I have long known that the justice system isn't as swift or just for poor people, and this week I got to deal with that reality firsthand. I'll tell the story, and I'll try not to divulge who the persons involved are, however, I know that they won't mind the story being shared in a general way. It was eye-opening for all of us. Some of this story is just bad luck, while some of it is indicative of the challenges of enforcing black and white laws in a world of gray. Regardless, it highlighted for me the shortcomings and the inequality of a system that responds so readily to who you know and how much money you have.

 

So here's how the story starts. A husband and wife are stopped for a "routine" reason, an expired tag on a truck. I know this is routine, because it happened to us about a month ago. As a quick sidebar, our situation was related to a mistake at the local tax office when registering our new car - a mistake we knew nothing about until Donna was pulled over. She was threatened with arrest, despite presenting an insurance card and registration for our car. It was a unique anomaly that the officer, his supervisor, our insurance agent, our insurance company, and the dealer who registered our car, had never come across. It turned out ok, and no one got arrested, but my lovely wife almost went to jail (literally) for something she could not have prevented. I am aware the officers were doing their job, and while they were gruff and skeptical early on, they eventually became nicer (I won't say nice) and acted reasonably, despite the letter of the law. At the end of that long day, after a host of phone calls, faxes, and emails, things were fine, but I had a glimpse then of how people who haven't knowingly done anything wrong can get in some real trouble.

The Thursday Book Study is back and is meeting 1:00 pm each week. We will be reading Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. 

"The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work 'reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams'." 

                                                    -  Philadelphia Inquirer

You can purchase your book in the church office for $13.00 or on Amazon. All are welcome. Contact Mtr. Ashton at [email protected] with any questions.

Episcopal Church  101 is a six-week study for anyone wishing to know more about the Episcopal Church, either in preparation for being confirmed, received or reaffirmed. The class meets each week on Tuesday, at 5:30 pm, in the Parish Hall Contact: Mtr. Becky at [email protected]

Terrorism, war, political polarization, climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, social inequality and injustice, mass extinction... Today's challenges can feel overwhelming. In this daylong workshop, participants will learn how to transform pessimism to optimism, powerlessness to power, paralysis to action and concern to calling. Together, we'll participate in a creative process to identify specific ways to affect positive change in the world. 

 

Save the date for the Clarion Call Workshop, which will be led by author, trainer and Christ Church parishioner Randy Siegel, on Saturday, March 2, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, in the Christ Church Parish House. The cost is $25, which includes lunch and all materials. This fast-paced, fun, and interactive workshop will include guided meditations, journaling, poetry and music, movement, group discussion and will conclude with a commissioning ceremony. You can register by contacting the church office at 912-638-8683. For more information, please contact Mtr. Becky at [email protected].

The Episcopal Church is committed to providing a safe and loving environment for our children and youth to come and explore their faith and spirituality. One of the ways we do our best to accomplish this is training our children and youth workers, as well as our church leaders in the prevention of sexual abuse happening with any children trusted in our care. Mother Katie will be leading training on what this looks like at Christ Church. We encourage our parents to take the time to look at the training the Episcopal church offers its church leaders called Safeguarding God's Children (click here), as well as come to our training sessions either on February 26, from 6:00 - 7:30 pm or March 3, from 12:30 - 2:00 pm. This will help you understand how we can keep our children safe while they are at their church.

This is difficult material to be absorbed and hard to face. Unfortunately, the abuse of the more vulnerable happens regularly. The Episcopal church chooses to face these difficult truths for the health and wholeness of all those who seek the benefits found in being a member of the body of Christ. Please feel free to contact Christ Church clergy if you are in need of pastoral care - we are here for you. Contact Mtr. Katie at [email protected] for more information.

Contact: Mother Katie at  [email protected]

We continue to meet for youth group on Sundays following the 11:15 service. We meet from 12:30-2:30. We eat lunch together, play games, talk about the Bible or current events, and we pray at the end. We try and go for an outing once a month. EYC is for our youth in 6th-12th grade and their friends!

 

Contact: Mother Katie at  [email protected]

The "Souper Bowl Sunday" soup fundraiser will "kick-off" on Sunday, February 3rd . After all services we will be selling homemade soup in pints ($5) and quarts ($10) to raise money for our youth programs. Parents, students, and parishioners will provide the soup so this is a very profitable fundraiser! Soup will be available at the church and the parish house.

