January 12th, 2023

The Chimes

A monthly newsletter of Christ Church

January 12th, 2023

The Annual Meeting will be held February 5th, 2023.

Please submit your reports now.

A View from the Pew

A reflection by Sue Baker

Welcome to 2023 Happy New Year.

We hope the pandemic is behind us, although we know we will face colds, and probably a new virus during the New England winter months.

Last year was a busy year for Christ Church. We were honored in January to have Bishop Gates preach and visit with us. In February we held a ham and bean supper, a chowder and stuffies supper was held in May. On June11th we held a Book and Bake sale on the grounds of the Church. Each of these events was a financial success for Christ Church. It is now time to put on our harvest festival “hats” to plan for the festival. Planning the festival takes a good part of the summer for the committee. The Harvest Festival began 69 years ago and is our biggest fund raiser. The 2022 was a great success especially after the impact the pandemic created the last two years. “Hats” off to all who helped. In October the Outreach Committee held their annual fundraiser, the successful Italian Extravaganza. We cannot forget the monthly Veteran’s Breakfast. This is held on the first Saturday of the month and is very successful. Usual attendance is in the 70’s but one month 99 people were served.

So you ask, how do these things happen??? They happen because of volunteers giving their time and talent.

The church has schedules for LEM’s, readers, greeters, and altar guild members noting their day to serve. Each week you are greeted and given the weekly bulletin when you enter the church where the lights and heat are on. There are memorial flowers on the altar and the candles are lit. During the (10 o’clock) service the choir will sing, someone is scheduled to read the lessons and a Lay Eucharistic Minister will assist the priest. After the service the candles extinguished, the lights are shut off the heat is turned down, the windows are shut (if opened) the pews are checked for anything left behind and the church is locked and secured for the week. Your pledge or donation is recorded by the treasurer. The treasurer is responsible for quarterly statements, paying church’s bills and working with the finance committee on the church’s investments etc. A copy of the weekly bulletin is mailed weekly to the home bound.

Have you ever wondered who does these things, the things that make the church work? It’s the volunteers, yes the volunteers. The Vestry members are all volunteers as well. We need volunteers to continue these tasks and to serve on various committees. Remembering what Bishop Gates told us last January “we can do more together than apart” please consider sharing your time and talent.

Yours In Christ

Happy New Year!

But it's only 9 O'clock.

New Year's Eve

Game Night

Who's winning?

I don't care, I'm having fun!

Choir Update

Please note: Because of health issues currently relating to members of the Christ Church Choir, I hope to resume our group on Sunday, January 29, 2023.

We can begin rehearsals then at 9:15 AM. Please let me know if there is a problem with our beginning on that Sunday. As you can imagine, having members out makes planning a music schedule difficult and knowing this date is available now will assist all of us.

As you see, a few more voices can help. let me know if you would like to make a joyful noise with us on Sundays. No experience necessary.

Thanks,

-Al

Thank you for your donations for the Outdoor Church for Pat Z.

If you missed the deadline of Jan 8th,

Hats & gloves can still be dropped-off at the office. Homelessness is all year long.

Vestry Meeting Report, December 13, 2022

Vestry meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month and are open to all Christ Church parishioners. Vestry members are Dave McCarthy and Jen Valiente (co-chairs), Sue Sheppard, Susan McMullen, Julie Baker, Judy DeMello, Joan Padrenoss, Leslie Burrell, and Shirley Stasiowski.

At the December 2022 Meeting we discussed the Christmas Services and Pageant. There will be no live nativity event this year. A Youth Christmas Party is planned for Saturday, December 17^th. A game night and potluck supper is planned for New Year’s Eve from 6-9 p.m.

Concerning stewardship, we are still waiting for pledge card returns. It is very important to get them in before the end of the year. Perhaps we will need to make some phone calls. The Parish List has been updated and will be loaded on the computer in the Church office soon. Vestry members were reminded to complete the Safe Church education modules.

The Vestry is proposing February 5, 2023 as the date for the Annual Meeting. Committee annual reports are due now. There will be a listening session on January 29^th for more information about the budget. There are two vacancies for Vestry positions for the upcoming term. A nomination box is available at the back of the church if you would like to self-nominate.

