Today is the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. Collect of the Day: 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 the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Readings for today: Zephaniah 1:7,12-18 Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Matthew 25:14-30 Sermon for Today: Deacon Denise's Sermon can be read here. Sunday Worship Livestream:

Christ Church has Launched Our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Drive We have begun our annual collection to help feed families at Thanksgiving, and we’re counting on you to bring goods or make donations. In collaboration with the nonprofit organization, FISH of Howard County, Christ Church once again will provide the menu items for turkey dinners for 30 households. But we are taking safety precautions due to the pandemic. We’ll order the frozen poultry directly from suppliers; for non-perishables, a collection bin has been set up outside. If you wish to remain totally hands off, you can donate toward the costs. Here’s what you need to know: ▪         The Thanksgiving Dinner Drive, which began Nov. 8, will end at noon on Sunday, Nov. 22. Those who wish to drop off items in the outdoor bin may do so curbside, near the entrance to the Parish Hall. You should not need to enter the building unless you encounter a problem with the bin, such as an overflow of items. The breezeway is expected to offer shelter from bad weather. ▪         Needed non-perishables include: boxes of stuffing; jars or cartons of gravy; instant or fresh potatoes; canned or fresh yams; canned vegetables such as peas, carrots, green beans; applesauce; canned fruits such as peaches, pears, fruit cocktail; jars of pickles and olives; cans of cranberry sauce. ▪         You are invited to bring dessert items, but, given their perishable nature, please do so only on the final collection day, Sunday, Nov. 22 until noon. Needed desserts include: pies, pound cake, cookies, donuts, and brownies. ▪         If you wish to donate toward the cost of the dinners, please designate Outreach/turkey dinner online in Realm or mail a check to the office with 'Outreach/turkey dinner' in the memo line. We anticipate the cost of a frozen turkey to be approximately $20. The cost of side dishes for one family’s meal is about $26.00. If we need particular items or have an oversupply of others, we will update everyone in the Gatherings email next Thursday, November 19th. Once again, Shahra and George Toth of the Outreach Commission are leading the drive, but if you have questions, email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.com. The goods will be assembled at the FISH pantry by its volunteers, who also handle deliveries to the families. Thanks to everyone for considering a donation of food or funds to help make this a special Thanksgiving holiday for our neighbors in need. Save the Dates-- Nov. 16 and Dec. 21-- to Help Feed the Hungry at Grassroots On Monday, November 16th, Christ Church once again will provide the evening meal at Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, where 50 people at its live-in facility on Freetown Road are no doubt anticipating a menu of fried chicken, side dishes, and tasty desserts. Co-coordinator Nancy Winchester will be at Old Brick at 3:30 p.m., when volunteers may drop off their contributions safely in the parking lot. Please wear masks and plan to practice social distancing. During the months of the pandemic, this rendezvous has become routine (see photo, above) Nancy acquires the chicken at Weis, meets the other volunteers as they drive up to Old Brick, and then transports the items to Freetown Road for handoff to the staff of Grassroots. A generous donation of $200 from the Women of Christ Church is helping to pay for the chicken. Christ Church has also claimed the slot for the third Monday next month, which means we’ll be providing the Grassroots evening meal on December 21st, so please mark your calendars. Additional volunteers -- and the resulting side dishes, desserts, fruit, and granola bars -- are welcome next week and next month. On their own, parishioners at Christ Church have signed up to provide the evening meal on several evenings this month for the 50 adults and children, so please consider pitching in by picking a date during the remainder of November, or in December, to provide an entree and side dishes. Grassroots encourages an order of six pizzas -- two with cheese and four with meat (any kind), or rotisserie chickens (12 to make a meal, plus sides), but discourages lasagna or other pasta entrees. Another welcome option is takeout from restaurants to help the restaurant workforce. Here is a link to the sign-up list that's maintained by Grassroots. Meanwhile, the Dorsey/Rt. 1 Day Resource Center remains closed due to the coronavirus, except for curbside distribution of non-perishables. 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. DreamBuilders UPDATE We have had to delay our third DreamBuilders Desk Build due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. We will keep you posted of any updates as we have them, or you can regularly check www.dreambuildersmd.org for the latest. Springfield Hospital Christmas Gifts We will once again be collecting Christmas gifts for our friends at Springfield Hospital.  This has been a particularly difficult year for them, as they have been unable to have visits due to the pandemic. Though we haven’t been able to make our usual visits, we will be gathering gifts for them to bring a little Christmas Joy.  If you would like to contribute, we have placed a large container in the Tower Room to accept your unwrapped donations, before December 14th.  If that’s inconvenient, please contact Cathy Gold and we will find a way. heycathy@verizon.net or (410) 440-4178. Baltimore International Seafarers' Center Donations The Seafarers charity is again requesting donations from Christ Episcopal Church. The group is asking for warm hats for men, 2021 Calendars, and copies of the following magazines : Time ; People;  Sports Illustrated; National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Smithsonian, New Yorker, Baltimore Magazine and travel magazines. These items may be placed in the bin marked 'Seafarers'. Because lower brick will be open for drop off and pick up of auction items this weekend, the bins will also be available during those times for donations. Please have your donations in by November 30th. The schedule is as follows: Friday November 13th from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday November 14th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Thank you for your attention to this important community outreach. For anyone who has suggestions about ways to help the community or want to get involved, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

