April 15, 2020
Making Our Way As Easter Unfolds
by The Rev. Cameron Randle, Rector
 
The American ex-patriot poet T.S. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri and retained his US citizenship until moving to London in 1914 and becoming a British subject in 1927. Eliot was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and was considered by many critics to be the premier modernist poet of the 20 th century. Reflecting on his childhood along the banks of America’s great waterway, Eliot said, “One does not merely see the Mississippi River, one experiences it.” 

This past Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection of Our Lord. This year’s Easter Sunday was a departure from the norm. Church and family gatherings gave way to observances that were, for the most part, separate and somewhat subdued. Yet, many in the ESC family report an unexpected contentedness or peace amid the restrictions brought about in response to the current pandemic. More than a few parishioners discovered it was possible to appreciate Easter Sunday even without the coterie of customary traditions and rituals and activities. Although confined to church services online, many congregants have taken advantage of the opportunity to virtually visit a variety of different services, exploring and expanding their worship parameters.

One of the exciting aspects of practicing our Christian faith through an Anglican/Episcopal lens is our commitment to celebrating Easter as a season. We are not content to limit Easter to a single designated day. Rather, we choose to roll through seven consecutive Sundays in which we hear stories of the resurrected Christ. From Easter Sunday until Ascension and Pentecost, we learn about an exceptionally motivated and proactive savior, infused with purpose and passion and focused on accomplishing his part of a divine plan. By absorbing those stories from scripture, we begin to get a vision for the church today; for our own personal ministries and spiritual priorities. The blueprint for ESC’s unique calling in this era becomes clearer week by week as Easter season unfolds. This is especially true during the challenging chapter of contemporary history in which we each are struggling to overcome a degree of uncertainty and anxiety about the future. The gospel narratives in this Easter season remind us what it means to be enlightened and empowered, from feeding others to overcoming a culture of fear.

When T.S. Eliot died, his ashes were sent at his request to St. Michael and All Angels’ Church (Anglican) in his family’s ancestral village of East Coker in Somerset, UK. An inscription in the church commemorates the presence of his remains, with words from his poem entitled East Coker. “In my beginning is my end. In my end is my beginning.” As we journey together through the upcoming Sundays in Easter season, let’s think about beginnings and endings in our own lives and in the life of this great parish. It will make for interesting conversation along the Resurrection trail.
Chapel Pantry served 203 households last Saturday - We need your help!

Our first Saturday drive through pantry was a resounding success! 203 households received needed food. Everyone received non-perishables, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, prepared foods, bread and sweets. 

We expect to see many more families this Saturday, but we have limited access to non-perishable food and we need your help.

We need shoppers to buy items on the list below and bring them to the Pantry by Friday. Please buy as as many items as you can and enlist your friends, neighbors and colleagues to do the same. We would love to meet our goal of 400 filled bags and we are only at 25% of that as of today. This is a weekly goal until the supply chain catches up with the demand. Our normal routine of purchasing in bulk through the Foodbank is not possible at this time, so we need help from every source we can find. We are testing to see if grocery delivery services will deliver to the church. If you can’t get out to shop, but you use a grocery delivery service, that’s another way to help safely.

Thank you in advance for your support!
Kay O’Reilly

Chapel Pantry Shopping List
Please buy “regular” sizes of each item to stretch our dollars. We would rather have 4 jars of regular peanut butter than 2 jars of giant jars. We are trying to make 400 bags of food, so every jar counts. Thanks!

  • Peanut butter
  • Pasta – any shape except lasagna noodles
  • Rice – any type or size (we can re-package)
  • Mac n’ Cheese – regular boxes
  • Pasta Sauce – cans or plastic jars preferred, regular sizes
  • Canned Vegetables – green beans, corn, mixed veg, etc.
  • Canned fruit – mandarin oranges, peaches, pears, etc. (Aldi has very low prices on these)
  • Canned soup – any type
  • Breakfast foods – cereal, oatmeal, grits, granola bars (cereal preferred but we’ll take any breakfast item)
  • Protein – canned tuna, chicken, salmon, etc.
  • Prepared foods – Chili, ravioli, beef stew, etc.
  • Eggs
Thank you from our Stewardship Committee

Stewardship Committee greatly appreciates all of the pledges paid to date in 2020. We are off to a very good start! We also ask everyone to keep it coming and pay what you are able as it is needed to meet budget and continue our mission. Thanks again for your help!
Virtual Sunday School

Your child can connect online with Sunday School! Please email the teacher and she will send you a ZOOM invitation.

On Easter Sunday: six Children enjoyed Godly Play and hearing the story of the Resurrection; high schoolers also enjoyed connecting online!
Join us on ZOOM for daily Morning Prayer

As many of you know, we have been offering Morning Prayer - Rite Two each morning (except Sunday) at 7:30 AM on ZOOM. It takes about thirty minutes and offers a way to get together for spiritual exercise. A very good way indeed to start the day.

Because of recent concerns about security, we have established a new meeting that will require a password to join - nothing else will change. So, beginning immediately the details are these:
Go to www.zoom.us
   Meeting ID:  562 715 368
   Password:  John1513

Join us won't you? We will all be made richer by your presence. You are not expected but welcomed indeed! Email Lee Davis [email protected] if you have questions.
Pray for our military

Pray for the military to look to God as the source of their hope and peace during these uncertain times of rapid operational shifts in their response to COVID-19.

Prayers & Prayer Cards for deployed military
If you would like a prayer card sent to your deployed service member please contact Bill Hunter at [email protected] or 757-402-6384. I would also be happy to place the service member on the prayer list at church for inclusion in the weekly Prayers of the People.
The Chapel Chimes is distributed every Wednesday.
If you would like to submit an article to the Chapel Chimes email
please send an email to Ann Turner, [email protected],
with "CHIMES SUBMISSION" in the subject line.
Deadline is every Tuesday at 4 pm.