August 6, 2026

Soar & Explore students planted woodland strawberry and micro clover under the apple tree under the guidance of Peter Jensen and Ruth Campbell.

Photo by Matt Thompson

The Church of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal)

Knowing  Loving  Serving

God + Neighbor

A Message from Patrick

Feeding Stories

Every time one of the "loaves and fishes" stories appears in our Sunday lectionary, a new question or puzzle seems to appear alongside it. Last week I spent a lot of time thinking and reading about all four of the evangelist's apparent obsession with the leftovers, the "broken pieces" -- and the consistent care taken in each gospel account with the feast's "crumbs."

Hearing the gospel in church, though, I was struck in the moment by something else Matthew has to say. The anxious apostles ask Jesus to "send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves" (14:15). In other words, "You're all on your own, everyone! Good luck!"

Mark and Luke accounts parallel the apostle's hands-off approach to hospitality. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way..." (Is. 53:6). Jesus' rejoinder -- "You give them something to eat" -- starts a cascade of miraculous activity that undoubtedly left the apostles with a new understanding of their own powers and attachments.

Isn't that what any new ministry opportunity offers every single one of us? The prospect of living larger and with more trust in powers beyond our own, even as our sense of our own connections deepens? A pull away from "private provision" and into shared experience?

The miracle of our Food 4 Kids Ministry is not only in the many hundreds of children and youth we feed on an average summer weekday, but in the experiences of our volunteers -- maybe you! -- who prep, pack and drive coolers to our partner sites. "I was surprised by how much I loved the experience of driving to Eastham last week," someone told me at a recent coffee hour. I seem to hear that story again and again: anxiety and obligation morphing into joy.

If you are in the mood for joy and inspiration just this minute, have a look at Seth Rolbein's "A Cape Cod Voice" account of our fellow parishioner Chris Lavenet's work with Family Table Collaborative. Chris has spent most of her professional life as a bookkeeper. Through FTC she has discovered a completely new call as a retired person. She's the one who makes sure that delicious frozen meals are always available here in our church kitchen freezer for anyone who's hungry. But as you'll read, she covers a lot of other ground every week. Not one to seek the limelight by nature, Chris gave me permission to share this account with her parish family. "I'm almost a little embarrassed," she admits. It occurs to me that true disciples often are.

As mid-August and Cape Cod's "second summer" approach, a closing reminder of three upcoming opportunities to gather, celebrate and serve:

The Fund for the Future Update

Be with us at coffee hour on Sunday, August 16 for an update on our continuing stewardship of the funds we have been receiving this year, and our plans for campus improvements in the coming months.

Parish Picnic

Bring a main, a side or a desert to church with you on Sunday, September 13 as the season begins its annual turn and we begin a new year. Sign up and note your offering on the signup board at coffee hour. Church School and adult formation programming will begin the following week.

Nominating Season

Vestry this month will convene a committee of parishioners to prepare a "slate" of parish leaders (officers, vestry, diocesan and deanery reps) to guide our common life. Would you like to learn more about a possible role? Please contact me with your questions here.

With my thanks for your presence, consideration and care for our common life --

Patrick

Weekly Worship Services

Sunday Afternoon Eucharist Service

Sundays at 5:00 pm in the Church

Sunday afternoon worship begins at 5:00 pm. All are welcome to join us for a 40-minute spoken service of Holy Eucharist with homily. We are offering a three-month trial of afternoon worship to explore community response and potential.



Tuesday Morning Lectio Divina & Prayers

Lectio Divina is a monastic mode of prayer, contemplation, and Bible study.

All are welcome to experience this with us.

 10:00 a.m. via ZOOM

A Zoom Meeting invitation email is sent on Monday mornings.

It includes links to the Zoom service and Service Bulletin and Readings. Please contact the church office for more info.

Holy Eucharist and Prayers for Healing

Thursdays at 11:00 am in the Church

Join us for a simple service of weekday Holy Eucharist

with a short meditation.

Private prayers for healing available after the service concludes.

