4th Epiphany Sunday: ECCT-wide Worship; Annual Meeting Plan "B"

January 31, 2021
The first of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's"Fifth Sundays Across ECCT" worship offerings for 2021 will be this Sunday, January 31!Coordinated by our Cathedral, our Bishops invite us to join Grace Episcopal Church in Stafford Springs, Holy Trinity Church in Enfield, and Church of the Good Shepherd in Hartford this Sunday at 10 a.m.  We will worship together in English and Spanish "across ECCT" as these three parishes do routinely.  The Morning Prayer service will be live on ECCT's Facebook pageand ECCT's YouTube Channel.  You can download the Service Bulletin here.
When you look at the order of service, you'll find a very complete service of Morning Prayer with parallel texts in English and Spanish; the service will include a sermon and two familiar hymns.  By participating in these services, we will experience the range of spirituality and worship of our Episcopal sisters and brothers in Connecticut.  The other "5th Sundays" will be May 30, August 29, and October 31.

Prayers in the Garden service will NOT meet again this Sunday, January 31.  The forecast is well shy of our 45 degree threshold, i.e. likely 33 degrees! 

Digital Sunday School for this Sunday was distributed at noon on Friday.  Check out Tyler's introductory video here.  He's got a fascinating angle on Sunday's Gospel that was new to me; I commend it to you, along with his thought-provoking questions, and other links.

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 31 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. 

Wednesday's Order for Evening: We will transfer the Feast of the Presentation, aka "Candlemass," from the 2nd to February 3rd.  The Presentation, forty days after Jesus' nativity, recalls his parents presenting him in the Temple in Jerusalem, and meeting Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:22-40). The prelude begins before 7p.m.; join the livestream service here.

Thursday Bible Study will consider the Passover stories beginning in Exodus 11.  The Passover is one of the pivotal moments in the whole Bible.  Join the conversation, at 9:30a.m. Thursday, February 4,  via Zoom.

Chancel Door Open for Prayers in the Church: We are continuing with our experiment with leaving the door closest to the Guild Room unlocked between 10a.m. and at least 3p.m.  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.  Offering envelopes are on the chancel table for those who requested them.

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.  (The current forecast is for a sunny, cold day; so we may forego the Prayers, and simply do the essential acts needed to fulfill the Bylaws.)
Our Bylaws provide for our Plan B, and it has the support of our Bishops and the Chancellor for the Episcopal Church in CT. 
We plan to have annual reports ready for distribution for the original meeting day, February 7.  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 by Tuesday, February 2.

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, while you remain safely at home.
In the faith, hope and love of Christ,
Harrison+
YFNR