PLEASE READ THE LATEST COVID-19 UPDATES
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 It seems there is good news on the horizon during this pandemic. We're hearing about peaks and an invitation to start returning to a little more normalcy. Such invitations come with caution, however. If we move too quickly, we could find ourselves worse off in a few weeks. The truth is that this virus is still going to be with us for quite some time and we will not go back to pre-pandemic ways of life anytime soon. Vaccines, treatments, and testing can all work together to confirm our relative safety and get us going again, but we're not there yet. Good news is good news, though, and we'll take it.
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| Worship This Week |
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Please join us on the Christ Church Facebook page
here, or on our YouTube page
here, this coming Sunday for worship at 9:15 am. We will be celebrating a musical Morning Prayer and invite you to watch the service with us live.
You may read or download this Sunday's service bulletin
here.
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| Evening Prayer |
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If you enjoy hearing Evening Prayer read, please look for it at 5:00 pm on the Christ Church Facebook page. The bulletin for evening prayer can be found
here.
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| A Message from the Bishop of Georgia |
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My Sisters & Brothers in Christ,
 The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia will not move to in-person worship for the foreseeable future in spite of Governor Kemp's new orders. The CDC and other infectious disease experts agree that before that can happen responsibly, the number of new COVID-19 cases must have declined for at least 14 straight days and rapid diagnostic testing must be readily available in a particular area. We have not yet experienced that decline in new cases within the Diocese's boundaries and Georgia ranks in the bottom fifth of all states in the availability of rapid diagnostic testing. Until we see such a steady decline and until such testing is readily available, it would be irresponsible for me as your Bishop to allow for the reopening of our churches for in-person worship. I know this will come as a disappointment to some, but I took vows when I was consecrated as a Bishop of the Church to "defend those who have no helper" and, as always, I must keep those vows.
Bishop-elect Logue and I are working with the Convocational Deans and the Clericus of the Diocese on how we in the future might responsibly reopen our churches to in-person worship. We must see infection rates going steadily down as well as widespread testing being available before that will happen. Please know all of you remain in my daily prayers.
+Scott
10th Bishop of Georgia
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| 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
[email protected]. 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.
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| Adult Sunday Class Zooming Along |
 The Adult Sunday Class, led by the Rev. Bob Brown has moved to Mondays, at 11:00 am, via Zoom. If you'd like to join the group, you can find it here:
https://zoom.us/j/430040512 The meeting ID is: 430 040 512
The Adult class is beginning a new study entitled
Stories based on a book by Will Willimon who is the Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.
Throughout the ages, storytelling has proven to be the best way to engage people and illustrate a principle or theory - one that is much more memorable than merely presenting statements of belief. No one knows this better than Will Willimon, a master storyteller known for his riveting, edgy, witty, and provocative stories and parables about human nature and Christian faith. Readers will recognize themselves, friends, and love ones in the insightful stories of joy, agony, thankfulness, greed, trust, fear, healing, suffering, laughter, weeping, yearning, irony, hatred, and love.
For questions about where to get the book or how to connect with Zoom, please contact Bob at
[email protected].
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| Wednesday Men's Study Group Meeting Remotely |
 The Men's Study Group that meets on Wednesdays, at 10:30 am, is meeting remotely using Zoom. They are currently studying, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, by David Quammen. If you'd like to join the group
, please contact Te Turner at
[email protected]
.
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| Women's Book Study |
 The Women's Book Study Group has begun 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.
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| EC101 |
 EC101 continues to meet remotely, via Zoom, on Thursdays, at 5:30 pm. If you'd like to know more about the class, or just want to get more information about the Episcopal Church, please contact Mtr. Becky at
[email protected]
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Youth and Children's Activities
All in-person classes and activities for children and youth at Christ Church are cancelled until further notice. Mtr. Katie is communicating with our families through emails (click here for the latest) and on the Chris
t Church Families Facebook page
here
. If you need to get i
n touch with Mtr. Katie, please contact her at [email protected].
Mtr. Katie's suggested devotions for youth can be found at
d365.org
. These
daily devotions are geared towards teenagers - put together by youth ministers. You can even sign up to have the devotion emailed to you daily.
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EYCS College Scholarship Applications Open
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 Applications for the next round of college scholarships from Episcopal Youth and Children's Services for college students is now open! EYCS began as an orphanage for girls in Savannah in the early 1800's and has morphed an organization supporting children and youth in our diocese by awarding scholarships for summer camp programs at Honey Creek and college scholarships.
- You may apply by going to www.eycs.georgiaepiscopal.org and selecting the Educational Scholarships tab at the top of the page.
- Completed applications should be submitted and/or postmarked by May 31, 2020.
- All applicants must be Episcopalian, 22 years of age or under, and legal residents of and members in good standing within the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. Funds are only available for undergraduate (not graduate) study and are awarded based on family need.
