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Epiphany 2007 Newsletter
From the Rector
Dear Friends in Christ,
The reality is that New Year's resolutions have a mixed success record for many of us. What I have been thinking about recently is whether or not most of us pay any attention to the opportunities a new year presents in terms of our faith and its growth. Here are a few suggestions we could embrace in 2007. My conviction is that God's extravagant blessings will be ours as we continue to seek and follow Him.
1) Commit to attend church on a weekly basis. Make it a priority. Better yet, come to the worship service AND the education hour. Worship and education are critical aspects to spiritual growth. For January and February, the adult group is studying the importance of understanding the purpose and message of the Bible.
2) Commit to a private devotional time on a daily basis. Reading through passages of the Bible and Prayer Book is tremendously enriching. If you want some suggestions on how to get going on this, please feel free to contact me.
3) Commit to participating in a small group for fellowship and learning. There are five groups meeting on a regular basis; each of them would be delighted to welcome additional people. Contact the church office for more information about times and places.
4) Commit to inviting people to come with you to church. We have a lot of wonderful things happening here, and there are a lot of people who aren't part of any church family who would benefit from ours.
5) Commit to participate in a mission opportunity this year. Elsewhere in this newsletter is some additional information about possibilities locally and internationally. Commit to go, to pray, to write, and to support each other as we continue to reach out to the world around us with the Gospel (Good News) of Christ.
6) Commit to helping out around the church. A healthy community of faith has all sorts of people doing all sorts of practical, tangible things to serve each other and to serve the Lord. So, consider helping teach a class, or arrange flowers, set up the altar, visit shut-ins, paint a wall or room, fix something, clean the kitchen, be an usher...Be creative, and let us know what your ideas are.
As we move full speed ahead into 2007, my prayer is that each of us will resolve to continually seek to know, love, and serve God in every area of our lives. I am aware that there are many things competing for our attention, time and energy. I trust we will have wisdom to discern what the most important things really are, and the courage to commit to doing them.
Blessings,
John Whitnah
From the Director of Student Ministries
Christ Church and Summer Missions '07
The new year is finally here and we have been busy planning some great opportunities to share the love of Christ in 2007. This year we will be serving locally, nationally, and internationally with trips designed for different ages and experience levels. Please take some time to look at the adjacent chart and pray about how God might be calling you to get involved with some sort of missions work this year. The response sheet below is a way for you to give us your feedback about opportunities you are interested in or ways you would like to help. Your quick response will help us make plans and decisions which better serve the needs of our parish. Thanks!
Ben Roberts
Potential Christ Church Mission Trips: Summer 2007
| Trip |
Dates |
Target Age |
Target Number |
Estimated Project Costs |
Trip Leaders |
Description |
|
The Hartford Project (Greater Hartford Youth Network) |
June 24-28 |
Youth ages
12-18 |
6-10 |
$150
Per person (Self-funded) |
Ben and Karyn Roberts |
A short immersion trip into Hartford to help serve local ministries and better understand the city. |
|
Gateway Mission Home Build |
One week in July-August |
Youth (12+), Families, Adults |
10-15 |
$900
Per person
$5,000
Home Cost |
Dave Barros |
A week long construction trip in Juarez , Mexico . The team will complete a home for a needy family.
gatewaymissiontraining
.org |
|
Belize School Build (SAMS) |
July 10-24 |
Youth 16 and older, interested adult leaders. |
10-12 |
$1,250
Per Person
$6,000
Cost of school building |
Ben and Karyn Roberts |
A level two trip designed for adults and youth seeking a more stretching experience. Team will work on building a school and will work with children.
www.sams-usa.org |
|
Gulf Coast Clean up
(SAMS) |
Anytime after April 15 |
Youth, Families, Adults |
10-15 |
$600
Per person |
TBD |
A week long trip helping to clean out homes ruined by Hurricane Katrina and ready them for repair.
www.sams-usa.org |
|
New Britain Build |
Summer-Fall |
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |
Peter McClintock
Bill Ferrigno
Tom Seddon |
Continue to work with family served in the Habitat Builder?s Blitz. |
|
Five Talents Int'l |
Summer-Fall |
Adults |
1-3 |
TBD |
TBD |
Working with Five Talents in Africa to teaching business principles to
micro-loan recipients.
www.fivetalents.org |
|
Solar Light for Africa |
July 12-28 |
Youth 17-18 |
1-3 |
$3,500 |
By application to Solar Light for Africa by Feb 1. |
A three week trip installing solar panels in Uganda . solarlightforafrica.org |
Missions Training Opportunities Spring 2007
|
Name |
Location |
Dates |
Description |
|
South American Missionary Society (SAMS) Short-Term mission training Program |
Pittsburgh, PA |
February 17-19 |
Training for team leaders to help them prepare their teams for serving on a SAMS mission trip. www.sams-usa.org |
|
New Wineskins for Global Mission Conference 2007 |
Ridgecrest, NC |
April 11-15 |
A conference offering speakers, workshops, and training on missions strategy and opportunity within the Anglican Communion.
www.newwineskins.org |
Christ Church Summer Missions 2007: My Response...
Name ________________________________________________
Best Phone Contact _____________________________________
E-mail ________________________________________________
After discussing summer missions possibilities I...
