Somos Amigos Continues Health Care in the Dominican Republic and Expresses Gratitude for Parishioners’ Support So close and yet so far. Just when it seemed that Somos Amigos Medical Missions would be able to return its volunteers to the Dominican Republic, the pandemic interfered yet again. Plans to operate the January 10-14 healthcare clinic with a small group of veteran volunteers had to be changed, disappointing those who had hoped to be back in the little town of Naranjito for the first time in nearly two years. “Covid, and in particular the omicron variant, just wouldn’t let us proceed,” wrote Executive Director and CEO Frank Brightwell, who said two people had tested positive who would have been working at the clinic. “We know that our volunteers could have pulled off flawlessly a week of selfless service and care, but we all also must acknowledge that there remains so much out of our control. “We don’t want to put our volunteers, local workers, or patients at risk. “Canceling our plans was the prudent thing to do,” he wrote in an email shared with supporters at Christ Church. Instead, Somos Amigos once again partnered with Dominican healthcare providers. Dental care was postponed due to a government moratorium, but medical care proceeded. Five physicians treated the more than 100 patients who were scheduled. “Our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization,” wrote Brightwell. “Their dedication to our mission and our patients is inspiring and humbling. The eight volunteers who were ready to travel this week represent the best of Somos Amigos. How lucky are we… and our patients… to have people like them be a part of our organization? Thank you.” The would-be travelers included a relative of Christ Church parishioners Dione and Jim Mahoney. They and parishioner Shahra Toth are Somos Amigos supporters who had volunteered in Naranjito before the pandemic. Former parishioners Ed and Mary Keath also were regular volunteers, and Mary participated in an adult forum with Brightwell when he last visited Christ Church in March 2020 to deliver the sermon at both worship services. (See their photo in this July 1, 2021 Outreach blog.) Somos Amigos’ previous healthcare delivery model had depended on volunteer clinicians and other helpers traveling four times a year, collaborating with residents of Naranjito. Instead, Somos Amigos created a local model to serve patients in the rural, mountainous region, as described in the Oct. 19 Outreach blog. The plan was for volunteers to resume travel in 2022. “Thank you for your continued support. We will soon begin to write that next chapter, but it will take just a little while longer than we would have hoped,” Brightwell wrote. When donations to Christ Church are designated to Somos Amigos, either electronically on Realm or in the memo line of a check, the Outreach Commission sees that your contribution makes its way to the proper recipient. These worthy causes include organizations that are local, national and international. For information, please email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. SAFE Offers Gluten-Free Food Indoors during Winter The SAFE Food Pantry, a nonprofit organization that helps people who require gluten-free and allergy-friendly groceries, has relocated indoors for the winter months. Distributions of gluten-free or allergy-safe food will take place until further notice at the NonProfit Collaborative, 9770 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, MD 21046. The timeframe remains the same: the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon. The next distribution will be on February 19th. If you have safe foods to donate, you can bring them without making advance arrangements. Or, if you or others whom you know are in need of these items, please come to Patuxent Woods, which is on an RTA bus line. Another way to obtain food from SAFE is through its partnership with the Howard County Food Bank. Clients of the food bank can receive pre-bagged, non-allergenic food items when they check-in for their monthly visits. For more information, please call or text a SAFE volunteer at 443-741-1060. Collection Drive Continues to Provide Diapers, Personal Care Items for CCC At Christ Church, we ask parishioners to continue supporting CCC by collecting diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Please put any of these items in the yellow bin that's marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. You can drop off items on weekdays when the church office is open, or bring them on Sunday when you come for worship. Christ Church's point of contact is Violet Smith, who delivers the items to CCC for the Saturday distribution. Thank you to Violet and all donors for your generosity. FISH Continues its Request for Cookies, Crackers, and Snacks As winter continues, organizers for FISH of Howard County continue to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill shopping lists. They also say thanks to Christ Church for its response to their earlier needs, which produced an adequate inventory of household cleaning supplies and personal items. The bin is on the breezeway near the door to the Parish Hall. 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.

