Advent blessings & love to each.

Bring your Angel Tree Gifts! Read more about this weekend's Pageant and Blue Christmas services, Advent Meditation next week, and more.

December 15, 2024



The Third Sunday of Advent

No 8:00 a.m. Service this Week

9:30 a.m. Children's Pageant Rehearsal

pre-K through 6th grade, meet in the Parish Hall

Nursery care available for ages 0-3 throughout the morning

 

10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist

In Person and Live Streaming on YouTube

4:00 p.m. Bible Study

In person (church library) and Live on Zoom

5:00 p.m. Blue Christmas with Holy Eucharist

In person and Live on Zoom

(password = 20895)

Angels: Bring in your Gifts tomorrow!

Thank you to everyone who signed up to donate gifts for children and families in need at Arcola and Rock View Elementary Schools! 

If you have not already done so, please deliver your gifts UNWRAPPED to the church. Be sure to include with the gifts the ID number listed that corresponds to the specific child, and the Outreach Team will take it from there! 

All gifts need to be at the church no later than tomorrow Sunday, December 15th. Questions? Contact Liz Quinn, webethemom@aol.com or Aime Keith, aimekeith1966@gmail.com.

Christmas Pageant This Sunday, December 15

Our Children’s Christmas Pageant will take place during the 10:00 a.m. service. Children of all ages are invited to participate as we need blessed animals, angels, shepherds, and wise people to gather round our Mary, Joseph and our most blessed baby. Our pageant has been created by the 4th, 5th and 6th grade class this year! 

Schedule Note: On December 15 there will not be a service of Holy Eucharist at 8:00 am. At 5:00 pm, we will hold a Blue Christmas service, a service of hope and healing with Holy Eucharist (see below). 

Blue Christmas Service This Sunday

If you are struggling this season, you are not alone. The short days and holidays can be difficult for so many of us who may be experiencing loss, depression, grief, disconnection, or hardship of any kind. 

Join us Sunday, December 15 at 5:00 p.m. in person or on Zoom for a candlelight service of prayer, music, reflection and Holy Communion. Together we will honor the struggle, and seek a measure of hope and healing. If you have a friend or neighbor who may need or want a welcoming and peaceful sacred space, invite them to join you. As always, all are welcome! 

"We can also use other “A” words for Advent:

aware, alive, attentive, alert, awake.

Advent is a call to full consciousness.” – Fr Richard Rohr

On December 22, we will host an opportunity for quiet meditation. At a time when the world seems to speed up, this will be a time to quiet your mind by practicing letting go of the chatter, being attentive to the present, and "putting the mind in the heart" as one contemplative practitioner calls it. In the Library after the 10:00am service!

Altar Flowers for Christmas

As we move through the anticipation of this Advent season toward our joyous Christmas celebration, would you like to dedicate altar flowers to remember or honor a loved one? Your flower dedication will be included in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service bulletins, and the beautiful flowers adorning our altar will enhance the joy of our Christmas services! Please use the link below to access the form for submitting dedications online, or use the special envelopes found in your pews, and put them into the collection plate. 

Deadline for flower dedications is noon on December 19. 

If you have questions, please contact Parish Administrator Jen Luna, who can help! administrator@ccpk.org

Annual Twelfth Night Celebration -

Save the Date!

The fabulous tradition of our Twelfth Night Party will be held on Sunday, January 5, 2025, directly following the five o'clock Feast of Lights service.

There will be food and fun for all ages. This will be a potluck so get ready to bring your favorite dishes to share. A Sign Up Genius link will be coming closer to the event. And we will, of course, sing the song of the namesake holiday. Questions? Contact Aime Keith at aimekeith1966@gmail.com.

Thursday Noon Prayers for Peace 

Now more than ever, we are called to work and pray for peace around the world and in our own country.  Please join us on Zoom (password 20895) every Thursday at noon as we pray for a peaceful end to the war in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, Bangladesh; an end to gun violence in this country, and an end to violent conflict everywhere. The service is approximately 15 minutes in length.

End of Year Giving 

The end of the year is approaching – have you completed your 2024 pledge payments? Hello one and all – We are reviewing our records and see that many of you have yet to complete your 2024 pledges of support to Christ Church. 

If you pledged for 2024, please take a minute and check whether you have fulfilled your pledge, and if you are able to do so, please make a payment!

If you are unsure of your pledge status, you can access your giving statement on Realm, or get in touch with Jen Luna in the office at administrator@ccpk.org or (301) 942-4673.

Gifts must be received by the church by Dec 31 to be counted toward your 2024 tax deductions. Thank you so very much for your financial support! It is our primary source of income and fuels our mission.

The church office will be closed from December 24 – January 1 for the holidays. Jen will return on Thursday, January 2. For pastoral emergencies, please contact Emily, or call the church and press 2 for the clergy on call. 

Help Christ Church Go Green – Save Paper! Save a Tree! 

We use a lot of paper to produce the Sunday bulletins, especially for the 10:00 am service. If you’d like to help us reduce our paper use, please consider one of these two options, both of which will allow us to print fewer copies:

• View your bulletin electronically. Use the link at the top of this weekly Christ Church Connection email to access a PDF version of the bulletin which you can view on your phone, iPad, or tablet.  
• Consider sharing a bulletin. Adults in the same family might consider sharing one bulletin for two people. Kids attending “big church” with you? Instead of taking a bulletin for young ones, consider taking one of the kids activity sheets available at the back of the church – ask an usher if you don’t know where these are. Crayons provided!

Worship Services & Events at Christ Church Next Week:

Monday, December 16, 2024 - Office Closed

8:30 p.m. Compline - a beautiful short service to end the day

Live on Zoom (password = 20895)

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

7:30 p.m. Holy Handcrafters

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

6:30 p.m. Evening Prayer

Live on Zoom (password = 20895)

Thursday, December 19, 2024

12:00 Noon Prayers for Peace

6:30 p.m., Lectio Divina

8:30 p.m. Compline

Looking ahead...

• December 22 - Advent Meditation Gathering after 10:00 service
• December 24 - Christmas Eve, Family Eucharist @ 5:00, Music & Hymns @8:30, Christmas Eve Festival Eucharist @ 9:00
• December 25 - Christmas Day, Eucharist @ 10:00
• December 24-January 1, Office Closed
• December 29 - Lessons & Carols, Single Service @ 10:00 (no 8:00 or 5:00 service this day)
• January 5, 2025 - Feast of Lights @ 5:00, followed by 12th Night Party

Missed a past Sunday Morning Service? Want to enjoy music from past services?

Watch or listen 0n YouTube!

Still need to pledge for 2025? Click below. And thank you!!

Christ Episcopal Church Kensington

4001 Franklin Street

Kensington MD 20895

301-942-4673

administrator@ccpk.org

what does the Lord require of you?

but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God...

~Micah 6:8