Christ Church Episcopal

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This Week at Christ Church

Advent at Christ Church
In Advent we set aside time to anticipate and contemplate what Madeleine L'Engle describes as the "Glorious Impossible" -- God becoming one of us. Often overlooked in the preparations of the Christmas season, Advent has the capacity to deepen our experience of joy in the birth of Christ and to provide moments of rest amidst the many and varied activities of the season. Below is a schedule of additional worship and contemplation to mark the Advent Season at Christ Church.

7:00pm Simple fare supper in the parish hall
7:30pm "Advent Reflections" with Michele Berrell, spiritual director and teacher

December 23 The Nativity: an interactive retelling of the birth of Christ -- open to the community of Norcross. This will be held on the front lawn of the church and followed by a festive reception of hot cider and treats.

PARISH ANNUAL MEETING; DECEMBER 12, 2010 at 9:15 a.m.
The Parish Annual Meeting date is December 12, 2010. Sheli Dunn, Debra Root, Jane Scott and Walt Thompson will be coming off the Vestry as of December 31, 2010. The four new Vestry Members, who will be elected at the December 12th meeting, will attend the December 2010 Vestry meeting. However, they will not be voting members until January 1, 2011. This will allow them to be a part of a Vestry meeting prior to actually making decisions on matters and will help us have a smoother transition. All current Vestry, the new Vestry and The Rev. Ceci Duke will attend the retreat on January 7-9, 2011

Please prayerfully consider whether you are being called to serve on our Vestry. Candidates for Vestry must be communicants of our parish in good standing, who are at least 16 years old (18 years old to be able to vote), be a regular attendant at services in the preceding year, and be known by the Treasurer to have made and fulfilled a stated financial commitment in the preceding year. All nominations should be in writing and directed to Malcolm Anderson. Malcolm's e-mail address is malcolm36@earthlink.net. The nominees will also need to submit a picture and biography to Malcolm by December 1, 2010. Please do not nominate someone without their permission to do so. You may nominate yourself. We will also accept nominations from the floor of individuals who meet the above qualifications. If you have any questions, please contact me, or another Vestry member.
Sheli Dunn, Senior Warden

Thank You from the Stewardship Committee
The Stewardship Commission would like to thank all who attended Consecration Sunday and the celebration luncheon after the service. A special thanks to the Thrift Shop for sponsoring the catered lunch and to Frank and Caryl Rinker for the Champagne Toast celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. We have sent Estimate of Giving cards to all who were not able to make it Sunday. If you can return the cards before December 3rd that would be great because it will give the Vestry time to start on the 2011 budget prior to the annual meeting.

Annual Christmas Toy Drive for 2010
The DOK will again this year be sponsoring a Christmas toy drive to benefit families served by the Norcross Cooperative Ministry. Norcross Cooperative Ministry expects to have requests from over 800 families this year. They are asking for donations of new unwrapped toys and gifts to meet this need. They especially need gifts for teens and infants.
Please help share the joy of Christmas by bringing toy and gift items to church between now and December 15th. There will a Toy Drive display in the breezeway with containers for depositing the items you bring. Please check the display for a list of suggested toys/gifts. Thank you.

8:00am Holy Eucharist
9:15am Christian Education for all children, youth and adults.
10:30am Holy Eucharist
10:30am Christ Church Chimers, rm. 104 of Ed. Wing.
10:30am Christmas Pageant Auditions, Children's Chapel.
11:30am RRISA meeting, conf. Rm. #107 of Ed. Wing
11:30am St. Monica's Guild mtg., in the Parlor.
11:30am Hispanic instruction on confirmation & 1st Communion, Youth Center
12:00pm Envisioning Comm. Mtg., Activity Rm., Mod. 1.
12:00pm Teachers Mtg., rm. #102 of Ed. Wing.

5:00 pm Hispanic Youth instruction in the Youth Center.
Sun., 11-28-First Sunday of Advent

7:30pm "Advent Reflections" with Michele Berrell, spiritual director & teacher

Please review the church website and calendar for regular meetings and additional information.

Altar Flower Dedications for November 21, 2010
The altar flowers are given to the Glory of God by Ed and Joyce Proctor, in loving memory of Joyce's father, Charles Franklin Hailey.

Haiti Pilgrimage Update, 11-21-10
Our mission team will show photos and tell us about their recent mobile medical clinic trip on Sunday, November 21, between the services in the parish hall. Come be inspired to join next year's team!

Support for RRISA Families, 11-21-10
Also this Sunday, 11-21-10, you will have an opportunity to buy beautiful scarves beginning at 8:00am. The scarves are woven by Burmese refugees who have resettled in Atlanta by RRISA. All proceeds from the sale of these scarves will be returned to the artists. This is an enterprise which is driven by the need for these families to provide for their families.

Please remember that we will also have a RRISA meeting at 11:30am in conference room #107 of the Education Wing. Thank you.

Christ Church Chimers Rehearsals
The Christ Church Chimers have their rehearsals at 10:30am on Sunday mornings in room 204 of the Education Wing (where the chimes are currently stored). We then re-join our families in time for the Holy Eucharist. We welcome children who are in 2nd grade and up. Music experience is helpful, but certainly not mandatory. The desire to make beautiful music for our Lord IS mandatory! Please call or e-mail Carol Brocksmith at csjbrocksmith@comcast.net or 770/449-0788 for more information.

November 21, 2010, The St. Monica's Guild presents:
Christ Church Episcopal-Bake Sale
The sale starts between the 8:00am and 10:30am services and continues until the CAKE WALK after the 10:30am service. Purchase your holiday baked goods here!