The WOCC held their first meeting of the new year on Zoom last week, and are now in the process of preparing our 2022 calendar of events and gatherings. We'll post that soon, so stay tuned! In other news... Wear RED For Heart Health on Sunday, February 6th: February is Heart Health Month each year. Heart disease is the leading cause of death - it causes one out of every four deaths in the U.S. - but it is largely preventable. To bring attention to this very important and dangerous issue, the WOCC are wearing red to remind everyone to be Heart Healthy. There are several easy ways to do this - check your blood pressure regularly, manage your cholesterol, stop smoking, and maintain a generally healthy lifestyle. You can start to learn more about how to prevent heart disease by visiting these four websites. If you're attending a worship service at Christ Church in person on Sunday, February 6th, please wear some red to show your support for this concern. In addition to this, though, we want to create a collage of all of us wearing red and post it on our social media channels to help spread the message. We hope that you'll consider taking a photo of yourself wearing your favorite red shirt, hat, scarf, or other outfit, and e-mail it to communications@christchurchcolumbia.org by January 31st so that we can create this group image and help spread the word about how to manage this dangerous - and preventable - disease. Thank You for your Seafarers and Springfield Hospital Christmas donations: Thanks to your generosity, we were able to deliver a van full of Christmas gifts to our friends at Springfield Hospital and Baltimore Seafarers. You donated clothing, books, games and personal care products for Springfield Hospital, and calendars, cards, notebooks, and warm socks, hats, and scarves for the Seafarers. Your gifts brought joy and comfort to people who are separated from their loved ones, and often overlooked. THANK YOU! Birthday greetings from WOCC are sent by email to our members (all Christ Church women 18 and older) through the Jacquie Lawson website. We send cards through the mail to those members who do not use email. If you haven’t received a greeting from us in your birthday month, please let us know. The next WOCC meeting date is Monday, February 7th at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. We’ll publish the link in upcoming communications and hope to see you there. And remember.... if you're a woman who's 18 years of age or older, you're already a member of the WOCC, so just log in and join us! In the meantime, if you need to reach out to us or have any questions, email wocc@christchurchcolumbia.org

A few months back, I joined with some of our parishioners to hang a Reject Racism banner on our campus. We hung the banner by the roadside so all who drive by can see it. After all, "Who lights a candle and puts it under a bushel?" asked Jesus. While we hung the banner, a few cars honked in appreciation of the message on it. It is my understanding that this is the first banner of its kind that we have ever hung on our campus, and one that invited us to take a particular stand against a critical and concerning issue within our country. What I found to be incredibly peculiar about this banner was that although the message appeared very simple - just two words, Reject Racism - it was loaded. And it was so because it invited us, all of us, to pursue a particular path. The message called on us to reject a destructive human tendency that is premised on the false narrative of the superiority of one race over another. The call of this message is in line with what Dr. King once said when he made the point that “...if America is to remain a first-class nation, she can no longer have second-class citizens.” The second-class citizens here referenced are African Americans, in particular, and people of color, in general. As your pastor, priest, and friend, I have often shared with you some of the moments of racism that I have experienced, and there are more telling stories that I do not find needful to share. I am, however, guided by every single experience because to assume that one is immune from being either a victim or perpetrator is to fall into that same narrative of feeling superior or inferior to another. It is to insidiously reject the idea that we are all children of God who were created in the image and likeness of God, and who bear within us the divinity of God. I feel immensely blessed that I find myself within and among this community of people here at Christ Church. I have not, throughout my time here, ever experienced or heard a story of a parishioner falling victim to any kind of racism from another parishioner. This is mainly driven by the fact that all of YOU - those who have chosen to worship God here, those who consider Christ Church to be their spiritual home, those who find meaning in this community and feel God’s abiding presence in each other, those who find a much deeper and richer meaning in the giving of themselves in support of God’s work at this church - all of you believe that every single one of us is worthy. More than that, we believe in our baptismal call of respecting the dignity of every human being. For me, that is why we Reject Racism. Someone asked me this afternoon if the Reject Racism banner will go up once more. I responded that the banner was already up, but it is somewhat creased. The response I got was that they will work on it to straighten it up a little bit - just so the words may stand out even more poignantly. For me, that is the joy of knowing that others care - not simply about the banner, but the words that the banner speaks to us. This week, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King. His words echo through every facet of our lives. For many of us, his message spoke in a way that connected our individual realities with our hopes of a fulfilling future, a future devoid of the legacies of