Faith in Action
Caring for God’s Creation - Including a message for home composters!
Thanks to all of you who are participating in the Home Compost program! Unfortunately, we have a continuing problem with plastic shopping bag contamination problem. Compost Now has refused to empty some of our bins due to this contamination. In an effort to control the problem, we will be retiring the large size bin.
Please do not leave plastic shopping bags in the composting bins. Compostable plastic bags or paper bags are OK but not ordinary plastic. Compostable plastic bags ALWAYS note that fact on each bag. If you do not see the compostable certification notice on each bag, please do not put it in the bin. Additionally, if you see someone depositing anything that does not belong in the compost bins, please redirect them and their trash to the trash bins.
Read about the weather extremes witnessed across the globe last month in the Creation Care Committee's August newsletter, and consider how you can live into the Episcopal Covenant to Care of Creation.
September 12 | Journey to Anti-racism series
On Sunday, September 12th, the Episcopal Diocese of NC will launch the last in the 3 part series on Journey to Anti-racism with Debby Irving, author of Waking up White. That webinar is followed by a 21-day Antiracism challenge beginning on September 19th, with Sunday evening "fireside chats" hosted by Chuck Collier (All Saints, Concord) and Sarah Woodard (September 26th, October 3rd and 10th), and ends with Bishop William Barber on Tuesday, October 12th.
More information and registration links can be found at this link.
Racism and Reconciliation through the Lens of South Africa: Learning from our partners in Ministry
Racism and the process of racial reconciliation has long been a central issue in country of South Africa. As we go about this kind of work in our own context, we are offering the chance to spend the program year learning from South Africa; their past and their present. This dynamic program utilizes lectures and discussions, films and photos, books and articles to cover a brief history of South Africa, the Apartheid and Post-Apartheid eras, and the need for and effectiveness of Kwasa College, one of our parish partner organizations. We’ll also spend time reflecting on how we can apply what we have learned in this program within our country and community.
This 9 month program will be led by knowledgeable laity, guest speakers, and clergy. It will run from September 2021 – May 2022. The sessions will be held the third Wednesday of the month, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. We will be meeting in-person at the church and will abide by church safety protocols, including the requirement to mask while inside all church buildings.
Registration is required. E-mail your interest to: Jill Conrad, Global Mission Chair. Space is limited, so register early!
Join the COTC Technology Team
Now recruiting parishioners who have an interest in technology and communications to join our Tech Team. Potential assignments include operating the camera system for our livestreamed worship and formation events on Sundays, photographing events at COTC, and content creation for social media and other publications. The only prerequisites are a willingness to learn, fundamental computer knowledge, and availability of at least one Sunday each month. To learn more, email communications manager, Nick Jaeger.
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Johnson Service Corp News
Pounding, a JSC Tradition
For years now, it has been a tradition of the Johnson Service Corps to extend hospitality to our new cohort by offerings gifts of a pound in weight for the pantry or cupboard. Traditional pounding gifts include beans, rice, sugar, and flour. Due to the pandemic and our current limitations for gathering, we have compiled a couple of wish lists of items requested by our current corps members. You may purchase from either Target or Amazon and have it shipped directly to our corps members. You may also purchase a gift card and mail it directly to our office (PO Box 21 Chapel Hill, NC 27514), and we’ll make sure it goes to their wish list. The corps members have also expressed a need for bikes. This year, we have more corps members without a personal car, so gently used or new bike donations are welcome. Please contact Christina Balderson (919-442-2568) with any questions.
September 10 - October 29 | Service Leadership Course
Servant Leadership is both a path and a practice that invites participants to a deeper relationship with God and with others in the community. During this time we explore both an inward journey of personal transformation and an outward journey of sacred service. It is a journey from head to heart and one that the young adults from Johnson Service Corps invite you to take along with them this fall. Due to the pandemic, Servant Leadership Training will be online, which will hopefully allow for more people to join us. We will meet Friday mornings from 10:00 AM to noon beginning September 10 and continuing through October 29.
We are thrilled that Nancy Spencer and former JSC Program Director Susan Gladin will be facilitating the course for us again. We'd love to have you join us and get to know the incredible young adults serving with us this year! Space is limited and a suggested donation of $50 for the 8-week course will help us offset some expenses. Please contact Christina Balderson (919-442-2568) to register.
