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.

My dear friends,
As you may know, my beloved mother, Shirley, died on May 25.
She was a member of St. Albans, and communion was brought to her
at Renaissance/Timber Ridge the day before she died. She was
anointed on the day of her death.
I am taking a little time off to begin to process this huge change in my life and in the life of my
family. Her memorial service is set for Tuesday, June 16, at St. Albans at 2:00 p..m.
Our Christian faith assures us that death does not sever the bonds of love, but that our
relationships live in faith and hope, as we remember and pray for the departed who remain close to
us, even while they now dwell in the greater presence of God.
In Christ,
Mother Susan

I was so glad to come home safely from my trip. Then I visited the
church. The grounds look so beautiful. Every little corner had been
cleaned up. Thanks so much Kathy Clague. You did a wonderful job.
What a difference you have made. Everyone who goes to Christ
Church should walk around our half block plus the parking lot to
admire our grounds. Also, thank you to Dan and Merry Phillips for
donating all of the ground cover.
The ADA-compliant restroom project continues. We have a
proposed floor plan and a preliminary bid for the construction. We are
currently waiting for the final floor plan and an estimate of costs for
having an asbestos and lead paint inspection. During this time, Rene
Ross will be looking at various avenues of funding. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Does any one have a hand battery-powered sander? We have graffiti on the parking lot fence. We
need to remove it. I would remove it if I had a sander. So can someone loan me one? Thanks.
WISH LIST; one 5 x 8 section of metal fencing near the chapel has to be replaced and the back
fence repaired and planted. Currently, we have a bid from Fortuna Iron which includes also replacing
the two gates. The total of this bid is $2,882. But after talking to Fortuna Iron, we can hold off on the
gates for a couple of years, so he will send us a bid for the most necessary work (leaving the gate
replacement until later.)
If you have any questions or solutions to any of the above, please email or phone me.
bethmckendrickpowell@gmail.com 442-4471.
Thanks to everyone for your help,
Beth

Dear Friends in Christ,

Grace and peace to you, as we enter a new Season together.
Pentecost comes again, and with it a renewed emphasis on the
reality that we have been given power to live, ever more completely, into that fullness of life that Easter taught us about.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are now able to participate more fully in the life of God, and grow in the beauty of
holiness.
The Church has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. That reality defines our life together. The greatest teachers of the Christian faith remind us that the main work
of being a Christian is to make that reality more conspicuously real in our lives. It is the work of becoming who we are. It means living Godward, with the perpetual forward motion of long-distance
runners. It means knowing that all that we truly are, and should be, lies ahead of us, outside our
grasp; and so we move through our days leaning forward, Godward.
Certainly, that progress has much to do with our inner life, but our operative spirituality is not, therefore, something that is mainly internally focused. The glory of God can never be truly visible to us,
apart from our willingness to receive its light from without. To refuse the glory that appears in creation, and especially in other people, is to refuse the Spirit. Encounter with the other is an occasion for
knowing and serving God. Meeting the otherour neighborswhere they are, and learning to listen
deeply to them is holy work. Seeking and serving Christ in all persons is an essential task of Pentecost, as we partner with God to do Gods mission in the world.
May you be greatly blessed, and may we all more truly be such a Church, this Season of Pentecost.
Yours in the power of the Spirit,
+Barry
(Copied from the Diocesan website: http://www.norcalepiscopal.org/a-pentecost-message-from-the-bishop-2015 )
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What is Your Desert Island Hymn?