PrimeTimer's Lunch, Wednesday, 12-1-10
Our next monthly PrimeTimer's Lunch will be held following the Holy Eucharist and Healing service on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, in the Parish Hall. For questions, please contact Leslie Wengenroth at 770/495-9103 or email her at cmcleslie@bellsouth.net.

Grief and Healing Brunch, 12-4-10
Ceci Duke and Sharon Pitman lead a grief and healing brunch in room #107 of the Education Wing on the first Saturday of each month from 10:00am until 12:00pm. All are welcome to attend. Our next brunch is scheduled for Saturday, December 4, 2010. For more information, please speak with Sharon Pitman or Ceci Duke.

SAVE THE DATE-2011 PARISH RETREAT
This year's parish retreat was such a huge success at Camp Mikell, that we have now made a reservation for our 2011 retreat. The weekend dates will be September 23, 24 & 25, 2011. So, be sure to mark this weekend on your 2011 calendars so you will be sure to be with us.

November 10 & 14, 2010 Attendance & Offerings
Wednesday, 12:00 pm (English) 10

For further information about the Advent Series and suppers, please see the article on page one of this publication.

Registration deadline is 9:00 a.m. each Wednesday

Please be on the lookout for our YEA group and their new collection boxes. These youth (10th0inh grade) will be collecting socks, gently used shoes, coats, and blankets for those in need at the Church of the Common Ground. Collections will begin on December 5 and run through the month of January. Please consider helping our youth help others to keep the cold out this winter.

YEA - Church of the Common Ground; Mission Work Prep
J2A - Regular Youth Meeting

Advent Wreath Making; November 28, 2010; Parish Hall
Please join us next Sunday as we gather as a family to make Advent Wreath for our homes. Candles and brass rings are available.

Please bring your own greenery and some to share! See you next Sunday in the Parish Hall!

Beginning on Sunday, November 28 we will be offering more of Stations of the Creche for our children. We will be exploring the Incarnation and what it means for us today. Please join us in the Education Wing following the Evensong and Dinner. All ages of children and youth are invited to participate!

Each week the children will be bringing in donations of canned goods as an offering. If you're child participates in Children's Chapel, please remember to send them with canned goods for this offering.

Apriete el botón para ver en el español
Sundays at Christ Church are simply a wonderful place to be!
You will find God’s joyful, living presence in a parish large enough to offer you an array of services yet small enough to know your name.
We offer a variety of programs for spiritual development for adults and children. We encourage fellowship and provide social gatherings to nurture families and friendships.
In our last few years, our church members have begun a greater focus on service work for the homeless and the hungry in our area. We have an annual mission project in Mexico, and we are now considering other international missions.
Christ Church offers spiritual direction and pastoral counseling. We have church members who are Stephen Ministers available for lay caring ministry, and we have a women’s group, the Daughters of the King, who participate in prayer, bible study and service.
We have an 8:00 am service with no music and a 10:30 am service with choir on Sunday. We also have a healing service at noon every Wednesday.
We are an accepting and diverse group. Please feel free to come as you are, whether you are wearing a suit or jeans!

We are always delighted to have visitors at Christ Church. Let us know how we can help you be comfortable here.
How We Worship
Our visitors often have diverse denominational backgrounds. Some visitors are familiar with our services, and some are not. Please do not worry if you do not do something at the right time! Follow along with what your neighbors are doing, and you will be fine.
As Episcopalians, we use the Book of Common Prayer for our liturgy, a word that means a body of rites used for public worship. To follow the service, our ushers provide everyone with a booklet that outlines the service and lists the hymns. A copy of the hymnal and the Book of Common Prayer are in the shelves in each pew.
Generally, we stand to sing, to read the Nicene Creed (in the Book of Common Prayer) and to hear the Gospel reading. We kneel for our confession and absolution, and we sit for the Bible readings and sermon.
We celebrate Holy Communion almost every Sunday. All baptized Christians are invited to receive the bread and wine. Please don’t worry about the process. Just go to the rail with the others in your pew and do more or less what they do. If you do not want to receive Communion, there is no pressure to do so. You may stay in your seat for prayer. If you have taken your children to the nursery, you may want to go get them during the Announcements so they can receive Communion or a blessing. The choice is yours.

Making New Friends
Christ Church provides us with a great opportunity to greet our old friends and meet our new ones. We have a coffee break after the first service and before Sunday school. We serve coffee and pastries in our parish hall. Linger and enjoy coffee and fellowship or try one of our Sunday school classes. And feel free to ask us questions!
We do not embarrass our guests. We want you to respect your privacy and yet welcome you into the community that is Christ Church.
Feel free to call our church office or contact our vestry members for more information about the church.

Our Parish Family
Christ Church has an attendance of about 150-180 people every Sunday. Our membership includes families, senior citizens, and some singles. We are a small but diverse group.
Christ Church began over twenty five years ago in Norcross. Reverend Joel Hudson, now retired, started with a small group of church members and led the church to its current location on Holcomb Bridge Road. Currently our members live in Gwinnett and even border counties such as Fulton and DeKalb.
The church provides facilities for the Regina Caeli Academy which is a hy-bred home-school of about 140 students from kindergarten to High School. We have spacious grounds, a playground, and a separate building for many of our youth classes.
We have other groups that meet at our church, including the Boy Scouts, AA, NA, and others.

The Nativity: an interactive retelling of the birth of Christ -- open to the community of Norcross. This will be held on the front lawn of the church and followed by a festive reception of hot cider and treats.