In terms of Building and Maintenance, the Vestry approved $9700 for ramp repair and upgrade. Grant funds can be used for this project. The Church’s boiler will have sediment removed. However, it was discovered that both water heaters need replacement. We will seek estimates and solidify the time frame for replacement. Other priorities include repair to the foundation of the Church, Bell Tower repair, and repair of the ceiling tiles in the Parish House. Dave is working on getting the leaks in the Parish House repaired.

The Outreach Committee has sent out donations to four organizations for the holidays and has sponsored the Salvation Army Clothe-A-Child Coat donation and a toy drive. It will be helpful to get all fundraising activities on the calendar and ask for more people to donate food for church suppers.

The next meeting of the Vestry will be on January 10, 2023.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan McMullen, Clerk of the Vestry

The Episcopal Church reckons more deeply with its past involvement in Indigenous boarding schools, the Office of Indigenous Ministries invites all Episcopalians to register to watch Winter Talk 2023, an annual conference that highlights Indigenous and Native American traditions and contributions within the church. The Jan. 21-23 event will be hosted by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, which recently marked its 200th anniversary in that state. In-person and interactive Zoom attendance is by invitation only. Those wishing to view the livestream can register online. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala-Harris will join activities on Jan. 21, which include conversations with the Oneida people, video viewing of and discussion about “Native Voices: Speaking to the Church and the World,” a welcoming ceremony and Evening Prayer.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites applications for Episcopal delegates age 19 and up to represent The Episcopal Church at the 67th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW67) in New York City, March 6-17. The presiding bishop’s hybrid delegation will consist of a small number of in-person delegates who will attend UNCSW at the UN headquarters in New York as well as virtual delegates who will participate remotely and meet online periodically with the in-person delegates. Applications are due by Jan. 13; nominations will be announced by mid-February. Find criteria and links to applications, in English and Spanish, on the Diocesan website.

The Diocese of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts Indigenous Peoples’ Justice Network invites all who are interested to join an online book discussion on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., focused on Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder’s Meditation on Hope and Courage by the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston. As both Choctaw elder and bishop, Charleston serves as an advocate and Indigenous prophetic voice in The Episcopal Church and beyond. Find more details by contacting Martha Gardner, Missioner for Networking and Formation, at [email protected] to register.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

Martin Luther King Jr. Events:

The Martin Luther King Memorial Breakfast celebration in Boston, will raise awareness about the essential significance of education in the pursuit of social justice. King reminds us that “The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.”

The program will be in-person and also live-streamed online the day of the breakfast. A Live-stream registration will open in December. While the online event is free, we encourage registrants to donate in order to support our community work like scholarships and various grants to life sustaining programs.

We will celebrate the unveiling of The Embrace memorial on the Boston Common. Designed by Hank Willis Thomas, an internationally acclaimed African American conceptual artist, the memorial commemorates the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King, who met and went to school in Boston, and the civil rights leaders who worked alongside them in Boston. We invite you to join us at the Unveiling. We have several different ways in which folks can be part of the moment.

1. Come on down to Boston Common on Friday January 13 to the outdoor unveiling and stand with us. The ceremony will be displayed on large screens positioned near the Parkman Bandstand complete with live DJ and hot refreshments.

2. We invite you to have your own watch parties at home or in the office as it will also be streamed live by our media partner NBC10 Boston.

3. Come on down after 1/23/23 and experience The Embrace for yourself after all of the construction fencing has been taken down. We also will be launching our new app that will provide an 'eyes-up digital experience'

FALL RIVER — Bristol Community College will host its 22nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Community from Saturday, Jan. 15, to Friday, Jan. 21.

Bristol Community College is proud to continue its dedication and recognition of Dr. King’s legacy of service with the 22nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Community, a special week of events, from Saturday, Jan. 15, to Friday, Jan. 21.

This year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Community events feature a combination of culturally engaging social and educational opportunities, including Bachata dancing, National Day of Racial Healing and the college’s 22nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Virtual Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 17.