Mission Statement of Christ Church To the glory of God, the mission of Christ Church Parish is to serve Jesus Christ and all the people of God; to encourage and facilitate spiritual development for people of all ages; to grow as Christians in a loving and forgiving fellowship, thereby confirming, witnessing, and leading others to the faith by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Transcript
Mission Statement of Christ Church
To the glory of God, the mission of Christ Church Parish is to serve Jesus Christ and all the people of God; to
encourage and facilitate spiritual development for people of all ages; to grow as Christians in a loving and
forgiving fellowship, thereby confirming, witnessing, and leading others to the faith by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
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“ God is the beyond in our midst.”
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Lenten season takes its name from the word “lengthen” –
the time of year when the days are getting longer. It seems curious at
first that the name “Lent,” which we associate with self-denial and
hardship, should have as its basis the experience of the sun returning. But, of course, that makes
perfect sense because only in the light of Easter’s approach does Lent make any sense at all.
The real purpose of Lent is to give us a time of deepening of our own life with God and other
people. You may find that attending as many of our Lenten service as you can helps you to do this.
For example, the soup suppers on Tuesday nights include a brief program led by Sister Diana and
Mother Lesley on the book, Breathing Under Water.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday on March 29. At the 10:30 service we will process
around the block before entering the church, followed by the reading of The Passion Gospel by
several different lectors. The liturgy of the Church will reward you in surprising ways, as you attend
services for Tennebrae, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, The Great Vigil of Easter, and Easter
Sunday.
Let us offer our Lent to God, trusting that we will be guided and supported on our journey.
Mother Susan
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So we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
we are members one of another.
Romans 12:5
For the past 12 ½ years my work has been closely connected to
the part of our local community living on the streets experiencing
homelessness and/or living on the edge economically. One does not
have to go far to realize that the work being done to overcome
poverty, hunger and the blight of homelessness is needed right where
we live.
In December 2014, the Eureka City Council voted to explore options addressing
homelessness. According to recent figures, Eureka has roughly 600 homeless people and there are
more than 2000 homeless in Humboldt County, many of whom are families with children.
In A Grown-Up Lent: When Giving Up Chocolate Isn’t Enough, Joanna Leiserson tells about
cases of “cooties” that started in her 4th grade school class. Someone pointed out that a new boy in
her class had cooties and the rest of the children stayed away from him, thus isolating him from the
community. The next year it was someone else and the child with cooties was isolated from the rest
of the group. The popular kids, rich ones and the athletes seemed to have been immune to cooties.
Interestingly, if someone made friends with the cootie carrier they then became part of the
community. Once the thing that was denied to the cootie carrier, companionship, was given to them,
they were cured.
Leiserson says that as adults we still have social constructs that divide and subvert the
“Community of God”. They are just different. But “when we cootie-fy people for whatever reason
or by whatever means . . . we undermine the sacramental world that God made.” We keep less-
fortunate residents out of our neighborhoods; the poor are squeezed into rundown areas that we can
avoid “without being touched by their despair. By cootie-fying them, we can keep them out of sight,
out of mind.”
Leiserson continue that Jesus had them in mind:
“Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted, and to heal a broken world. He came to bring the
sacrament of life back to a world that had forgotten how to see God in all things and to love their
neighbors as themselves. He came to heal all cootie carriers. But he came also to heal all those who
would put away the lepers and the cootie carriers, those who would turn their backs on the poor and
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the vulnerable, those who reject the community that God first created out of love.”
“Once that boy with cooties had a single friend, he didn’t have cooties anymore. The game
was over, and the kids grew up. For the sake of God and for our community, maybe it’s time for us
to grow up too.”
–
As your new Junior Warden, I have (with the help of many others) compiled a list of needs
and problems that need attention. This list will be posted on the Stewardship Bulletin Board
monthly. I will continue to be traveling this year, so Barry Ross has agreed to be my help person
and backup. Thank you, Barry.
During this month I would like to set up a committee to meet on a monthly basis to discuss
progress on our list and any new problems that need to be addressed. The hard part will be to find
a time that everyone can get together for an hour of serious discussion. The updated Campus
Needs List will be our agenda.
I want you all to know what is going on by posting updates as necessary. Plus, please call or
email me if you see a problem, or you can talk to Barry in the office, or use the suggestion box in
Lewis Hall.
Thanks to Barry Ross, Sanford Pyron, John Patton, John Hammond, Cathy Clague, ECW and
any one else that I could have forgotten.
On February 12, Betty Chinn held a thank you dinner to all who volunteer in service to her
food ministries to the homeless. The event was held at the Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center in Eureka
with a festive traditional Chinese menu to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Though the invitation
came at short notice, several of us from Christ Church were able to attend: Julie Cairns, Helen
Person, and Mother Nancy (see photo with Betty).
Besides Helen Person, who makes sandwiches on Thursdays at the Center for Betty’s
homeless, parishioners, Julie Cairns, Pam and Paul Gossard, John Hammond, Elizabeth Harper-
Lawson, Gwynn Connell, Laura Julian, Jake and Stephanie Schultz, Fiona Endsley, and I help Betty
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in her nighttime outreach ministry to the poor and hungry in our community. After the cafeteria at St.
Joseph Hospital closes each evening at 7:30 pm, we take turns (in pairs) packing up the leftover food
from the day that will otherwise be discarded. Then we transport it to Betty’s kitchen at Sacred Heart
Catholic Church on Myrtle Avenue where she creates individual servings and distributes them to the
poor that same night. It’s as simple as that, and takes less than an hour with two people!
