Fr. Harrison's Letter for April 23, 2017

Dear Hearts,

Typically, at least the first weeks of Eastertide are rather quiet. Not with us!  As the calendar shows, the Spirit is blessing Christ Church with lots of energy!

On Saturday, April 22, come with your neighbors and friends for a Soup & Bread Lunch between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.! Like a lot of Guilford, you'll probably already be in the neighborhood shopping the Paperback Booksale at the Guilford Free Library.  Organized by the Evening ECW as a fund-raiser for the Parish Hall project, the lunch will feature crock-pot soups, artisan bread, fruit and desserts prepared by fellow parishioners.

While you all are busy with lunch and books, twelve youth and chaperones, including YFNR, will be on a daytrip to NYC's Cloisters, Riverside Church and Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  This adventure is part of our youth confirmation preparation for this year -- which will also include our usual "last Monday" meeting on the 24th, and Dinner with our Bishops at The Commons in Meriden on the 27th.  Please keep the youth, and their chaperones, in your prayers!

The moniker "Low Sunday" also won't fit our Second Sunday of Easter!  In addition to the resumption of Sunday morning education programs after their Spring Break, two long-desired and much anticipated efforts will roll-out this Sunday:  We now have prepared Name-Tags, and a printed Parish Photo Directory!  The directory will be distributed after both the 8 and 10 a.m. services; only one per household, please. This mammoth undertaking required working across different software platforms; a task that turned out to be much more complicated than first anticipated.  We have Pat Daunic to thank for pulling together this printed version, and Sue Shackford for taking almost all of the photos.  If your photo did not make it into the printed directory, it's not too late:  An on-line version, usable from your mobile phone, will follow soon.

We have Susan Leonard to thank for getting our handsome new name-tags made.  The Rev. Anne Richards talked about these with the Vestry last summer, and, with other members of the In-Reach Committee, Susan did the follow-up work to get them produced and organized.  This Sunday, the In-Reach Committee will introduce the simple system for picking up and returning your name-tag each Sunday.  The photo directory and name-tags will help us all put names and faces together. 

"Promise to Protect:  Pledge to Heal" sums up the "Community Prayer Service for the Prevention and Awareness of Child Abuse" which St. George Roman Catholic Church will host this Wednesday evening, April 26, at 7 p.m.  For this Interfaith service, the St. George clergy will share leadership with a First Congregational Church minister, Temple Beth Tikvah's rabbi, and YFNR from Christ Church.  I hope you will consider supporting this important effort with your participation.

Almost every conversation this week has included gratitude for the inspiring services of Holy Week and Easter Sunday!  While I might rightly deserve the blame when things don't go well, I certainly do not deserve the credit when our worship is as splendid as it was Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.  That credit goes to our Acolytes, Altar Guild members, Chalice Bearers, Lectors, Ushers, and to our Choir and string musicians! 

If you missed Mark Sullivan's moving organ recital during our Good Friday Three-Hour Watch, then I'm afraid you missed an outstanding opportunity for quiet and contemplation.  If you were here on Maundy Thursday and Easter, you know how terrific our Choir's anthems were and how our great was our string ensemble, led by Suky Bryan!  Thanks to our Music Director's creativity, we can all enjoy them over and over again.  You'll find the Maundy Thursday anthem here, and the Easter anthem, accompanied by strings, here.  Please remember to "Like" them, and to "Share" them on your favorite social media platform.

And for the youngest among us, it would not have been Easter without the traditional Easter Egg Hunt.  Thanks to the ECW for providing and stuffing many plastic eggs.  Sunday School Director Laurie Varley prepared the rest and was here early on Sunday morning to organize the hunt.

Our parish grounds were ready for the Egg Hunt, thanks to the Holy Saturday Yard Clean-up organized by Junior Warden Sue Shackford.  Thirteen of us responded, including Brunettis, Bryans, Crossleys, Kay Claiborn, David Kish, David Oshana, Marion Williams, and YFNR.  This crew got so into their labors, Sue had to remind folks to take a break and drink some water!

Grateful for Holy Week and Easter Sunday with you, I look forward to sharing the adventures of these coming days.

​In faith and hope,
Harrison+
YFNR