slavery, of Jim Crow and redlining, a future devoid of systemic racism and the many ills that African Americans and people of Color face in our country. It is possible that you have been a victim of racism before. It is equally possible that you have not been a perpetrator of racism. But for those who have been, this message is very timely. They need to be reminded of the universal call to reject those things that demean and cause harm. In fact, we all need to be reminded of the harm that our actions inflict on others and how intentional acts of overcoming the seduction of destructive tendencies can make a huge difference in the lives of people. A simple banner that sits on our campus makes a universal call, inviting people to walk on a particular path. We can never tell who it is that may need such a reminder or invitation. We can never tell who it is that needs to hear this clarion call. But if we can change one mind, we have done our duty. Manny

Fulfill a New Year’s Resolution to Help People in Need There's no need to wait until Christ Church takes its turn feeding the hungry at one of the facilities operated by Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center. You are invited to provide the entree for the 50 residents of the Live-In Facility. Or go all in and cook – or order from a restaurant – to provide not only an entree but the side dishes and desserts for an evening meal. The process is simple. Here is a link to the sign-up list that Grassroots keeps up to date, showing openings through Feb. 28. On it, the staff makes helpful suggestions for menu items (while discouraging lasagna or other pasta dishes). Or you can take a look at what others are bringing. For example, one Christ Church parishioner signed up for the Martin Luther King holiday meal to provide 12 rotisserie chickens, no sides, no dessert. The poultry will arrive hot, purchased only minutes before from the Giant supermarket nearby on Freetown Road. Or food can be made ahead of time and arrive cold. For example, a donor has posted that a frozen entree of beef fried rice will be on the menu on Jan. 28. Dinner is served at 5 p.m. and food should be brought no later than 3 to 3:15 p.m. for dishes that need to be reheated, or by 4:15 p.m. if delivered hot. You can bring frozen dishes in advance. The address is 6700 Freetown Road, Columbia 21044. For questions, contact Grassroots Food Services Manager Dorothy Howard at 410-531-6006 or dorothyh@grassrootscrisis.org. Grassroots offers ideas on making a meal on its main website. It also welcomes monetary donations to cover the cost of a meal, with instructions on the signup form. You’ll see that Christ Church Outreach has promised our group of parishioners will provide its next meal for the Live-In Facility on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. Please save the date, and look for reminders and separate sign-up instructions in the Gatherings next month. For all those who have participated either individually or as part of the group, Grassroots expressed thanks: “As we move onward into 2022 we would like to express our deep gratitude to everyone for the outpouring of gifts and kindnesses you’ve shown us throughout the last year, particularly with our meals program – we couldn’t have made it through without your support! With a new year comes new beginnings and soon you will see information on how we are working to develop healthy eating lifestyles for our shelter residents. Stay tuned and thanks for all you do!” Grassroots also operates the Day Resource Center (DRC) at the Dorsey Center in Jessup. Due to the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus, the DRC has suspended many indoor operations until further notice. For questions about how Christ Church participates in supporting both of these Grassroots facilities, please email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org so we can put you in touch with co-coordinators Nancy Winchester and Shahra Toth. Columbia Community Care Offers Volunteer Opportunities in the Community If you are looking for a multi-generational way to volunteer in person, with coronavirus protocols in place, consider Columbia Community Care (CCC), the non-profit organization that sprang up in 2020 in response to the pandemic. It succeeded last Saturday in moving all of its operations indoors for winter. Neighbors in need picked up groceries and items such as diapers at three locations: the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd., the Barn/Teen Center indoor space in the Oakland Mills Village Center, 5851 Robert Oliver Place in Columbia, and Long Reach Village Center, Suite 9, 8775 Cloudleap Ct. On Saturday, Jan. 8, organizers reported that Long Reach was the busiest of the three. Recipients are welcomed from 10 a.m. to noon. For volunteers, donations and drop-offs begin at 9 a.m. You’ll find updates, such as requests for volunteers at specific sites, posted in the CCC Facebook Group. At Christ Church, members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission ask parishioners to continue supporting CCC by collecting diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items and adult diapers. Please put any of these items in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. You can drop off items on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sunday. The Christ Church point of contact is Violet Smith, who delivers the items to CCC for the Saturday distribution. FISH Continues its Request for Cookies, Crackers, and Snacks As winter continues, organizers for FISH of Howard County continue to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill shopping lists. They also say thanks to Christ Church for its response to their earlier needs, which produced an adequate inventory of household cleaning supplies and personal items. The bin is on the breezeway near the door to the Parish Hall. 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.