- Applicant must be, or intend to become, a full-time undergraduate student taking and passing at least 12 credit hours per grading period.
- Education scholarships are approved for one school year only. Applicants may reapply in successive years (for a maximum of 4 years).
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| Christ Church Families on Facebook |
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Families! Please join the Christ Church Families Facebook group to keep up with all the latest events and activities. Find us on Facebook
here
!
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| The Backpack Buddies Update |
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| Weekend Food Bags for the students we serve throughout the school year are being distributed with the help of Communities in Schools at pick-up locations like St. Athanasius Episcopal Church in Brunswick. |
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The work of the Backpack Buddies continues unabated at Christ Church, despite the many obstacles the team faces in feeding our young friends in Glynn County. For health safety reasons, packing teams are restricted, very small and must be coordinated through Susan Shipman -- and food supplies are often limited, but we are continually finding ways to keep the program going -- and growing!
 If you would like to help the Backpack Buddies ministry with a monetary donation, it would be greatly appreciated. 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). We are now feeding nearly 300 additional children per week, so every cent will be put to good use!
For more information about the Backpack Buddies program, please contact Susan Shipman at [email protected].
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| Helping at Second Harvest |
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On Wednesday morning, April 22, 2020, America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia hosted an emergency drive-thru food distribution at the Brunswick location, at 134 Indigo Drive. It was a first come, first serve distribution of non-perishable foods, plus frozen protein and dairy products. A team of volunteers, including Paul Salter, Deb Luginbuhl, Susan Shipman and Fr. Tom Purdy from Christ Church helped fill out paperwork for the individuals who were being served and members of the Georgia National Guard loaded the food boxes into the trunks of their cars. Approximately 750 families were helped. The need for emergency food has increased dramatically in our community in the last six weeks and Second Harvest would gladly welcome contributions to help continue feeding needy folks in our area, in the weeks to come. If you'd like to help, please go to
helpendhunger.org for online donation information.
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| Helping the Community in Times of Need |
We invite all parishioners to support community relief efforts as they are able.
Two local non-profits (there are others) that will be doing good works to address this current crisis include:
Firebox - a relief organization here in Glynn County, started by the folks as Southern Soul to support restaurant workers in need. Many restaurant workers have been out of work for a while, with no income for themselves or their families.
https://ssbbqfirebox.com
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| The Beauty of Easter Continues |
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Easter lilies and beautiful
flowers have been an integral part of Easter celebrations at Christ Church for decades. Despite the cancellation of in-person services this year, flowers given to the glory of God still adorned our worship  spaces at Christ Church and St. Ignatius Chapel on Easter Sunday. Additional Easter lilies were also delivered to many of our shut-ins by the Daughters of the King, prior to Easter. Now that we are in the Season of Easter, beautiful flowers on the doors at St. Ignatius remind us of our joy in knowing that Christ is Risen and give us hope for the future. Many thanks to our Flower Guild members, particularly Nancy Stoddard, David Lowe and Susan Shipman, for their most-appreciated contributions.
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| Virtual Coffee Hour - 10:30 am |
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After Sunday Worship, why don't you drop by the Christ Church Virtual Coffee Hour at 10:30 am and see who's there. Stay and chat for a bit with some of the other friendly folks you haven't seen in a while!
It's easy enough to do from your laptop, tablet or phone. Just go to Zoom Meetings at:
Meeting ID: 792 428 337
Password: 005760
See you on Sunday!
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| Giving Made Easy |
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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.
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Pastoral Care and Prayer List
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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
[email protected].
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 [email protected]
or call the church office at 912-638-8683.
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Nancy
Acree
Bob Baker
Tory Braden
Judy Bradford
Roland Bradford
Gene Broadwell
Bob Dart Brown
Beverly Burns
Jackie Byrne
Colleen Cassidy
Zoann Covington
Jody Custer
Jackie Davis
Linda Davidson
Mary Lou Detwiler
Dave Essig
Dave Geiszler
Sheika Gramshammer
Mary Hanley
Burgess Hartsell
Larry Hartsell
Andrew Hobbs
Carol Hoffine
Lise Hofmann
Angela Holland
Jessica Hope
Gordon Jackson
Holly Lamb
Bob Lazier
Bill Littleton
Dorothy Lowery
Dott Marler
Tom Martin
Kathy Marvel
Claire McCarty
Frank Owenby
Johnny Riddle
Julia Riddle
Terry Hall Robbins
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Willou Smith
David Somerville
Sam Spak
James St. Clair
Mike Swindling
Edith Tayloe
Meghan Thrift
Sarah Whitman
Jennifer Willingham
Mell Wray
Hollis Youngner
Ava
Betty
Carol
Dale
Dave
Dick
Earl
Fran
Jake
Joanne
Lara
Larry
Marianne
Megan
Muriel
Olivia
Pidge
Richard
Susan
Traci
Virginia
Walter
Departed Friends
Rod Powell
Bob Lazier
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