I came to Holy Cross following a suggestion from a friend when I moved to Weare about 17 years ago. Finding that it was important to join and really become a member of the community, but at the same time being a child of the Me generation, nonconformist and forever suspicious of authority, I wondered, why would I do that, and why would I want to support a church with my money and time?  As a transplant from the Catholic Church, I have always found the traditions and service of the Episcopal Church at once familiar and new; accessible but challenging. I was not sure whether it was possible to come for just the one reason – because I want my children to have some religious education – but I found that the real reason would come only after months and years of teaching Sunday School, attending church suppers and meeting people in fellowship; vestry meetings, convocations and diocesan conventions; calling a new priest, electing a new bishop and building a new church; and especially after sharing communion with those who come here week after week.  In the final analysis, I have found that all of this really has been calling me into a deeper understanding of the fabric of my relationships; with myself, my family and friends, with the community and world and with God. Holy Cross has given me this gift, and it’s important to me that this discovery be available to others in years to come.
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Years ago, when my children were born and we needed volunteers to teach Sunday school, I signed up. We had some interesting curricula at that time and we took turns preparing lessons for the “one room schoolhouse†of five to 10 children. However, a couple of years later Anne McCausland introduced the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and I really started to learn. In sharing the atrium with the children, I have discovered that everything I ever needed to know about church I learned in the Atrium…
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In the Atrium we have different areas with materials available to experience life in the church. Practical Life skills – scrubbing and pouring and sanding – share the environment with the elements of the Altar; the gestures of the Eucharist; the seasons, calendar and colors of the Church Year; the city of Jerusalem and the parables of Jesus. Prophesies of the Old Testament tell us about the coming of the light, and we learn about the celebrations of Baptism and Pentecost.  Everything fits together as part of the learning environment. It is important for each person to have their own space to work. If you speak softly and walk quietly you will be able to hear Gods message to you.
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The Good Shepherd loves his sheep and knows them by name.
Jesus said, I am the vine and you are the branches… No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  In other words, we are all connected and need to work together to maintain the connection or we could be cut off from the vine.