I am heading out for some vacation today. Nothing fancy, just a change of scenery with social distancing in a new place. I need a break, and I'm grateful to have one. One of the things I'm going to try to do is to ignore my phone for a bit. This pandemic has found my phone in my hands too often again. I didn't have time to write a rambling for this week before leaving today, so I've pulled one from six years ago that deals with the same tension around my phone. Apparently, I didn't gain as much ground as I had hoped back in 2014. Or at least I didn't hold that ground. In truth, distractions are a good thing with so much challenging news, but even so, there's a balance. Here's hoping I can find some of that again this week.  If you could use some, I hope you can find it, too!

I love my smart phone, perhaps too much. One of my growing edges is to learn to put it down more often. It's something I've been doing better with, but which still presents a challenge. An attachment to cell phone - smart phones in particular - leads to a distracted life. 

If you want to learn about how we can work toward racial justice and healing, here's a good suggestion from the Diocese of Georgia.

 

R ead and Discuss

Just Mercy 

This book by Bryan Stevenson was the Diocese of Georgia's book for Lent 2019, but if you didn't get a chance to participate in that study, you might enjoy reading this book now, perhaps along with family and friends. Bishop Logue has created study this guide to go along with the book. It is available to download HERE.

In this coming of age memoir, Stevenson recounts his early career and the cases that led him to found the Equal Justice Initiative. He worked through the United States Supreme Court to prohibit sentencing children under 18 to death or to life imprisonment without parole. Stevenson has assisted in cases that have saved dozens of prisoners from the death penalty, advocated for poor people, and developed community-based reform litigation aimed at improving the administration of criminal justice. 

The book is available in paperback and as an audio-book read by the author. There are also several copies available for purchase in the Christ Church Book Shop. If you'd be interested in obtaining one, please contact Glenn Queener at 912-638-8683.

If you have attended EFM in years past, please let us know. Mother Ashton is in the process of making a list of all our EFM graduates from Christ Church. If you have any questions regarding what EFM is, you can find detailed information at this link.  You can also contact Mother Ashton at  [email protected]  or call the church office at 912-638-8683.

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  [email protected] if you'd like to join us! 

The Adult Sunday Class, led by the Rev. Bob Brown will be on hiatus during the month of June. Plans for the remainder of the summer months are evolving.  For questions about the class and future studies, please contact Bob at [email protected] .

The Women's Book Study Group is meeting remotely, via Zoom, on Thursdays, at 1:00 pm. The book they're reading is Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All by Karen Ehman.  The book is available at Christian book stores and on Amazon. Please contact Mtr. Ashton at [email protected] if you'd like to join the group and for more information about meeting using Zoom.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW!

 

This year, the Diocese of Georgia is offering a digital Vacation Bible School, beginning on June 22. All children from PreK through rising 5th Grade are invited to join us for the week as we learn more about what it means to be a good neighbor. Each day will have an opening session with music and worship, story time, art fun, and a closing session.

 

To register and find out more, visit 

http://georgia.anglican.org/vbs2020 or contact the Rev. Canon Joshua Varner at [email protected].

For additional information, please contact Mother 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 !