Today is the First Sunday after the Epiphany. Collect of the Day: Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Readings for today: Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Today's Sermon: Deacon Denise's Sermon can be read here. Today's Worship Livestream: Today's service bulletin can be found here.

BE ONE BODY IN CHRIST, BELONGING TO EACH OTHER "Let us always communicate our thoughts and friendship to every individual - not only in our own Christ Church, but also with our families, friends, co-workers, community, and beyond. We must bridge the gaps that exist, and maintain the vital connections." The first line above is Christ Church's Spiritual Life Theme for 2022, centered around Romans 12:5. Our Spiritual Life Commission gathers several times each year to discuss ways of providing nourishment for our souls, and to present programs and gatherings that assist in strengthening our faith over the Church year. One of these ways is to choose a theme that we can use as a foundation for our common life, ministries, and outreach efforts throughout the coming year. We encourage you to visit the SLC page of our website and read their thoughts on this year's Spiritual Life Theme, one that speaks to the current times quite appropriately. Visit https://www.christchurchcolumbia.org/spiritual-life-commission

When I was a teenager, my mum used to have my brother and I attend a church with the name Aladura - Church of the Lord. It was founded by a Nigerian pastor and was about seven miles from our home. We had to trek on foot to this church every Wednesday that we were home on recess from boarding school. In order to ensure that we actually went to church, she will ask us to return home with holy water from church. Failure to go to church or bring holy water from church meant going to sleep on an empty stomach - no church, no food. For that reason, we went to Church of the Lord every Wednesday. The sort of strange thing that happened at the church during the course of the service was that every worshipper would go and kneel before this pastor, who would share some insight about the future with you. It was as if he had a crystal ball in which he looked to narrate the future. A few months ago, I asked my brother if he remembers any of the "prophecies" that the pastor shared. He didn’t remember any, nor do I. But I do recall is that many of his foretellings were about good things that would happen, and the path that we needed to take in order to be successful. In essence, we had to be good boys. Every now and then I drive by offices of psychic readers. I have never been to one, and I don’t think I ever will. But I do wonder what they tell their clients; most specifically, I wonder if they tell their clients that things will simply fall on their laps by doing nothing or whether they have to do something about the future that they desire for themselves. I get the sense that whatever future psychic reader may reveal to you may require you to do something, to act on something. This reminds me of a story: A young boy went to a soothsayer to inquire about his future. The soothsayer drew two circles - one in white and the other in black. He then put a millipede in between the circles, saying, "If the millipede crawls into the white circle, your future will be bright and very great, but if it crawls into the black circle, then you are finished and doomed! No future at all!" As soon as the millipede was dropped in between the circles, it began crawling towards the white circle. The boy was super-excited. But suddenly, as it got to the edge of the circle, it turned back and began crawling away from the white circle towards the black one. The boy watched in dismay as the millipede progressively moved away from his desire towards his doom. However, just before it got to the edge of the black circle, the boy reached out, picked the millipede, and quickly but carefully dropped it into the white circle. The soothsayer was shocked! He had never seen anyone intervene in his own matter that way and so he asked the boy why he did what he had done. The boy simply smiled and replied, "I cannot sit and watch that "crawlie" determine and direct my destiny towards