 

If you would like to make some homemade soup for this fundraiser or baked goods for the youth to sell, please contact Mtr. Katie at [email protected] .

Families! Please join the Christ Church Families Facebook group to keep up with all the latest events and activities. Find us on Facebook here !

The St. Athanasius Feed My Sheep  food bank needs your help! They are running low on 15 ounce size cans of green beans and canned corn and need to stock up. Please bring your canned and packaged non-perishable foods for this important feeding mission to the Parish Hall this weekend. They will be delivered to Brunswick during the first week of the month. Thank you for your help!

WOW, it's our 66th Tour! We are in the big countdown to March 16 now! Visit the Christ Church Tour of Homes website to see a glimpse of why we are so thrilled about 2019! Our Tour Selection Team has chosen 7 completely amazing homes. We have 4 Sea Island properties and 3 St Simons properties. We have brand new buses and more of them! We have secured local Corporate Sponsorships, and every day, we receive more benefactor money. The Corporate Sponsorships and our gracious Benefactors help defray our expenses and give MORE back to those in real need in our community. If you would like to be a benefactor for this year's tour, please contact Bob Brown at [email protected], as soon as possible!

We are on track for another successful year, but, as always, we still need help! Our largest need for volunteers remains in the areas of house docents and parking docents. We need good help to keep our tour safe and enjoyable for all our attendees. 

Speaking of attendees, you can buy tickets NOW online...remind all your friends to get their tickets, and be an active part of our success! Feel free to contact any of us for assistance.

Tour Chair: Charlotte Graham 912-506-3431 [email protected]

Tour Co-Chair: Susie Henning 912-571-1674 [email protected]

House Chair: Beth Smith 912-506-7577 [email protected]

Parking Chair: Van Black 678-427-9735 [email protected]

Benefactor Chair:  Bob Brown 770-584-4840 [email protected]

Mark your calendars! The 2019 Tour of Homes Kick Off Party will be held on Thursday, February 7, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, at the home of Anne and Darryl Peck, 154 Shore Rush Dr.  Valet parking will be provided. Please RSVP by February 1  to Beth Thrift 404-218-3809 or [email protected] . Come meet the Chairs and learn more about our 66th  Annual Tour of Homes. Be sure to visit www.christchurchtourofhomes.org  to see a glimpse of what is in store!

Anson Galland

Congratulations to our newly elected members of the Christ Church Vestry team,  David Blatchford, Chris Jordan, Bascom Murrah and Christine Plank. They were part of a highly qualified slate of candidates this year and we wish to thank all who agree to be part of the Vestry election. Wallace Harrell will serve as Senior Warden and Alice Barlow will serve as Junior Warden in the year to come.

If you missed the annual meeting and would like a copy of the annual report, you may pick one up at the church office or click on the link here.

The O(utrageously) M(ature) G(roup) will meet next on Friday, February 1, at 11:30 am in the Parish Hall. All are invited to come play games and enjoy fellowship and fun! Even if you're not a gamer, you are cordially invited to join this lively crowd for conversation and camaraderie! Please call the church office at 912-638-8683 or contact Mtr. Ashton at [email protected] by Thursday January 31, if you'd like to order lunch for $10.

The Frederick Cousins Guild Oyster Roast and Barbecue will take place on Friday, February 8, 2019, beginning at 6:00 pm, in the parish hall and on the church grounds. Oysters, barbecue, Brunswick stew, dessert and complimentary libations will be served. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door for adults and $5 for children. They are now on sale at the church office and will be available during coffee hour in the parish hall on Sundays preceding the event. All proceeds will go to support local and international charities. Contact: Louise Bartlett at [email protected]

The 2019 Southeast Georgia Health System Annual Bridge Run is Saturday, February 16, 2019 and Christ Church has a team!   To sign up for the team, click here, or you may pick up a registration form in the church office. The deadline to save on registration is TONIGHT, January 30.

On race day, February 16, participants are asked to gather at 9:00 am for a team picture. You will meet at the foot of the Lanier Bridge near the number pickup table . Look for the Christ Church banner. Contact: Diane Sheehan at [email protected]  

The Official Christ Church Memorial T-Shirt  

 

If you have ordered a Christ Church Memorial T-Shirt, you may pick it up in the Parish House on February 14 or 15, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Contact Diane Sheehan at   [email protected]  or Judy Douglas at [email protected]  for more information.