 March 31, 2020
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Book of Common Prayer, p. 137 Dear Hearts, This is the message that I said I would send yesterday. Won't bore you with details of my battle with an ill-performing tablet. Onward: Thanks to responses I received from the invitation to help shape Sunday's Intercessions: Our prayers are asked for -- Carl -- who is gravely ill Winnie Z. -- a newborn in intensive care (and her parents) Jim Rae -- recovering following hospitalization Jennifer, Robert & James May they know the healing power of Christ's love. For those who have died, including Tom Taylor May his family know the consolation of Christ's love, and may light perpetual shine upon him. And for those among the saints in light, including: Jeanne, Bob, Dolores, & Ed May they go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service. Please continue to hold in prayer: Madeline Hubbard, Kelly Gatto, Paul Dostie, Lois Sawtell, Hope Sperry, Bob van Marx, Kelly, Joanne Neel-Richard, Dave Kurcharski, Nancy Cairns, Fred Murphy, Margaret Smith, Philomena, Justin, Bob Augur, Jean, Virginia Maioriano, Florence Clark, Linda, Michael Sandrey Also: Linda Brouard, June Chittick, Charlie Koncz, Anne Christofferson, Mark Scott, Angela Goodfellow, Maria, Bob, Olivia, Lois, and Jo. Please also remember: St. Luke’s School & Church in Martel (Haiti) Our Sunday School's Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser for St. Luke's, previously scheduled for March 29, has been postponed. . To add names for next Sunday's intercessions, please send them to YFNR at [email protected] with any details you care to share. Names will then move to the "continuing" list for 30 days, and the longer term list upon request. Spaghetti Sauce with Meat Balls Chef Antonio worked in the Parish Hall kitchen on Monday, and planned to finish today to prepare his fabulous spaghetti sauce with meat balls. For those who made reservations, yours will be available in containers for pick-up in the parish hall kitchen refrigerator on Wednesday, April 1 (No Foolin' !) from 10am. to 4p.m. Remember: No noodles, just the sauce with meatballs. If you requested delivery, you can expect to receive your delivery on Wednesday. Many thanks to Chef Antonio, to Senior Warden Susan Leonard for handling reservations and organizing deliveries, and to the drivers! Wednesday Evening Prayers Please join our livestream evening service of prayer and music on Wednesday, April 1 at 7p.m., The service will begin with the Order for Evening and continue with the Great Litany -- which the Prayer Book recommends as a separate devotion during Lent. An online bulletin will be available by Wednesday morning. Thursday Morning Bible Study will resume this Thursday, April 2, 9:30-10:30a.m. on Zoom. We will resume our study of Paul's Letter to the Romans There are no prerequisites! Here's the link to our online conversation: click here: Participation by telephone is also possible; I'll send the connection number on request. Spring Yard Clean-up Thanks to all of you who have signed up to tidy a portion of the Church Yard. I think we are all looking for ways to be outside while maintaining that crucial physical distance. Leaf bags will be provided inside the Parish House center door. Please remember to bring your own equipment with you. You can find the Friday letters from our Bishops, +Ian Douglas and +Laura Ahrens, by clicking here, and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's Covid-19 Resource Page here. There are all sorts of online services being offered around the diocese, as well as from Washington National Cathedral. Speaking of Washington National Cathedral, I hope you saw the news about the cache of those crucial N-95 masks that the Cathedral's longtime stonecarver recovered from the Cathedral's crypt. The Cathedral had stockpiled them after a previous viral epidemic. After being cleared for use by the manufacturer and the CDC, the Cathedral donated 5,000 masks to two Washington, DC hospitals. Read more here. Here's a prayer that I included in a recent sermon. It was very important to me when I was critically ill in 2007. You'll find it in the section of prayers for use by and with people who are ill. It seems so appropriate for all of us in the days of this crisis. This is another day, O Lord, I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. It I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen. BCP, p. 461 And again, if you are sheltering-in-place and need assistance with picking up groceries or prescriptions, please be in touch with the Parish Office. Fellow parishioners would gladly do the go-fer-ing for you. . Be well, say your prayers, and wash your hands, Harrison+ YFNR p.s. Reminders for Wednesday evening's online worship:
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 March 29, 2020
Dear Hearts In the ongoing effort to adapt to our changing circumstances during the Covid-19 threat, I am going to "try on" a change in this letter. (Bishops Douglas and Ahrens often encourage us to "try-on" new ways of "joining Jesus" in our neighborhoods; so here's one of mine.) My thought is that this pre-Sunday message could serve as an on-line version of the announcements that we are used to finding in Sunday's bulletin. The topics will be listed at or near the top, and then appear in the same order below beginning in bold type.