Glimpse of the Gospel

‘Glimpse’ meets in the Fireplace Room on Sunday mornings at 8:45. Participants are sent a copy of the readings from scripture for the Sunday service earlier in the week to give opportunity for reading, reflecting, and inwardly digesting beforehand.

Contact Tom Dewing, email st.dewing@verizon.net or 

508-255-2656.

All Welcome!

Wardens Report

July has been another busy month on the CHS campus...

• Food 4 Kids volunteers arrive early each morning to pack hundreds of lunches daily and distribute them to children across the Lower Cape. Jenn Gale, F4K Director, updated the vestry at the July 21 meeting.
• The Free Shop continues to offer clothing, average 50 visitors a day!
• The Kimball Guild hammerers create beautiful works of art.
• Galley West continues to offer stunning works of art available for sale.
• An energetic Social Justice group has emerged as a result of listening to Patrick’s homilies, experiencing Sacred Ground, and attending Bill McKibben’s lecture. They have been collecting food for Lower Cape Outreach Council, exploring opportunities for tutoring ESL students, and more.

The CHS campus is constantly humming.

Your vestry has been busy as well, approving projects to improve our common life together ranging from hand dryers in the restrooms to replacing dry, curled shingles on our church's exterior.

A nominating committee has been formed to put together next year’s vestry. Fall plans include further opportunities for Christian formation and service, to be shared soon.

There will be no vestry meeting in August. We are blessed with a community committed to reaching out in many ways with God’s love.

If you have any cares or concerns, please let us know. Don’t hesitate to get in touch. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Priscilla Isner and Dianne Fromm, Wardens

Food 4 Kids

Our campus has been hopping with all the volunteers, staff, vendors, and vehicles it takes to run Food 4 Kids!

If you haven't been a part of the fun, please come join us - there is definitely a spot for you. Check out all the opportunities on our website, then click in to SignUp Genius to secure your spot.

Not a digital native? Find Brenda Ridgeway, Jenn Gale, or Anne Koehler at church on Sunday, and they'll help get you signed up! Volunteer two or more times and receive one of our new Food 4 Kids t-shirts!

Right: Jenn Gale and Matt Harmon sporting the new t-shirts!

26,472 free meals served as of July 22, and 12,324 of them were fresh-made lunches, averaging 685 on each day of service.

Kids are loving the food - the fresh fruit, chicken tenders, subs, and Oreos are favorites!

FREE Book Days: We've held 7 events so far and the kids are loving it. Run by volunteers, these are held at each of our large meal sites. 

Grab and Go model working well - In its third year, our table at CHS has consistently served 20 meals a day. Across every town, meal sites are seeing more consistent participation from the community. You're never too cool for a free lunch--as evidenced by these two kids on their e-bikes!

A few of our amazing staff members enjoying a cookie break. From left: Jenn Gale, Executive Director; AnneMarie Mullin, Operations Manager; Matthew Harmon, Staff Assistant, and Mackenzie Frodigh-Weed, Staff Assistant.



All F4K photos submitted by Jenn Gale

Parish Life

On Sunday, July 12, parishioners shared one-minute book talks during coffee hour. Several of them are already being discussed by our church book clubs. Some excellent recommendations for your summer reading:

Joanie Barnes: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Mike Peters: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Sue Sasso: A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Bill Heuss: A Painted House by John Grisham

Donna Traut: Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlesser

Patrick Ward: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter and The Life You Save May be Your Own: an American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie

Ragnhild Bjerke: Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley

Brooke Eaton-Skea: American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Nancy Hagner: Whistler by Ann Patchett and Little Wonder by Sophie Chen Keller

Brenda Ridgeway: Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Cheryl Kyle: Take this Bread by Sarah Miles

Brian Skea: John and Paul: a Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie

Coffee Hour Reminder

The following ministries will be providing the goodies each week during coffee hour:

Soar & Explore/Church School

We are half way through our summer Sunday morning “Soar and Explore” program for children, ages 4-12 . Older kids can come and help or create artwork, too. 

