GLAD TIDINGS

No. 4. Vol 10 May 2010 christchurchguilford.org

As I Take My Leave: “SHALOM”

he Hebrew word both for “Hello” and “Good-bye” is “SHALOM.” In various pointsin our lives, we nd ourselves bidding friends “Shalom” after long-term relationships,and at others, our “Shaloms” seem to come all too quickly, if not unexpectedly. Thetime has come for me to bid each of you my “Goodbye, SHALOM.” And although it mostcertainly has not come unexpectedly for Susan, Kate, and Hannah and me, it seems to havecome too quickly. Nevertheless, I am condent that the good work in ministry that we havebeen engaged in together will continue to grow and be transformed and adapted by yourWardens and Vestry members and your new Rector as you bid him a hearty “Hello, Shalom”in the weeks ahead. Therefore, in consultation with Senior Warden Ed Seibert, I havedecided to celebrate my last Sunday Holy Eucharist with you on Sunday, June 27

th.

Father

Robert Deming will preside at Sunday Holy Eucharist throughout the month of July.During the past two years that I have served you as Interim Rector, my life has been blessedby the lives of so many of you, that I wouldn’t dare or know where to begin to count thoseblessings. Inevitably, times of transition can be times of uncertainty. Nonetheless, during this interim period you have welcomed and incorporated many new parishioners into our lifein Christ. Your church school, youth, and music programs have remained strong, thanks to volunteers and parish sta persons. You have shown a willingness to “think outside the box”in the area of Christian Outreach. In addition to the “Angels Under the Balcony” project atChristmas and the ongoing work with the Community Kitchen, the church school’s “Housesfor Haiti” initiative and last fall’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner attest that. New lay leaders and liturgical assistants have begun to serve. The rst parish-wide Christmas fair,“Festival Days Fair” wasn’t just a nancial success, it was a catalyst for deepening community spirit and strengthening your relationships with one another.Looking to the future, Christ Episcopal Church faces the kinds of challenges confronting most communities of faith. The combination of exhausted endowments and a troubledeconomic climate would seem daunting were it not for the tremendous potential that I havealways believed is present in this wonderful parish. My leave-taking prayer is that you beginmeeting those challenges by welcoming your new Rector with joyous hearts and open arms!Continue to celebrate the blessings of God’s abundant grace in your lives and ever love oneanother as God loves each of you.I close with a quote that best describes my feelings as I take my leave:“Some people come into our lives and quietly go.Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts,and we are never, ever the same.”

With every best wish and God’s blessing upon you.

Shalom,

Youth Group NightwatchProgram at the CathedralChurch of Saint John the Divineand Ground Zero trip

kay, so what is a Night Watch? Themembers of the J2A and Conrmation classmembers Katie Ferrall, Cam Goss, andSandy Goss found out what it is. On March 26 &27 they ventured into upper Manhattan to spendthe night in sleeping bags in the undercroft of theCathedral Church of Saint John the Divine as wellas taking a mini pilgrimage to Ground Zero.Night Watch is a program that starts on Friday evening at about 7 p.m. and ends at 10 a.m. onSaturday, barely leaving time for sleep. It includesan opening session of songs (led by three excellent guitar playing singers), games, free-time basketball,and a chance to meet and interact with about 65 youngsters from all over NY, NJ, CT.The program of the evening included speakers,Labyrinth in the vast Cathedral, and a lectureon the huge and famous Cathedral Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ with its 8,035 pipes followedby a performance. There was time to explore theCathedral (a football eld length long.) We took partin a candlelight quiet time, followed by Eucharistservice with guitar playing singers. On Saturday. wepacked up, cleaned up, toured the Cathedral, andparticipated in a closing service.Cameron thought, “Our trip to famous St. John’sCathedral was both inspiring and made me get morein touch with my faith. First of all, this is one of thelargest indoor spaces in the world, and to be there isbreath-taking. The organ is one of the largest in the world, and the lowest notes made the ground shakeas if God himself were there, making the stones andearth at our feet tremble. We also learned about thehistory of the church, its phases of construction,and the seven chapels behind the altar, each uniquein its way of portraying Christianity as a universal

religion.”

