Ecumenical
Thanksgiving Worship Service
Thursday,
November 26 at 9:30 am
Bishop Hirschfeld will join an ecumenical worship service with the Dunbarton community including Church of St. John the Evangelist, Dunbarton. Link to join is here. Order of Service is here.
“A Sacred Meal for a Dispersed Community” with Advent candle lighting
Advent I – Sunday,
November 29 at 9:30 am
This Sunday we will join Bishop Hirschfeld for an online offering of “A Sacred Meal for a Dispersed Community” with Advent candle lighting from the Chapel of All Angels at Diocesan House.
Please join via Zoom meeting or via phone +1 929 205 6099 - meeting ID: 729 827 2802. There will be a waiting room and you will be let into the meeting at 9:30 am.
Participants are invited to have ceremonial food prepared and laid out on a table. Bread could be one of the following suggestions: Jewish braided challah, any bread or sweet bread. Drink could be grape juice, water or a beverage of your choice.
“A Sacred Meal for a Dispersed Community” is a liturgy available for use in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire during Advent 2020. Acknowledging that we are not in the same physical space in the same way that Jesus gathered in the Upper Room with his disciples on the night before he suffered, we can come together nonetheless via online technology or at home. We do so out of the spiritual yearning for closeness expressed by our Savior who said, “I have eagerly desired to share this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15)
These services are based on the Agape Meal for Maundy Thursday found on page 84 in the Book of Occasional Services and they acknowledge a connection with the Jewish shabbat tradition of a Friday night ceremonial meal usually celebrated in the home, remembering the dispersal of the Jewish people and God’s provision in exile.
See this link for an At Home version for use by households gathered in person at any time
Suggested bread recipes (click to see recipe): Challah or Moravian Love Feast Buns
Time off: I will be off Tuesday through Saturday of next week (November 24-28). Please contact our Sr. Warden, Sally DeGroot, if you have a pastoral emergency.
Worship on November 29: I will be here on Sunday the 29th, but I’d like for us to worship with the Bishop as he introduces something similar to an agape meal. If we like it, we can use it ourselves; if not, we won’t! we’ll have our usual Coffee Hour following the service and discuss what we think about it and if we want to do it again.
Caroline
TWO ADVENT OFFERINGS FOR THIS YEAR:
Christi Humphrey will offer an Advent Quiet Morning on Saturday, December 5 at 10:00 – Noon. Thank you for once again helping to feed our souls, Christi!
ADVENT: A SEASON OF WAITING WITH A SENSE OF PROMISE
As the calendar turns toward Christmas, the liturgical season moves into Advent. It is a season of preparation and waiting. Advent arrives in 2020 in an atmosphere of stress, worry, and loss. Our routines have been upended for months, there are still many unknowns and it is difficult to wait for answers, relief, and clarity.
In the scripture readings for Advent, prophets, saints, and shepherds proclaim the incarnation of God in the world. Is the waiting in Advent different from our waiting for the results of a medical test, a vaccine, or to be able to gather with family? Advent waiting has been described as holy waiting. Waiting that requires profound patience and trust and is colored by hope.
A quiet morning is planned for Saturday, December 5, 2020 from 10:00am-noon for cultivating the practice of holy waiting. Gathering virtually, our time together will include prayer, guided meditation, individual contemplation time, and fellowship. Christi Humphrey will facilitate. Christi is a spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and a colleague at the Bethany House of Prayer in Arlington, MA.
No matter where you are on your journey of faith and your ability to wait, please plan to join. To indicate your interest in attending and receive login information, please contact Christi Humphrey at cchumphrey@comcasat.net or 508-633-7466.
MAYA ANGELOU AND THE FREEDOM POETRY OF ADVENT
This Advent we will meet weekly to discuss this resource from the SALT Project. It is very similar to the Lenten sturdy we did two years ago using Mary Oliver’s poetry. Booklets will be available at the church office after today, or we can put one in the mailbox outside the church entrance if you can’t go by when Deb is there. We will meet via Zoom for discussion on Wednesdays at 12:30 pm, unless there are some who prefer to meet in the evening. Please let me know asap if you plan to attend and what time is best for you at RectorSAITV@gmail.com.
Here is the info:
In this Advent devotional, biblical texts and simple, accessible practices interweave with Maya Angelou’s stirring vision of faith, freedom, and dignity. All you’ll need is your favorite Bible and Maya Angelou’s The Complete Poetry (all the poems are also available online). Week by week, as we wait, and watch, and pray, we’ll walk toward Bethlehem - with Maya Angelou as our guide.
TJOIN US FOR WORSHIP
This Sunday we will join Bishop Hirschfeld for an online offering of “A Sacred Meal for a Dispersed Community” with Advent candle lighting from the Chapel of All Angels at Diocesan House.
Please join via Zoom meeting or via phone +1 929 205 6099 - meeting ID: 729 827 2802. There will be a waiting room and you will be let into the meeting at 9:30 am.
The First Sunday of Advent
Collect
of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all
things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords:
Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin,
may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
First Lesson Isaiah 64:1-9
The Hebrew Bible
lesson presents a contrite plea to God for merciful justice. The prophet recalls earlier times when the Lord’s
presence made the very mountains quake.
Now the people have sinned grievously and are suffering for their
wrongs. They can only pray that the Lord
will remember them as God’s children, God’s creatures, and temper divine anger.
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
A lament and a plea to the Lord, the shepherd of
Israel, that God will turn away divine anger and restore the people.
The Second Lesson 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
In this reading Paul greets the new disciples in Corinth, telling them
of his gratitude to God on their behalf and offering comfort and
assurance. Because they are sanctified
in Christ, these converts, together with those everywhere who call upon Jesus,
have a vocation as saints. They are rich
in spiritual gifts. Trusting in a
faithful God, they wait for the great revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Gospel Mark 13:24-37
In this gospel lesson
Jesus presents his disciples with a vision of the end of human history and
repeatedly urges them to be on watch.
The universe itself will reflect this transformation as the Son of Man
comes. That time is near, but no one
knows it exactly. Disciples must live
expectantly and be on the alert for their Lord’s coming.
For our First Nation people and those in this country who are living in impoverished areas of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and the inner city areas populated by some of our poorest citizens.
For all those who are on the front lines serving communities during these difficult times.
Updating the Prayer List
Please let Deb know if you want to put someone back on the prayer list going forward. Thank you for helping us keep our prayer list up to date.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Volunteer Shoppers Needed for the Tamworth Christmas Project
As most of you know, the Tamworth Community Christmas Project distributes gifts to local children at St. Andrew’s in December each year. This is also one of the projects our outreach program supports. This year, due to the pandemic, some of their volunteer shoppers will not be shopping. Cathy Baybutt, director of the project, is looking for new volunteers
Volunteers shop for a family (from 1 to 4 children). The parents fill out a form with sizes and needs. We ask shoppers to purchase items on the list and then tally them up, then we send them a reimbursement check for the amount. I have very specific directions which seem to work very well. If you enjoy shopping and might lend a hand, please contact Cathy Baybutt at tamworthchristmasproject@gmail.com.
Next Food Pantry: December 9
A Blessed Thanksgiving to All
25 John & Joan Marshall