Charles Mojapelo was colorful, charismatic South African, someone who could talk his way out of any problem. It was as if everyone at Yale knew him. He could stand and talk with a student, professor, and staff, and forget that he was already on a mission with another person. Charles simply had time for everyone, but most of all, he had time for me. I met Charles at Yale. He had been at the Yale Divinity School for a few years before I arrived, and so knew his way around town at a time when I did not. A few weeks after our first meeting, he asked if I had been to the cafeteria at the corner of Prospect and Grove Street. I responded that I had not. He went on to describe this elaborate place where you could get any food under the sun. "Can you get some food from Africa?" I asked. "Mehn, what planet are you on? There’s no Africa food. But there’s rice. Different types of rice, and Africans love rice, so there you have it," he responded. "I will take you there," he said. "I am ready, when you’re ready. Let’s go," I said. "By the way, you pay to eat but I eat for free. I know everyone at the cafeteria. I will make you eat for free," he concluded. Charles walked me to the cafeteria, and introduced me to the associate at the cash register: "Hello, this is my brother from Africa. Like me, he is a good guy but doesn’t have money. Let him come in and eat.’" The associate responded, “Oh sure. Come in and eat. You’re always welcome to come and eat.” I was taken aback by his introduction, but thankful for the blessing of being in a cafeteria where I can choose what I want to eat. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked in. I was shocked to see all of the different types of food under the sun! I didn’t know which food to pick. I was so blinded by the variety and richness of all that I saw that choosing what to eat became my immediate burden, although I knew I was at liberty to choose whatever I wanted. Looking back, I have no issues with the idea that life itself as a cafeteria, and the events of the past several days has given me one more reason to think about Charles, the cafeteria at Yale, and life, itself, as being like a cafeteria. Why don’t we all eat the same food at the cafeteria? How can we, if there’s so much to choose from? More to the point, how come the cafeteria doesn't serve just one kind of meal to everyone? This seems very basic, but until you believe at your core that we cannot all have everything at the cafeteria, if you believe that we cannot all believe in one thing, if you believe that we cannot all eat the same appetizer, entrée, and dessert, or even drink the same beverage at a cafeteria, you may not appreciate the richness of your own life’s story of God’s blessed diversity. Many of you have been to a cafeteria before, a place where there is no one dish. There is a variety of dishes, and you do get to choose what you want. If we can learn something more deeply about the recent elections - and most importantly about our own lives - you’d come to realize that life is like being in a cafeteria, in that we get to choose what type of food we want. More importantly - to get what you want, you have to pick it yourself. This choice is at the heart of what it means to be an American, and it reminds me of a story a grandfather told his grandchildren of how he came to live and become successful in America. He told them about the many trains, and the large ship that took him from his home in Eastern Europe. He told them of being processed along with other immigrants at Ellis Island, and how he had gone to a cafeteria in lower Manhattan to get something to eat. He had sat down at an empty table and waited a long time for someone to take his order, but nobody came. Finally, a woman with a tray full of food sat down opposite him, and she explained how a cafeteria works to him: "You start at the end," she said, pointing towards a stack of trays. "Then you go along the food line, and pick out what you want. At the other end, they will tell you how much you have to pay." The grandfather reflected for a moment and said, "I soon learned that this is how everything works in America. Life is a cafeteria here. You can get anything you want - even very great success - if you are willing to pay the price. But you will never get what you want if you wait for someone to bring it to you. You have to get up and get it yourself." You have the glory of making your own choices. People choose one thing today, and choose a different thing tomorrow - and there’s nothing bad about that. People begin from the back, or the bottom, and work their way up the ladder. The triumph of one political party, or individual, over another doesn’t mean the end of that story. Oliver Goldsmith, an Anglo-Irish poet wrote this many years ago: He who fights and runs away. May live to fight another day; But he who is battle slain, Can never rise to fight again. As far as many of us can attest, no one was slain during our recent elections. As far as many of us can attest, no one person was killed in his or her attempt to vote. As far as many of us can attest, the ability to cast a vote is our pride and joy. And being a successful country primarily depends on our ability to vote and change leadership in a legal, peaceful, and transparent manner. The beauty of democracy is that it invariably gives life - even to the vanquished. That’s why Goldsmith’s words ring true…He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day. In so far as you have life, you can fight another day... and so why act as if this is the end of the story? Our collective success depends on our ability to believe that we still have life, and so can work our way back, to win hearts and minds. For me, as far as the elections are concerned, this should be our defining story. Like our ongoing auction and the Christ Church Live Auction this Saturday, we get to make choices like we're at a cafeteria. In that same way, our elections are over. But on the menu at the cafeteria going forward is healing, reconciliation, collaboration, compassion, compromise, brotherliness, and love. On the menu is also bitterness, hurt, hatred, rancor, disappointment, contempt, and disdain. Remember, you can pick what you want at the cafeteria. But if I were you, I will pick the values (the food) that fills, nurtures, and leaves me yearning for more. ~Manny.