Every adult is welcome. We all together enter church and join our families for Communion. We have a “Sunday Word” each week which comes out of the Biblical and children’s story and leads to our artwork. Our theme words for this summer are: Heroes, People, Welcome, Name, Earth, Heart, Seeds, Kindness, Peace, House of Prayer, Gifts, and Witness. The children have already experienced art projects including rock painting, body exercising, flower arranging, photography, weaving, collage creations, and seed planting and conservation.

Beginning in August, our art will involve painting, vegetable printing, construction, magical jar creations, and cooking--wonderful experiences for every child! Watch for a poster with our Sunday words, created by Sylvia Loughran, above the stage! During the coffee hour, you are all welcome to color in our sign on the table near the door coming from the church. Sign your name on the back if you helped create our welcome sign !!!!!!

Photos submitted by Ruth Campbell and Matt Thompson

Sunday Book Discussion Group

Enjoy the summer, get the book--Take this Bread, and happy reading!

We'll see you on Sunday, September 20, in the Fireplace Room, after the 10 am service.

Brian and Brooke 

Monthly Book Discussion Group

All are welcome on Monday, August 17, at 5:30 pm. Our book will be the popular Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. The discussion will be led by Nancy Morgan. Melissa Keeffe Jones and Matt Jones have graciously offered their home. 

Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted story about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the far-reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.

Please email: cherylkyle@aol.com for additional information and to RSVP. A light dinner will be served. Please bring your own beverage of choice.

Photos from our gathering at the oceanfront home of Ann Deming where we discussed The Art Thief led by Matt Jones.

Left: Matt and son Davis Keeffe-Jones

Center: The "jury" deciding the culpability of our art thief, his partner, and his mother.

Right: Melissa Keeffe-Jones and Anne Koehler

Photos by Cynthia Murray

Building & Grounds

Hand dryers have replaced the paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms in the Parish Hall.

West Transept wall on Monument Road side. The entire wall from the west transept to the reception room is undergoing a facelift. Work is being completed by Russ Karber.

As July marches along, so do our ‘misplaced’ plants, aka, weeds!

With a small but mighty crew on Saturday, July 25^th, we tackled the front of the church and Izzy’s alley. What’s Izzy’s alley?? Look to the left of our red door, down the sidewalk that leads to Izzy’s. It has been a difficult area to plan for. But as our pictures will show, some progress has been made. Shrubs were trimmed back, MANY weeds extracted, and new plants have gone in the ground. Please take a look below:

Big thanks to this month’s volunteers: Sue McDormand, Chuck Dow, Rich Gregory, Celia Calhoun, Peter Jensen, Ike and Fay Cole, and Priscilla Birdsall.

And thanks to Jose DiSilva and his crew, the solar field, playground, and rock wall along the parking lot, are free of weeds, for now!

If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to be in touch, and we’d love to have you join us in August.

Next Garden Parties all Saturdays: August 22^nd; Sept. 26^th; October 17^th; Nov. 14^th

So mark your calendars and join us!

Brian Ridgeway & Ann Pike-Paris

Photos provided by Brian and Ann

Outreach

Each month, a member of the Outreach Committee will share information about one of our community partners. Jeanne de Cervens writes this month about the Homeless Prevention Council:

HPC supports local residents from Harwich to Provincetown keep their housing and attain financial independence. HPC does this through several programs, including:

• Personalized case management - providing personalized solutions to promote housing and financial stability. 
• Resident Services and Rental Assistance – working with local affordable housing providers and towns to assist residents achieve housing stability.
• Young adult services – providing tailored support for unaccompanied youth under 25 facing homelessness, including through the Host Homes Program and Mobile Youth Outreach.
• Let’s Talk About Tomorrow – helping older adults explore housing options as they age.
• REACH Project – supporting clients with a goal-setting program to achieve long-term stability. 

The CHS team participating in the HPC June Walk for Home, featuring Jeanne de Cervens, John Harter, Brian Schentzer, Steve Coombs, Ben Ballard, and Phil Suraci.

