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Happenings Now Recent Sermons Worship

Trinity Sunday 2017

Our new vicar – Rev. David Ferner – has been gracing us with some wonderful poetry.  The following are two pieces with direct reference to the Trinity were part of our celebration of Trinity Sunday this past week!

Trinity Is A Poem – Michael Coffey
(from his blog – http://www.ocotillopub.org/search?q=Trinity)

Trinity is a poem uttered free verse as cosmic love gift
sending sound waves through earth to hurl speech
into the ionosphere stirring radio waves to hum

Trinity is a synchronistic dream we and God have
nightly about the interface of human and divine
the matrix of connections between holy and common

Trinity is a syncopated counterpoint of melody lines
referencing each other and making music as sonorous
as whales and pulsars and seismic waves all held in tension

then someone inscribed the free utterance in indelible ink
and someone analyzed the shared dream with Freudian precision
and someone forced the messy melodies smooth in straight time

behold: just when they think they finished the job and
brush the dust of such work off their hands and rest
Trinity dances out the door and finds willing partners to twirl

 

Trinity Sunday by Malcolm Guite

In the Beginning, not in time or space,

But in the quick before both space and time,

In Life, in Love, in co-inherent Grace,

In three in one and one in three, in rhyme,

In music, in the whole creation story,

In His own image, His imagination,

The Triune Poet makes us for His glory,

And makes us each the other’s inspiration.

He calls us out of darkness, chaos, chance,

To improvise a music of our own,

To sing the chord that calls us to the dance,

Three notes resounding from a single tone,

To sing the End in whom we all begin;

Our God beyond, beside us and within.

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Happenings Now Outreach

First “Community Conversation”

On March 22nd, thirty-two people gathered in the Holy Cross Community Center to eat together, hear short talks, and discuss the needs and resources in Weare around food and hunger.  We learned about:

Who is hungry and what the resources are in Weare (Deb Urella, town welfare officer)

  • The town food pantry and thrift store that helps fund it (Peggy Bailey, director)
  • A community garden project at the John Stark Regional High School (Suzanne Carmichael, Gabrielle Bougher)
  • Prime farm lands in Weare and the efforts to encourage farming and make it economically sustainable (Wendy Stevens, Weare Agricultural Commission)
  • Successes in conserving working land (forest, farms); efforts to connect landless farmers with landowners of agricultural lands who aren’t working them (Ian McSweeney, Russell Foundation)
  • The idea of permacultural—“permanent culture,” which functions as nature does to provide beauty and food with a minimum of effort (Val White, EarthScapes of NH, Weare Garden Club)
Participants heard from a wide range of people involved in combating hunger in our area.

There was great energy and enthusiasm about working together to make Weare a place that feeds its people, encourages local agriculture, and builds community.   Some of the needs or ideas included:

Expanding the food pantry to having hours on a Monday or Friday—8 to 12 volunteers needed

  • Getting townspeople to help care for the garden at John Stark RHS during July and August, so that the produce is used at the food pantry
  • Investigating the idea of community dinners to provide community and food to those who hunger for relationships or food or both
  • Having master gardeners be mentors to new gardeners

We also talked about starting a food blog or central website for sharing information and events.  We also are considering a showing of “The Power of Community,” a film about Cuba’s agricultural revolution, which was born out of necessity when its oil supplies were cut off.  This may happen at Holy Cross on Friday, April 27th.  Stay tuned!  There will be other “Community Conversations” in the future.

 

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Happenings Now

Advent Wreath lighting

The children at Holy Cross especially enjoy the lighting of the Advent wreath that hangs in the Gathering Space, if only because it involves fire – observing it and helping start it! Light of the world, come! Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Pastor Lise helps guide the flame.
Some members of the congregation gather for the Advent Wreath blessing before the service on the second Sunday of Advent.

 

 

 

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Happenings Now

Fr. Darrell’s last Sunday

A wonderful cake topped with many animals was served at coffee hour to honor Fr. Darrell on his last Sunday as interim for Holy Cross. Dr. Darrell has worked extensively with Heifer International. A representative with Heifer had given a presentation during the Adult Forum earlier that morning, hence the farm animals!
Here's a close-up of that cute cake...

The Rev. Darrell Huddleston presided and preached his last Sunday in an interim capacity on November 20.

Fr. Darrell, a current resident of Concord who retired in 2007 from full-time ministry, currently assists on occasion at St. Paul’s in Concord. Before coming to Holy Cross for a time during our vicar search, Fr. Darrell had completed an interim assignment at Grace Church in Manchester. Over the years, he has served  a variety of congregations as well as the regional director of Heifer Project International.  He and his wife Bunny have lived, worked or traveled extensively in 27 countries.

Bishop Arthur Walmsley, a parishioner at Holy Cross, and Fr. Darrell have been sharing interim duties at Holy Cross during the summer and fall as the vicar search continued. The vestry recently called Lise Hildebrandt to be our new vicar and she will officially begin December 1.