Thanks to all of you who gathered online for our 10a.m. worship on Sunday, March 22! I appreciate that this was an occasion for both worship and learning about the live-streaming technology. Major thanks to our Music Director Mark Sullivan for setting up and managing the system! Thanks also to audio-guru Chris Robinson for adjusting our sound system to better support our worship. We plan to gather again as a worshiping community at 10a.m. on Sunday morning via Facebook Live. Sunday Worship: Intercessions Let's "try-on" a different way of adding names and concerns to our intercessions. Please reply to this message with the names and concerns that you would like to add to our Prayers of the People. I will prepare the prayers on Saturday evening, and then will send the Prayer List to you on Monday to include in your prayers during the coming week. Sunday Worship: Participants and bulletin In response to our Bishops' and Governor's admonitions, in-person participation in Sunday's service will be limited to lectors, intercessors music leaders, and oh, yes, clergy. Instead of picking up a service bulletin on your way into worship, please download the PDF bulletin for Sunday's service; this week's includes the texts of the readings, as well as the lyrics of the hymns. Find a link to it on our website homepage: www.christchurchguilford.org. Wednesday Evening Prayers We are also going to "try-on" a Live-stream evening service of prayer and music on Wednesdays, on April 1 and 8 at 7p.m., The service will begin with the Order for Evening and continue with the Great Litany -- which the Prayer Book recommends as a separate devotion during Lent. Although there will be an online bulletin, this may be the time to take advantage of Church Publishing's offer of a free download of PDF English and Spanish versions of the Book of Common Prayer. Church Publishing has other resources also available online at no cost. Check it out here. Thursday Morning Bible Study will resume this Thursday, April 2, 9:30-10:30a.m. on Zoom. We will resume our study of Paul's Letter to the Romans, a letter he wrote to a community of Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, years before he was brought to Rome under arrest. There are no prerequisites! Here's the link to our online conversation: click here: Participation by telephone is also possible; I'll send the connection number on request. Spaghetti Sauce with Meat Balls Chef Antonio has offered to make his fabulous spaghetti sauce with meat balls for parishioner households! It will be available in containers for pick-up or delivery on Wednesday, April 1 (No Foolin' !) No noodles, just the sauce with meatballs. Unless you have already placed your order with a Vestry Member, please contact Senior Warden Susan Leonard at [email protected] with your name, number of servings and whether you'd like it delivered by parish volunteers (thanks, gang!) to your doorstep, or want to pick it up between 10a.m. and 4p.m. from the Parish Hall kitchen. First-ordered first-reserved.. Spring Yard Clean-up Look for a Sign-up Genius message in your inbox for a different sort of clean-up of the Church Yard. I think we are all looking for ways to be outside while maintaining that crucial physical distance. Cleaning up around the church building and the parish house provide just such an opportunity. You/your household will be invited to take-on a particular portion of the yard at a time when you will have the whole yard to yourself. Although leaf bags will be provided, please bring your own equipment with you. You can find the Friday letters from our Bishops, +Ian Douglas and +Laura Ahrens, by clicking here, and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's Covid-19 Resource Page here. There are all sorts of online services being offered around the diocese, as well as from Washington National Cathedral. At the Bishops' Wednesday morning Zoom meeting with clergy and wardens, they talked about services that they will be leading online during Holy Week, but weren't ready to make announcements. We're being flexible as we develop a schedule for Holy Week with Christ Church. And again, if you are sheltering-in-place and need assistance with picking up groceries or prescriptions, please be in touch with the Parish Office. Fellow parishioners are willing to do the go-fer-ing for you. . Be well, say your prayers, and wash your hands, Harrison+ YFNR p.s. Reminders for Sunday's online worship:
 March 21, 2020
Dear Hearts How many times have we all said, "I'll be with you in spirit." For some reason, we're not able to be physically present, but we want friends and family to know that we care about them and whatever is happening in their lives. We're all finding ourselves in that place today. As a parish, a town, a state, a nation, and a community of nations, we can't physically be with one another as we would like, all because of the serious risk of Covid-19. Fortunately, we live in a time when we have options to gather via other means: Whether by such traditional means as written notes and personal telephone calls, or via email, and a whole bunch of online resources, we can remain present with one another. And so, we plan to gather as a worshiping community at 10a.m. on Sunday morning via Facebook Live. And in the days to come, we will gather to do the work of the parish, and, perhaps for study and discussion, via Zoom. For today, it's enough to finish getting ready for OnLine Worship. From our experience on Friday with the Devotions At Noon, we learned several things. Thanks to those of you who participated and offered your feedback. The organ sounded great! (Thanks Mark! "A Mighty Fortress" just about had me tears!). I learned that my sotto voce asides did not work; and I need to consistently use my outdoor voice. The camera will be moved closer to the chancel, and its volume adjusted. The feedback we received also indicated that the sound quality was improved by listening over external speakers or with headphones. About the volume: As I discovered with my laptop and tablet, some of you may need to adjust the volume at TWO places on your device. Yes, there are two places that determine the total sound volume:
