Cornerstone Christ Church | West Erly, RI in Thisn Issisduee :This Issue RECTOR's MESSAGE
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November 2019 The Cornerstone Christ Church | West erly, RI IN THISn IsSiSdUeE :This Issue RECTOR'S MESSAGE ALTAR GUILD The Rev. Sunil Chandy PG 4 I love the Autumn FROM THE DEACON'S BENCH season. I love this PG 6 beautiful season because it reminds me CAPITAL CAMPAIGN to be grateful! One UPDATE month uniquely does this best for me - PG 7 November! November primes us to see our FAMILY DAY AT CLARK FARMS blessings while conditioning us to have PG 9 thankful attitudes. For the Church, November begins with "All Saints Day," a TREATS & EATS PARTY day that the church remembers the PG 10-11 saints of our lives. Contrary to a popular notion, saints don?t have to be paragons of virtues, they are not called to be CONFIRMATION CLASS TRIP "perfect"; instead, they are human beings PG 14 who chose to believe in Jesus and do their best to live the Christian life. These CALENDAR & saints witness their faith by living lives of UPCOMING EVENTS PG 15-27 faith. Some are famous, but often they 1 are more familiar than this holiday inspires us to significant figures of history. overcome these, and more Their faithful witness even in significant challenges, by the midst of struggles intrinsic focusing on our blessings. to life, nurtures our own faith. Among these gifts is the The very act of remembering understanding that we don't them gives modern day face our trials alone; we can Christians a model of faith, for rely on God and our neighbor this we have to be grateful to to help. God for them. At Christ Church, Also, in November, November reminds our nation us to be grateful for gratefully our ministries acknowledges the dedicated to build sacrifice of the kingdom of Veterans on God. This Veterans? Day. We November 24th at remember their the 10am service, service in the we celebrate the Armed Forces, a work of the sacrifice that has ensured the Acolytes as we recommission liberties of our democracy. them. In recent years this ministry of servers at the altar Finally, our nation sets aside has enjoyed enormous growth, time in November to celebrate especially among younger Thanksgiving! From the earliest servers. On the 24th, as we days of its foundation (during commission these acolytes, we the final days of the Civil War), also have invited former this national holiday bears acolytes to don their witness to the historical vestments as we gratefully challenges of our nation even acknowledge saints such as as we struggled through our Everett Perrin, former Acolyte modern-day challenges. Yet Master, and Verger of Christ 2 Church. Also, on November 24th, we will commission Caswell Cooke and Seth Tulman into the ministry of Vergers. Caswell and Seth will join George Parent in this important lay guild. Please see the next page to learn a little more about this great ministry of the Church. The sacrificial work of our acolytes and Vergers help our worship services to be orderly, helping Church to focus our attention on our relationship with God. For this, we have grateful hearts! Yes, there is much for our Church to be grateful for - this a good thing. Modern research tells us that grateful people are happy, healthy, resilient people. Perhaps this is one of the secret ingredients that has helped saints both past and present meet the challenges of the day. In Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, there are two characters, Christian and Hopeful, drawing near to the river of death. As they reach the river, they meet two shining figures, "whose raiment shine like gold and whose faces shine as the light." These two people lead Christian and Hopeful through the river of death and finally into the Celestial City. These shining figures are not angels - Bunyan calls them saints of God, shining as a light in the world of darkness. They are saints who are grateful for a God that has given them grace, love, and life filled with immense possibilities and gifts. Friends in November and for your lives, I encourage you to follow the example of the saints and be grateful! 3 NEWS FROM THE ALTAR GUILD This fall has been a busy season for the Altar Guild. Along with our usual duties, we also participated in the annual service to honor our firefighters, police and EMS personnel. The hangings will remain green until the weekend of November 23rd-24th when we change them to white for the last Sunday in Pentecost or Christ the King. Advent begins the first week of December. For the past few years, we have been alternating the colors between purple and blue during this season. This year, we will be using the purple hangings. Both colors represent ?waiting and anticipation?. 4 During the month of November, we will be welcoming new members to our church through the sacrament of Baptism. The sacrament requires a special set up at the font. The Paschal candle is placed near the font. The EWER, or large brass pitcher, is filled with water and placed next to the font. Also, placed on the font, is the baptism shell, the baptism towel (handmade and donated by the Altar Guild), and the oil of Chrism. In addition, a candle is given to each baptized person and lit at the sacrament to represent the Light of Christ. The towel and candle, along with a note from the Altar Guild, are given to each person who is baptized. Each child also receives a handmade Christening Cap and note from the Knitters? Group. After the service, the water in the font which has been blessed is emptied on the ground outside and given ?back to the earth? from whence it came. Membership in the Altar Guild is ?a labor of love? mixed with fellowship and caring, not only for our church, but also for each other. Our dedicated group would welcome the opportunity would like to know more about what we do or who we are, please contact Fr. Chandy, Cheryl Leong or Natalie Pukas. 5 ANNE BURKE From the Deacon's Bench What a difference a day makes! On November 3rd, we return to our default schedules of doing things one hour earlier. We are left in relative darkness until the Solstice when daylight hours start to grow gradually and noticeably longer. The shortened days provide cover for our difficult times, but they are also a sign of infinite order in the universe. We are aware of war, poverty and disease in our midst, but we also know and trust in God?s almighty power to overcome. Christ Church is now offering an opportunity for fellowship and food, followed by the quiet service of Compline, on the last Sunday evening of the month. Compline is a contemplative Office that emphasizes spiritual peace. Historically it is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The word Compline is derived from the Latin word completorium, meaning complete. Compline is often sung, or chanted, further enhancing our worship experience. At last, at day?s end we are blessed to behold the peace, wonder and mystery of God?s deep darkness, comforted and enlightened solely by the flame of God?s love, a beacon of hope for the day that is tomorrow. For many, the course of any given day may be fixed or uncertain, grueling or boring, or the occasion of a life changing event. Most days deserve a period of reflection and prayer; a time to review the joys and disappointments of the day, and give thanks for them all. Jesus said, ?Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.? So come, share a meal, and the peace of the Lord, and be renewed. Open your hearts, let go of your burdens, and don?t be afraid of the dark. It is where we first see the light. Faithfully, Anne 6 Capital Campaign Update The roof reconstruction project continues to run smoothly and with no foreseeable problems. The Elm Street side is complete as of this date, with the exception of some minor work remaining on roof drain leaders. Paul Kelaita (Eagle Restoration) has called for the scaffolding to come down beginning Wednesday of this week. The actual deconstruction depends on the schedule of the scaffolding contractor. Scaffolding needs to come down at the front of the Church so that the area over the door may be completed. Signed slates will be installed in this area. Scaffolding in the slype area will remain in place longer, to facilitate the final work on the flat roof over the priest's sacristy. The project has been reviewed throughout by our architect/consultant, DBVW. The quality of work remains well within specification. We have tentative plans for a wrap-up meeting with Eagle, DBVW, and Christ Church, scheduled for Oct. 29th at 10am., to be confirmed this week. There will remain some minor clean-up issues into November, but we anticipate full completion well within the 120 day contract allowance. I continue to believe that this project has been a fruitful use of our time, talent and treasure, and we should be proud of the result. Respectfully, John Wilks, Clerk 7 Acolytes I n Training 8 Family Day at Clark Farms 9 Treats & Eats Party 10 11 Fi el d s o f Fi r e Co n f i r ma t i o n Cl a s s Tr i p Youth Group at Fields of Fire Christ ian Form at ion Announcem ent s A message from Kristy Livingston..