SUNDAY SERVICE INFORMATION 



Our current worship schedule is as follows:

8:00 AM Rite I Holy Eucharist Service

10:30 AM Rite II Holy Eucharist Service. This service will also be live streamed. 

Service bulletins can be found on our website here.

Live Stream links can be found on our CEC Facebook Page and our CEC YouTube Page.

If anyone has a graduating senior (high school or college) contact Brielle Giard at bgiard412@gmail.com.

APRIL 2024

America's Evolution from Colony to Revolution

The United States began with many small English colonies who learned to live together and founded our country. Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony came from England to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. They were governed by Puritans elected by members of their church. There was low tolerance for other religious views including the Anglican, Quaker and Baptist. The Bay Colony was owned by stockholders who lived in the colony which limited interference from the King. Ministers with slightly varying views migrated to the Bay Colony with their congregations resulting in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire Colonies.

The Connecticut Colony started as Congregational Puritan with strict laws and local schools operated by their church. All residents paid taxes to the local Congregational church. Eventually residents could file to pay taxes to their own minister. By 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, there were Anglican, Episcopalian, and Baptist congregations. Rhode Island was founded by an outspoken Baptist who was banished from the Bay Colony. Rhode Island guarenteed freedom for several religions and self government. The Quakers built their first meeting house there and were safe. The first Synagogue in America was in Rhode Island and they were the first colony to renounce allegiance to the King. The New Hampshire area had grants from the Crown in 1622 to establish a fishing and trading settlement. The area became a separate province in 1679 and by 1776, Its citizens strongly supported the Revolution. .

Virginia was settled in 1607 by loyal upper class Anglicans seeking economic gains, followed by Scots-Irish Puritan Presbyterians who supported England in the Irish Civil war. Virginia was a geographic center for the colonies. The Revolutionary and Civil Wars ended there. A Seminary was founded there for Anglican ministers who took a vow of loyalty to the King. The Colony in Maryland was formed as a haven for English Catholics to worship and conduct business without fear of persecution. Both Carolinas were settled by the English in 1680 to trade with the natives and export deerskins. Georgia was split off from South Carolina as a barrier to Spain invading the Carolinas. British troops occupied Charleston during the American Revolution as Charleston had both patriots and loyalists 

Pennsylvania was bought from the English King by William Pen to settle a debt owed by the King to his father. William Pen was expelled from Oxford for being a Quaker and made Pennsylvania a Colony for Quakers. Pen drafted the Charter of Liberties for Pennsylvania including free and fair trial by jury, freedom of religion for anyone who believed in God, freedom from unjust imprisonment and with free elections. Many persecuted religious groups settled there. These ideas were incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution In 1664 the British took over the Dutch Colony of New Amsterdam by agreement with the Dutch, renaming it New York. New Jersey became a Royal Colony in 1738. These diverse Colonies joined a revolution and formed a new Country.  

Visit the Camp Allen website HERE for more information and to sign up.

FIND - School for Spiritual Direction and Formation is accepting applications for the Class of 2027. The school, hosted by Middleway Urban Monastery in Bryan, TX, holds classes one Saturday per month, 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM, for clergy and lay people. We are diverse and ecumenical without educational or age limits.

Visit www.schoolforspiritualdirection.org for more information.

Intercessors will be at the back of the church in the narthex to pray with anyone who would like special prayers during communion on Sundays. Often people will ask for prayers for healing for themselves or others, but any prayer request is welcomed. If you would like to pray with one of our prayer partners, you are encouraged to come forward for communion and then make your way to the narthex for additional prayers. If you have any questions about this ministry or are interested in becoming a prayer partner to pray with others, please contact Cindy Gravis or Fr. Richard.

If you would like to learn about other ways to financially contribute to the life and work of our parish, please contact our Treasurer, Wright Meyer.

They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. 

Jeremiah 17:8

CEC VESTRY MEETINGS

The Vestry usually meets on the third Monday of each month, at 7:00 p.m. Any congregant can attend a Vestry meeting and observe. Only Vestry members have voice and vote. Vestry meetings do become "closed" when discussing personnel issues or staff salaries. Vestry meets via Zoom. If you wish to attend, please notify Fr. Richard, and he will send you the Zoom link.

CEC Finances – Available in the Library

Quarterly financial statements are available on the bulletin board in the library following the vestry meeting.

The Senior Shepherds is a Service/Social organization at CEC. Anyone over the age of 50 in the church is welcome. We meet on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 11:45 am in the Library for a delicious Potluck meal and lively conversation. A short program normally follows the meal. We do various interesting and creative service projects for the church children and the local community; host exciting outside speakers; visit unusual local places and have occasional seminars for better living. Contact: Betty Prince at bettyprince25@gmail.com for more information. 

The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets on the 3rd Sunday of every month from 4-6pm in the Library. We knit, crochet and do various other needlework and sewing crafts to meet a known need in the community such as providing pretty and comfortable caps for cancer patients; providing crocheted and knitted prayer shawls for those in need of comfort in our church community. These items are made with prayer and much interesting conversation. They are blessed by Father Richard before being distributed. Learn to knit or crochet at our meetings. Teens are welcome. Contact: CarolMonroe71@gmail.com or bettyprince25@gmail.com.

The Tuesday Book Club is reading The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses by C. S. Lewis. This book may be available at Mardel or Half Price Books. It’s also available on Amazon. We meet every Tuesday from 10:30-12:00 in the Outreach Room. Please join us for lively discussions, diverse insights and a lot of fun. All are welcome!



Questions, please contact Mary Wybenga at EJayW@msn.com or at 303-850-7347.

Choir Practice is held every Wednesday at 2:30 PM in the sanctuary. Anyone who is interested in joining, or getting more information on our choir, is invited to attend a practice. Questions? Contact Dave Gravis.

Ministry to and with Infants/Toddlers and their Families.

We have three spaces available to minister to our youngest members and their families on Sunday mornings.



1. Our church nursery is open from 9:00 am to noon. The nursery is located in the Family Life Center. The nursery serves children through the age of 4 and is open every Sunday morning.
2. A “soft” play space is located in the back of the sanctuary where children will find a small selection of toys and parents will find rocking chairs.
3. A “cry room” is located above the sanctuary and accessed by the stairs in the narthex/lobby of the church. The cry room contains comfortable seats, toys, and a changing table.

Children's Chapel meets Sundays during the 10:30 service in the Family Life Center.

Volunteers are needed! Come help our youngest parishioners grow in Christ! Children's Chapel meets Sundays during the 10:30 service in the Family Life Center. If you can help, please contact Fr. Richard. Lesson plans and supplies will be provided.

All third party events held at the church are listed here. For parents, if at the church campus while the event(s) is taking place, children should be supervised by a trusted individual, as Safeguarded personnel / volunteers will not be present.

Upcoming Third Party Events:

AA Meeting - Wednesdays at 6:30 PM in the Library, Stone Building

Elections - April 22 through May 4