We will miss Fr. Darrell but wish him well on his continued life’s endeavors.

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Happenings Now People Stewardship

Celebrating Stewardship Campaign

Chatting while waiting for the blessing and the beginning of the Stewardship dinner.

The parish gathered on November 19 to celebrate the end of our Stewardship Campaign with a potluck dinner and a raffle. Lots of food and fellowship was shared, and the raffle doled out some fun, interesting and useful prizes. It’s always a good time when the Holy Cross family gets together for a meal and a good time.

Lots of fun prizes were raffled off to folks who made a pledge for 2012.
Lots of yummy food was consumed!
The best part is being together for a time.
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Children's Formation Happenings Now

Gardening

The children in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atria worked recently in the garden space between the old and new building. The space adjoins a play area fenced off several years ago, but never fully completed.

Before the snow sets in for good for the winter, the children worked very hard in both areas to rake, move stones and old building materials, replant perennials, dig out stumps and other tasks. Plans were also mapped out for the spring, taking into account the shady areas as well as those that will receive enough sunlight for flowering plants.

We hope to use those flowers for our arranging work in the atria. We’d also love to plant a “pizza garden”!  Want to help? See Laura Arvin.

All ages got involved.
Clean up is more fun with friends!
This group was mighty proud of a particularly difficult stump they managed to extract. It was a fun day outside in the sunshine enjoying God's creation.
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Happenings Now

Youth Group room gets fresh coat of paint

The youth group room, located in the basement of the old building, recently received a fresh coat of primer and paint, courtesy of a wonderful, hardworking group of volunteers of all ages. The project is ongoing, so if you’d still like to help out, contact Derek Larkin. And many thanks to those who’ve gotten messy for the cause (or those who supervised those who got messy! :-)
Some future members of the youth group help out with the Youth Group room painting.
Painting with abandon!
The Youth Group room is fresh and VERY bright now. Thanks to all you volunteers!
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Christian Formation Happenings Now

Formation Begins

Holy Cross began its church school year in September with a lovely full breakfast. Formation opportunities for all ages follow the breakfast – the adults stay in the parish hall and the children go upstairs to the atria.

Everyone enjoys a full breakfast, beginning at 9am. Afterwards, the adults relax with coffee and hold their Adult Forum.
After breakfast, the children gather in the atria of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Here a child prepares to work with a practical life exercise.
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Happenings Now

Ordinary Time Gallery

The Spiritual Life Task Force presents an opportunity for interested parishioners to take part in a summer time exploration of the Sunday Gospel lessons and revelatory art.

You are invited to choose a Sunday during the summer, read the assigned Gospel, find a piece of art or photography that speaks to the reading and write a short meditation or poem that connects the two.   The piece of art and the meditation will then be posted on the appropriate Sunday in the “Ordinary Time Gallery”, the space just inside the glass doors between the Gathering Space and the Worship Space.

A sign up sheet will be on the table in the Gathering Space.  A list of websites where you can find religious art will also be available, however, you are not limited to those sites.   Original art work, photography etc. that open meaning to you in connection to the Gospel reading are perfectly acceptable.

Please limit the size of the art work to 8 1/2” x 11”.   Your meditation or poem should also fit on one 8 ½” x 11” paper.  Questions, more information – contact Marge Burke.

 

 

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Happenings Now

Summer Worship Schedule

With the retirement of John McCausland as our Vicar, the Vestry in consultation with the Bishop’s office has made provision for Sunday celebrations of the 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist beginning on June 19 and extending into September.  Two members of the clergy will each preside for half the summer Sundays based on their availability, and for emergency pastoral care as possible.

New to Holy Cross will be the Rev. Darrell Huddleston.   A current resident of Concord, he began his ministry as a Methodist pastor in Kansas in 1969 and spent the following six years as an agricultural missionary in Congo and Zimbabwe.  He has served  a variety of congregations as well as the Regional Director of Heifer Project International.  In June, 1998, he was ordained an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts and served parishes in Clinton and Holden, MA.  Since retiring in 2007 he and his wife Bunny have lived, worked or traveled extensively in 27 countries.  They have two adult children.  He assists on occasion at St. Paul’s in Concord, and recently completed an interim assignment at Grace Church in Manchester.

Darrell will alternate with the Rt. Rev. Arthur Walmsley, a member of Holy Cross with his wife Roberta since l997.  Originally from Massachusetts, he served churches in St. Louis, MO, Amherst, MA, New York City, and New Haven, CT.  For ten years during the stormy civil rights and Vietnam era he served as the public affairs officer for the Episcopal Church, and from 1979 to 1993 as Bishop of Connecticut.  The Walmsleys live in an 18th century house in Deering which they have owned for 50 years .  Like the Huddlestons, they have two children.

During the summer, the Vestry through Wardens John Heckman and Heidi Clow will make themselves available to respond to pastoral needs, calling on clergy help as seems appropriate.