In case you miss our service, it will be available on the Christ Church Facebook page following the livestream. The service will also be available on the Christ Church YouTube channel on Monday. You will be able to access them via our parish website: www.christchurchguilford.org. As you can tell from the calendar panel, our 8a.m. service has been suspended until further notice. I have been in touch with everyone who participated last Sunday. As you can also tell from the calendar panel, all of our in-person gatherings remain suspended or postponed. However, we will start to move our parish life online on Monday. The Finance Committee will have an online meeting on Monday at 6p.m. via Zoom. We also hope to have a Vestry Meeting online this week. Tyler Jarvis, our Director for Children & Youth Ministries, has sent another terrific message to our Sunday School and youth families including the popular "Sunday Paper." It's too good to keep it to the children alone. I'll be forwarding it to the whole parish on Sunday. Thanks for the 41 bags of personal care items, plus underwear, for the vulnerable folks served by Chapel-on-the-Green in New Haven! These bags are still being received in the Rectory Keeping Room whenever the driveway door light is on. You can find the Friday letter from our Bishops, +Ian Douglas and +Laura Ahrens, by clicking here, and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's Covid-19 Resource Page here. In their letter, our Bishops encourage us to take the gravity of our situation seriously. One of the first people to die in Connecticut from a Covid-19 infection was an Episcopalian, a longtime and beloved pillar of St. Mark's Church in New Canaan. They also encourage us to practice maintaining physical distance and developing social and spiritual closeness while remaining apart at least through May 10. So, yes, we will begin thinking about how we're going to follow Jesus to Jerusalem for Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter in new ways. Among the things we can do in the meantime are to be in touch with one another via the technologies available to us. If you're wondering how someone is doing, call them on the phone, or send them an email message, or write them a note to mail via USPS. The Parish Office can help with numbers and addresses as needed. Also, if you are sheltering-in-place and need assistance with picking up groceries or prescriptions, please be in touch with the Parish Office. Fellow parishioners are willing to do the go-fer-ing for you. . Be well, say your prayers, and wash your hands, Harrison+ YFNR p.s. To get ready for Sunday's online worship, please be sure that you have also done the following:
 March 20, 2020
Dear Hearts, We plan to be on Facebook Live today Friday, March 20 at 12 noon for a brief test for livestream worship with the Daily Devotion "At Noon." Prayer Book, page 138. •The Friday noon Facebook Live livestream will begin at 11:50 (the service will start at noon). •The livestream should appear in your regular news feed, just like any other post from Christ Church (assuming Christ Church has been ‘followed,’ click on ‘home’ on your facebook page). If it does not appear right away, refresh the news feed by clicking on ‘home’ again, or refreshing your browser window. •After the livestream is over, it will be available as a video on the Christ Church facebook page; it may be some time afterwards before it is available. •The Sunday Facebook Live livestream will begin at 9:50; the prelude (which is 8 minutes long) will begin at 9:52. • If anyone experiences a problem with the livestreams, do not hesitate to contact Mark afterwards at [email protected] (Mark will unfortunately not be available to help with problems during the service). We want to do everything we can to make this a smooth and painless experience for everyone! Several parishioners have volunteered to do grocery shopping and/or drugstore pickups for folks who need to self-isolate at home. If this would be helpful to you, please respond to this message, and I'll make the connection.. As you can tell from the calendar panel, all of our in-person gatherings remain suspended or postponed. However, the Finance Committee will meet via Zoom conference call on Monday at 6p.m.; we are investigating setting up a similar platform for a Vestry Meeting. As I wrote yesterday: If you don't have a Prayer Book at home, this would be a good time to become acquainted with BCPonline.org. If you click on" The Daily Office," and then "Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families," you will find brief, one-page devotions for "In the Morning," "At Noon," "In the Early Evening," and "At the Close of the Day." I'm especially fond of the one for the morning which closes with this Collect: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. . May God grant us grace to respond creatively and prayerfully to the current health crisis, Harrison+ YFNR  March 19, 2020
Dear Hearts, We plan to be on Facebook Live this Sunday morning for the 10a.m. service. To get ready, there will be a brief test with the Daily Devotion at Noon on Friday, March 20, at yes, 12 noon.