Due to updated directives from the Diocese of Maryland and recent increases in confirmed cases in Howard County and elsewhere, Christ Episcopal Church will provide online-only worship until further notice. This is effective immediately, and so we invite you to join us online every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. Father Manny and Deacon Denise will lead us in worship, with hymns and musical accompaniment from our Director of Music, Adam Detzner and Cantor, Kareem Mack. Everyone is welcome to safely worship online as we host these Sunday livestreams on our Christ Church website, YouTube, and Facebook pages. Broadcasts will go live a few minutes prior to the start of service, and the links for the livestream, our Virtual Coffee Hour which follows, and the Sunday bulletin will be in an email sent later in the week. As always, we continue to have Morning and Evening Prayer livestreams each weekday at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Facebook, and on the home page of www.christchurchcolumbia.org We'll keep you informed with updates as we have them. In the meantime, please feel free to email us with any questions at info@christchurchcolumbia.org.

Today is the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost. Collect of the Day: O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Readings for today: Amos 5:18-24 Psalm 70 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Sunday Worship Livestream:

In celebration of the gift of our freedom to vote, and in celebration of our country, Christ Episcopal Church offered a space for quiet prayer, reflection, and worship for members of Christ Church and the community. On Thursday evening, November 5th, a Service of National Unity, Healing, and Reconciliation was held in New Brick, and you can watch that below.

