took part on July 11th. If you wish to volunteer or bring food for the Day Resource Center (DRC) at the Dorsey Center, our DRC online signup form also describes the procedure. The drop-off time for side dishes, desserts, and fruit is 12:45 p.m. in the Christ Church parking lot near Old Brick. In-person volunteers also rendezvous at that time to carpool to Jessup. Parishioners who cook or shop for the evening meal for 50 residents of a live-in center on Freetown Rd. make their drop-off later, arriving in the parking lot at 3:15 p.m. A volunteer transporting the food departs at 3:30 p.m. Get more details on participating in our Grassroots online signup form. Both facilities for the homeless are operated by the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center. It’s efficient to provide for groups at two separate venues on the same day. Your donations and Vestry-approved funds pay for the fried chicken entrees. Thank you. Both the DRC and the Live-In Facility have wider needs for their pantries and welcome in-kind donations to be dropped off for delivery on the second Mondays. Look for the monthly needs list under the words “Related Files” on each of the signup sites online. There are vaccination requirements for in-person volunteers. For information, email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org to contact co-coordinator Nancy Winchester. Columbia Community Care Requests Diapers, Personal Care Items At Christ Church, members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission ask parishioners to continue supporting the all-volunteer organization, Columbia Community Care (CCC). Please collect diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Put them in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sunday. Our representative is Violet Smith, who takes parishioners’ donated items to a CCC site for distribution on Saturdays. Updated information about distribution can be found on the CCC Group on Facebook. Donate Toiletries, Cleaning Supplies for FISH in its Yellow Bin Organizers for FISH of Howard County are continuing to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill its shopping lists. The yellow bin is between Old Brick and the Parish Hall. Thanks for your contributions to our neighbors in need. In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

Pentecost VIII 8:00 & 10:30 a.m. in New Brick Today's Collect: Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Readings for Pentecost VIII: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 Psalm 49:1-11 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 Today's Sermon: Rebecca Warlow's sermon for today, entitled "Be Rich Toward God," can be read here. Today's Service Livestream: You can worship with today's livestream by using the service leaflet that's located here.