Will videos of our Sunday services, or portions of them be available on YouTube? Yes, but not until Monday. You will be able to access them via our parish website: www.christchurchguilford.org. We will be preparing a bulletin for Sunday's service that you can follow at home on-line or to print out. The bulletin will come with my next e-letter to you on Saturday. Our Bishops, +Ian Douglas and +Laura Ahrens, will be sending out what is becoming their weekly letter on Friday, and I'll also include a link to that and how we might respond. Can you come to the church building for Sunday's service? I don't recommend it. We were five at the 8a.m., and 23 at the 10a.m. service on Sunday, March 15. And we were dispersed widely throughout the worship space. I'm not going to lock the doors on Sunday, but I recommend that you worship with us from home: I especially urge those in households with members who have compromised immune systems or who are otherwise at elevated risk to worship with us at home. As you can tell from the calendar panel, all of our in-person gatherings remain suspended or postponed. Tyler Jarvis, our Director for Children & Youth Ministries, sent a terrific message to our Sunday School and youth families including the popular "Sunday Paper." It's too good to keep it to the children alone. I'll be forwarding it to the whole parish. Feel free to continue dropping off your filled zip-lock bags for our ECW's Lenten Service Project in the Rectory. A collection bag is available inside the driveway door whenever the porch light is on. Copies of Bishop Barbara Harris's memoir, Hallelujah, Anyhow! are available in the Rectory entry hall for $15, and on Kindle for $10.69. Whether or not you've participated in our Lenten conversations about Bishop Harris' life and witness as an African-American and as the first woman to be ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion, I commend to you the series of interviews with her available on YouTube. Start with this one by clicking here: Lent Madness is a light-hearted, yet inspiring, daily Lenten practice. You can follow it online by going to LentMadness.org. If you subscribe, you will receive it Monday-Friday in your inbox. If you vote each day, you will also get to help decide who will "win" the Golden Halo for Lent this year. If you don't have a Prayer Book at home, this would be a good time to become acquainted with BCPonline.org. If you click on The Daily Office, and then Dailly Devlotions for Individuals and Families, you will find brief, one-page devotions for "In the Morning," "At Noon," "In the Early Evening," and "At the Close of the Day." I'm especially fond of the one for the morning which closes with this Collect: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. . Take care, say your prayers, and wash your hands, Harrison+ YFNR p.s. a correction: Bishop Chane was with us in May 2011.  Dear Hearts,
Some of you may remember the message of Bishop John Bryson Chane at our Celebration of New Ministry in May of 2010. "Be nimble," he said at least five times during his charge to you and to me. Our current circumstances certainly call on us to, "Be Nimble!" In response to the changing circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, our Bishops strongly urged additional measures in a letter sent early yesterday (Friday) evening. So, being nimble, we will:
Tyler Jarvis, our Director for Children & Youth Ministries, will be sending materials to Sunday School and youth families including the popular "Sunday Paper." Parents can read this with their children, and the children can color the images to their hearts' content. Mark Sullivan would appreciate hearing from volunteers with up-to-date I-Phones to Livestream our Sunday Services on at least March 22 and 29. Mark has the needed tripod, and understands the directions offered by the ECCT Resources website. Please be in touch with him at [email protected] After consulting with Senior Warden Susan Leonard, I am suspending weekday meetings that I would normally chair or lead. Please check the updated calendar to the left for details. As noted in yesterday's message, the Bishops' staff at The Commons have created a page for Covid-19 Updates with links to the most recent messages from our Bishops and the Presiding Bishop. You can find it here. Again, I especially commend to you the March 10 message of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry -- including the moving prayer with which he concludes. Let me underscore that I want everyone who has any concern for their health or well-being to stay at home Sunday morning! Even our Roman Catholic friends have been released from their "Sunday Obligation" to participate in worship in person. No one "has to" attend. Feel free to drop off your filled zip-lock bags for our ECW's Lenten Service Project in the Rectory. A collection bag will be available inside the driveway door whenever