Felix's Ordination; Hosting Chapel on the Green; Vacation Bible School Gratitude

June 29, 2019
Dear Hearts,

"God-willing and the People consenting," Felix Rivera will be among those ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons on Saturday, June 29.  The service will begin in Christ Church Cathedral, (45 Church Street, Hartford, CT), at 3p.m. "The People consenting," noted above, quotes the question that one of our bishops will put to those assembled in the Cathedral:  "Is it your will that N. be ordained a deacon?"  So, it is important for those of us who have participated in Felix's internship, to respond, "It Is(!),"  We will also be asked if we will support him in his ministry as a deacon, and we will have an opportunity to pray for him, and for his ministry as a deacon..

Felix is one of two candidates for ordination as a deacon; there are six other candidates for ordination to the "transitional" diaconate.  This latter group have a call to the priesthood, but need to first serve as deacons for a period of time. So with eight scheduled ordinations, you can see that it would be a good idea to allow plenty of time to park and find a seat well before 3p.m.  The Cathedral is located across Church Street from the Hartford Stage; parking should be available in the Stage's garage.  The Cathedral does validate parking tickets.

On Sunday, June 30, we will celebrate with Felix as he lives into the liturgical roles of a deacon.  These roles of intercessor, proclaiming the Gospel, setting the table, and sending us into the world, point to the deacon's ministry on the margins.  Deacons stand between the fellowship of the Church, and the sorrows and needs of the larger community, and call us out to respond to those sorrows and needs.

We will continue the celebration in a reception for Felix in the Parish Hall, hosted by the Vestry.

"Hosting," "setting the table," and responding "to the sorrows and needs of the larger community," are all dimensions of our ministry with Chapel on the Green.  We will be hosting this Sunday's service and lunch with our neighbors and friends from St. John's Church, North Guilford.  Together, we'll set the table for the Great Thanksgiving, and then with food for lunch and for later.  We will also share your gifts of sunscreen and lip balm to ease the rigors of life for those living on the margins of New Haven's plenty.

To get ready, we'll be making at least 70 sandwiches and baking a bunch of brownies on Saturday morning, June 29, beginning at 10a.m. in the Parish Hall.  The makings are all ready to be assembled; if you'd rather drop off your own brownies those will be welcome, as well.  On Sunday, June 30, we'll gather at 1p.m. to pack-up and carpool into New Haven to get ready for the service behind Trinity Church.  If you can help prepare food on Saturday; that'd be great.  If you can help serve on Sunday, that'd be great.  If you can do both, that's doubly great!  Thanks for all the ways you support this ministry.

Earlier today, June 28, we finished up a great week of Vacation Bible School.  Through Bible stories, related crafts and songs, we learned anew  about Daniel, Queen Esther, the Good Samaritan, the Ten People with Leprosy, and the Walk to Emmaus; We were invited to "Go beyond" what we can think or imagine with Faith, Boldness, Kindness, Thankfulness & Hope.  Although the crafts have all been taken home, you can check-out the pictures and the graphics still hanging in the Parish Hall.  See if you can make the connections between these good words and the stories. 

Many thanks to Page Pelphrey and Donna LaFata  for leading our VBS!   They inspired a group to enact each day's story, found the materials for the crafts, and made sure we didn't run out of snacks..  Mark Sullivan led the music: you can ask the kids if "All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir"?  .  Our middle and high school helpers, Keelyn, Natalie and RT, were great at corraling the youngsters' energy, serving snacks, leading playtime, and providing one-to-one assistance as needed..  The additional  theme-word was FUN!

As this week of Vacation Bible School progressed, Page was also packing up all your kind donations for a week of Vacation Bible School in the Dominican Republic.  Page, Keelyn, and the rest of the Connecticut crew (plus one from Wyoming!) leave on Saturday from JFK.  Let's be sure that our prayers go with them!

At Wednesday's Vestry Meeting, Junior Warden Alicia Baconoffered thanks to all those who helped make our parish grounds looks so sharp for our Pentecost picnic, including  Jane & Gene Bishop, Marsha Brown, Sheward Hagerty and Annie Rae,   Alicia's own efforts with the bed's fronting the Parish House are also worthy of praise!

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday morning for sandwich making, Saturday afternoon for Felix's ordination, Sunday morning for his first services as a Deacon, and/or Saturday afternoon for Chapel-on-the-Green In New Haven! .
 In faith, hope, and love,
Harrison+
YFNR