Sanctuary LampIndicates ReservedSacrament

A Sanctuary Lamp was recently installed inthe Sanctuary of Christ Episcopal Church.Sanctuary Lamps are common throughout a variety of Christian Churches and are presentin nearly all churches in the Episcopal Dioceseof Connecticut as well as the Diocesan HouseChapel. Lamps displayed in Anglican/Episcopaland Roman Churches indicate the presence of the Reserved Sacrament, the elements of breadand wine consecrated during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.Sanctuary Lamps in someLutheran churches representthe presence of God. TheSacrament is set aside for

administration to shut-ins

and others who would receivehome Communion brought tothem by the priest or licensedlay ministers serving on ourPastoral Care committee. The Sanctuary Lamp usually hangs near or over thetabernacle or aumbry, a small cupboard containing the consecrated elements. The Sanctuary Lamp, the gift of The Rev’d and Mrs. Anthony C. Dinoto, was given at Christmas in Thanksgiving forthe

parishioners of Christ Episcopal ChurchGuilford.

Annual Parish

Meeting toConvene Feb. 8

The Annual ParishMeeting of ChristEpiscopal Church,Guilford will becalled to order onSunday, February 8

at 11:45 a.m. The Orderof Business will includepresentationof the ParishBudget for 2009, which will have been votedon and approved by the Wardens and Vestry. Additionally, all communicants in good

standing, (those listed on the ocial list of eligible voters) will vote to elect ocers and

vestry members for the coming year. There will be ONE celebration of the HOLYEUCHARIST on Feb. 8

at 10:00 a.m.Parishioners are asked to contribute to a “Carry In Brunch” to be shared after the service in theParish Hall. The Parish Meeting will be calledto order in the Church by our Interim RectorFather Anthony C. Dinoto. The meeting

should take no more than forty-ve minutes.

MARK YOUR CALENDARSUNDAY, February 8, 2009 Annual Meeting11:45 a.m. in the Church Sanctuary

GLAD TIDINGS

No.1. Vol 09 January 2009 christchurchguilford.org

GLAD TIDINGS

Mardi GrasCostume Ball

Join in the merry-making and good cheeras we celebrate Mardi Gras ( French for“Fat Tuesday”) on SATURDAY, Feb. 21

6:00 pm.“The Guilford Green Krewe of ChristChurch” will celebrate Mardi Gras with a Costume Ball and Cajun stylecuisine prepared by our own Mardi Gras

acionado, Richard Marvin. Parishioners

are urged to invite guests from outside theparish to join in the fun.Mardi Gras Costumes are strongly encouraged. We’ll name a King and Queenof Mardi Gras and share a King’s Cake. The room will be decorated with thetraditional colors of Mardi Gras: Purplerepresenting Justice, Gold for power andGreen for faith. Traditionally, Mardi Grasor Fat Tuesday, the last day to indulge, isthe day before Ash Wednesday and theonset of the Christian Season of Lent, a time of penitence and fasting.Revelers are invited to BRING YOUR

OWN BEVERAGE. Tickets are $10 foradults and $2.00 for children.

“Laissez les bon tempsrouler”

Let the good times roll

NominatingCommittee Announces Slate of Officers for 2009

Nominations are:

Edward Siebert- Senior Warden, David Kish-Junior

Warden

Clerk-Kasha Kingsbury, Treasurer-Dirck Goss,Vestry/3 yr. term-Robert Donahue, Rob Hutchison,Dana Schneider; Vestry/2 yr. term-Jean Valentine;Vestry/1 yr. term-Rhoda Whitman, Diana Stovall;Delegate to Convention-David Jones, Barbara Casey

Deanery Representative Barbara Casey, David Jones

Nominating Committee for 2010-

Ron Casey, Vickie Reeve, Susan Shackford, Lisa St.Marie.Incumbent Vestry Members are: Ted Culotta, Kay Claiborn, William Glover, Cindy Smith.

Guilford Food Bank Contributions

A note of thanks was received recently from theGuilford Food Bank. The parishioners of Christ Episcopal Church,

Guilford donated 223 bags of non-perishable food

items as well as grocery store gift cards and otheritems to the food bank in 2008.Weekly donations of food items can be left in thecollection bin located in the narthex just inside thefront entrance.

David, Mitra Kish & Family

Lady Liberty stands “at our sea-washed,

sunset gates ... her name Mother of Exiles.” The United States radiates a beacon for the oppressed. Most of ourancestors came from elsewhere braving the new world for opportunity andfreedom.Our story of acceptance is theadventures of David and Mitra Kish,born in Iran, and displaced in therevolution that removed Shah Pahlavy from leadership in 1979. David’s uncle was a diplomat for the Shah so, likemany who were challanged by the government of Ayatollah Khomeini, heexited the country. At that time, David was studying medicine in Bucharest,Romania, He earned his MD in 1982

and, qualied as a gynecologist, in 1987.

He then emigrated to the United Statesand has been here ever since.

David rst lived with a cousin in

Princeton, NJ. He was impressed withthe quality of life in a university town,so when he sought a place for himself,he chose New Haven, home to YaleUniversity. For ten years, his business was Kish Oriental Rugs, in Orange,CT. He moved to Guilford in 1994after purchasing a condominium in the

“Spaceship” on Whiteld Street. David

became a U.S. citizen in 1996.In 1998, David met Mitra who was on vacation after graduating from medical school in Tehran. By the timethey met a second time, their attraction for each other andtheir common interest in medicine had led to marriage inNovember 1999. They were soon on a plane to America.

“Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me,” says Emma

Lazarus in her sonnet engraved on the Statue of Liberty.Many families have heeded these words to escape religious orpolitical persecution. In the Kish’s experience, it is both.David and Mitra settled in Guilford. Their family grew withthe birth of Andre and Mariam, and they now live on DavisDrive.

When they sought a church home, David and Mitra rst

tried St. George’s Catholic Church and then the Unitarian

Church in Madison. The Persian Su religion is universal in

nature with roots in Zoroastrianism which predates Islam

and other modern religions. Sus believe in a single God.

There is similarity to the teaching of Christ who said that

no one should hide his light under a bushel. Sus believe

that knowing one’s true being is necessary to achievefreedom in life. David and Mitra decided on Christ Churchafter concluding that the broad outreach of Episcopalian

Christianity suited and often paralleled their belief in Susm.

In choosing Christ Church as a new home, David says

that Susm is a tolerant religion open to all believers: Jew,

Christian, Muslem, and Buddhist. He sees the Anglican andEpiscopal churchs as similarly tolerant of all beliefs, ethnicroots, cultures, and status. He and Mitra are comfortable withthe service and fellow parishioners.Norman MacLeod baptized four Kish family members in 2002and they have been devoted parishioners ever since. Davidis a member of the Finance committee, an organizer of CropWalk, and was elected to the vestry in 2008. The Kish’s twochildren, Andre and Miriam, attend Calvin Leete school andare active Sunday School members.

Mitra will soon take her USMLE examinations -- required

for all physicians wishing to practice medicine in the U.S.David has volunteered for two tours of duty in Senegal with Doctors Without Borders. His OBGYN specialty isfocused on infectious disease and cancer and he is hopeful of evenually obtaining his US medical license.Christ Church parishoners continue to welcome new members true to Christ’s call to “love our neighbor” and trueto Lady Liberty’s gift to those “yearning to breathe free.”