Katie felt one of her most moving moments wasdoing a candlelight “quiet time meditation” in thedark vastness of the Cathedral, with all sitting a distance from each other, in deep, quiet darkness, “Ireally felt very spiritual.Dirck Goss, a parent. found that the midnightsermon from the priest who ministers to AA chapters was extremely stirring and profound. There seemedto be a closeness to God during commentaries withinthe vastness of the Cathedral.”On Saturday, a conducted tour of the Cathedraland a closing service bought the Night Watchportion of our weekend to a close but not an end. The group hopped on a subway and headed for“Ground Zero” and St. Paul Chapel Wall’s Street,

and lunch in lower Manhattan.

At St Paul’s Chapel the youngsters took part ina scavenger hunt, where answers to the question were found in the many exhibits. A few iPhonecards served as rewards.Sandy’s thoughts were, “The most meaningfulthing I experienced in the New York was visiting the Ground Zero disaster site. Having only heardabout its horrors, I was unable to fathom theevent until I actually visited and saw pictures of it. It makes me happy to see a new building being built because it shows the resilience of the U.S.nation and its ability to overcome tragedy.” As a parent, Dirck Goss’s thoughts were, “Themost moving moments was at Ground Zero at St.Paul’s Chapel in lower Manhattan. My family wasnot in the region when 9/11 happened, and I don’tthink that the full impact is fully appreciated until you are on site. I was struck by the memorial tothe 343 re ghters and emergency personnel who were killed, and the collection of patches fromthe many re departments that sent personnel.”Finally, I am in agreement with Dirck’sthoughts. I was happy to see our kids joining with larger groups of children to play basketballand other games in the basement gymnasiumknowing that they were unrelated, unknown toeach other, and probably would never see each

other again.

Yes, we will be going back again!!!Susan C. Shackford

Coordinator/J2A Leader

Journey to Adulthood Program

GLAD TIDINGS

Search Committee CompletesIts Mission

he Search Committee is happy to announcethat on April 8

they completed their primary charge of presenting to the Vestry a set of nalists for the position of Rector of Christ EpiscopalChurch, Guilford. The nalists represent a wide vari-ety of backgrounds, personalities, and strengths. They are as familiar with our church as the process allowsthem to be.With the information gleaned from the Parish Pro-le, the Vestry’s nancial statements, the Website, thenewsletters they have read and studied, the personalreference checking they have done, and their time with the Search Committee members, they are excitedto tackle the challenges we present. The candidates’ next step in their discernmentprocess is getting to know the Vestry. They areanxious to meet the leaders of this church, see how theVestry functions, and how they will, individually andcollectively, be supporting the mutual ministry of thisplace. They know the Vestry is a reection of all of us. At the same time, the Vestry will be working to make

the challenging decision as to which candidate they

feel will be the best match our needs into the future. The Search Committee wants to thank themembers of the congregation for the input, prayersand support they have oered during our portion of the process. We ask that you continue your prayersand support for the Vestry as they complete the calling of our next Rector. The committee has one more major task scheduledfor about a year from now. They will convene tojoin in a formal review of the progress made towardsreaching our stated, mutual ministry goals.

Youth Group AttendsConfirmation Retreat withBishop Laura Ahrens

ome members of the J2A and ConrmationClass attended a Conrmation Retreat atCamp Washington, hosted by Bishop Laura Ahrens and run by the Diocese of CT YouthMinistry Leaders Emily Perow and Linda Synder. There were a number of youngstersfrom all over CT, including our neighbors inNorth Branford. The group had a number of opportunities to interact directly with Bishop Ahrens, through games, general conversation,dinner, breakfast, and lunch. Bishop Laura was very approachable as Katie Ferrall found out asshe and the Bishop enjoyed a conversion.The schedule was lled from arrival on Friday at 5 p.m. to departure on Saturday afternoon at 4p.m. Some of the highlights included a Baptismmixer (a get-to- know-you game), a Labyrinth,a number of interactive conversations, time toexplore who you were and where you are in yourfaith. We closed on Saturday. with a Eucharistservice. Cam Goss was invited to do one of thereadings, while Sandy read the Prayers of thePeople.

The youngsters played a very different gameof Jeopardy where all the categories pertainedto places, people, events and history found inthe Bible, our Book of Common Prayer, lessonsthroughout the day, and pictures found around theroom. This proved to be a very lively inaction, withWillie Ferrall leading his team to victory.A special thank-you to Jane Ferrall for who alsoaccompanied the group to Camp Washington.There were no sideline watchers, as all leaders andchaperones were required to join in all the events.Susan C. Shackford, Leader Journey to Adulthood Program.