gloom and doom whilst I can still intervene to change its course. My destiny is in my hands." The boy then got up and left. Today is the feast of Epiphany. This is the feast that celebrates the revealing of Jesus Christ to the world. And throughout this season, we will read stories about God’s sharing of Christ with the world. Today also marks the one-year anniversary of the storming of the United States Capitol by our citizen friends, colleagues, brothers, sisters, and loved ones. If Epiphany is about the revelation of Christ, then what the storming of the Capitol revealed is the huge chasm of trust among ourselves and the institutions that have painstakingly been built over many, many years. Institutions that we have relied on to provide the kind of security and certainty that we all need to go about our business. Institutions that guarantee our freedoms and ensure the peaceful transfer of power. Institutions that make for a beautiful country - even though we are not perfect. I believe Paul when he says that we have been blessed: “Praise be to the God of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.” Blessing means the good that one person receives from the overwhelming kindness of another person. That has been my understanding and appreciation of America - the belief in legacy, of bequeathing to the next generation, something of great value. That out of the pure kindness of the heart, the next generation will live and do much better than the present and previous generations. One important lesson from last year’s assault on the Capitol is that we cannot take our democracy for granted if we want our country to endure and if we want our children and grandchildren to live and flourish in a peaceful country. If we want our children and grandchildren to do much better than we have, then we cannot allow the millipede to determine what our future should look like. One thing I know is that a peaceful and flourishing America didn’t just drop from the skies - its future wasn’t determined by a millipede. Americans didn’t achieve all of this overnight or have it handed to us on a silver platter. People - our forbearers - worked for it. And in order for us to keep it, nurture it, and grow it, we also have to work for it by being advocates of peace, advocates of tolerance, advocates of compassion, advocates of unity, advocates of healing, advocates of justice, advocates of respect, advocates of reconciliation, advocates of mending and above all, advocates of love. For we are all too gifted to just accept a future that's determined by a millipede. I wish you the blessings of a Happy New Year! Manny

Help Feed the Hungry as One of Our Grassroots Meal Drop-Offs Will Take Place as Planned on Monday, Jan. 10 You are invited to cook a side dish or a dessert for the evening meal at the Live-In Facility operated by Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center on Monday, Jan. 10. Please plan to arrive between 3:15 and 3:30 p.m. at the parking lot outside Old Brick. Other than homemade menu items, you are also invited to bring goods for the pantry to be enjoyed round-the-clock. Granola bars and fruits are popular with the 50 residents of the Freetown Rd. facility. Please click on the Christ Church Grassroots Meal link on SignUpGenius to view a suggested menu and to tell coordinators what you’ll bring. For parishioners who had welcomed a brief return to in-person volunteering, we’re disappointed to share the news that the pandemic has interfered once again. Due to the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus, Grassroots has suspended many indoor operations at its Day Resource Center (DRC) at the Dorsey Center. No hot meals will be served in January. Last month, Christ Church had successfully used a consolidated approach to feed the hungry for two groups of diners. On Monday, Dec. 13, the Outreach Commission arranged to purchase fried chicken at Weis and collect side dishes for both the midday meal at DRC and the evening meal at Grassroots’ Live-In Facility. In November, parishioners also provided meals at both locations after the DRC reopened following a long pandemic shutdown. Organizers hope that hot meals at the DRC might resume