the porch light is on. Copies of Bishop Barbara Harris's memoir, Hallelujah, Anyhow! are available in the Rectory entry hall for $15, and on Kindle for $10.69. Whether or not you've participated in our Lenten conversations about Bishop Harris' life and witness as an African-American and as the first woman to be ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion, I commend to you the series of interviews with her available on YouTube. Start with this one by clicking here: Our focus on Bishop Harris' memoir has taken on a sad poignancy: The Diocese of Massachusetts has announced that Bishop Harris died Friday evening in hospice care; this follows surgery to address gastrointestinal distress. The Bishop of Massachusetts' announcement is available here. May she rest in peace, and rise in glory. Lent Madness is a light-hearted, yet inspiring, daily Lenten practice. You can follow it online by going to LentMadness.org. If you subscribe, you will receive it Monday-Friday in your inbox. If you vote each day, you will also get to help decide who will "win" the Golden Halo for Lent this year. Take care, say your prayers, and wash your hands,, Harrison+ YFNR 3rd Sunday in Lent: Game Night Postponed; Introducing Donna Tafel; Keep Calm & Wash Your Hands3/13/2020  March 15, 2020
Dear Hearts, The Family Game Night scheduled for this evening, Friday, March 13, has been postponed to May. Given the sharing of playing pieces and cards that are part of playing games, it seemed prudent to postpone this gathering. We've pencilled it in for Friday, May 15. Our Looking Ahead Group has similarly decided against meeting for lunch this Tuesday.. At this moment, we are proceeding with worship and other parish events with caution. Thanks to everyone for your good humor and understanding with the changes to our customary worship practices: Nods, extra big smiles, and elbow bumps instead of hugs or shaking hands; and receiving only the Eucharistic Bread at the altar. I realize that our Bishops' prohibition on intincting one's communion wafer (i.e. touching the wafer to the wine) seems counter-intuitive, but they're following clear scientific evidence. In worship, we have plenty of room to maintain "appropriate social distance," and we don't typically exceed the State's advice against gatherings of over 100 people. In fellowship, we also have plenty of room, and a pressurized sanitizer for cups, plates, and flatware. The Episcopal Church in Connecticut has cancelled or postponed gatherings that would bring large numbers of folks together from across the Diocese. The Commons staff has created a page for Covid-19 Updates with links to the most recent messages from our Bishops and the Presiding Bishop. You can find it here. I especially commend to you the March 10 message of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry -- including the moving prayer with which he concludes. I trust you are taking the precautions in the News: frequent and thorough handwashing, (I'm singing "Jesus love me ...") covering nose and mouth with tissues or elbow when coughing or sneezing; staying home if ill, minimizing casual contact (shaking hands, hugging), etc. I also encourage you to take seriously the cautions about limiting your exposure if you are among those considered vulnerable due to age and/or health conditions. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Donna Tafel to our Parish Office. Donna has agreed to take on the challenge of serving as our new Parish Administrator! Donna is just the cheerful, organized and skilled person to fulfill this important role in our parish life. For ten years, Donna served as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, and previously served in administrative roles with national accounting firms. Donna lives in Guilford. When Donna begins this Tuesday, March 17, our Office Hours will move to Tuesday to Thursday, 10a.m. to 3p.m. This reflects the Vestry's decision to try a 16-hour work week for the Parish Administrator as discussed at the Annual Parish Meeting. (Bulletin folding will continue to happen on Friday.) The Parish Administrator's email address will continue to be [email protected]. Even with her skills and organization, please don't expect Donna to be able to answer all your questions on from the first day! Thanks to all who are participating in our ECW's Lenten Service Project! We're being provided with gallon zip-lock bags and shopping lists, and then invited to fill the bags with travel-size personal hygiene items. The ECW's initial goal was to receive the bags by this Sunday; however, they will be gratefully received when ready. We're continuing our Lenten conversations about African American Bishop Barbara Harris's life and witness, and our study of Paul's Letter to the Romans. Copies of the Bishop's memoir Hallelujah, Anyhow! are arriving, and it is available on Kindle; she covers in brief some of the same material in a video interview -- so we can hear her tell her stories in her own voice. Although Paul didn't leave an "Audible" voice recording of his letter to the Romans, our Bible study helps us hear his concerns about the one-ness of the God of all peoples, and the one-ness of all peoples before God. Feel free to join these conversations! In faith and hope, Harrison+ YFNR 2nd Sunday in Lent: Remember to Spring Forward! Coronavirus Precautions; New-to-us Prayer Books3/6/2020  March 8, 2020