(please check all that apply)
Would like:
___ More Information
___ A phone call from Christ Church Staff
___ A phone call from a past missions Participant
Would like to be part of the summer missions support team by:
___ Making a commitment to pray for participants
___ Making a financial contribution
___ Writing notes of encouragement to participants
___ Joining a team to help raise outside financial support
Would consider participating on the following trips this summer:
(Please number in order the trips you are interested in)
___ The Hartford Project
___ Gateway Mission Home Build
___ Belize School Build
___ Gulf Coast Clean-Up
___ New Britain Build
___ Five Talents International: Africa
___ Solar Light for Africa
Questions/Comments
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Christian Education
Thank You!
...to all who participated (behind the scenes and "out in front") in both the Christmas Pageant and the Epiphany Pageant. These short dramas helped us visualize two of the stories surrounding the birth of Jesus, and would not be possible without the commitment of all participants. On behalf of the children and adults who enjoyed these plays, we appreciate their sacrifice of time during the busy holidays.
Looking ahead...
We have set a tentative date for this year's First Communion education and celebration. Saturday, May 5 will be a day for parents and children to come together to learn the history, meaning and traditions of Holy Communion in the Episcopal Church. A celebration will follow during the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, May 6. Although these dates are not yet set in stone, we would like to make a final decision on the date soon. Please check your calendars now and let me know of any conflicts.
Initial plans are beginning to take shape for the 2007 summer program. I am looking for people interested in brainstorming ideas and plans. There is much to be decided upon and done before the winter gets too far ahead of us. For more information please contact me at the office (673-9630) or at home (678-8807).
Cyndy Bezz
News from the Treasurer
Happy New Year to everyone at Christ Church ! We are finalizing our financial statements for 2006, which will be presented at the annual meeting on January 28. The past year ended up better than anticipated, but still with a $6,000 short fall. Thanks to everyone for your support last year.
I think it is important to give you a quick snapshot of 2007 as we prepare for a new year with many challenges and opportunities. Some of our biggest challenges are replacing pledges from families who have moved and absorbing the financial cost for our Youth Ministry Program, which was paid for by special donations for the first year.
Because of these challenges and others we asked parishioners to consider a minimum 15% increase in their pledges for 2007, for a projected pledge total of $250,000. (The reality is that this is still about $25,000 short of operating needs.) As of this week, we have received pledges totaling $204,800. This is a good number so far, and I'd like to thank those who have pledged. However, we've heard from only about 40% of the members of Christ Church --we'd love to hear from the rest of you! We need to make up these shortfalls if we are to continue with the momentum we have built here at Christ Church .
There was a missions meeting last Sunday and somewhere between 35 and 40 people attended. (This number did not include many of the teenagers who will participate in these trips.) The enthusiasm is wonderful as many people are motivated to be involved in God's work at Christ Church .
The question that I have is how do we carry that enthusiasm, or interest level, to running our day-to-day operations? We need to be excited about the fact that we can pay our oil bill and our groundskeeper. We have to appreciate that it costs money to plow snow, (well, most years!). We all benefit from the programs that we have implemented at Christ Church but we all need to understand that we have to pay the staff for all of the programs to succeed.
The reason we ask you to pledge funds to support our daily operations is so that we can all focus on taking advantage of the wonderful programs Christ Church has for all ages.When you look at all we've done together, it is clear that God has brought us together for a purpose. Many families pledge their support. Many families give but don't pledge. Unfortunately some neither pledge nor give consistently. I do know that everyone in our parish family benefits from being a member of this family.
Our Stewardship process this year has been one of celebration for those benefits. If you can, please pledge your support in 2007 and in the future so we can continue to grow our programs and so we can all continue to be nurtured by doing God's work. Thank you. Feel free to contact me anytime.
Dave Barros, Treasurer
675-8880
norransridge6@aol.com
Parish News
The Giving Tree
Thank you to all who participated in this annual "gifting" of children who are in need of love and support. Here is a copy of an e-mail forwarded to us by DCF social worker Melissa Garden, which she received from one of the last-minute families in crisis that so many of you rallied to help just before Christmas:
I'd like to send a warm heart felt thank you from my family. We greatly enjoyed all the presents and warm wishes.
Due to the situation my family is now in, I must say I did not relish the upcoming holiday season. But thanks to you, and the kindness of others, I have been able to hold my head up and have faith and joy in my heart. To see the smiles of my children, no amount of thanks can cover.
Please tell everyone THANK YOU from the Johnson family! God Bless you all.
Academic Update
Congratulations to...
...Lauren Whitnah, who has received a Master's Degree in Medieval History from Oxford University . Lauren's degree was "with distinction," the only such description among her class. Wow!
...Tom Seddon, who has successfully defended his dissertation at the University of Hartford 's Hartt School of Music. Tom now has completed his doctorate.
...Nina Whitnah, who has been accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Wenham , Massachusetts . Nina will spend some time on campus, but most of her work will be on a practical level in the parish as she studies Spiritual Formation.
Did You Know?
The staff has committed to praying together for the parish family during 2007. We meet weekly for Morning Prayer and will include several (5-6) households in our prayers each week. We will send you a notice a week in advance so you may forward specific requests to us if you would like. (You can be assured of confidentiality.) And, please feel free to join us any Friday morning at 9 a.m.
Communicator Deadline
The next deadline for article submission is Friday, February 2, 2007 . Please submit your information to the parish office by e-mail, fax, or in person. Thank you.
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Notice of Annual Parish Meeting
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Following the 10:00 a.m. service
The agenda for the meeting will include:
1. The election of officers and Vestry members for 2007;
2. Presentation of the parish budget for 2007;
3. Recognition of the service of outgoing officers and Vestry.
Please join us for this important part of parish life.
We will make arrangements for childcare.
Kathleen Bullard
Parish Clerk
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