next month. The drop-off date for the next meal at Grassroots Live-In Facility will be Valentine’s Day – Monday, Feb. 14. Please sign up online no later than noon on the Sunday prior to each meal on Monday. For questions, please email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org so we can put you in touch with co-coordinators Nancy Winchester and Shahra Toth. Check Off a New Year’s Resolution: Start to Get Involved in Christ Church Outreach by Attending Our Zoom Meeting on Monday, Jan. 10 It’s as rewarding to get more fully involved in helping others as it is to fulfill resolutions about diet and exercise. So why not start now? The next Outreach Commission meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10. Join in virtually to learn more about opportunities in 2022 and to share your own ideas. Information on how to join the meeting by Zoom or by phone will be provided in the Church notices about online activities next week. Warm Wishes From West Baltimore Families of SLYC to Christ Church Families A New Year’s greeting (image above) has arrived from the leaders, families, and children at St. Luke’s Youth Center, which had expressed gratitude for a donation last summer to its Camp Imagination. The nonprofit SLYC operates from the former St. Luke’s Episcopal parish on N. Carey Street. SLYC is a collaborative of West Baltimore families working together with friends, neighbors, and partners to provide youth with critical resources, life-enriching experiences, and a safety net of support. If you wish to receive an electronic copy of its program report, please email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. The day camp served about 30 youth from ages 5 to 13 and involved 12 teen leaders and six professional art instructors. Children received more than 60 hours of reading and academic enrichment. The youngsters and their families also benefited from extended days that were made possible by a $500 donation to SLYC approved by the Outreach Commission. The funds came from the Christ Church parishioners’ contributions to General Outreach. Columbia Community Care Moves Indoors for Winter This is a reminder that the all-volunteer organization, Columbia Community Care (CCC) is changing some operations as winter arrives. Starting Saturday, Jan. 8, distribution will move indoors at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd. The Oakland Mills Middle School (OMMS) site will relocate to the Barn/Teen Center indoor space in the Oakland Mills Village Center, 5851 Robert Oliver Place in Columbia. There are no changes for Long Reach, which is already indoors at Long Reach Village Center, Suite 9, 8775 Cloudleap Ct. Saturday hours are the same as before: 10 a.m. to noon for recipients, and volunteers and donation drop-off beginning at 9 a.m. There will be no Wednesday hours. You’ll find updates such as requests for volunteers posted in the CCC Facebook Group. At Christ Church, members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission ask parishioners to continue supporting CCC by collecting diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items and adult diapers. Please put any of these items in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. You can drop off items on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sunday. FISH Continues its Request for Cookies, Crackers, and Snacks As the New Year begins, organizers for FISH of Howard County continue to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill shopping lists. They also say thanks to Christ Church for its response to their earlier needs, which produced an adequate inventory of household cleaning supplies and personal items. The bin is on the breezeway near the door to the Parish Hall. 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.

Today is the Second Sunday after Christmas. Collect of the Day: O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Readings for today: Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 84:1-8 Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a Luke 2:41-52 Today's Sermon: The text for father Manny's Sermon can be read here. Today's Worship Livestream: Today's service bulletin can be found here.

