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The Chimes

A bi-monthly newsletter of Christ Church

Aug. 1st, 2026

We are a joyful community celebrating Jesus Christ. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.

Sunday Worship Service begins 9am

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Calendar of Events


Mondays Free Chair yoga 6 pm

2nd Tuesday of the Month- Vestry 6:30 pm 

2nd Wednesday of the Month - Outreach 6 pm

Thursdays - Women’s AA (closed meeting)

3rd Friday - Game Day 10am

1st Saturday of the Month - Veteran’s Breakfast 8:30 - 10

- Remaining Saturdays Free Chair yoga 9:15 am

  • Harvest Festival - next meeting is June 30 @ 6:30 pm



*NOTE- Yoga is back to Monday nights at 6 and

Saturday Yoga had been on hold but will start again 7/11.


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We are sad to report that Fr. Phil's son recently passed away. An update will be sent when arrangements have been made. Condolences may be sent to:

The Rev. Phil Jacobs

12 Antassawamock Rd.

Mattapoisett, MA 02739

Safe me a seat


Sue Carvalho

 

Whenever we travel back to Massachusetts we try to take the opportunity to make a Sunday service at Christ Church. This year we will be up for a family wedding in late October. If we get the opportunity to go I know what pew I plan to sit in. I think it is about 8 or 9 rows back from the front on the right hand side. I will grab the book of Common Prayer and open it up to see who donated the book. If it says it was donated by Elizabeth (Betty) Traynor then I will know I am in the right pew. This is the pew she sat in for decades. I know because I used to sit directly in front of her. She was usually there ahead of me so it was easy for me to find my seat.

 

She will be missed. I enjoyed our pre service conversations. You always knew where you stood with Betty. I loved that about her. I am glad that I knew her for a few decades. She loved things done properly, she always enjoyed a great cocktail, loved her dog Abby, all the students she knew, the warm sun she felt on the back patio of her home and being a good Episcopalian. They don't make them like her anymore. She also was what I refer to as the matriarchs of Christ Church. The strong, proud,brave and caring women of Christ Church. The ones I learned the best life lessons from.

Another matriarch I will miss is Pauline Doane. She worked until she was in her 80’s. Talk about strong…she was amazing to me. She helped my husband with the first Audit that Christ Church had. She also was the Treasurer for the Harvest Festival for decades. She was a 8 oclocker so we rarely were in church together. She went to our wedding and every year thereafter always sent us an anniversary card.

There were a few times at church when there was some controversy and she was always there to support. Church first. I always felt she was a trailblazer for the younger women. She always knew how to pick herself up and keep going.


God I will miss Betty and Pauline. I am thankful and grateful to have had these women in my life for as long as I did. 




UPDATE: A memorial service is being planned for our beloved Betty. Details will be announced as they become finalized.


Vestry Meeting Report June 2026

*Reminder-vestry notes may only be released for publication after they have been voted on during the following month's meeting.


Vestry meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month and are open to all Christ Church parishioners.

Christ Church was well represented at this year’s Pride Fest held at the city gates in Fall River on June 7th.

The Bible study held here was well received and there are plans to do more in the future.

Confirmation took place on May 31st in Cambridge. Congratulations to all our newly confirmed!! Certificates will be handed out at this week’s service and cake will be served at coffee hour to help celebrate!

We look forward to having some work done in our cemetery area by some scouting volunteers needing to do community service.

Mother Billie is looking for some people to join our Pastoral Committee.



Upcoming Events

·        The next Harvest Festival meeting will be Monday June 30th at 6:30. There are several positions left to cover. Please see any Vestry member if you can help.

·        Book/Bake Sale will be on June 13th from 9 to 3- Books are now being accepted

·        The Outreach committee will sponsor a Food Drive on June 20th from 9 to 1

·        Celebrate Dad this year with Lobster!!

o  A Lobster Roll sale will take place on June 21st after service. Orders will be taken until June 17th.

o  Take away include a Loster roll, Chips, Cole Slaw, Cookie and Water all for only $20.00!




Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Grace, Clerk of the Vestry




Vestry News

Time is flying by! Before we know it, February will be here, and we will gather for our Annual Meeting.


At that time, both Wardens—Dave McCarthy and Jen Valiente—as well as our Clerk, Sandy Grace, will be completing their terms of service. We are grateful for their dedication and faithful leadership.


If you have ever considered serving in one of these important roles, we encourage you to reach out to Dave, Jen, or Sandy to learn more about what each position entails. They would be happy to answer your questions and share their experiences.


Serving on the Vestry is a meaningful way to support the ministry and future of Christ Church. We hope you will prayerfully consider whether God may be calling you to serve.


