August 12, 2020

IN THIS ISSUE
Last call for photos of our students who will be going back to school, (one way or another), this fall, for our annual Blessing of the Backpacks service! Scroll down for details.

Rector's Ramblings


While I haven't taken my sabbatical this year because of the pandemic, I did keep the penultimate stop from the original itinerary. As we wrapped up our exploration of the United States, we were scheduled to stay in a waterfront camp site in Key West. When I cancelled all of the other reservations, I kept that one, just hoping that we could still find a way to make it work. I wasn't sure what the pandemic would look like in August, but I hoped it might be possible to go. In my mind, I viewed it as a sort of a consolation vacation. Only a few days in length, but I learned a long time ago that a few days can feel like a lot longer. 
 
We vacillated on whether to go as we watched the pandemic risk levels in South Florida, thinking it might be best to stay home. Then we looked at the risk levels in Glynn County and decided that if we could stay safe here, we could probably stay safe there. We didn't have the large RV we were going to use for the whole summer, but I found a travel trailer big enough for the family, but small enough that our SUV could pull. Things were shaping up nicely. And then Isaias showed up. Despite it being hurricane season, what were the chances, I asked myself?  So, we waited until we had a good read on the storm, realized it wouldn't impact Key West and made a go of it.

Worship


Worship This Week

Please join us on Sunday, at 9:15 am, for online Holy Eucharist, which will be available on the Christ Church Facebook page here, on our YouTube page here, or the Christ Church website here.  
We'll Be Celebrating Communion Via Drive-Thru this coming Sunday, August 16, 2020
We will be offering Drive-Thru Communion at Christ Church on August 16, 2020, for two hours, following the live stream of the Eucharist. There is no need to make a reservation. Cars will enter at the gate next to the mailbox on Frederica Road and drive down the path. Car windows should remain closed until directed to be lowered by the clergy. A member of the clergy will administer the Eucharist, after which parishioners will drive to the back gate, to exit onto Stevens Road.
Blessing of the Backpacks and Tools of SchoolBackpackBlessings
We will have the annual Blessing of the Backpacks during our 9:15 am online worship service on Sunday, August 16, 2020. This year, things will be different, due to our COVID-19 restrictions, so Mother Katie is adapting the blessing to meet the needs of our students. 

As part of our blessing service, we would like for everybody who has a family member heading back into the learning environment this fall, whether it's to a physical school, or to virtual classes online, to please send us photos of your students, with their backpacks, laptops or whatever tools they'll be using this year. We will be showing those photos during worship on August 16, as part of the virtual blessing. 

After worship, Mother Katie will have blessed zipper pulls available for all who would like them, during our drive-thru communion after worship (see details above) and later that day, in the St. Ignatius Chapel parking lot, between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. If you have any questions, please contact Mtr. Katie at katie@ccfssi.org

And please send in the photos of your students to Julie at julie@ccfssi.org, by Wednesday, August 12, so that they can be included in the presentation! Thank you!
 
Last Sunday's Worship Service

If you missed last Sunday's Morning Prayer service and would like to see it, it's available here. (Don't forget to watch "Wait for It" after the service and see just how the clergy and staff put these video services together!)
Prayer in the Church
Beginning next week Christ Church will be open for limited private prayer time by appointment.  Each afternoon, Tuesday through Friday, there will be opportunities for individuals, couples, or families (sorry, no groups that don't live together at this time) to spend time in historic Christ Church for prayer.  Prayer times will be 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30.  Each prayer time will be 15 minutes in length, allowing 15 minutes between each session.  We will not be accepting "standing" reservations or reserving for repeat use more than one week in advance.  If we quickly fill all sixteen spaces for the first week we will begin scheduling the second week and beyond and will evaluate the possibility of adding more time slots.  

