Christ Episcopal Church
Weekly E-News for January 14, 2018



Rector's Message

     
Dear Friends,
 
 This week we will have the Annual Meeting at 9:45 a.m., an opportunity to hear about the challenges and opportunities that we are facing as an institution. We will also be electing two new vestry members and are delighted that Mary Bish and Meridith Cullen Abalos are running for election. Both of have come to the church in recent years and both bring great gifts and abundant enthusiasm to the work of the vestry.
     
 
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THIS SUNDAY'S WORSHIP



Sunday, January 14, 2018 

Please note modifications 
to our service times due to the 
Annual Meeting 9:45-11:15.



Download Rev. Susan's sermons 
from our  sermon archive
                                
 



and Hot Breakfast!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 14
9:45-11:15 NCR

Discussion of Annual Report
Election of Leaders for 2018

Help save on costs by downloading a copy of the Annual Report  here. 

MessageContinued
Rector's Message Continued


The real work of the parish is led by the vestry but actuated by the members of the committees, currently: Outreach, Buildings & Grounds, Fellowship, Communications and Finance. Those standing committees meet monthly, plan events, oversee activities of the parish, and engage with me and the vestry throughout the year in the actual work of the parish.
 
Those committees are re-formed each year at the vestry retreat and even though the names of the committees might remain the same, the goals and objectives of each committee are changed by the vestry as a whole. On the vestry retreat, the entire vestry takes a look at the parish and its needs and also assesses how each committee might contribute to the overall health of our community.
 
It is only after the goals and objectives are formulated that vestry members rank their preference for committee work. The wardens and I take the preferences of the members and construct a leadership chart for the coming year. That enables people who may have changing interests and passions to lead new committees.
 
In that same way, membership on the committees is not static. The new or existing chairs of the committee take the new goals and objectives of the committee and decide who might be best able to help them achieve those goals. Once each committee has compiled a "wish" list for its leadership, the vestry has a draft with each committee picking its membership. If one person is chosen by Committee A, the Committee B cannot invite them to join.
 
This system does a few things. Most importantly, it keeps committees from being static either in membership, leadership, or goals. It offers an annual opportunity to welcome new members, to reassess its purpose, and to rethink such basic questions as when it meets. This enables a regular time for new members to join a committee and also offers long-time members an opportunity to become engaged more deeply in an area of the church in which they may have less expertise. Sometimes it is the newest member of the committee that asks the questions that needs to be asked, or offers the perspective that unlocks a new way of resolving a long-standing issue.
 
It is my hope and expectation that each committee will try to hold on to valuable leaders from the previous year's work. Each year there are those members whose passion, expertise, or professional contacts make them an indispensable member of a committee. But sometimes, it is that very passion, organizational skill, or artistic ability that makes them attractive to another committee!
 
If you are asked to become a member of a new committee, please treat that invitation as an affirmation of your gifts by a new group. Give serious thought to finding out what this committee's purpose is and ask the chair why you were invited to join. It may be that your gift of communication, your passion to serve those less fortunate, or your care for children may be the very reason that you were chosen for a new committee. Give it a try: It is, after all, only for a year!
 
Thinking of committee memberships as transitional responsibilities is, I grant you, a new way of looking at our responsibilities in the church. I believe, though, that it reinforces the strength of our community by providing increasing opportunities to share in the work of Christ Church.

 
Blessings
Susan

 Copy of Christ Church Annual Report

 
 





Notes for Sunday, Jan 14

HOT BREAKFAST AND 
ANNUAL MEETING
AT 9:45 AM

Hot Breakfast

Please Join Us!

 8 am Rite 1 Eucharist
9 am Family Service
9:45 am Breakfast & Meeting
11:15 amChoral Eucharist


Rev. Susan will present the 
Rector's Report  at each of the Services.  
 
Discussion of all reports will take place 
at the meeting from  9:45-11:15. 
 
Download your copy of theChrist Church 2017 Annual Report  
 

 Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast

 
Friday, January 19, 2018 at 7:15am
Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie New York
Tickets are $60.00 per person
Please call the parish office to reserve a seat: 845-452-8220
 
Please drop a check off or mail your check to the parish office at:
20 Carroll Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(Make the check payable to Christ Episcopal Church;
or Catherine Street Community Center, Inc.)
   


 
Dutchess County Interfaith
Story Circle 

Monday, January 15 7:30 pm

Temple Beth-El 
118 Grand Ave.
Poughkeespie
 
 

   
Contact Us


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