Garden Service 1PM Sunday; ThanksGiving; ECW Project

Christ the King Sunday, November 22, 2020:

In most of the Prayer Book, this Sunday is called the Last Sunday after Pentecost.  However, with the adoption of the Revised Common Lectionary in 2006, the Episcopal Church added "Christ the King" to Sunday's title -- the name used by our Roman Catholic and Lutheran friends.  The vestments turn to white as we mark the end of one year in the Church's calendar, and celebrate our belief in Jesus as "King of kings, and Lord of lords."

Garden Service Moves to 1PM this Sunday!  Given Sunday's forecasted temperature of 40 degrees at 9a.m. this Sunday, our Vestry recommended that we move the Garden Service to 1p.m.  Given the reality that the surge in the rate of infections has reached Guilford, moving the Garden Service of Morning Prayer into the Parish Hall no longer seems prudent.  You can find the Daily Data Tracker for Connecticut towns here, and the State's recommended responses here.

ECW "New Scholarship Project"
Christ Church parishioners have long supported our ECW's annual home-baked cookie sale during the Tree-Lighting "Chili Supper." Sadly, these events cannot be safely offered this year.  Nonetheless, ECW still hopes to honor our 2021 high school graduates by offering a scholarship to all qualified applicants.  The ECW will again need parishioner support to do this; so they are asking us to send a " Free Will" donation to allow them to continue this program.  They are calling it the "Cookieless Cookie Box" project, because every donor will be thanked with an empty Cookie Box decorated with ribbon, detachable bow and gift card.   Donations will be received through November 29, 2020.  The  "Cookieless Boxes" will be available in the Guild Room for pickup on Saturday, December 5, 2020.  Each box will be labeled with a donor's name.  Those who live out of the area will be sent a Christmas-design gift card holder. 
Donations can be sent to:  Rhoda Whitman, 21 Aberdeen Way, Durham,  CT 06422  Please make checks payable to:  Christ Episcopal Church ECW, and note "Cookieless Box Project" on the memo line.  Thank you in advance for your support.

Thanks for your Thanksgiving Gifts to the Guilford Food Bank:  YFNR was honored to deliver the 34 gift cards parishioners contributed for the Food Bank's pandemic Thanksgiving Meal program.  Remember your gifts to this program when you hear "the king" say in this Sunday's Gospel, "just as you did this to one of the least of these ... you did it to me."
In the same vein, thanks to all who provided Personal Care Bags, or personal care items, for Chapel on the Green!  As it happens, it's not too late to drop those off:  the distribution has been postponed because of infections among New Haven staff members.

Sunday Worship
Our livestreamed celebration of the Holy Eucharist with hymns, vocal solos, and spiritual communion will be our first service this Sunday at 10a.m.  As usual the service bulletin will be available here.
Judging by the forecast, you will want to dress warmly this Sunday for Noon-Day Prayer in the Garden, even at 1p.m.  Enter via the gate off the Town Hall parking lot, and please remember to bring a mask and a lawn chair, and to maintain appropriate physical distances.
The parish received the long-awaited report of the ventilation engineer last week; a Vestry sub-group will discuss the suggested options with the engineer as soon as a meeting can be arranged.  Reports to the Vestry and parish will follow.

Digital Sunday School was sent out just before noon on Friday, November 20.  Don't miss Tyler's pun-filled introduction to Sunday's readings!  How many sheep-puns can you count?  You can watch it here.
In his message, Tyler announces plans for Advent and invites participation in this year's Virtual Nativity Pageant.  Please let Tyler know that your child or grandchild or neighbor-child plans to participate here.  

Virtual Coffee Hour... is a great opportunity to see one another.  The link to YNFR's Personal Zoom Room seems to work well.  So, join the conversation via Zoom this Sunday, November 22 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 and concerns you would like included in the Prayers of the People. by replying to these announcements or the "Let us pray" message.  Please consider this the digital version of the clip board on which names and concerns were written when we gathered for worship in the nave. 

Book Discussion Group:  A Zoom discussion of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, by Isabel Wilkerson.  Hardback copies are available in the Rectory Entry Hall for $25 each.  The author argues that our notions regarding race are fluid, but we internalize the fixed and rigid categories of caste unconsciously.  Discussion is led by the Rev. Mary Anne Osborn; contact her at [email protected]

Order for the Evening on Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we'll commemorate the life and witness of James Otis Sargent Huntington, founder of the Order of the Holy Cross.  The Order's monastery in West Park, New York holds a special place for some in the parish.

Thursday Bible Study will not meet this week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Estimate of Giving Cards:
Thanks so much to the 69 households who have already responded with their Estimate of Giving for our operating budget in 2021!  If you need a card, please respond to this message, and one will be in the mail posthaste!

Thanks to all who are mailing in your offerings!  
Although our in-person connections remain limited, the routine of the parish continues amidst all the ways that support and maintain our common life.  Thanks so much, for your faithfulness in fulfilling your giving estimate for 2020.  Please continue your financial support of our common life by bringing your offering to the service in the Garden, or by sending your offerings to Christ Church, PO Box 574, Guilford, CT 06437.  Your offering will be presented at the altar; it will be physically present, as you remain safely at home.
In the faith, hope and love of Christ,
Harrison+
YFNR