Calling on Christ Church to Make Thanksgiving Dinner Special for 30 Families It’s time to help feed families at Thanksgiving, but with important changes due to the pandemic. FISH of Howard County is counting on Christ Church once again to provide the menu items for turkey or roast chicken dinners for 30 households. This year we’ll order the frozen poultry directly from suppliers; for non-perishables, one collection bin will be set up outside. For those who want to participate but remain totally hands off, you can donate toward the costs. Here’s what you need to know: ▪The Thanksgiving Dinner Drive begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8 and ends at noon on Sunday, Nov. 22. Those who attend worship services during that time period will find a bin in the narthex where you can drop off items on Nov. 8, Nov. 15, and Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ▪Those who wish to drop off items in the outdoor bin may do so curbside, near the entrance to the Parish Hall. You should not need to enter the building unless you encounter a problem with the bin, such as an overflow of items. ▪Needed non-perishables include: boxes of stuffing; jars or cartons of gravy; instant or fresh potatoes; canned or fresh yams; canned vegetables such as peas, carrots, green beans; applesauce; canned fruits such as peaches, pears, fruit cocktail; jars of pickles and olives; cans of cranberry sauce. ▪You are invited to bring dessert items, but, given their perishable nature, please do so only on the final collection day, Sunday, Nov. 22 until noon. Needed desserts include pies, pound cake, cookies, donuts, and brownies. ▪If you wish to donate toward the cost of the dinners, please designate Outreach/turkey dinner online in Realm, put a check in the Offering, or mail a check to the office with Outreach/turkey dinner in the memo line. We anticipate the cost of a frozen turkey to be approximately $20. The cost of side dishes for one family’s meal is about $26.00. If we need particular items or have an oversupply of others, we will update everyone in the Gatherings email on Thursday, Nov. 19th. Once again, Shahra and George Toth of the Outreach Commission are leading the drive, but if you have questions, email us at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.com. The goods will be assembled at the FISH pantry by its volunteers, who also handle deliveries to the families. Thanks to everyone for considering a donation of food or funds to help make this a special Thanksgiving holiday for our neighbors in need. Outreach Invites Parishioners to a County Presentation at the Nov. 9th Zoom Meeting Natalie Hall, who is the CAREAPP Engagement Coordinator with the Howard County Health Department, will give a presentation at the Outreach Commission meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9. Learn more about CAREAPP, which is a Howard County-wide initiative that assists residents with accessing social services and resources. The county is encouraging Christ Episcopal Church to join the CAREAPP network. Information on how to join the meeting by Zoom or by phone will be provided in the Church notices about online activities next Monday. For more information about CAREAPP powered by Healthify and participating community partners, visit www.hccareapp.org. Springfield Hospital Christmas Gifts We will once again be collecting Christmas gifts for our friends at Springfield Hospital.  This has been a particularly difficult year for them, as they have been unable to have visits due to the pandemic. Though we haven’t been able to make our usual visits, we will be gathering gifts for them to bring a little Christmas Joy.  If you would like to contribute, we have placed a large container in the Tower Room to accept your unwrapped donations, before December 14th.  If that’s inconvenient, please contact Cathy Gold and we will find a way. heycathy@verizon.net or (410) 440-4178. Baltimore International Seafarers' Center Donations The Seafarers charity is again requesting donations from Christ Episcopal Church. The group is looking for warm hats for men, 2021 calendars, and copies of the following magazines: Time; People; Sports Illustrated; National Geographic. These items may be placed in the bin marked 'Seafarers' in the vestibule of New Brick. Thank you for your attention to this important community outreach. Please have your donations in by November 30th. To learn more, click here. For anyone who has suggestions about ways to help the community or want to get involved, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