To sign up you must call the office during regular business hours (912-638-8683), we will not take reservations via email.  You will be scheduled for your time only after speaking with Glenn Queener or another staff member who can confirm the reservation.  We ask that those who come in for prayers wear masks while in the church and wipe down the pew they sit in and anything they touch with provided cleaning materials as they leave.  A staff member will meet those with reservations to allow them access to the church, as our buildings are still closed to the public.  That staff member will screen for COVID symptoms including taking your temperature and recording names in our contact tracing log book.  

This is a starting place for this kind of opportunity and we will evaluate it as we go.  This plan has been endorsed by the Bishop's office.  We will expand availability as needed and as we are able.   At this time we do not have a plan for including St. Ignatius for this kind of offering, but we are working on how that could be possible in the near future. 
Evening Prayer

If you enjoy hearing Evening Prayer read, please look for it at 5:00 pm on the Christ Church Facebook page here. The Rite I bulletin for evening prayer can be found here. The Rite II bulletin for evening prayer can be found here.


Formation 


Forward Day by Day
If you are a regular reader of the Forward Day by Day devotionals that are typically available in the Christ Church office and would like to continue to have access to them, please contact Glenn Queener at glenn@ccfssi.org. Glenn would like to have your name and street address, so he can send you copies of the booklets. You can also find the devotionals online here.
 
Wednesday Men's Study Group Meeting Remotely 
The Men's Study Group that meets on Wednesdays, at 10:30 am, has begun exploring the Book of Acts this summer. If you'd like to join the group for this Bible study or upcoming studies, please contact Te Turner at royteturner@gmail.com or Fr. David Somerville at d.somerville@me.com  for the Zoom access information.
Women's Book Study
The Women's Book Study is meeting via ZOOM at 1:00 pm on Thursdays. They have begun reading White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo. Please contact Mother Ashton at ashton@ccfssi.org if you'd like more information about this book.

Adult Sunday Class On Summer Break in June
The Adult Sunday Class, led by the Rev. Bob Brown continues to be on hiatus. Plans for the remainder of the summer and fall are evolving. For questions about the class and future studies, please contact Bob at rwb385@gmail.com.
Join Our Online Contemplative Group
A group from Christ Church Frederica are joining parishioners from Trinity Episcopal Church, in Asheville, North Carolina for an hour of prayer, reflection, and contemplation on Wednesday mornings at 11:15 to 12:15. Email Randy Siegel at Link2Randy@gmail.com if you'd like to join us! 
 Children and Youth

 
Youth and Children's Activities

This past Sunday, Mtr. Katie told us about how important it is to keep our focus on Jesus, especially when the seas of uncertainty surround us. See the entire lesson by clicking on the link below.

If you haven't had the opportunity to experience Kidurgy, click HERE, to see the message from the past Sunday. Whether you're a child or a child at heart, you'll enjoy this rewarding presentation of God's Holy Word.

If you need to get in touch with Mtr. Katie, please contact her at katie@ccfssi.org.
Christ Church Families on Facebook
Families! Please join the Christ Church Families Facebook group to keep up with all the latest events and activities. Find us on Facebook here!

 

Mission and OutreachMissionandOutreach


School Supplies and Books Still Needed for Local Students!
The new Glynn County virtual and non-virtual school year, is nearly upon us! There are many families in the area that struggle to provide the needed school supplies for their children. 

As in years past, Christ Church is working with GEM (Glynn Episcopal Ministries) to make sure area students have the materials they need for a successful school year. Please see the following list and consider helping our area students by
donating these school supplies and leaving them on the Parish House front porch in the coming weeks. If you cannot shop for supplies, donations are most welcome, too. Please write, "School Supplies for GEM' in the memo line of your check.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES STILL NEEDED

* BACKPACKS!
* Hand Sanitizer
* Disinfecting Wipes
* Paper
* Pencils
* Sharpeners
* Erasers
* 3 ring binders - 1 & 2 inch
* Crayons
* Snacks or breakfast items
* We are also looking for donations of new and gently used books, to give out to some of our young students, to use in our classrooms, or deliver to students who are doing virtual learning.

