23rd Sunday after Pentecost: Consecration Sunday/275th Anniversary Lunch; Reports from Haiti & Gaza

November 16 , 2019
Dear Hearts,

All is in readiness for tomorrow's Consecration Sunday observance and out 275th Anniversary Celebration luncheon.  Our Guest Leader, the Rev. Mary Anne Osborn, will preach, and has provided us with special Consecration Sunday Prayers of the People. The Estimate-of-Giving cards are ready for Mary Anne's directions, as she leads us in the Consecration ritual -- where we lay them on the altar.

All worshipers at the 10a.m. service, and those returning from the 8a.m. service, will move directly into the Parish Hall for our Celebration lunch.  Diana Stovall's set-up crew have creatively prepared the Parish Hall;  the tables are beautifully set!  Part of our celebration this year is Christ Church's 275 years of worship and witness to the love of God in Guilford.  You'll find around the room Pat Daunic's splendid history timeline. Additional thanks to Richard Formica, Katherine Frydenborg and Bob Donahue.  I trust it will not be lost on anyone, that we have inherited a wonderful heritage, and it's up to us to respond to God's call for our own day. Just as previous generations gave sacrificially of their time, treasure and talent, that call comes to us today.
.
You may have heard about the disruptive demonstrations and social unrest in Haiti, and about the latest resurgence of violence in Gaza.  You can read about the situation in Haiti here.  But you should also know that in Martel, the life of St. Luke's School & Church continues.  The Rev. Sam Owens, founder of the NY Haiti Project, who was with us in March, reports that although a group of New Yorkers had to cancel their travel to participate in the St. Luke's Day festivities in Martel, the community there went ahead as planned.. "Despite the complete shutdown of the country, the church was full. ...  Fr. Phanord [reported] that the worship was especially lively and spirit-filled. "You see the "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1.5)

In the midst of the hostilities in Gaza, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem's Ahli Arab Hospital remains an outpost of mercy and compassion to the injured and traumatized who need its medical services.  John Lent, Executive Director of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, visited Ahli Hospital last month, and communicated with its own director during the current crisis.  You can read his report here.

Many thanks to our Sunday School students and Youth Programparticipants for their leadership in last Sunday's 10a.m. service.  We all enjoyed seeing our youngsters excel as lectors, intercessors and ushers, as well as leading us in "their" service music and presenting the elements at the Offertory.  Of course, we also need to thank their adult mentors, teachers and parents, who coached them so expertly.  Thanks also to our Sunday School parents for hosting such a hearty Coffee Hour!  Thanks to Keelyn Ervin and to Page Pelphrey for their report on last summer's Vacation Bible School Mission in the Dominican Republic, and for inviting more young folks to consider this opportunity.

If you were not present last Sunday to pick up "your" "Carnations for Heroes," they are still looking fresh on the table in the Rectory's Keeping Room.  Thanks to the ECW for organizing this recognition of the service and sacrifices of our Veterans and First-Responders.
. 
I look forward to sharing our Consecration Sunday observance and 275th Anniversary Celebration Lunch with you tomorrow..  
In faith, hope, and love,
Harrison+
YFNR.
p.s. If you have access to HBO invite family and  friends to watch Jen McShane's new documentary Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops with you on Tuesday, November 19, at 9p.m.  Or get yourself invited somewhere that has HBO access.  It's that good in telling the story of two San Antonio Texas police officers who successfully de-escalate tense situations with people in acute mental distress, and get them into treatment instead of jail or emergency rooms ill-equipped for mental crises.  A lot of Guilford folks, including YFNR, happily trekked into NYC on Thursday and Friday to see it at the NY Documentary Film Festival and East Village Cinema.respectively.  We all highly recommend it!