Good Shepherd Sunday, Mother's Day, Poetry Retreat

4th Sunday of Easter, May 8:
Good Shepherd Sunday & Mother's Day
 
Poetry Retreat for Eastertide ...
... will be offered Saturday, May 7 from 1:30-3:30p.m. in the Parish Hall  We will explore Easter themes through poems curated by Cecelia Parker.  All are invited to reflect on the hope of new and Risen Life offered in The Resurrection, as well as the lower-case resurrections in our lives.

The 4th Sunday of Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday.  We pray the 23rd Psalm, and read Jesus identifying himself as a shepherd in a portion of the 10th chapter of the Gospel according to John.  Being the second Sunday in May, the 8th is also Mother's Day.  Thanks to the participation of many, our ECW is placing roses on the altar to honor and remember women significant ton our lives, individually and as a parish.  They, too, are/were shepherds to us after the pattern of Jesus.  
Meet & Greet Bishop Nominees This Week
Opportunities to "Meet & Greet" the nominees are scheduled across Connecticut starting Monday, May 9 through Saturday, May 14.  You can find the links to watch online or register to attend on site here.  You can learn about the nominees here. Four were nominated by the Bishop Transition Committee, and one was added by petition.  Please keep this process, the nominees -- The Reverend clergy Glenna Huber, Jeffrey Mello, Kate Morehead, Tanya Wallace, and Whitney Altopp -- and the Committee in your prayers.
     Christ Church will be represented at the Special Convention to elect our next Bishop Diocesan by parish clergy, Delegate Bob Donahue, and Alternate Susan Pogue standing in for Delegate Gabrielle Johnson who cannot attend.  I'm inviting them to join me in conversation with you during Coffee Hour on May 15 and in a Zoom chat on Monday, May 16, to hear your reactions, thoughts and questions.

Women's Reproductive Health & the Episcopal Church
In the event that the leaked draft of Justice Alito's opinion in the case from Mississippi, has you wondering about the Church's teaching with regard to Women's Reproductive Health, it is summarized here.  This is a classic Anglican example of the Church seeking a middle way:  to both honor the sacredness of human life, and to respect the dignity of women making informed healthcare decisions. 

Growing Hope: Forging Peace Events at 
Camp Washington
May 13-14, Youth Event for middle and high school students
     Youth will gather at Camp for an evening of engaging conversation with our keynote speaker, Shane Claiborne, beating guns into garden tools around the forge, group art projects, and time to chill and talk around the campfire. Saturday morning includes breakfast & time to wrap up our work from Friday night, as we welcome the larger community to join us for a day of testimony, reflection, experience, and action.
     See HERE for more information or to register.
May 14, All Ages Event for God's Folk Weary of Gun Violence 
We will gather around the forges as we transform guns into gardening tools and art, and hear from victims and survivors of gun violence, as well as, Shane Claiborne- our keynote speaker, who will offer words of change.  Thoughtful conversations will address mental health, safe gun storage and suicide prevention. We will offer our hurts, hopes and dreams to God in song and worship, and end our day with a picnic lunch. Further details and registration are available here.

Our "Journey Through the Bible" Continues
We are still on "The Path" through the Epistles, but our conversations have diverged.  Our Monday evening conversations will conclude on May 9th with Chapter 24, "The Alpha & the Omega" and the Epilogue.  Our Thursday morning conversation has returned to an earlier pattern of reading passages together and then discussing them; so the Thursday group, is still in Chapter 22,  "Grace May Abound," or as one participant called it, "Paul's Greatest Hits."  Feel free to join the conversations on Monday at 7p.m., and Thursday at 9:30a.m.    Click here for the Zoom.
     Copies of The Path are available on the Ushers' Table and the Rectory Entry Hall shelf.  

Special Requests from the Guilford Food Bank
The Food Bank requests help with the items below. Please leave your donations in the bin by the the north (Town Hall-side) door to the Narthex. Thanks for helping our neighbors in need.
Baked beans, Canned tomatoes, Pasta Sauce, Cooking oil, Household cleaner, Laundry detergent, Paper towels, Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Muffin mix, White rice  

Communion in "Both Kinds" Has Returned
As previously announced, on Easter Sunday we began offering the option to receive the consecrated wine at communion.  Worshipers may take a sip from the shared chalice, or from an individual communion glass.  To avoid crowding, the administration of communion continues at the foot of the chancel steps.
Our Bishops strongly urge us to continue refraining from intinction as we have practiced it -- note the 7th paragraph here.  They also underscore that receiving in "one kind" is full communion. 

Need an Antigen Test?
The Town provided Christ Church with a case of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests.  These tests are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the Ushers' Table and in the rectory entry hall.

Mask Protocols ...
... in Worship:  Mask-wearing became optional during inside gatherings of Christ Church beginning March 24.  This was on the recommendation of our Worship Options Group adopted by the Vestry as they followed developments closely including this guidance from Bishops Douglas and Ahrens beginning in the third paragraph. 
... in Sunday School:  Following the practice in the Guilford Public Schools, mask-wearing is optional -- always exercising special concern for any who are vulnerable.

Intercessory Prayer:  Please help shape the Prayers of the People, by replying to this message with the people, birthdays, anniversaries, and concerns you would like included in the Prayers of the People.