Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Thriving Communities Start with Full Plates

Summer can be a time when food banks struggle. Donations often drop off sharply, due to the hot weather decreasing interest in collecting food, people being away on vacation, and other issues. Yet, this is a time of year when need often rises -- children are out of school, away from the assurance that they'll receive a hot, nutritious breakfast and lunch -- older people are struggling to keep up with energy bills -- and more.

That's why our missions and outreach ministries have prioritized a summer food drive over the past few summers to benefit our local FeedMore. The last food drive just concluded this weekend, and guess how many pounds of food you collected, Christ Church? Go ahead -- guess!

Over 1,000 pounds of food.

That's right -- your generosity means our neighbors will be served through programs like the Kid's Cafe, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program.

"I am in awe of God’s Grace moving through CCE," says lay leader Mary Gravely, who organized the drive. Thank you for answering to call to be the heart and hands of Jesus. Way to BE the church!


Monday, July 15, 2019

VBS Week was Out of this World!

BY REV. DARREN STEADMAN

It’s dark in outer space. So when we walked into the CCE Worship building this week, and the first things we saw are the round, red planet Mars, and twinkling stars against black backgrounds, we knew we were somewhere else. We had left planet Earth behind, and our mission had begun … To Mars and Beyond!

That was the theme for this year’s CCE Vacation Bible School: To Mars and Beyond! From Tuesday until Friday, we sent over 70 kids on missions each day to collect Hope, Faith, Thankfulness and Kindness to help fuel the Starship Galaxion. The kids … excuse me, the Voyagers learned biblical stories that illustrated our daily mission, they conducted scientific experiments, created works of art and played games outside, all to help generate and collect the required Elements of the Day: Faith, Kindness, Thankfulness, or Hope.


From my perspective, I saw dozens of adult volunteer leaders stooping down to help the little ones with their projects, and I saw our amazing teenagers answering lots of questions, and shepherding their groups from station to station. I saw the Voyagers dancing along with our VBS songs, projected onto screens in our space station. I saw wide-eyed wonder on tiny faces as I, the Mission Commander, and my sidekick-robot-puppet-friend jump-started everyone’s excitement each morning.

Vacation Bible School is no vacation for the grown-ups, at least not in terms of physical energy reserves. Every minute is filled with lesson-preparation, sorting supplies, snack-distribution, mess-cleaning and non-stop children’s mentorship. By noon, all the volunteers have spent a full day’s supply of energy.

But, energy exchange works differently in outer space. Just like the missions we charged the Voyagers with, the VBS adult and teen leaders were called to generate and collect Faith, Kindness, Thankfulness and Hope. And when the kids learn something new about Jesus’ story, and try out the daily missions of Kindness, Thankfulness, etc., us leaders absorbed just as much of that energy, if not much more. Thank you all: volunteer leaders, adult and teen, and the Pelkey family for coordinating and delivering an Out-of-this-World experience!

The end of VBS week is exciting and exhausting, but it is also exhilarating. Dozens of kids have new stories swimming around in their dreams and in their hearts. Faith and Hope are unlimited resources that we can share abundantly, yet never deplete. Kindness and Thankfulness fuel the giver just as much as the receiver. And, we all now know the Vector Verse by heart: God “is able to do far beyond what we can ask or imagine by the power of his love at work within us!” (Eph. 3:20)

God is at work within us when we spend our energy resources to the maximum, yet afterward, we have considerably more Hope, Thankfulness, Kindness and Faith than we did to begin with. Glory to God! That type of energy exchange is enough to take us … to Mars and Beyond!!

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

When Giving becomes a 2-way Street

On any given day at Christ Church Episcopal, the campus is busy with activity -- people of all ages coming and going for the mother's support group, to play on the playground, for Scout meetings, to participate in 12-step recovery groups, to study the Bible together, enjoy a fellowship lunch, rehearse for music performances, and much more.

One group that has used our campus for many years is the Gentle Pursuits of Richmond Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America. The EGA is dedicated to the study, preservation, and promotion of needle arts. And if you don't think that sounds fun, check out one of their guiding quotes: "because a world without needle art wold be pointless." Ha!

The Gentle Pursuits group gathers for several hours every month in our Education Building, working on their art, mastering their techniques, and enjoying the company of each other. And as we've discovered is often the case, when we open our doors to community groups, they give as much to us as we give to them. The Gentle Pursuits group recently gifted Christ Church with beautiful handmade bookmarks to give to children in our ministry. The photo doesn't quite do their handiwork justice; they are lovely.


We give gratitude to this community group for sharing love with us, so that we can share it with others. And we give gratitude to the people of Christ Church for being a congregation that opens its campus to our community in such meaningful ways.

Want to learn more about the Gentle Pursuits? All are welcome to their gatherings! CLICK HERE

Monday, July 1, 2019

Making it through those spiritual "growth spurts"


BY LINDA WALTON

It is frequently said that God uses trials to teach and to grow you into the person He wants you to be. But I have to say, I hate these ‘growth spurts’. Fortunately, I had two Christ Church teachers with me as my latest trial unfolded.

While attending a stewardship conference in Asheville, my car suffered a ‘hit and run’. The calming influence of two Christ Church friends, plus a good cry, saw me through the ‘acceptance’ phase! From the very beginning, I was coached to look for the good in all of this. Truly, working through acceptance and the mere insurance requirements with a positive outlook was far better than anticipating the worst. Here are a few examples:
  
Negative thinking: “Oh dear, my insurance rates will increase.”

The good news: “A hit and run is covered by uninsured motorist features and will not affect your rate."

Or this...

Negative thinking: “I have another expense because I think I have a big deductible."

The good news: “Your deductible is lowered because you fall under the uninsured motorist’ category."

From the very beginning, I was encouraged to see the good that was possible. And I once again experienced how our church community lives into its strategic priority to nurture spiritual formation: We will care deeply for others – practicing the compassion of Jesus wherever we find ourselves, through pastoral care and satisfying basic survival needs.

The car will be fixed, insurance will pay, and life will go on. And I have had a “growth spurt."