As a seven year old moves in with a new family, the thing you’d least expect to hear from her is, “So when do we go to church?” But that would be me.
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Author: vicar
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Meet John Harrington
Our family started to come to Holy Cross for weekday Mass on major holy days back when Wayne Haney was taking services here part time. There wasn’t any other Episcopal parish in driving distance, or anywhere in the state as far as I know, that had services on most of the days of obligation during the week. I think that’s still the case. Most of our children were at home back then, and we would often make up the bulk of the congregation.
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Meet Laura Starr-Houghton
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?Â
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Meet Mike Goulet
 
We found our way to Holy Cross at the end of what I would call a long road of small events and coincidences. Kerri and I came from very different religious and spiritual backgrounds, but along the way we’ve shared common beliefs and values. We had both come to realize that we needed something more than just our own personal, private belief in God.
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After driving by the sign on Rt 114 so many times, we finally worked up the nerve and went to church. Right from the beginning, everyone was warm and welcoming, and we realized that there was a community there that we could be a part of. From that first Sunday on, we’ve grown to love Holy Cross for so many different reasons.
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Meet Marge Burke
 
I am a cradle Episcopalian, baptized when I was six weeks old. It was in the church where I grew up that I knew, without a doubt, that I was loved, loved by God and by the members of the church. My Christian formation took root there. I belonged. While I probably couldn’t articulate my understanding of stewardship then, I understood it in an unconscious way. We had partitioned envelopes where we placed our offering each week, one half for the local parish and one half for mission outreach.  But, it was more than money, it was time and talent, that I gave, too.
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Lent 1 March 1, 2009
Genesis 9:8-17Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Mark 1:9-15Â Â Â Â Â
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He sat in my study in the church back in Illinois, a very important man, rich and powerful. He wanted something from little our church: a place for his daughter’s wedding. The family had been “members†of the more fashionable parish in the next town, but they never attended church so the rector there had declined to do the daughter’s wedding. Now this proud father found himself in an unusual position, begging. “I will make it worth your while,†he said. “There will be a contribution. What does your church need?â€
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Ash Wednesday February 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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The weekday fasts and feasts that we celebrate here at Holy Cross always remind me of what a secularized world we live in, what a distance there is between the way the world sees things and the way we as members of the community of Christ are called to see them.
What do we offer
Our handsome building is not only our church home; it is also an Event and Community Center which we offer for use by others. The Parish Hall downstairs offers meeting and dining space for as many as 150 people. The open space and flexible furniture are ideal for committee and community group meetings, parties, receptions and scout groups.
Adjacent to the Parish Hall is a full modern kitchen. Upstairs, the Gathering Space just inside the front door is a warm room with table and chairs suitable for meetings of a dozen or fewer people. For special occasions the Worship Space can also be used for meetings.
Arranging to use our facilities
To apply to use Holy Cross Event Center facilities, please first view the calendar, or contact the Event Center Coordinator (Laura Starr-Houghton 603-660-1437 or LStarrH@comcast.net), to see if the date and time you want are available. If they are, please fill out the Building Use Application and return to the address listed. We will make arrangements to meet you at the Community Center to show you around and discuss your needs and plans. Please be advised that most weekday afternoons and evenings are booked for the entire school year by scout and other groups.
Costs and other requirements
We are currently updating the schedule of fees for the use of the Community Center, counting on the generosity of users to make donations to help us defray our costs. If yours is a not for profit use, a nominal donation would be appropriate if you can afford it. If it is a private party or a for profit use, a more substantial donation would be expected, depending on the extent of your use, number of people involved, and your budget and finances.
We require that all trash be removed by you after your use and that you clean the space and return it to the state (including furniture set-up) in which you received it. You can also make arrangements to hire our cleaning service, which we recommend if you intend to serve a meal. For private parties where food is being served, we may require you to hire this service, in which case we may ask for a deposit to cover cleaning costs.
We reserve the right to decline to make our facilities available for uses inappropriate with the mission and ministry of Holy Cross or the Episcopal Church, or that might infringe on the rights of our neighbors. We have a policy regarding the serving of alcoholic beverages which must be complied with. Our Community Center is a smoke-free environment.
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Last Epiphany February 22, 2009
2 Corinthians 4:3-6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Mark 9:2-9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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I am not usually into yard sales, which I realize means I miss out on one of the great opportunities of local life. But driving along Concord Stage Road one day last summer I saw a yard sale that I had to stop for. The reason was a mounted deer’s head, just the thing to bring home to Anne and hang on our screened porch. It turned out the deer’s head was priced beyond my reach (which may have saved my marriage). But browsing the sale was an experience I’m glad I had.
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Epiphany 6 February 15, 2009
2 Kings 5:1-14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
1 Corinthians 9:24-27Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Mark 1:40-45
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I don’t know how many of you glance at the little biographies of the week’s saints that we run in the bulletins each Sunday. Someone said to me that the saints didn’t “do anything†for him. I guess they “do†a lot for me. They remind me of the struggles that others have faced to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the fact that you and I stand on the shoulders of generations of giants who have gone before us. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [that we can] run with endurance the race set before us.â€