News You Can Use - May 27, 2020

We will be hosting a Zoom Town Hall Meeting on Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 2:00 pm. Details and login information for the meeting can be found here.

Rector's Ramblings

I have started running again during this pandemic. One of my sabbatical goals was to get back in shape and lose some weight. I was going to achieve that through lots of walking and hiking and biking as we traveled. As plans were changed, I decided that I still wanted, no, needed to get back on track with exercise and healthy habits. This pandemic time has not made that easy in some ways. Pandemic snacking is like hurricane snacking, only it doesn't end after a few days! But, carving out time to exercise has been possible, so I've done it, and it has been going well. I achieved a goal I had set for myself this week, thinking that it might take the whole summer to do it. So, it's a new goal I'm chasing.

READ MORE HERE

Worship

Worship This Week

This coming Sunday is the Day of Pentecost. As one of the principal feast days in the church's calendar, we will celebrate Holy Eucharist during our 9:15 am online service, which will be available on the Christ Church Facebook page here , on our YouTube page here , or the Christ Church website here . Although we will invite those of you watching from home to pray the prayer of spiritual communion, we will also be consecrating enough hosts to distribute it to you all in person next week.

Following guidelines set out by our bishop, Clergy and Eucharistic Visitors will bring communion to you at your homes, upon request. We will pray the brief service of Communion Under Special Circumstances with you from your front porch. We will not enter your homes, we will maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance at all times, and we will each wear a mask. We will provide printed copies of the brief service; you need not plan on anything in particular.

If you would like to receive communion next week, please fill out the form linked here.

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.

Daily Morning Prayer, Wherever You Are

Start your day and lift your spirits each morning by reading Morning Prayer. If you're at home and have your prayer book handy, find a quiet spot, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and select Morning Prayer I (BCP page 37) or Morning Prayer II (BCP page 75) and begin. If you're away from home, you can find the Book of Common Prayer at https://www.bcponline.org and the Scripture and Collects of the Day at http://lectionarypage.net.

Join Us Online for the Ordination and Consecration of the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia

God willing and the people consenting,

Frank Sullivan Logue

will be ordained and consecrated a Bishop

in the holy catholic and apostolic Church,

and 11th Bishop of

The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia on

Saturday, May 30, 2020

at 11:00 a.m.

The Standing Committee

requests the honor of your online presence

and realtime prayers.

You may view the service here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/EpiscopalDioceseofGA

Chief Consecrator

The Right Reverend Scott Anson Benhase

Vice President of Province IV and Bishop of Georgia

Formation

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

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.

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 reading 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.

For questions about where to get the book or how to connect with Zoom, please contact Bob at [email protected].

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] .

Women's Book Study

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.

Children and Youth

Youth and Children's Activities

See Mother Katie's Sunday, May 24 Kidurgy message here.

Mtr. Katie continues to minister to our children and youth in a wide variety of ways, including newsletters, emails to parents, check-ins, the Christ Church Families Facebook page and last, but not least, weekly Kidurgy worship. If you haven't had the opportunity to experience Kidurgy, click here, or on the caption above, 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.

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.

If you need to get in touch with Mtr. Katie, please contact her at [email protected].

Youth & Children's Summer Programs Update

We wanted to let you know that our summer plans for Vacation Bible School and Serving Our Neighbors, are still evolving. We will definitely NOT be hosting VBS the first week of June, as we know we cannot conduct the program safely at this time.

We are not giving up though! We are monitoring conditions and looking at a few options. One might be that we could host Vacation Bible School in July. Another idea possibly having a virtual VBS that our children and families could tune into from home. As for Serving Our Neighbors, if we can pull it off safely, we will look towards doing something in July. As time unfolds, we will be making these decisions. At this time, we know we cannot conduct these events in June, judging by the data we currently have. We welcome any feedback or ideas! Just get in touch with Mother Katie at [email protected].

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 Outreach

The Backpack Buddies - Everybody Can Help!

Our Backpack Buddies come in a variety of shapes, sizes and ages. Recently, we've had some of the youngest helpers on the assembly line yet. These youngsters are learning early in life that you're never to young to help others!

It's a mighty big job to feed 850 local children and homeless teens every weekend, and we couldn't do it without the ongoing help of our committed and caring set-up crews, packers, drivers and delivery volunteers. Everyone who helps, in any way, is crucial to the operation! THANK YOU!

This week's Backpack Buddies wish list includes:

* Fruit Cups

* Vienna Sausages

* Beanee Weenees

* Paper Grocery Bags

* Disinfectant Spray (99% bacteria killed)

If you can pick up any of these items the next time you're in the grocery store, we would be very grateful. All items may be dropped off on the front porch at the Christ Church Parish House.

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].

Fellowship

The Adventures of Flat Frank

Our friends at St. Thomas, Savannah invite you celebrate the consecration with a smile, with your own Flat Frank! P rint out the picture of our soon-to-be Bishop, available HERE , on an 8.5x11 sheet of card stock.

Use your Flat Frank as a reminder to pray for the ordination and consecration on Saturday and for Frank as he enters this new season of ministry as bishop. (See a great video of what the fun folks at St. Thomas have been doing with their Flat Franks HERE!)

Also, take pictures of you and your Flat Frank during your activities this summer. Be sure to use #FlatFranktakesDioGA ; and #StThomasIOH . P.S. Many thanks to Isabel Baxter for her artistic rendering of Flat Frank!

Parish

People

Celebrating Our Friends at Christ Church

Congratulations to another of our college graduates, Lucy Brooks! Lucy g raduated from Georgia Southern University with all A's and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. She will now begin her career in health care, as a graduate student in the nursing program at CCGA School of Nursing this fall.

Virtual Coffee Hour - 10:30 am

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:

https://zoom.us/j/792428337?pwd=WGtXRFd0THNNMWZmSzROelcxQXBiUT09

Meeting ID: 792 428 337

Password: 005760

See you on Sunday!

Stay Informed

COVID-19 Update

In terms of a COVID pandemic update, Fr. Tom would like to share with you that our Bishop-elect has let the clergy know that in-person worship will not return for any Diocese of GA parish before July 1, 2020. That date is subject to change depending on trends and infection rates in the weeks leading up to July first. All Episcopal and Lutheran bishops in Georgia have tentatively agreed on this date. Some other denominations are also suggesting late June or July at the earliest. If and when reopening for in-person worship is allowed it will have restrictions and will come first to regions with fewer cases. For the rest of May and all of June we will continue to rely on online worship, streaming to Facebook and YouTube. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Fr. Tom at [email protected] .

Frederica Road Update

Even as this pandemic has affected our regular routine, the Vestry has continued to advance the process to shift Frederica Road. Shifting the road has consistently been the first priority within the congregation, as a long-term strategic investment for Christ Church in terms of safety and accessibility. It is also the first step in our Master Plan and Capital Campaign programs.