I am sure many of you have heard this aphorism: “It doesn’t matter how you start, what matters is how you finish.” There are different variations, like “The end justifies the means.” “It doesn’t matter how you begin; it matters how you end.” “It doesn’t matter where you start, only that you begin.” “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you don’t stop,” Confucius said. Ecclesiastes 7:8 notes “The end of a matter is better than its beginning.” All of these sayings point to the assumption that the beginning of anything - a journey, an endeavor, or a situation may not necessarily matter. It is the end that matters. I hold a contrary view, although not entirely. I have been in different situations and experiences where the beginning of an endeavor matters even more than the end. I have experienced failures because of a haphazard start and so I cannot emphasize enough the value of starting right. Take, for instance, our recent decision to host a refugee family from Afghanistan. This wasn’t part of our plan at the beginning of this year - we were actually trying to survive the year because of the pandemic. However, as we can all attest, life’s circumstances are such that we make adjustments and embrace new challenges to which God may be calling us. Resettling a refugee family is a huge undertaking, and so it was imperative that we start this right. For that reason, we engaged each other in a series of meetings to discern what God might be calling us to do. Those meetings prepared us for the eventual decision to sponsor a family. The excitement, for me, is that because we committed ourselves to a right start, not only did we cover all the basics, but we can also now count on a couple of churches who have joined in partnering with us. On Tuesday, we welcomed our family. As humbling as this whole process has been, my heart was filled with gratitude; it was exciting driving the family of four with Deacon Denise from Glen Arden to Ellicott City. It was a great delight to see Patricia and Paula welcome the family to their new home. I am comforted by the fact that not only were we doing the right thing, but we also had that right start. We are now a couple of days away from the beginning of a new year. Each new year opens up with the blessing of a new you. We challenge ourselves with some resolutions - perhaps take on a new hobby, or maybe lose weight, plan to exercise more often, take on some additional volunteer opportunities, give generously and cheerfully, spend more time with family and loved ones, and many more than I can ever list. The point in all of these resolutions is for us to make the right start, not necessarily without a goal in mind, but with the assurance that even if we don’t reach the goals we have set for ourselves, we can at least get credit for starting right. If you recall the creation story, God did start right. At the end of each day, God looked over what He had accomplished in that day and pronounced that it was good. The beginning of each day was as important as the end. In that same way, the beginning of a relationship with God, and with anyone, is as important as the enduring life of that relationship. Granted, we more often go on a detour, where our actions and inactions can cause great pain and disappointment to God and those we love. But the good news is that God in no way abandons His relationship with us, and so should we not abandon our relationship with those who have hurt us deeply? In spite of all our sins, God continually brings meaning and depth to His relationship with us. And even when God reconciles us to Himself in death, that relationship lives us on. Remember what Paul said: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As we cast our minds back to the beginning of this year, you will agree with me that many are the moments of joy, sadness, loss, grace, faithfulness, sickness, doubt, disappointment, tragedy, with triumphant high moments and lonely low moments that many, including you, have known. A few days ago, I learned about a devastating fire at the home of our beloved parishioners. We can only imagine the sense of loss that they feel and the task of reorganizing their lives. My heart goes out to Steve and Linda. Within the devastation of this great loss is our joy in welcoming in our midst a refugee family of a mother and her three sons. The good news in all of our high moments and low moments is that we’re still here, and at every single turn of our lives, God manifests His goodness towards us, and so we are never left comfortless. For that reason, the radical invitation has always been to give thanks, in all things, and in all situations. I read elsewhere that “Life is like a book, some chapters and pages are sad, some happy and yet, some exciting, but if you never turn the page, you will never know what the next chapter has in store for you.” And so whichever way you began this year, remember that you cannot pray the past away. What you can do is to turn the page, and start right in this new year. With that, I wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. I pray that you will be filled with the spirit and goodness of God. I pray that God’s love and grace will continue to fall upon you like the morning dew. Above all else, I pray that you will start right. Happy New Year! Manny