Pandemic Relief for Our Community
To our Christ Church friends we say a big thank you for supporting our Pandemic Relief Fund in recent months! One of the things those monies have allowed us to do is to provide face masks for students in local schools.  Now that the Glynn County School Board has recommended a mask mandate for all students, there is an even greater need for masks. We're committed to this outreach to help keep our children, school staffs, and community a little bit safer during this pandemic. We have a strong history of caring for children through Backpack Buddies, the ECW grant process, our Mission Committee, Glynn Episcopal Ministries and so many more initiatives. This mask drive is in keeping with this outreach priority.

Prior to last evening, we had already committed 4800 masks to local schools. Our ironing volunteers have been doing great work getting the school logos on the masks for delivery. St. Simons Presbyterian heard what we're doing and has pledged $5000 in additional support, and volunteer support to distribute even more masks. If you would like to help us get more reusable cloth masks into the hands of each school in Glynn County, please consider making a donation to the Pandemic Relief Fund. You can send checks with that fund in the memo line or go online to ccfssi.org/give to make a donation to the fund. 

Each mask, with a school logo, costs us under $2. We have now committed to getting more than 10,000 masks into the schools, and there is a need for more. Any support you can offer to help with this endeavor is appreciated. Feel free to share the opportunity with friends and family.  

Please contact the church office and let us know if you can help: office@ccfssi.org

Together, as a community, we can keep our educators, staff, students, and community safer as our kids get back into classrooms!
The Backpack Buddies Have Packed and Delivered 15,000 Food Bags in Five Months!


Feeding children and needy families in our community during this time of pandemic has been no easy task, but the determined team of Christ Church Backpack Buddies, along with Glynn Episcopal Ministries, the St. Athanasius Feed My Sheep Food Pantry, and Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, Brunswick, have been getting the job done, day after day, week after week, month after month. And we couldn't do this without the continued support of our faithful parishioners, who bring us the foods, offer their time and labor, and donate from their hearts. We thank you for everything you do to keep this ministry alive!
 
Father Tom recently asked our Backpack Buddy Leader, Susan Shipman, if she knew how many bags the Christ Church team had packed for Backpack Buddies through the years. Here are the results from Susan's records.
 
* Total food bags distributed through the schools from Fall 2012 through March 2020: 51,883
 
* Bags distributed during the pandemic from March 19 through July 31, 2020: 13,998 bags of food. (With last week's distribution (August 7) which we anticipated to be 700+ children's weekend food bags, 150 produce boxes, and another 100 bags of groceries to needy households, we were right at 15,000 bags of food given out!)
 
We are doing this as part of Glynn Episcopal Ministries' outreach, with assistance from Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia's Brunswick Warehouse. The produce boxes are provided to Second Harvest by the USDA. Second Harvest is part of Feeding America. Here's an important fact to know about how crucial the work of food banks like Second Harvest is:
 
From the beginning of March through the end of June, food banks across the country distributed more than 1.9 billion meals, according to Feeding America.  
 
Beyond Backpack Buddies
 
In June and July, we also distributed 460 food boxes and 320 bags of groceries to needy households in Brunswick, through St. Athanasius Feed My Sheep Food Pantry. We are doing this as part of Glynn Episcopal Ministries' outreach.
 
Since Second Harvest began archiving orders digitally in May 2015, Christ Church Frederica has placed 357 food orders totaling 379,338 pounds of food, at a cost of $52,412.45 (0.14 a pound). 

What Is Needed This Week 

It wouldn't be a story about the Backpack Buddies if we didn't include our weekly wish list! We've got a few items listed below that we'd love to add to our assembly line. They are:
  • Vienna Sausages
  • Beanee Weenees
  • Fruit Cups
Also, our friends at the St. Athanasius Feed My Sheep Food Pantry, in Brunswick, are still in need of a few items for the folks who are served there. This week's wish list for St. Athanasius includes:
 
*  Canned Green Beans
*  Full Size Boxes of Cereal
*  Canned Soup
*  Instant Grits
*  Bars of Soap
 
We are always grateful for your help with the Backpack Buddies mission! If you have any items you'd like to donate this week, they may be dropped off on the front porch at the Christ Church Parish House.
 