About a week ago I heard an interview on the radio with American
opera singer Rene Fleming. She described Richard Strauss as her
desert island composer; the one composer she could not live without. It made me think what would my desert island hymn be?
Im hard pressed to name just one how about you?
At the latest worship committee meeting we discussed a request
forwarded from some of the members of ECW (Episcopal Church
Women). Would we consider reinstating the singing of the
Doxology? I would imagine that *The Common Doxology, the longstanding familiar hymn that begins with Praise God from whom all
blessings flow, is for many a desert island hymn. Set to the tune of Old 100th, most of us grew up
singing it every Sunday as the collection plates were brought forward. It is one we know by heart
both text and music. So why is it that we no longer sing it every Sunday? I was hard-pressed to answer that, but am grateful to our clergy who were able to provide answers, which I would like to share
with you.
But first, on behalf of the worship committee, I want to reassure everyone that because we no
longer sing the Doxology every Sunday as part of the Eucharist, it does not mean that the hymn will
disappear from our repertoire! The Old 100th is a beautiful tune (two other hymns are set to this tune
in our hymnal), and the words, written by Bishop Ken are equally beautiful. We will find other ways
to incorporate it, for example, to sing as a blessing before our shared church meals or occasionally as
a hymn during our worship service.
I found an article online, Why not the Doxology in the Eucharist? very helpful. It is from the
rector at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Rio Rancho NM (www.stfrancisnm.org), and describes what I
learned from our own clergy leaders in terms of the liturgical and practical reasons. Ive included
excerpts below (in italics).
Over time, Episcopal Church parishes have developed and continued worship practices that are no
longer in line with the new BCP, and the singing of the Doxology happens to be one of those
practices. That does not mean it is wrong to sing the Doxology! But it helps to explain why we no
longer sing it at Christ Church, and why some folks still miss it.
[In the 1978] BCP, there was an effort made to simplify and unify the offertory section of the
Eucharist. To help congregations understand that the oblations (gifts) that are being offered bread and wine, money, groceries for a pantry, socks for a shelter, prayer shawls, or whatever
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people present - are all part of the single offering of ourselves, our souls and bodies" to God,
as the Apostle Paul put it. All are fruits of our labor and all are gifts that we have first received
from God. All should come forward as one simple procession up the aisle and all is placed at
the altar to be blessed by the prayer of Consecration, which is said by the priest but is the
prayer of the whole congregation to which their amen is needed.
The taking up of a monetary collection is not separate from the presentation of the elements from
Communion and should not have its own separate anthem.
The singing the Doxology at the collection of the offering has been a feature of several Protestant
and Reformed denominations, but wasnt a tradition of Anglicanism until the 1950s, when the Episcopal Church moved from Morning Prayer into
what in the 70's became normative Sunday Communion services. In some churches, a whole
lot of idiosyncratic practices grew up around the offertory The 1978 Prayerbook understands the entire Eucharistic Prayer to be that through which the consecration of the gifts is
effected; the bread and wine don't suddenly become the Body and Blood of Christ at one particular sentence or moment, but in the whole process of the congregation's prayer and Amen as
you pray along with their priest speaking the words, and in the congregation's receiving of
Communion for the nourishment of our whole selves. The rhythm of the ceremonial points to
that whole prayer as the climax of the Communion Service in which we humbly offer back to
God our work and our praise, and receive our lives back transformed, healed and renewed at
the Communion so that we are strengthened to go into the world in witness and service.
Simply put, the Doxology is spoken by the presider (and prayed by the people) as part of the Eucharistic Prayer to which the entire congregation responds Amen.
And on a practical note, for the Eucharist, the timing of the preparation that needs to be at the altar
requires a longer hymn than the Doxology. The Offertory hymn we sing is a hymn of praise and
thanksgiving to God as well as the beginning of The Holy Communion.
For some, this may be more information that you needed (or wanted) to know! For others, I hope
it offers a satisfactory explanation of why we no longer sing the Doxology as part of the Eucharist.
Thank you to members of ECW who forwarded this question. I hope it encourages others to raise
questions or forward concerns.
In closing, I invite all of you who are able to watch a powerful and moving video clip on
YouTube of the congregation of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. signing the
Doxology for its members who are deaf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHCGwJvKRBY (or
Google Metropolitan Baptist Church Doxology).
Amen!

*The Common Doxology refers to the third verse of hymn #380 in The Hymnal. The text of this verse was written by Bishop

Thomas Ken (1637-1711). For more information on the text and music, see www.hymnary.org.

George and Jane Bermudez

June 4

Irene Hannaford

June 22

Spenser Erickson

June 5

Royal and Willie McCarthy

June 22

Jim and Carrie Hogan

June 8

Bill Taylor

June 22

Elaine Grosso

June 10

Bob and Sara Hines

June 23

Douglas Moorehead

June 10

Willie McCarthy

June 26

Donna Jackson

June 11

Howard Gardner

June 28

Nick Smithler

June 16

A scene of helpers from Mays Music & Arts 4 Foster Kids

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LAY MINISTRIES
Our Lectors read the lessons that we hear before the gospel. Listening to these bible verses
read out loud can increase our understanding; perhaps the reader emphasizes words differently than
we do, and it makes us think. If you would like to help others study and consider our Sunday lessons,
consider becoming part of this important lay ministry.
This is a list of some, but no all, of our other lay ministries:
Lectors and Intercessors
Acolytes and Eucharistic Ministers
Announcers
Ushers and Greeters
Eucharistic Visitors
Coffee Hour Hosts
Contribution Counters
U-Stream broadcasts
For more information, contact Marty Vega at 443-9782 or send an email to mjv523@reninet.com.

Calling All Blue Boxes!

Blue UTO boxes will be blessed on Sunday, June 7, at both services. During the year many of
us have counted our many blessings and added coins to our United Thank Offering boxes. The funds
are used to support many outreach programs throughout The Episcopal Church - grants to help build
churches and schools, make needed renovations, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, provide shelter for
the homeless, and provide care and support for those with physical, mental, and emotional
challenges. Be sure to bring your donations on June 7. Let's at least match our donation of $700+
from 2014!