The Church of the Holy Spirit support of HPC and its mission extends beyond financial support through the Outreach Committee. Patrick contributes his time and energy as an HPC Board member. The CHS May Rummage Sale named HPC as a beneficiary of a portion of the sale proceeds, and HPC clients were provided vouchers for furniture and other items at the sale. In June, members of The Church of the Holy Spirit participated in HPC’s annual Walk for Home, contributing a portion of the over $80,000 raised and adding to the tremendous spirit of community support exhibited by the walk. A personal trainer who led walkers in stretching exercises shared her story of homelessness following a divorce and how HPC helped her find a place to live with her children and reach her goal of starting her own business.

Stay tuned for ways that you can support of HPC’s mission through collections to provide backpacks and supplies as part of HPC’s Backpack to School program this month.

For more information about HPC and the people it serves, access the HPC 2025 Impact Report.

The Social Justice Team

The Social Justice Team has been busy this spring and summer! 

The LCOC Food Collection team is happy to share with you that our congregation has gathered more than 300 pounds of food over the last 4 months to help those with food insecurity. Thank you for your generosity! We had our first “blessing of the food” on July 19th, and will do this the fourth Sunday of the month. Please keep the donations coming! 

We hosted Amanda Brebin from the Community Development Partnership at our June meeting. This organization is doing great work here on the Lower and Outer Cape around housing, economic development, and civic engagement: https://capecdp.org. A key learning was to encourage parishioners to get involved in supporting local initiatives by writing letters to the editor and attending meetings at the town level. More about how to do this to come! 

Our Immigration/Refugee Subcommittee is excited to report that we have 5 parishioners who will be providing ESL support to clients at the Brazilian Resource Center beginning this September. Please contact Susan Warner if you want to jump in with this group and get trained this August! We are also looking at ways to support our local Haitian community.

The Women and Children Subcommittee is working with several of our outreach community partners to expand hands-on efforts. For example, we were able to provide a quick emergency donation of diapers to the Cape Cod Children’s Place in June, and we are looking at ways to help them more directly this fall and winter. Also, the Homeless Prevention Council is collecting items for their backpacks for kids! Please consider picking up some needed items:  https://www.hpccapecod.org/backpack-to-school

Our Democracy Subcommittee has been sharing important information about social justice efforts taking place both on Cape and elsewhere in the state, including efforts promoted by the Nauset Interfaith Association (NIA), the Cape Cod Council of Churches, the Episcopal City Mission (ECM) and the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for Justice and Joy (ENJJOY). Our goal is to learn of social action activities where we can raise our voices together and encourage others to participate more fully in our Democratic process.

Our next meeting is September 16th at 9am. Contact Nancy Haak if you’d like to attend or get on our email list. As Christians, we are called to act, love, and advocate for the vulnerable. Come join us!

Mission: “To identify social justice issues in our community and empower church members to respond with concern and active caring.”  

Tenants: Provide, Public Witness, Protect, Pray

Ladies Luncheon

Our next Ladies Lunch is August 6th. Come and join us for conversation and community. Catch up with people you know, and reach out to welcome those you have yet to meet. We meet in the CHS Parish Hall about 11:45 for a 12:00 gathering. Bring a sandwich or salad, and the rest of lunch will be provided.

Our July Ladies Luncheon was unique. Nancy Hagner+ invited Richard O’Hara, because they were celebrating birthdays on the same day. Little did we know, that Don Enos, remarkable pianist and originator of the Meeting House Chamber Music Festival, and Amit Peled, an internationally renowned cellist, would be in rehearsal! This would have been gift enough, but they accompanied the song “Happy Birthday”, and then played a short piece for the group as well. You just never know! 

Many thanks to Kate Paradise for convening our group that day.

Come join us on Thursday, August 6th!

Fay Cole

Holiday Bazaar

Our team is working hard on the 2026 CHS Holiday Bazaar happening on November 7, 2026 with some exciting new features alongside traditional favorites.

