2nd Epiphany Sunday, MLKjr Day, Inauguration Prayers

January 17, 2021

Prayers in the Garden service will meet at 1p.m. this Sunday, January 17.  At least one forecast shows a sunny, if breezy, 45 degrees at that hour on Sunday.  Please dress warmly and remember to bring your mask and lawn chair.

Digital Sunday School for this Sunday was distributed at noon on Friday.  Check out Tyler's introductory video here.  It's all interesting; however, his aside about the Epistle certainly helped me.

Virtual Coffee Hour... is a great opportunity to "see" one another.  The link to YFNR's Personal Zoom Room seems to work well.  So, join the conversation via Zoom this Sunday, January 17 at 11:30a.m. by clicking this link.  If asked, the  Meeting ID: 540 197 1077, and Passcode: 1744AD

Intercessory Prayer: Please send the people, birthdays, anniversaries, and concerns you would like included in the Prayers of the People by replying to these announcements or the "Let us pray" message. 

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day this year is Monday, January 18.  The timing strikes me as auspicious.  Here's the Collect appointed for the day:
Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant
you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: 
Grant that your Church, following the example
of your prophet Martin Luther King,
may resist oppression in the name of your love,
and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reign with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Our vocation, as the Church, to "resist oppression in the name of [God's] love," and to secure the blessings of liberty for all people, continues in the present day.

Wednesday's Order for Evening, on Inauguration Day, will include the Prayer Book's "Litany for Sound Government" and intercession "For the President of the United States and all in Civil Authority," along with readings and hymns appropriate to the day.  The prelude begins before 7p.m.; join the livestream service here.

Thursday Bible Study will begin to read in Exodus about the plagues visited upon Pharaoh and his people to convince him to let the Hebrews go.  Join the conversation, at 9:30a.m. Thursday via Zoom.

Estimate of Giving Cards:
Thanks so much to all who have responded with their Estimate of Giving for our operating budget in 2021!  If you need a card, please respond to this message, and one will be in the mail posthaste!  Offering envelopes are on the chancel table for those who requested them, and may be picked up between 10a.m. and dusk via the door closest to the Guild Room.  Please enjoy a quiet moment of prayer, likely alone, in the church, and pick up a candle stub to light during your prayers at home.

Annual Parish Meeting: February 7, 2021:  As announced in the January Newsletter, "Plan B" for our Annual Parish Meeting will be to convene it in the Garden following our 1p.m. Prayer Service, and then, for lack of a quorum, to recess it until Sunday, June 6.  Our Bylaws provide for this, and has the support of our Bishops and the Chancellor for the Episcopal Church in CT. 
Nonetheless, we plan to have annual reports ready for distribution for the original meeting day.  If you have responsibility or leadership for a ministry or program in the life of the parish, please be writing your report and send it to our Parish Administrator, Donna Tafel, at cecsec@snet.net

The replacement Parish House Door has been ordered, and been backordered.  In the meantime, the current door has been screwed together and may be used.

Thanks to all who are mailing in your offerings!  
Although our in-person connections remain severely limited, the routine of the parish continues in the new year.  Thanks to your faithfulness, we are able to continue our shared life of worship and witness -- even while maintaining appropriate distances.  Please continue your financial support of our common life by bringing your offering to the altar, or the parish office, or by mailing to Christ Church, PO Box 574, Guilford, CT 06437.  Your offering will be presented at the altar; it will be physically present, as you remain safely at home.
In the faith, hope and love of Christ,
Harrison+
YFNR