Sounds of Russia
The Russians are returning! By the time you read this, they will be in the Pacific Northwest,
concertizing in Washington and heading our way. LYRA, a group of five professional vocalists from
St. Petersburg, Russia, will present a concert of Russian choral music on Monday, June 8, 2015, 7:30
pm, at Christ Episcopal Church. The concert is open to the public and a free will offering will be
collected to support the singers on their tour.

The 60-70 minute concert will be comprised of two parts: first half of the concert will be sacred
music of the Russian Orthodox Church, including works of famous masters as well as lesser-known,
but remarkable, Russian composers of the 18th-20th centuries. The second part of the program will
be comprised of Russian folk songs: comic, lyric, dancing, and love songs.
This is a unique opportunity to experience a part of the enormous Russian musical heritage. Come
and enjoy the sounds of Russia, performed by Russian musicians! All of the singers in LYRA are
professional performers, from choirs and opera houses in St. Petersburg.
We will be providing a light supper, just for the musicians, before the concert and hosting a reception
for everyone to meet our guests following the concert. If you would like to help with either (or both)
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please contact Merry Phillips (445-0940). Flyers are available in the Narthex; please take one to
share with friends and family.
More information on LYRA is available at: http://www.lyra-online.org. The group will have CDs
for sale during the reception.

Lyra Musicians in Folk Costume

Music and Arts 4 Foster Kids

On May 22, we held the third evening of music and arts for Foster kids. Parents who had signed up
dropped their kids off at 5:30 p.m. and were free for the evening. Our volunteers taught, played, fed
and otherwise enjoyed the company of the children who ranged in age from toddlers to grade school
age. Take a look at the pictures on page six and on the next page.

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Music and Arts 4 Foster Kids, May 2015

Working on Art together

Our reliable food-prep team from Mays

Music and Arts 4 Foster Kids night

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Book Review
Greg Garrett recounts that he was at an extreme low point in
his lifehe was dying from deep depression when he found himself
in desperation entering an Episcopal Church looking for help. That
he found it in the church is the simplest explanation of his book's
title, My Church is NOT Dying: Episcopalians in the 21st Century.
From walking into St. Michael's in Austin Texas, the next few years
would find him entering the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest,
deciding against the priesthood but pursuing a vocation of writing
and preaching both within and outside of the church proper.
From these experiences and from talks with dozens, maybe
hundreds of Episcopalians around the southwest, the country and the
world, he has come up with this quiet meditation on the state of the
church here in the second decade of the twenty-first century. There is a lot to like in this small booka love letter to Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer in the first chapter, the thoughts and
quotations from Episcopalians involved in various missions and ministries both within the church
and in the larger community, the quiet and assured tone that Garrett evinces as he discusses the
various parts of church life that he loves and that sustain his faith.
From a chapter on practicing a theology that sustains an active approach to the religious lifeGarrett insists that we must be both religious and spiritual- he moves to a discussion of worship and
community. He talks about the place of beauty, art and music in our communal life and tackles the
culture wars that have taken place within the church over issues of women's ordination and gender
politics. In his view, we have been decidedly on the side of justice and says forthrightly that his own
alignment with the church is because of the church's inclusive stance on GLBT persons.
Chapters on hard topicsEvangelism, Justice, and Reaching out to others (touching lives all
week long) follow. Each chapter has a choir of Episcopal voices: priests, lay persons, bishops,
theologians, whose statements come off not as merely anecdotal evidence, but, because of the grace
of the writing, as though we are taking part in an intimate conversation about an adventure we all
share. Highly recommended!
Barry Ross

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Christ Church parishioners at last months Betty Chinn fundraiser

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The Rt. Rev. Barry L. Beisner

Bishop, Diocese of Northern California
Staff
The Rev. Dr. Susan J. Armstrong
Priest in Charge
The Rev. Lesley McCloghrie
Resident Associate Priest
The Rev. Nancy Streufert
Associate Priest
Merry Phillips
Organist and Music Director
John Hammond, Sexton
Barry Ross, Administrative Assistant
Vestry
Lyn Klay, Senior Warden
Beth Powell, Junior Warden
Bob Rex, Barry Ross, Lynne Bean, Lin Chase,
Helen Taylor, Elizabeth Harper-Lawson, Belinda Zander,
Peter Hannaford, Katherine Clague, Gail Freeman
Bob Hines, Treasurer, Peg Gardner, Clerk
625 15th Street
P.O. Box 861
Eureka, California 95502
Phone (707) 442-1797
Fax (707) 442-5647

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