Fr. Harrison's Letter for October 2, 2016

Dear Hearts,

Greetings from Tennessee!  I returned to Sewanee this week to hear former Archbishop of Canterbury +Rowan William's lectures at the School of Theology.  More about this below, but first ...

The CROP Walk is this Sunday!  And there are several ways to participate.  You'll be helping relieve the food insecurity of local neighbors, and supporting grassroots development efforts throughout the world: 

1. Sign-up to do the walk on Guilford sidewalks by going to the Christ Church Team page, and click on "Join Our Team" on the right side of the page;
2. Unable to join the walk?  You can support our marchers by making an on-line donation; go to our Christ Church Team page, and click on "Donate" or one of the suggested amounts.
3. Sign-up and/or make a donation on Sunday. Lower tech, but just as effective! 

Beginning in 1969, the " CROP Hunger Walk: Ending Hunger One Step at a Time" is the "granddaddy of charity walks."  You can read more about it and Church World Service by going here.  

I hope all of you Tag Sale leaders, workers, and donors were able to put your feet up this week!. And pat yourselves on the back!  By last Saturday morning, you had turned the Parish Hall, Driveway and Garage into welcoming and well-organized show rooms.  You helped folks purchase all sorts of useful and decorative things; and an amazing portion of your donations did indeed find new homes!  The remainder went to Goodwill, and the IRIS warehouse to set up new homes for refugee families.  Your efforts were a win-win for the parish and our neighbors!  Congratulations!

And where was I during the Tag Sale?  At a "command performance" meeting in Hartford that I think will actually turn out to be useful for our Planning Process.  One fun exercise on that lovely fall day, was for groups of us to fan out in different directions and "walk the neighborhood" around the meeting site (St. John's Church in [just barely] West Hartford);  we were to try to see with the "eyes of God," and discern what "God is already up to."  That might be one "next step" for our Planning Team to consider as they consolidate the insights of our Phase Two HomeGatherings. 

Our seminary-intern Andrew Doss travels to a wedding this weekend; so, the Rectory Forum, for Sunday, October 2, will be a return of "Stump the Rector."  Bring your questions and wonderings about the Church's teaching, worship and shared life.  If you'd care to give me a "head's up," in a reply to this message, I might have a more prepared response. 

If folks are interested, I will have my notes from former Archbishop of Canterbury, +Rowan Williams' lectures on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "From Theology to Politics." But maybe you have a prior question, "What is an Archbishop?"  If you watch royal weddings, Archbishop Williams officiated at the wedding of Prince William and Duchess Katherine, and at the blessing of the marriage of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla. 

Andrew will be back in time for the Tuesday Supper, and next Sunday's reading and discussion of scenes from his play, Song of a Man Coming Through.  

I do highly recommend two on-line videos to you:: 

1. Music Director Mark Sullivan combined the Choir's September 11th anthem with Sue Shackford's photographs from Vacation Bible School, Acolyte and Youth activities, recent baptisms, and Bishop James Curry talking to the children on his last Visitation.  The combination of a lovely -- and beautifully performed -- setting of the 23rd Psalm, with pictures of our youngsters, is truly touching!  You can find it here.
2. If you have wondered what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry means when he talks about the "Jesus Movement," he explains it clearly, powerfully and movingly in a video here.  I will never think of the Gospel Procession in quite the same way again! 

Speaking of Presiding Bishop Curry, this will be my last invitation to sign-up to join your parish delegates for the Convention Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 20, during which Bishop Curry will preach.  After watching the Jesus Movement video, you may decide you want to hear him in person. The sign-up clip board is on the Ushers' Table in the church.  If you decide against making the trek to Hartford, do plan to watch Bishop Curry's sermon here in Guilford: our 10 a.m. service will be a brief service of Morning Prayer, concluding in time for the congregation to move into the Parish Hall for a simulcast of the sermon as it is preached in Hartford. 
In faith and hope,
Harrison+
YFNR
p.s.  For more about Sewanee: The University of the South, click here.  Currently there is a link on this page to Archbishop Williams' lectures.  Oh, and as a local bumper sticker puts it:  "Sewanee Is NOT a River."  Sewanee is "The Domain," the 13,000 acre home for The University of the South, on the Cumberland Plateau near Chattanooga, TN. The University is a ministry of 33 Episcopal dioceses in the southeastern United States.