Christ Church in the City of New Brunswick
This is a reminder that you're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in Christ Church. Don't forget to add admin@christchurchnewbrunswick.org to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox!
You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our emails.
Thank you to those who have made a financial commitment to Christ Church for the coming year.
To date we have received 76 pledges totaling $244,250
The Stewardship Committee and Vestry thank you all for your generous support of the mission and ministries of Christ Church. Your pledges will go a long way in helping spread the word of the Lord into the communities we serve, including our Christ Church Congregation Community!!! We look forward to updating you on our progress with the campaign, and how those pledges will be invested in all that we do.
December 5, 2019 | Calendar of Events: December 8-14, 2019
This Week
The Second Sunday of Advent: Peace


8:00 a.m.  Holy Eucharist, Rite I, Sanctuary
9:15 a.m. Men's Ministry joins the Special Advent Adult Forum, Ross Room
9:30 a.m.   Choir Rehearsal, Chancel
9:30 a.m. Church School & Pageant Rehearsal
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II, Sanctuary
10:45 a.m. Children's Ministry for Ethnos, Chapel
Noon Coffee Hour, Nicholas Room
Noon Black Heritage Committee Meeting, Ross Room
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Food Pantry Delivery Volunteers needed to help receive 5,372 pounds of food!
7:00 p.m. Tuesdayers Book Group, Chapel
7:00 p.m. Vestry Meeting, Ross Room
Wednesday
12:15 p.m. Holy Eucharist, Chapel
6:00 p.m. Food Pantry Distribution
7:30 p.m. WomenSpirit, Ross Room
Thursday
7:00 p.m. Canticum Novum Rehearsal, Chancel
8:00 p.m. Chamber Choir Rehearsal, Chancel
Saturday
10:00 a.m. Joyful Noise Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room
We’re Celebrating Rev. Joanna’s 10th anniversary of her ordination to the Priesthood
Please plan to gather for a festive coffee hour after the 10:30 service next Sunday, December 15th as we celebrate Rev. Joanna and give thanks for her commitment to Christ and her ministry among us.
Rehearsals for the Christmas Pageant
December 8, after Church School
December 15, 9:15 a.m.
December 22, after Church School
This Week in Church School:
God Calls Samuel
The Holly wears the Crown. 
 
During this Advent season you will see three of our Stained Glass windows enhanced by arrangements of Holly.  Throughout Germany and Scandinavia Holly is known as Christ Thorn. The prickly leaves represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus on the day he was crucified, because of the thorns. Legend states that holly berries were originally white, but that the blood Christ shed for the sins of humankind stained the berries forever red.
 
Text from the English Carol:  The Holly and the Ivy 
2) The holly bears a blossom, white as the lily flower,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, to be our sweet Savior. [Refrain]
3) The holly bears a berry, as red as any blood,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, to do poor sinners good. [Refrain]
4) The holly bears a prickle, as sharp as any thorn,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, on Christmas day in the morn. [Refrain] 
Support Christ Church by designating us as the charity you’d like to support when you shop on Amazon. They’ll donate 0.5% to Christ Church. Once you log in you’ll be asked to select the charity you’d like to support. Search for: Christ Church in New Brunswick.  
There is no cost to the church or to AmazonSmile customers.
Notable Items
Homemaker and Personal Care Aide
Homemaker and personal care aide needed to assist a 65 year old man with a muscular disease known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This job is a part time position located in Somerset close to New Brunswick (off Easton Avenue) five to six days a week (Monday to Friday/Saturday) in the late morning: 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Fifteen hours a week at $15.00 an hour but some weeks could be a few more hours, as needed. The hours can be somewhat flexible. You will provide your own transportation. Must be punctual and reliable.
 
I have no difficulty speaking or communicating and have no mental impairment. I am able to walk, to participate in my own care and to speak/communicate fully.
 