• NEW this year: Calling all artists and craftspeople to donate a piece of your work for our new CHS Artist Tab.  You can contact Carol Baffi-Duggan or Sue Sasso for details.
• As you reap your garden bounty of the season, please remember the Bazaar Food Market by donating your jams, jellies, and canned items. It's also a great time to make and freeze zucchini breads and garden veggie soups. (We will have room in a parish freezer starting in September.)
• LAST CALL for better, vintage, or costume Jewelry Donations. Drop off your treasures at the church office or coordinate through Suzy Gray.
• If you want to join this wonderful team, we are looking for help with volunteer coordination and more!
• For more information contact Nancy Boccia or Sue Sasso.

Free Shop

THE FREE SHOP - UPSTAIRS in the Parish Hall

COME SEE - COME VISIT - COME SHOP

The Free Shop is open every Monday and Wednesday - 10 to 1.

We welcome your help one Monday or one Wednesday a month!

The Free Shop is gladly and gratefully receiving your SUMMER clothing donations and large brown shopping bags with handles -- like the bags from Friends, Trader Joes, and TJ Maxx.

Your donations may be dropped off when the shop is open or put into bins on the 

the first floor of the Parish Hall by the elevator.

The shop continues to be very busy -- very active with 30 - 60 customers every Monday

and Wednesday!

Thank you!

Sharyn Laughton & Suzy Gray - CoDirectors

CHS Gallery

Tanzania mission leader and featured artist for August is Cheryl Kyle.  She is pleased to share her charcoal paintings of TREES created on birch panels, blending the charcoal to expose the grain of the wood. 

Also available for purchase are creative Maasai items collected during her work trip to Tanzania in January/February 2026. 

Cheryl Kyle will be leading a forum in the CHS Gallery on Sunday, August 9, following the service. Feel free to bring your coffee and join her to discuss the art of charcoal and to learn more about the CHS mission work in Tanzania. 

Galley West Art Gallery

Galley West is pleased to welcome you to our upcoming Artist Talks!

Please join us onWednesday, August 5, from 4 to

6 pm and on Wednesday, August 12, from 4 to 6 pm. We’ll hear from artists in the current Summer Show as they discuss their current pieces and share their unique influences, sources of inspiration, and practices.

Our Summer Show is up now until August 16.



Gallery Hours:

Wed - Sat,

10am to 2pm,

and Sundays,

11 am to 2 pm.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Pastoral Care

Did you know our pastoral care ministry will coordinate an occasional meal delivery to those in need to make life a little easier?

If you would like to volunteer to provide a meal for 1 or 2 people on occasion, or to learn about this ministry, contact Patrick or Michele Puzo.

If you are unable to attend one of our Eucharist services and would

like to receive communion at home...or...

If you are in need of a pastoral visit...or...

You or a family member has been admitted to a medical facility

(hospital, skilled care, etc.)...or ...

You want to request prayers for you or a family member or friend...

Please call the church office at (508)-255-0433

or email pastoralcare@chsorleans.org

There is also an Intercessors group that offers confidential prayers. Please email your request to intercessors@chsorleans.org 

Health Ministry

Enjoy these summer days!! Eat healthy, eat local! 

Check out this guide on our local farmers’ markets, from this month’s issue of Edible Cape Cod:

 Cape Cod Farmers’ Markets Guide

https://ediblecapecod.ediblecommunities.com/shop/shop-cape-cod-farmers-markets/

Other Health Resources:

Barnstable County Human Services:  www.bchumanservices.net (Comprehensive website with multiple resources on the Cape)                 

Councils on Aging

Orleans: 508-255-6333Brewster: 508-896-2737 Chatham: 508-945-5190  

Eastham: 508-255-6164Harwich: 508-430-7530Wellfleet: 508-349-0319

Yarmouth: 508-398-9866Truro: 508-487-2462

VNAs of Cape Cod

Hyannis: 508-957-7400Falmouth: 508-495-5716So. Dennis: 508-957-7400

Cape Cod Hospital Social Services Department

508-862-5501

Cape Cod Healthcare Newsletter: Go to this link:   https://www.capecodhealth.org/

First page has a free sign up.

Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line

Call or text:  833-773-2445 (BHHL)

Online chat: masshelpline.com

Alzheimer’s Family Support Center

alzfamilysupport.org  508-896-5170

Cape Wellness Collaborative

capewellness.org   774-408-8477

Dates to Remember

• Sunday, August 2 @ 11:30 am; Coffee hour discussion in Parish Hall--"When in Romans"
• Thursday, August 6 - Ladies Lunch; begins at 11:45 am in the Parish Hall
• Sunday, August 9 - Gallery Talk @ 11:30 am in the Reception Room; Cheryl Kyle will discuss the art of charcoal and the CHS mission work in Tanzania
• Sunday, August 16 - Fund for the Future Update @ 11:30 am in the Parish Hall
• Monday, August 17 - "Maplewood Monday" Eucharist; @ 11 am; join the residents of Maplewood Senior Living at 820 Harwich Road, Brewster.
• Monday, August 17 - CHS Evening Book Gathering at the home of Melissa Keeffe Jones and Matt Jones at 5:30 pm; selection is Theo of Golden.
• Saturday, August 22 - Monthly Garden Party at CHS; 8:30 - 11:00 am

Birthdays - Anniversaries - Remembrances

Please contact the office if we don't yet have your dates!

Birthdays

Richard Gregory 8.3 Stephen Barkhuff 8.4 Brenda Ridgeway 8.8

Steven Anderson 8.9 Diana Erb 8.9 Steven Koehler 8.1 Janet Roberts 8.12.

Margaret Anne Heuss 8.14 NancyMarshall 8.14 John Wesley Gale 8.17

Ann Anderson 8.24 Richard Koeppen 8.25 Cindy Benson 8.28

Page McMahan 8.30

Anniversaries

Diane and Charles Deaton 8.2 Phyllis and Suzanne Calsson 8.3

Marilyn and Wayne Gass 8.5 Joan and John Butterworth 8.8

Jean and Bob Collins 8.17 Ann Pike-Paris and Rick Paris 8.21

Christine and Robert LaBranche 8.21 Donna and Earle Bailey 8.27

The Rev. Sue and Bruce Lederhouse 8.29

Remembrances

Lucy Chandler 8.02.16 Phyllis M. Myers 8.02.15 Dottie Stevens 8.02.02

Peter Kuntz 8.03.01 Paul Jones 8.05.00 T. Will Joy 8.05.13

Frank Wiedeman  8.06.05 William Wahlquist 8.08.23

Mary Bunker  8.09.15 Frederick H. Burr 8.09.97 Claire Lockwood 8.10.96

Marion Grube 8.12.03 Abner Pratt 8.12.12 Suzan M. Deaton 8.13.10

Myles Mahoney 8.13.02 Mary Morgan 8.15.04 Sabin Hutchings 8.16.75

Ralph Mayo 8.17.86 Mary Wilcox 8.17.03 Robert Groves 8.18.00

Ruth Evans 8.19.99 Justine Kirkwood 8.20.21 Edith Houghton 8.22.89

Marion Kachadorian 8.22.07 Constance LoParto 8.22.13

Raymond Price 8.25.01 Frank Pike 8.26.06

Rev. William Ridgeway 8.26.84 V. Janet Seale  8.27.12

Irma Smith 8.27.97 Erick T. Miller 8.29.13. Sue Rightmire 8.30.06

Frank Joy 8.31.07. Joan Proctor 8.31.24

Recent Deaths

Sally Drew 5.24.26 Meta Hutchings 6.15.26

Bonnie Snow 6.19.26

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Watch over thy children, O'Lord, as their days increase..

Bless and guide them wherever they may be

keeping them unspotted from the world.

Strengthen them when they stand.

comfort them when discouraged or sorrowful; raise them up if they fall.

And in their hearts, may thy peace, which passes all understanding,

Abide all the days of their lives.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.,

Diocese of Massachusetts Communications

Stay informed and connected to the Episcopal Diocese of MA

To receive our diocesan communications,

including the monthly E-news go to: www.diomass.org

Brenda Ridgeway, Together Editor