Volume 18| November 18, 2020
Being Together - Apart
DIOCESE OF MASSACHUSETTS
235TH ANNUAL CONVENTION REPORT
On Saturday November 7th, our delegates, Celia Calhoun and Dianne Fromm attended (virtually) the 235th Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts. During the all-day meeting, the delegates listened to messages from Bishop Gates and presentations by Diocese staff and members. The group also passed many significant "Resolutions." All of this material is included in Celia's and Dianne's report that we encourage you to read, listen to and absorb.

The final convention "Resolution" seems to sum up our current world and is one that we at The Church of the Holy Spirit can embrace:

Resolved, that we go forth from this Convention, empowered by the Holy Spirit,
to be the Church in Community, to be the Body of Christ, who--
even though masked, even though physically distant,
even though gathering mostly virtually,
even though sad, anxious and tired --
are loved and capable, blessed to be a blessing, serving those who need us.

Below is Celia and Dianne's report. Thank you both for being our delegates. Well done thou good and faithful servants.
Report on the 235th Massachusetts Diocesan Convention:
Held via Zoom on Saturday, November 7, 2020.
Delegates from CHS, Celia Calhoun and Dianne Fromm

The convention was held via Zoom with over 400 attending. We conducted business and received reports of Commissions, generally via videos, which were very well produced and interesting.

  • Leaders were elected to councils of the church through balloting software on our phones.
  • The budget for 2021 was passed with little discussion; total expenditure is almost the same as the previous year.
  • Over $600,000 was set aside for targeted pandemic related relief to congregations.
  • All resolutions were voted on through the zoom program, which efficiently handled 400 responses accurately in seconds.
  • We voted on 3 compound resolutions on Mission Strategy which are listed below, and on eight resolutions from Bishop Alan Gates’ Address towards the end of the session.
  • The day closed with a video from the Youth working with the Diocese, showing their passion for the various topics we are all confronted with today.

Bishop Alan Gates delivered an inspiring address that we highly recommend you listen to and/or read.  Click here for the video as well as the full written version of his message. 

Also, click here for the full description of the convention including all of the "Greeting" video messages from the diocesan parishes including the one that CHS submitted..  

The convention addressed numerous "Resolutions" contained in their entirety in Celia and Dianne's

Resolutions on Three Mission Strategies, which all passed:
1. Call for Repentance and Reparations:
2. Response to Bishop Curry’s Declaration of a Climate Emergency:
3. Call to Address the Neglect of the Seven Historically Black Churches in the Dioceses.

Resolution in Response to Convention Address by the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates

* Resolved, that the 235th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts recognize that in 2020 brave change embraced us as a church and larger world, calling upon us to respond towards "every purpose under heaven"; and be it further...

The other seven resolutions are included in the full report link above.
WARDENS' MESSAGE 
Financial and Wardens’ Update – November 15, 2020

After the Sunday Zoom Morning Prayer Service, Chris Crighton, Melissa Keeffe and
Steve Koehler gave us a financial and parish update. A few highlights are listed below. Click here for the rest of the highlights shared.

Financial Update- Chris Crighton
  • Chris’ comments were “We are doing ok - we have kept TOGETHER thru this time.”
  • Our current financial position is solid and we are operating “in the black.”

Wardens’ Updates: Melissa Keeffe and Steve Koehler provided updates as follows:
  • Interim Priest In-Charge – a candidate has been identified and we are finalizing the Letter of Agreement and expect this person to start by January 1.
  • The parish owes a big thank you to Dave Blanchett for all the work he has done evaluating our numerous heating and cooling systems and he is now overseeing the replacement of the 3 most critically needed replacements.
  • Due to the up-tick in Covid cases, we will NOT be having in person worship services at the church until Easter. The Vestry’s primary concern is to keep everyone safe during the winter and felt this was the right decision at this time.
  • A search committee cannot be announced until the Transitional Priest In Charge starts. Melissa has spoken to other parish search committees that have successfully used a virtual process using Zoom. We should assume that will be the method used, at least initially, until Covid restrictions are lifted.

The updates ended with heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been working
to keep our parish together during these challenging times.
STEWARDSHIP
To date, 111 pledges for 2021 have been received, totaling $273,491. We still have a way to go towards last year's total of 131 pledges for over $300,000. If you plan to make a pledge for 2021, please return your pledge card as soon as possible. We are starting to create our 2021 budget and receiving your pledge is a critical part of that process