One of our nagging questions is about what the will of God is. How do we know God’s will? How can we tell if something represents the will of God? How do we know that it is the will of God for one person to win an election, or if the candidates who contested are all interested in serving the common good? How do we determine that a good fortune - or even a not-so-good fortune - is the will of God? There is a book by Leslie Weatherhead entitled The Will of God. In the book, Weatherhead makes the claim that God’s will is inextricably related to God’s character and ultimate intentions for us - for you, and for me. That is to say that God’s will for you and I cannot be separated from God’s character. According to Weatherhead, there are three ways in which you can categorize the will of God: Intentional, Permissive, and Ultimate. Begin in the Garden of Eden, where there was absolute tranquility. There was no death, only life. There was a personal relationship between Adam, Eve, and God. These two Biblical progenitors could walk and fellowship in the Garden with God. Humanity was at its most peaceful and harmonious with God. We can look back at that time as the most trustworthy moment of humankind's relationship with God. There was a time when human innocence was such that by following its will was also following God’s will. Adam and Eve did not have to till the land for sustenance. Everything they needed was provided by God. However, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit they were asked not to eat, when they decided to follow their own will was the moment when they rejected God’s Intentional Will for their own. The rejection of God’s Intentional Will was heartbreaking for God. But God did not banish Adam and Eve outright; he still maintained contact with Adam and Eve but developed a new way of interacting with them. It is this new mode of interaction that Weatherhead calls God’s Permissive Will. It is not what God wanted, but Adam and Eve - and, by extension, you and I - had to be permitted to make their own choices. For example, should someone decides to drink and drive and ends up killing someone, that is not God’s Intentional Will, but rather has become God’s Permissive Will. If, for example, someone becomes so upset over the election results that they act on the anger, then that is not God’s Intentional Will, but has become God’s Permissive Will. God had to let us make fateful choices, or we would no longer have free will. Over the past couple of days, many of us have been glued to our television sets, computers, and phones, constantly checking the results of the November elections. This has been one hard-fought battle. You and I may have made different choices, which is God’s Permissive Will at play. We have the freedom to choose our leaders, and so we may choose differently. Each choice, however different it may be, is a valid one and so we should not be upset or sullen just because our choice of candidate did not win. I think one of the fundamental decisions that confronts us is whether we want to walk in God’s Permissive Will or in God's Intentional Will. Our model, when it comes to God’s Intentional Will, is to look at Jesus. Most especially, consider Jesus’ cry in the Garden of Gethsemane where, in agony, he cries “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will but your will be done.” This is the Intentional Will that Adam and Eve could not express in the Garden of Eden. Another example of Jesus’ model of God’s Intentional Will was his love for everyone. He reminded the lawyer, who came to ask about the greatest commandment in the Law. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as yourself. God intended that we love the Creator God and each other. To love God and another is not a Permissive Will but the Intentional Will of God, for there is no inherent choice in it. To put God ahead of our personal desires is to love God. To put the needs of neighbor ahead of our personal desires is to love neighbor - even when we vehemently disagree with our neighbor over politics. Permissive Will guarantees our free will, but with that comes self-centeredness... "The world is all about me," we tend to assure ourselves. But the world has never been about any one person. If our elections were to teach us anything, it is that the world is not all about anyone; the world is all about us. And the choices we make should reflect not only our character, but God’s character. The third will is the Ultimate Will. The Book of Revelations talks about a new heaven and a new earth, which will be just like the Garden of Eden - the very place where we violated God’s Intentional Will. This time, there would not be only two people, but multitudes of people, including you and I, in fellowship with God. Remember, God’s Ultimate Will is that we abide with Him eternally. ‘O how sweet and glorious will it be in that place where there’s no more tears, pain and sorrow.’ I long for that place - that Garden - but I think God also wants us to have a taste of it right here on earth, for that is why He constantly invites us to walk in His Intentional Will and not in Permissive Will. To be honest, God’s Intentional Will may not always be clear to us. But one thing that is always clear to me in my pursuit of God’s Intentional Will is to always be in love with generosity, be in love with justice, be in love with compassion and mercy, and to in love with love itself. For me, it is the one sure way of knowing that nothing comes between my God and me. ~Manny.

In celebration of the gift of our freedom to vote, and in celebration of our country, Christ Episcopal Church will offer a space for quiet prayer, reflection, and worship for members of Christ Church and the community. On Thursday evening, November 5th, a Service of National Unity, Healing, and Reconciliation will be held in New Brick at 7:00 p.m. and you are all welcome to join us. If you want to attend, please complete the registration form here (for contact tracing purposes) and be sure to wear your mask covering mouth and nose at all times while on campus. The service will also be livestreamed on the main page of our website, as well as our Facebook and YouTube pages. We hope that you will all join us, either in person or online.

In celebration of the gift of our freedom to vote, and in celebration of our country, Christ Episcopal Church will offer a space for quiet prayer, reflection, and worship opportunities for members of Christ Church and the community: Tuesday, November 3rd: We will open Old Brick for quiet reflections. We will offer Noon Day Prayer at 12:00 noon and Evening Prayer at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, November 5th: A service of Healing and Reconciliation in New Brick at 7:00 p.m. If you would like more information or are interested in attending, please email the Christ Church Office at office@christchurchcolumbia.org

Today is All Saints' Day. Collect of the Day: Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Readings for today: Revelation 7:9-17 Psalm 34:1-10, 22 1 John 3:1-3 Matthew 5:1-12 Sunday Worship Livestream: November Organ Recital: Welcome to Christ Episcopal Church’s November Organ Recital, presented by our Director of Music, Adam Detzner. You can learn about tonight’s program at https://bit.ly/2TH41vp