Dear Hearts, Our psalm this Sunday begins this way: I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121.1-2 When we find ourselves up against things outside our control and which appear to pose a possible threat to our sense of being in control, we can respond in anger and fear, or we can choose to renew our trust in God's Providence. As good Anglican Christians, our trust in God's Providence enables us to "Keep Calm & Carry On." We can keep our cool in the midst of a challenging situation, and actively address the specifics of our situation. At this moment, it is prudent for us to actively address the proximity to us of the coronavirus known as "COVID-19." Active cases of the virus have been diagnosed in the states around us. I trust you are taking the precautions in the News: frequent and thorough handwashing, covering nose and mouth with tissues or elbow when coughing or sneezing; staying home if ill, minimizing casual contact (shaking hands, hugging), etc. Earlier this afternoon, the Bishops of Connecticut, +Ian Douglas and +Laura Ahrens, issued "pastoral directions" to Connecticut clergy regarding the administration of communion "to mitigate the spread of COVID-19:" "Beginning immediately, only the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is to be distributed at the altar rail ... in your parish. Provision for those who wish to take the risk of drinking from a common cup should be made by having one station for communicating the wine, separate from the altar rail ... In no cases should intinction (the act of dipping the bread into the wine) be used to receive the wine. So, I will ask one of our chalice bearers to stand at the Children's Altar with a chalice for those who wish to receive the wine by sipping. Please do not put the chalice bearer in an awkward situation by asking to intinct your wafer. The Bishops' pastoral direction is clear: In no cases should intinction ... be used to receive the wine. You can read today's update from our Bishops by clicking here. In it you will read that this admonition is taken out of an abundance of concern for those among us who might be most susceptible to COVID-19. They also make clear that "receiving in one kind" is a complete communion, and that these directions are a temporary measure. Their previous message, which also suggests other ways to exchange the peace, including "elbow bumps"(a personal favorite), is available here. Now let's turn to other dimensions of how we are "Carry-ing On." Some of you may notice that the Prayer Books in "your" pew rack look fresher, in better condition, some almost like new, compared to those with missing pages or broken bindings to which you were accustomed. You can thank Carol & Jude Iovanna, and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT). Carol had inventoried our Prayer Books, indentifying those most in need of replacement. I put her in touch with Matt Handi, ECCT's Operations Manager, who retrieved from storage three boxes of Prayer Books in good condition; these came from parish(es) which had closed. Not even the sleet of February 18th deterred Carol and Jude from retrieving these boxes from The Commons in Meriden and installing the Books in their new homes among us. Many thanks to Carol & Jude! Thanks to all who are participating in our ECW's Lenten Service Project! We're being provided with gallon zip-lock bags and shopping lists, and then invited to fill the bags with travel-size personal hygiene items. We've begun our conversations about African American Bishop Barbara Harris's life and witness, and our study of Paul's Letter to the Romans. Copies of the Bishop's memoir Hallelujah, Anyhow! are arriving, and it is available on Kindle; she covers in brief some of the same material in a video interview -- so we can hear her tell her stories in her own voice. Although Paul didn't leave an "Audible" voice recording of his letter to the Romans, our Bible study helps us hear his concerns about the one-ness of the God of all peoples, and the one-ness of all peoples before God. Feel free to join these conversations! Please remember to "Spring Forward" before you go to bed Saturday evening, March 7. Daylight Savings Time begins in the wee hours of Sunday, March 8. I trust you don't want to be late for Sunday's worship, Rectory Forum, and Faith Formation and InReach Meetings. In faith and hope, Harrison+ YFNR |
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