If you need a pledge card, call the parish office and one will be mailed to you.
Did you know you can make an
Online Donation for this year's "Giving Tree"
Last week you received a special communication announcing we will continue the annual Christmas "Giving Tree" tradition by giving gift cards to families affiliated with the Homeless Prevention Council's Adopt a Family and Safe Harbor Domestic Violence Shelter holiday programs. This year the need is greater than ever.
The deadline for donations by check** is Wednesday November 25th.
The deadline for Online Donations, is Sunday November 29th.
To make your online donation payment easier, we have set up a separate "Giving Tree" category of "Online Giving" on the CHS Website. It's very easy to do.
Click here to get to the "Giving Page" of the CHS website. Using your email address, set up an account with your own password. You can make your donations by credit card or a direct debit to your checking account. All your account information is protected so there is no risk using the "Online Giving" feature.
Select the method of payment (card or checking account), amount you will donate, and then select "Giving Tree" in the "Select a Fund" drop down box.
**If you donate by check, make your donation payable to CHS - note "Giving Tree" on the memo line. Mail your check to
CHS, Attn: Giving Tree, 204 Monument Road, Orleans, MA 02653.
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Brooke Eaton-Skea and Robin McLaughlin
CHURCH SCHOOL NEWS - ADVENT ACTIVITIES

Since the pandemic continues to prevent us from worshiping and celebrating together, we want to announce the special activities we have planned as we begin the new church year and the wonderful Season of Advent.

Please click here to read about how you can help create a special outdoor Advent Wreath, complete with "candles", that will be built at the CHS sign at the corner of Route 28 and Monument Road.

Starting Saturday, November 28th, the 1st weekend of Advent, and continued for all the Saturdays of Advent thru December 19th, one of our parish families with children will participate in the "weekly candle lighting ceremonies" of the wreath.

There will be special Advent experiences during our Zoom Sunday Services and Advent Calendars will be sent to all our families with children. If you do not have your own Advent Wreath, contact the parish office and we will arrange for one to be delivered.
May this season remind you
of the hope, joy, love and peace found in Christ.
Romans 15:13
ZOOM WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT CHS
MORNING PRAYER SERVICE SUNDAYS at 10:00 a.m.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Zoom meeting invitation email will be sent each
Friday with the Zoom link and Sunday Bulletin.
TUESDAY HEALING SERVICE
10:00 A.M.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please join Gail Smith+ for our powerful healing service.
A Zoom meeting invitation email will be sent each Monday.
NAUSET INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING SERVICE

Online Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020 at 4:00 pm

Virtual Service Recorded at
Our Lady of the Cape Roman Catholic Church
Brewster, MA

Click Here for service leaflet

Click Here for other Nauset Interfaith news and upcoming events.
Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Remembrances
Upcoming dates to give you time to send a note, card, or call.

BIRTHDAYS
       Dick Anderson  11.20    Jack Nixon  11.20    Herbert Skelly 11.20   
Patty Pike  11.21   Dan Kimball   11.22    Karen Sweeney  11.23     
Tom Graham  11.24    Suzanna Gray  11.24    Celia Calhoun  11.25
Joy Louyi Pye  11.26  Donna Tavano   11.26    Rob LaBranche, Jr.   11.30
Joe Tavano 11.30 Raymond on  11.30  Karen Gardner  11.30
Ruth Evans Jones 12.04  .Linda Payne Mason  12.04     Frank Tavano 12.05    .
Thomas Graham   12.08   Johanna Schneider    12.09     Maeve Shortt   12.09   
Charlotte LaBranche 12.11   Jackie Gallagher 12.12     
 Susanna Graham Pye 12.14   Derek Smith   12.15    .

ANNIVERSARIES
Francis and Barbara Hoffman 11.21.51
Rev. Bill and Margaret Anne Heuss   11.21.09

ORDINATIONS
The Reverend Anne Koehler 12.13.03  The Reverend Herbert Skelly 12.16.61
         The Reverend Sue Lederhouse 12.17.05 The Rev. Dr. William Heuss 12.21.68

REMEMBRANCES
Chester McLeod 11.18.06 The Rt. Rev. George Rath   11.18.95 
Thomas Frend Carey 11.19.98 Pete Miller 11.20.09
Agnes Delano  11.21.95 Elizabeth Mason  11.22.01
William Lester Udall 11.22.98 Keith F. Miller   11.23.14
Christine Miller  11.25.05 John Hallstead    11.26.08
Samuel M. Nickerson, III  11.26.72 Charlie Puzo 11.26.17
Russell Ford  11.27.11 Herbert Fuller   11.27.96
Virginia Thompson   11.27.92 Myrtle Haynie    11.28.07
Robert A. LaBranche, Sr. 11.28.19 Adrienne Smith  11.29.05
Donald Clifton   11.29.08 David Moore  11.29.15
Gladys Gombos  12.01.11   Florence Adams  12.01.13
Gerald Downs       12.04.03   Jay Duvanier Lucil 12.05.00
Douglas N. MacArthur   2.05.10   Pete Miller   12.05.09
August Yearing 12.05.98   Pearle C.S. Richards   12.06.10
Richard C. Wagn      12.06.13   John Brigham       12.07.02
Gustav A. Karlson     12.07.07   Francis Patrick Ames    12.08.11
Eliza Jackson Ewing    12.10.13   Vera Richards     12.10.05
Florence Adams      12.11.13   Laryssa Lambros    12.12.19
George Stierwald     12.12.03   Hedwig K. O’Hara      12.14.10
John Enochs    12.15.02   Stephanie Gray   12.15.18