Refugee Ministry: GREAT News to Share! As we mentioned last week, Christ Church's Refugee Ministry has been matched with a refugee family of four: a mother, age 46, with three sons, ages 20, 19, and 17. A team of people has been busy preparing their townhome in Ellicott City for a move this week. We encourage all to join us for our Zoom gathering this Thursday, December 30th at 6:30 p.m. to learn the latest on this important ministry and get the latest on how the moving process is going. Email us for the Zoom details: info@christchurchcolumbia.org. We’re excited to meet and get to know this family and will be sharing more information in the coming weeks. If you’re interested in learning more or want to know how to help, please contact Jan DeBoissiere or Cherryllynn Williams. And if you'd like to donate to help support the Refugee Ministry, simply visit Realm and select "Refugee Ministry" from the Fund dropdown menu. Thank you. Friends of Sabina Shares Progress Toward Meeting Urgent Sanitation Goals The students and teachers at Sabina Primary School in Uganda have a lot to look forward to in 2022, as plans take shape for a major improvement in water and sanitation at their campus. Leaders of the nonprofit, Friends of Sabina (FOS), have kept us up to date on their goals, most recently during a virtual fundraising program on Dec. 8. “We are so grateful to all who have donated and shared Friends of Sabina's message. THANK YOU for helping to improve the water, sanitation, and hygiene at Sabina,” leaders Ann Marie Davis and Maria White wrote in a Dec. 29 email to supporters at Christ Church. Watch a FOS video on YouTube about 2021 progress and the need for crucial upgrades. For more than a decade, the Outreach Commission at Christ Church has backed efforts at the school and, as you may recall, hosted FOS leaders during a Zoom coffee hour last August. The commission has routed a parishioner’s donation of $137 for Ugandan students’ education to the campaign for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (W.A.S.H.) as other parishioners are considering their personal support. FOS announced this week that it has raised $48,166 of a goal of $80,000, thanks to its donors’ generosity as many consider personal support for the New Year. FOS hopes to meet its goal before students return to school in January after nationwide shutdowns due to the pandemic. Sabina teachers and staff members have taken education packets to students' homes to keep them engaged in learning during the pandemic. Through Outreach, Christ Church also supports the Sabina library; it serves as a community center in a rural part of Uganda called the Kyotera District. Using Vestry-approved funds derived from your contributions, Christ Church pays for internet service and for the salary of the librarian, Richard Tumusiime. Columbia Community Care Takes Off New Year’s Day, Moves Indoors for Winter Please spread the word that the all-volunteer organization, Columbia Community Care (CCC) is taking a holiday break and changing some operations as winter arrives. All sites are closed on New Year’s Day: Saturday, Jan. 1. Starting on Saturday, Jan. 8, distribution will move indoors at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd. The Oakland Mills Middle School (OMMS) site will relocate to the Barn/Teen Center indoor space in the Oakland Mills Village Center, 5851 Robert Oliver Place in Columbia. There are no changes for Long Reach, which is already indoors at Long Reach Village Center, Suite 9, 8775 Cloudleap Ct. Saturday hours are the same as before: 10 a.m. to noon for recipients, and volunteers and donation drop-off beginning at 9 a.m. There will be no Wednesday hours, as the Dec. 29 distribution at OMMS was the last mid-week operation until Spring (see photos on this week's Outreach blog). At Christ Church, members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission ask parishioners to continue supporting CCC by collecting diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Please put any of these items in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. You can drop off items on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sunday. FISH Continues its Request for Cookies, Crackers, and Snacks As the New Year begins, organizers for FISH of Howard County continue to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill shopping lists. They also say thanks to Christ Church for its response to their earlier needs, which produced an adequate inventory of household cleaning supplies and personal items. The bin is on the breezeway near the door to the Parish Hall. Lake Elkhorn Middle School Update We have been in contact with Principal Melissa Shindel and she is so grateful for all that Christ Church has done over the last year (i.e., money for field trips and staff shirts, food for families in need, school supplies) and she welcomes our support in the future. That support may be a bit different this year as food for families is being handled through the county. Furthermore, because of the inability to go on trips due to the pandemic, there is money left in the field trip budget for this year. However, Melissa is hoping that we will be able to assist with parent workshops that will be held over the school year in the evenings. The school is partnering with the Council of Elders whose mission is to support the Black community. They are hoping to present workshops on specific topics relevant to families that struggle. Melissa would love it if we could provide Grab and Go dinners (due to COVID restrictions) for those meetings, and projects that there will be about 30 people attending. We will be in touch with you once we have definite dates for these workshops after the winter break. Melissa may discover that there are other ways that we can help as the school year progresses. There is no doubt that this is a severely under-resourced school and our help is crucial to provide these children with an equitable school experience. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions, by emailing us at lemspc@christchurchcolumbia.org. We look forward to working with you over this school year. ~Mary Vail and Cathy Whittaker, Co-chairs of the Lake Elkhorn Middle School Committee 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.