Personal daily care includes assistance with showering and dressing. I need no medical care. Daily homemaking responsibilities typically would include preparing a light breakfast each morning (e.g., coffee, cereal, fruit, etc.), emptying and filling the dishwasher, making the bed and general home tasks. Providing food and water to a friendly dog (3 years old) who exercises in a fenced yard and does not need to be walked.
 
If you would like to help me maintain as normal a lifestyle for as long as possible, please contact me at:  karl.g.manger@gmail.com
Tuesdayers are currently reading  A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community by John Pavlovitz.
Pastor John Pavlovitz invites readers to join him on the journey to find—or build—a church that is big enough for everyone. He holds a mirror up to the modern church and speaks clearly into the heart of the issues the Christian community has been earnestly wrestling with: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, global concerns, and theological shifts.
 
Please join us on Tuesdays, from 7-8:30 PM, for discussion each week about a different portion of the text.
Regis Methven, our weekday sexton, was diagnosed with liver cancer in January. He has had radiation treatment and chemo which had stopped it from growing. However, his recent test results show that the cancer has spread to a different part of his liver and his lymph nodes are enlarged. He is going to need a liver transplant and must have $6000 in an escrow account for medications he will need that are not covered by insurance. The anti rejection medications he will need for the remainder of his life are very costly. We ask that you hold him in your prayers and, if you’re able to provide financial support, please visit the Go Fund Me page (linked below)
We are in the process of registering our Food Pantry clients to provide $25 gift cards to their children and grandchildren.  Please place purchased gift cards and the corresponding ornament from the tree in one of the white envelopes in the back of the church and place in the donation box. Gift cards can be ordered through ShopWithScrip by contacting Paul Ambos.
This is such an important gesture of love to our Food Pantry clients, sometimes being the only gift their children receive.  
Low-Denomination Gift Cards Now Available

From now through December 23, while supplies last, Shop With Scrip is offering low-denomination gift cards that are appropriate for year-end presents.

Five-Dollar cards are available for Barnes & Noble, Blimpie, Cold Stone, Panera, Starbucks, and Taco Bell.

Ten-Dollar cards are available for Amazon, Applebee's, CVS, Darden, The Home Depot, IHOP, Meijer, Outback, Red Lobster, Regal, Safeway, Target, and Walmart/Sams Club.
If you are purchasing cards to be donated to our pantry clients for Christmas, PLEASE note that in the memo portion of your check for tax purposes. 

See Scrip Coordinator Paul Ambos after services (8:00 & 10:30) Sundays to order.
In the month of November our food pantry volunteers served
  • 182 Households (508 persons)
  • Of those, 245 were children under age 18
  • 79 were Seniors
We had 95 volunteer hours during the month!
Weekly Financial Update
Weekly amount needed to sustain ministry $8,829
Guaranteed income (rents, etc.) $253
Pledges/Donations received last week $5,787
Shortfall $2,789
Topics on the Minds of the Vestry (from the November 12th meeting)
·   Members approved a project to improve the safety and effectiveness of the lighting in the sanctuary. This project is made possible through a generous gift of Deacon Pete through the Cornell Family Foundation , in memory of his mother.
·   The vestry will ask the Finance Committee to budget $10,000.00 toward the rector’s sabbatical, which is agreed to in the rector’s formal Letter of Ageeement.  
·   Members reviewed information and feedback on the future of the Christ Church music program.
How2charist: A Digital Instructed Eucharist
 
When God finds us, there is always a celebration. In the Eucharist, we gather to celebrate God finding us in Jesus Christ. If you’re feeling lost, when you come to receive Jesus in bread and wine, ask to be found. If you know what it is to have been found by God, when you come to receive Jesus in bread and wine, give thanks – thanks to the one who came looking for you, and found you.
-Br. Geoffrey Tristram
Society of Saint John the Evangelist
 