In Addition

We need to start training an assistant Treasurer now to learn the role and perhaps take on the position of Treasurer in February. Sue Sheppard will be completing her 6-year term limit (with our appreciation for her dedication). Please prayerfully discern helping Christ Church in this important role.



Please pray for our search committee members:

Chairperson-Shirley Stasiowski, Julia Baker, Leslie Buxton, Pam Kirkpatrick, Alisha Nadeau, and Julie Sanders


Christ Church Search Prayer

Almighty God, look graciously on the people of Christ Church. Be with us and lead us as we seek the next rector for our church. We ask your direction and guidance for those who shall choose our new spiritual leader, that we may receive an upright and faithful pastor who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries.

Grant us perception, faithfulness and joy, so that we may hear your voice in all our deliberations. Grant us also the desire and the ability to truly hear each other and those who have entrusted us with this process. Give us courage to respond and act as you lead us. We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen



Upcoming Events

 SUNDAY SCHOOL CALENDAR


Stay tuned for Summer meet-ups!

The next Veteran's Breakfast is August 1st

 8:30-am-10am.

All veterans and a guest are welcome!


Harvest Festival To-Do List


  • We need parking attendants for the festival day.
  • Please inform us of donations of vegetables.
  • Now accepting Gift Basket Donations.
  • Yard sale items may be dropped off the week of the festival. 
  • We are now collecting books.


Please speak with Jen Valiente or Sue Baker if you are able to volunteer.

What's Happening Around the Diocese


Reflections for Invite Welcome Connect Ministry Teams Returning to the Program Year,

a suggested reading from our Diocese


Summer is winding down. Schedules that stretched and wandered are snapping back into shape. The choir is returning, the Sunday school teachers are dusting off lesson plans, and the coffee hour volunteers are restocking the parish hall kitchen. For Invite Welcome Connect ministry teams, this is one of the most energizing moments of the entire church year—a genuine fresh start, charged with the Spirit's possibility.


And yes—it can also feel a little daunting. Maybe momentum slipped over the summer. Maybe a key team member moved away. Maybe you tried something last spring that didn't land quite the way you hoped. Maybe the team is wondering where to begin.


Here's the good news: Every one of those challenges is a doorway. In her book Invite Welcome Connect: Stories & Tools to Transform Your Church, our Founder Mary Foster Parmer writes that "often, the obstacle raises the curtain to reveal an opportunity."


That is exactly the lens through which to begin this program year—with clear eyes about what is hard, and with wide-open hope about what God is about to do.

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Save the Date: ECM’s 182nd Annual Meeting

📍 St. Andrew's Church, Framingham, MA

📅 Saturday, October 10, 2026

🕘 Program: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM


Join us for Episcopal City Mission’s 182nd Annual Meeting with the theme: Reckoning, Resisting, and Reimagining Together


You are invited as a member of our community existing at the intersection of faith and action. With other lay, ordained, and community leaders, join us in hearing stories of spiritual reckoning and resistance work throughout Massachusetts, and together, we can dare to build a future where all of god's children of every faith, color, and ancestry are treated with dignity, with the resources to thrive, not simply survive, and prosper in the land they call their home.


📌 More details to come. Registration will open soon—stay tuned!


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Deanery Parish Retreat

Registration is still open for the 2026 Parish Retreat, taking place from September 25th to 27th at the Prindle Pond Conference Center's Hilltop Facility. You can register until September 1st. Registration forms are available in the church.


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Sunday Worship

9am Holy Eucharist

Office Hours

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10am-3pm

508-678-0923

Messages are checked.

For more exciting pictures, please check out our Face Book Page

https://www.facebook.com/christ.church.swansea.57

Christ Church

57 Main Street,

Swansea, Ma 02777

christchurchswansea@yahoo.com




Interim Priest

The Reverend

Billie Mae Gordon

billiemaegordon@gmail.com.


Co-wardens

Jennifer Valiente, Co-Warden jvaliente21@yahoo.com


and


David McCarthy, Co-Warden Ernh3@aol.com


Office

508-678-0923

christchurchswansea@yahoo.com



 Al Deston III, Music Director

aldeston@aol.com


Sue Sheppard, Treasurer Suesheppard021@gmail.com


Sandra Grace , Clerk

sandy_grace@comcast.net


Vestry Members


·        Judi DeMello

·        hfr1577@yahoo.com

·                

·        Christina Peterson 

·        cepeterson14@comcast.net 


Kenneth Potvin

kpotvin00@comcast.net


Leslie Burrell

· leslieburrell4479@gmail.com   

·        ·         

·        Convention Delegates:

·        Julie Sanders

·        Jennifer Valiente


·  Representative to

Mt.Hope Deanery

·        Jennifer Valiente

The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts

138 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111

617-482-5800 or 617-482-4826

www.diomass.org

www.facebook.com/diomass@diomass


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