Betty can use our help every night of the week except Wednesdays and Saturdays. Not only do
we give her a little break so she can spend more time with the children at her Day Center, we help
ease her back problems that are exacerbated by lifting buckets of soup and in wheeling the cart down
the ramp at St. Joe’s.
To continue to grow and sustain this ministry, we need your help so no one gets burned out.
Can you take one night a week? every other week? once a month? Can you fill in as a substitute? Let
me know.
“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? . . . Truly I tell you, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25:37,40)
In Christ’s Compassion,
Mother Nancy
Betty Chinn Center Thank-You Dinner
Mother Nancy, Betty Chinn, Julie Cairns and Helen Person at
the Betty Chinn Center Thank-You Dinner
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Lenten Activities
9:15 Forum We will continue to study Mark throughout Lent with the following schedule & leaders, as
noted:
March 1–Sister Diana Doncaster
March 8–Sanford Pyron
March 15–John Hammond
March 22–TBA
Lent study, worship, and soup supper The soup suppers take place on Tuesday evenings beginning at 6 p.m. To save on kitchen
labor, participants at the suppers will be asked to bring their own soup bowls. Soup and bread will be
provided by volunteers. There are sign-up sheets for attendance in Lewis Hall.
Following the soup supper, there will be a discussion group based on the book, Breathing
Underwater that focuses on “isms.” Mother Lesley and Sr. Diana will team-teach the series. A brief
compline will follow the discussion.
Please Note: During Lent, Mother Lesley has set up a table of books in Lewis Hall available for loan that
focus on spiritual interests.
Sign-up sheets for the soup suppers–facilitators and participants are on the notice board in
Lewis Hall.
Lee Garrison March 02
Mary McNelis March 03
Kathrin Burleson March 08
Michael Burleson March 13
Pam and Paul Gossard March 17
Heidi Erickson March 18
Beverly Olson March 18
Angus Stewart March 22
Patricia Toy March 22
Jacqueline Moore March 29
Lois Gossard March 31
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In the past several weeks, I’ve had innumerable conversations as people inevitably wonder
what will happen with Transfiguration House and where I will be both now and after my ordination
to the priesthood. At this point, the only answer I can honestly give is “only God knows. I don’t have
a clue.” Sister Teresa and I are taking seriously the wisdom that urges people not to make any major
decisions in the immediate aftermath of a major loss. Also, the decision is not solely ours, but one to
be made by the entire Community of the Transfiguration, with prayer, consultation and openness to
the unexpected. As you may know, four Sisters have died in the past year, so many changes are
inevitable.
However, we have some tentative plans for the immediate future. I will remain in Eureka, at
Christ Church, through Easter, for which I am most grateful. Immediately after Easter, I will return
to the Convent in Cincinnati to prepare for my ordination on May 7. Because I have taken part in the
ordination process in the Diocese of Northern California, I can joyfully say that Bishop Beisner will
be in Cincinnati as my ordaining bishop. As I will be the first Sister of the Transfiguration to be a
priest, the event will be significant for the Community. It required a long, challenging and loving
journey for us to come to this point. As with so much else, as we look to the future, we can only
listen together and try to discern what, right now, only God knows.
I will remain in Cincinnati through June, to reconnect with my Sisters there, to help with some
of the work and to take part in our annual five day retreat. After that I’ll be in Eureka at least through
September and possibly (hopefully) for a long time after that. We are exploring multiple options, but
only God knows.
People have asked if my ordination means that I will not be a Sister any longer. That one I can
answer with certainty. I’ve been a member of the Community of the Transfiguration since 1998 and
Life Professed since 2003. They are stuck with me. It is a source of joy and deep gratitude that my
Sisters have discerned God’s call to us to be a community which includes Sister-priests. My
priesthood will be an extension of my service as a Sister, not a substitute. How that will work out
day to day in practical ways, only God knows.
One thing I do know. Whatever the future holds, Christ Church is woven inextricably into my
heart. I cannot begin to express my love and gratitude, my sense of belonging and my wonder at the
privilege of being part of this congregation. That is one fact that, God knows, will not change.
Sister Diana Doncaster
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The Deacon in the Details: A Time for Action, Worship and Reflection
Do you share in the worship leadership* of your congregation?
Are you interested in how we connect what we do when the church gathers on Sunday with
our mission the rest of the week?
Would you enjoy a break for reflecting about our liturgy to enrich your lenten observance?
Then join our Semper Virens Diaconal Ministry Group
Saturday, March 14, 2015
9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
St. Alban’s Church, Arcata
The Reverend K. Lesley McCloghrie, Ms. Jan Ramsay and Deacon Phina Borgeson
will be facilitating our exploration and learning.
We’ll begin the day with quiet reflective time, so please arrive promptly.
And do plan to stay for the entire workshop.
Please bring cash or a check for $15 per person to cover materials and lunch. There
will be gluten-free and vegetarian options.
*Those who preside, those who work to set the scene (with altar service, flowers and ushering),
those who preach, those who assist (acolytes, eucharistic ministers and visitors), those who enrich
our worship with gifts of music and art, those who serve as deacons or are preparing to - all are
invited.
Register now by completing this form. Mail it (or bring it) to St. Alban’s Church,
1675 Chester Avenue, Arcata, CA 95521 by Friday, March 6. Thanks!