Can You "Adopt" a Buddy This Year?

If you would like to help the Backpack Buddies ministry with a monetary donation, we would love for you to "adopt" a child for the upcoming year. The cost for weekend food bags for one child for the school year is $100.
 You can donate by check (just mail it to Christ Church, at 6329 Frederica Road St. Simons Island, GA 31522 - check memo, Backpack Buddies) or give online HERE (choose Backpack Program). For more information about the Backpack Buddies program, please contact Susan Shipman at susanshipman920@gmail.com.



Celebrating Our Christ Church Friends
On August 14, our good friend, Father Bill Littleton will be turning 92. His family thought it might be nice for him to receive birthday cards from those at Christ Church who knew him. If you'd like to send birthday greetings to Fr. Bill, his address is Rev. Dr. Bill Littleton, 501 Esseola Dr., #C-5, Saluda, NC 28773
Stay Informed

 
Charity Golf Tournament
Christ Church parishioner, Charlotte Graham, would like to invite all those who love golf to sign up for the "Fore the Memories" Golf Classic, which will take place on Monday, August 17, 2020, beginning at 9:00 am. All proceeds will benefit the Georgia Alzheimer's Foundation. For more information, please contact Charlotte at Charlotte.Graham@ThriveatFrederica.com.
 
Giving Made Easy


You may use the CCF website to make pledges, donations and payments for some activities. Just select "Giving" at the top of the CCF homepage. This brings you to the pay portal. The process is fast and easy and allows you to pay by credit or debit card or by electronic bank transfer. You may change or add new payment methods at any time. Contact: Stan Kyker, CCF financial administrator at 912-638-8683.


Pastoral Care and Prayer List


Pastoral Care 

Your pastoral care team is here for you! If you have a pastoral concern, a blessing you'd like to share, want to arrange a hospital or home visit, and/or receive Holy Communion, please contact Mother Ashton Williston at 912-638-8683 or ashton@ccfssi.org.

Prayer List

To amend our prayer list or to update the church on the condition of your loved one, please email Mtr. Ashton Williston at ashton@ccfssi.org or call the church office at 912-638-8683.
Nancy Acree
Diane Burgess
Eric Burgess
Tory Braden
Judy Bradford
Rowland Bradford
Bob Dart Brown
June Brown
Beverly Burns
Jackie Byrne
Colleen Cassidy
Zoann Covington
Jody Custer
Sarah Dance
Jackie Davis
Linda Davidson
Mary Lou Detwiler
Dave Geiszler
Julie Hancock
Kim Harrison
Burgess Hartsell
Larry Hartsell
Andrew Hobbs
Carol Hoffine
Lise Hofmann
Angela Holland
Jessica Hope
Bob Huggins
Gordon Jackson
Mark Jicha
Holly Lamb
Mary Landen
Bill Littleton
Dorothy Lowery
Dott Marler
Tom Martin
Kathy Marvel
Claire McCarty
Frank Owenby
Andy Padgett
Nancy Pandolfi
Paul Pandolfi
George Patelidas
Pep Peppiat
Dale Pierson





Heath Power
Johnny Riddle
Julia Riddle
Terry Hall Robbins
Clyde Smith
Willou Smith
David Somerville
Sam Spak
Mike Swindling
Edith Tayloe
Sarah Whitman
Jennifer Willingham
Mell Wray
Hollis Youngner
Ava
Betty
Bob
Bob
Brenda
Carol
Dale
Dave
Dick
Fran
Gail
Jake
Joanne
Jordan
Larry
Maria
Marianne
Marjorie
Megan
Muriel
Pidge
Richard
Susan 
Traci
Virginia
Walter

Departed:
Fr. David Holland