       RECENT DEATHS

.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Watch over thy children, O'Lord, as their days increase.
Bless and guide them wherever they may be
keeping them unspotted from the world.
Strengthen them when they stand;
comfort them when discouraged or sorrowful; raise them up if they fall;
And in their hearts, may thy peace, which passes all understanding,
Abide all the days of their lives;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
SOME THANKSGIVING INSPIRATION

As this teacher learned, some of the most moving lessons are taught by students. Featured in Readers’ Digest - October 21,2020

When Mrs. Klein told her first graders to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful, she thought how little these children, who lived in a deteriorating neighborhood, actually had to be thankful for. She knew that most of the class would draw pictures of turkeys or of bountifully laden Thanksgiving tables. That was what they believed was expected of them.

What took Mrs. Klein aback was Douglas’s picture. Douglas was so forlorn and likely to be found close in her shadow as they went outside for recess. Douglas’s drawing was simply this: A hand, obviously, but whose hand?

The class was captivated by his image. “I think it must be the hand of God that brings us food,” said one student. "A farmer,” said another, “because they grow the turkeys.”
“It looks more like a policeman, and they protect us.” “I think,” said Lavinia, who was always so serious, “that it is supposed to be all the hands that help us, but Douglas could only draw one of them.”

Mrs. Klein had almost forgotten Douglas in her pleasure at finding the class so responsive. When she had the others at work on another project, she bent over his desk and asked whose hand it was.

Douglas mumbled, “It’s yours, Teacher.”

Then Mrs. Klein recalled that she had taken Douglas by the hand from time to time; she often did that with the children. But that it should have meant so much to Douglas …

Perhaps, she reflected, this was her Thanksgiving, and everybody’s Thanksgiving — not the material things given unto us,
but the small ways that we give something to others.

Have a blessed, safe and healthy Thanksgiving, however you celebrate.
SOME FUN THINGS
If I Fit.... I Sit.
Our four legged friends are always a wonderful source of smiles.
Click here to watch.
Last Blooms of the Season
Picked on November 8th
From the Sasso's Garden
Joan Kirchner did some "church cleaning." This is the 2nd line of washed
hand bell gloves....
Can you say "Ding-Dong?"
God Bless the USA; beautiful video suggested by Phil and Barbara Sousa

Click Here to listen
NEW ZOOM BOOK STUDY GROUP
"HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST" by Ibram X. Kendi

Please join Nancy Ludewig and Linda Belford in a Zoom Book Group to discuss the book, “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi.

The Zoom sessions are on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m.
Please contact Nancy Ludewig (her contact info is in the Parish Directory) and she will send you the Zoom invitation. Let her know
if you are new to Zoom… she will help you get connected.
By Alice Boyes, Psychology Today

1. Finish something you started but didn't complete.

2. Give your mind a chance to wander.

3. Do some work-related continuing education.

4. Make a brief list of what you're not going to work on.

5. Do whatever is important but anxiety-provoking,
then allow yourself to take a break.

6. Do the minimum necessary to get a task done.

Click here for full details of each strategy.
REMINDER - GETTING READY FOR WINTER Sue Sasso

I have not received any suggested books, shows, etc. for this list to share. Don't forget to send them to newsletters@chsorleans.org

Let's join forces and compile a list to share of our favorite books, TV shows, movies, and documentaries, or other things to do to help us through the winter months? I will add the brief descriptions using online resources.

BY DECEMBER 16TH - Send your recommendations and I will compile the list and publish it in the January 6th edition of Being Together-Apart. Let's encourage our youth to send recommendations too. I'll include them in a separate genre section.

Please include the following information
+BOOKS - Title and Author
+TV SHOWS, MOVIES, DOCUMENTARIES
Include Network (PBS, CBS, etc.) or which "app" it is available; Netflix, Prime, etc.
DIOCESE of MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNICATIONS

Stay informed and connected to the Episcopal Diocese of MA
Sign up to receive our diocesan communications,
including the monthly E-news. (www.diomass.org)
REMINDER
WE WILL NO LONGER INCLUDE MEMBERS' PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESSES or
PHONE NUMBERS IN PARISH COMMUNICATIONS.
Member contact information is available in the CHS PARISH DIRECTORY*
*Updated Parish Directories are available .
Please contact the Parish Office.

PLEASE do NOT open or respond to emails messages that appear to be from
our clergy or staff members asking for favors or gifts cards.
If you are not sure what to do, contact the parish office.
The next edition of Being Together-Apart is
Wednesday December 2, 2020.

Send items to be included to Sue Sasso
by Monday morning November 30th
newsletters@chsorleans.org
THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
To stay current on happenings at CHS,

"Like Us" on Facebook at The Church of the Holy Spirit

Editor - Sue Sasso newsletters@chsorleans.org