Dear Christ Church Family,
During this time of us not being able to meet in person, it is vital that we stay in communication with each other regularly, and I am grateful for the technology to be able to do so! I also want to keep you updated about what we are planning to do to stay in community.
Non-email parishioners:
Sunday, the Executive Committee (Sheila Cooper (Rector’s Warden), Debra Lowe (People’s Warden) and Mark McMahon (Clerk) put together packets for Morning, Noonday and Evening Prayer for those in our congregation that do not have email or internet access so that they can do individual daily devotions (and so that they can participate in call-in noonday prayers).
Phone Tree:
In order to maintain a sense of community and to make sure everyone has a touch point throughout the week, we have asked the Vestry and a few other leaders in the church to make once-a-week calls to check in on people in the parish.
Virtual Noonday Prayer:
We will host virtual noonday prayer on
Wednesdays at 12pm.
Instead of Facebook, we will be using a platform called Zoom which will allow for people to either call in or video chat in. Noonday prayers take about 10 minutes. If you are using your phone or computer to video chat, you will want to download the free Zoom app
here
.
You do not need to download anything if you plan to call in
. The call-in phone number, as well as the video link for Zoom can be found at the end of this email.
Parish Conversation on Community During Social Distancing:
This Wednesday at 8pm
, I am going to host a conversation on Zoom on how we can stay in community during this time of social distancing. The call-in phone number, as well as the video link for Zoom can be found at the end of this email.
Sunday Services
: This past Sunday, I was grateful for the participation of so many for our 8am and 10:30am morning prayer services via Facebook Live. As I recognize that there are some parishioners who are not on Facebook while at the same time realizing that Facebook allows for a wider audience even outside of Christ Church, I have decided that our Sunday services will be 8am Morning Prayer on Zoom and 10:30am Morning Prayer on Facebook Live. The call-in phone number, as well as the video link for Zoom can be found at the end of this email.
Other things!
Food Pantry:
Unless there is some unforeseen event, the Food Pantry will remain open. Volunteers will be needed as the Rutgers students, whom the Food Pantry relies heavily upon during distribution, are no longer on campus. If you are interested in helping out, please contact
Judith Kuldinow
Pledging:
The Vestry encourages you to continue to pledge to the parish during this time. You will find the PayPal link for Christ Church donations at the bottom of our website (at the bottom of the page). Click
here
to go directly to the parish website.
Taking Faith Home:
Normally, you would find the weekly
Taking Faith Home
handout in our Parish Notes, but we will send it out to you weekly. This week’s is
here
. I encourage you to use this as a resource for your own spiritual grounding and health during this challenging time.
Thank you for your patience as we navigate this new way of being community. Please do not hesitate to contact me or
Terry Ann
with any further questions you may have!
Blessings,
Joanna+
Summary of Zoom events this week:
Noonday Prayer, Wednesdays at Noon
Parish Conversation, Wednesday, March 18th at 8pm
Morning Prayer, Sunday (8am)
Facebook Live (Sunday 10;30am only)
Morning Prayer, Sunday (10:30am)
Click
here
to reach the Christ Church Facebook page
If you are calling in, please call the following number: 1 929 205 6099. Then when prompted, please enter the following code: 417 531 024. You will then be connected to the Zoom group. If you choose to video chat, please use the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/417531024
. You will want to click on “join using computer audio” if you are on the computer. Deacon Pete Cornell wrote up a wonderful explanation on using Zoom which you can find
here
.
If you have technical problems and need assistance, Deacon Pete is happy to help. Please call him at home at 732-516-9661.