September 26, 9:00 a.m. | Commissioning Of Our New Corps Members
This year's JSC corps members will be commissioned at The Chapel Of The Cross on Sunday, September 26 at the 9:00 a.m. service. For those of you who can not make it in person, this service is live-streamed on the Chapel of the Cross YouTube page.
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Tuesday, September 14, 10:00 a.m. | Old Testament Discussion Group Begins
The worship services of the Episcopal Church frequently include passages from the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). Often times, these readings seem obscure and we wonder what it has to do with Jesus and the Good News. That said, it is clear that Jesus was Jewish and his teachings were in fact based on the Hebrew Bible as he knew it. Perhaps, if we understood the Hebrew Bible more completely, we might be able to better understand the life and ministry of Jesus.
The Chapel of the Cross is offering a systematic review of the Hebrew Bible from a Jewish perspective. The course would include 28 weekly Zoom sessions, each lasting 90 minutes. Each session would include a facilitated discussion of assigned readings. Assignments will consist of viewing a short video, reading the assigned book in the Hebrew Bible, and reading and two or three handouts per session. An estimated 1-3 hours of preparation would be required. There are no books to purchase or fees. The only “cost” is a commitment to attend and participate in each session. The discussion group is scheduled to start at 10 am on Tuesday September 14th. If you are interested in knowing more about this discussion group, please contact Hugh Tilson or Boykin Bell. To register, click here and cursor to the bottom of the page.
September 5 | Re-Membering the Church: A Prayerful Walk Through our Sacred Spaces
You are invited to join us on Sunday, September 5, following the 4 p.m. service, for a unique opportunity to walk and pray our way back into the building. This liturgy of walking and praying together will feel like a pilgrimage of return to sacred spaces as our community continues to regather and will help us transition back to inhabiting the building with our prayers, souls and bodies. No RSVP required.
Summer Bible Studies
We have several study groups who will continue to meet through the summer. For more information, contact Boykin Bell, Director of Christian Formation.
Children’s Chapel
Children’s Chapel no longer requires pre-registration. Come masked (even if you’re vaccinated) and distance yourself comfortably in the cloister courtyard this September 5. There will be no Children’s Chapel on September 12. All are invited to join the festive, outdoor picnic that day in celebration of Holy Cross Sunday. Children’s programs will resume on September 19. To join the Children and Family email list and receive more information, contact Boykin Bell.
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Youth Update
Please contact Mike Peterson, Family and Youth Minister, if you are interested in our Youth Programs: liturgical volunteers (Acolytes and Readers) or EYC.
Episcopal Campus Ministry News
Episcopal Campus Ministry (ECM) meets on Tuesdays at 5:30 PM on the back patio. Click here for the latest e-news update! As you (re)connect with the church campus and familiar faces in worship, please offer a welcoming greeting to students who may be new to COTC or may be returning after a long hiatus! And help them connect with Mary Cat or one of the student leaders present at the service. Find us on Facebook or Instagram, or email ECM to be added to the email list. If you'd like to learn more about our UNC ministries and outreach, contact Mary Cat Young.
Special Service
Every month on the third Monday, a group of Chapel of the Cross parishioners and our friends with developmental disabilities gather for an online service of prayers, songs, and stories. If you would like to attend, please contact Jean McDonald for the link.
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Worship at the Chapel of the Cross
On Sunday, September 5, services of Holy Eucharist will be held at 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., in the Church. The 9:00 a.m. service is also livestreamed. Children's Chapel will be held in the Cloister at 10:00 a.m (no Children's Chapel on 9/12/21). For more information about the services at the Chapel of the Cross click here.
Livestream | Sundays, 9:00 a.m.
Click Here
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Virtual Offering Plate
Click here to donate to support the mission and ministry of the Chapel of the Cross.
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For more photos of Sundays on Franklin Street, check out the Sunday Snapshots on Facebook (you do not have to be a member of Facebook to view!)
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Pastoral Care
Please do let us know of pastoral care requests (by clicking this link) and know that your clerics and other care providers, while not able to visit you in person, are glad to talk with you virtually.
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