I often get asked, “Why do we do what we do in the Eucharist?” This is why I am very excited to present our 2019 Advent series this year – How2charist: A Digital Instructed Eucharist. How2charist is a resource for formation and evangelism based on the Rite II Eucharistic liturgy of The Episcopal Church. The film and its accompanying guide were made in consultation with many Episcopal clergy and lay leaders, that it might capture core elements of the service which would be recognizable to all Episcopalians and follow and honor The Book of Common Prayer . The Rev. Callie Swanlund, who led the 2019 Christ Church Vestry retreat, is the lead project designer of How2charist . The four-part series includes:
Session 1 (December 1): Liturgy of the Word Part 1
Session 2 (December 8): Liturgy of the Word Part 2
Session 3 (December 15): Liturgy of the Table Part 1
Session 4 (December 22): Liturgy of the Table Part 2
Mark your calendar!
Parish Annual Meeting, Sunday, February 2
Ministry reports to be included in the Annual Report must be submitted to the parish office no later than January 5, 2020.
Black Heritage Sunday, February 9
There will be ONE SERVICE ONLY on both dates.
Opportunity available!
We are still looking to hire a new Sunday sexton!
Copies of the position description are available in the rear of the church or can be viewed here.  Please prayerfully consider friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. who may be the right “fit” for this position. Instructions for candidates are included in the position description.
The Final Edition of Close Call was published Tuesday, November 26. Click here to read the issue.




The Gospel Of John | Epiphany 2020
Readings for the next 3 weeks
(click on the date to view full text)  



December 22 (Advent 4) Lessons & Carols
Genesis 3:8-15
Isaiah 7:10-16*
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18*
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
Romans 1:1-7*
Luke 1:26-38
Matthew 1:18-25*




Attention: Ministers of the Liturgy
PLEASE REVIEW
The December schedule has been updated and can be found here.
Please note: The Christmas schedule will be published separately. Please notify  Terry Ann Schwarz by noon on Wednesdays when you make a substitution in the Sunday schedule. If you would like to become a volunteer for one of the many roles available at each service, please contact Reverend Joanna   rector@christchurchnewbrunswick.org.
Our Usual Info
  Pastoral Care
 
If you are in crisis, having surgery, are in the hospital and are in need of pastoral counseling from a clergy person, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our clergy team:
 
            The Rev. Joanna Hollis -732.307.7244
            Archdeacon Pete Cornell -732.789.4484
            Deacon Cathy Brunson -732.778.7685
 
If you would like to schedule home communion, please contact Rev. Joanna and she will arrange for either herself, one of the other members of the clergy team or a Lay Eucharistic Visitor to bring communion to you.
 
If you would like to be reached out to by one of caring members of the Pastoral Care Team for friendly and prayerful visits or are ill and would like to request help with meals, please contact Deacon Pete Cornell , Chair of Pastoral Care, at 7732-789-4484.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact either Rev. Joanna or Deacon Pete if you know of someone who is in need of care or counseling.

FAQ
DIRECTIONS ARE AVAILABLE ON ANY PAGE OF OUR WEB SITE .
 
FREE PARKING VOUCHERS are available for the Lower Church Street parking deck next to the church grounds. Please see an usher for a voucher and an instruction sheet. Tip: For easy exit from the Church Street Deck, please use the voucher at the right-hand exit gate. 
 
THERE IS A LIVE FEED of the sanctuary in the Nursery (located near the Parish Offices) for those parents or guardians who might choose to take their children there during services.
 
IF YOU NEED A RIDE TO CHURCH for an upcoming worship service or other church activity, please call Terry Ann Schwarz, Business Operations Manager, at the Parish Office 732.545.6262 and let her know which service or other activity for which you would like a ride, as well as your pickup location.
 
WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINES: Please keep in mind that information you would like included in our weekly publications must be submitted in a timely fashion.
For printed Parish Notes, the deadline is Wednesday at 11 a.m.; for the weekly
 e-mail, please submit by Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Thank you for your cooperation.  

External Links
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contact Us
Christ Church in the City of New Brunswick
732 .545.6262 |  Visit us on the web


Parish Staff
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE.


 
Christ Church in the City of New Brunswick | www.ChristChurchNewBrunswick.org