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SCHEDULE OF WORSHIP
Week of October 2, 2024                                                        PRAYER LIST 

Sunday, October 6: The Feast of St. Francis, observed
9:15 a.m.      Nursery Opens
9:30 a.m.      Adult Forum in the Parish House
10:30 a.m.    Holy Eucharist: BULLETIN
6:00 p.m.      Evening Program

Wednesday, October 9
12:00 p.m.    Holy Eucharist with Prayers for Healing

Livestreamed services can be found on the Christ Church YouTube channel


MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR

I don’t know exactly where, but somewhere along the way of my life, I got the message that money isn’t something you talk about it in polite company or in public at all. Sure, being raised in a Presbyterian church, we talked about money in the abstract. We talked about Jesus’ warning that it is harder for the rich to get into heaven than for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle. We could quote some semblance of his teaching, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” But to talk about actual money? My money? The green stuff that I was clutching in my pocket? Definitely not!

I suspect that had more to do with the culture around the church than the church itself, because Jesus talks about money a lot. I haven’t done the math, but according to Google AI, nearly 15% of Jesus’ teachings relate to money and possessions; nearly 25% of his words in the New Testament deal with biblical stewardship; and one quarter of his parables are about money. Jesus cares about money, because Jesus cares about people. Jesus cares about people’s souls and relationships to one another and all creation. And like it or not, money, one of the most visible “fruits of our labor” and currencies in our society, is a big part of our lives and our relations. That is why we present money during the Offertory in our services of Holy Eucharist, along with bread and wine.

I am grateful for the guidance that I get from the Bible and from church when it comes to this huge part of my life. I am grateful for our annual stewardship campaign, too. It is an important part of the church year, for practical as well as spiritual reasons. The annual pledge drive invites us to pause and do some serious soul searching about our relationship to and issues around money (and we all have them). It’s a time to examine what we believe about money, what we do with it, and how that is or isn’t consistent with our stated values.

We may look forward to this about as much as we look forward to going to the dentist when we know we haven’t been flossing, but it is actually quite empowering and liberating. Jesus wants us to be free! When we recognize the fear, insecurity, envy, and—let’s be honest—downright greed and selfishness that drive our “getting and spending,” they have less power over us. When we become aware of the consumer-driven cultural values that we may have absorbed, they have less power over us. We can choose how we will respond to them and become more conscious about how we use our money.

Money is spiritual. Our relationship to money is spiritual. And money can do good things! Christ Church is doing good things! And many of these good things take money. So let me talk for a moment about money, and not in the abstract. The stewardship campaign is an opportunity for each of us to consider prayerfully how we can support Christ Church and the ministries that flow from here, financially, with a pledge. A pledge is a promise to give a certain amount (whatever amount you discern is right for you at this time) over the next year. The vestry then uses these pledges to determine the church’s budget for that year. Pledging not only supports the ministry of our flourishing church, but it also is a concrete symbol of your commitment to the church and your gratitude to God, from whom all our blessings flow.


CONNECTION

Praise God, from whom All Blessings Flow


This Sunday marked the start of our stewardship campaign for 2025. You should receive a letter in the mail this week requesting your pledge. 

You may wonder why it is important to make a pledge to Christ Church in the fall. Why not just place money in the plate on Sunday mornings? The reason is this: your pledge enables the vestry to approve a budget for the coming year. We cannot approve a budget that does not have sufficient income to cover expenses for outreach, personnel and other operating costs, and the vast majority of our income comes from pledges. When the vestry meets in December, your pledge will enable them to look toward the 2024 year and accurately approve a budget for the mission and ministry of Christ Church.

You may pledge online at christchurchsavannah.org/giving. If you have any questions, please contact Catherine Gussler at treasurer@ccesavannah.org or 912-222-0888.


Vestry Nominations for 2025

If you would like to make a suggestion for vestry service, please contact one of our Wardens, Stephen Rilee or Wash Dender, by October 20. To be considered for Vestry service, one must be a confirmed communicant, faithful in attendance for worship, active in service to the Church and the world, and make a financial pledge to the ministry of Christ Church. The vestry will formally nominate a Vestry Slate for election in November. We give thanks for those whose vestry term will conclude in the new year: Katie Griffith, Stephanie Lindley, Roger Moss, Rena Patton, and Stephen Rilee.


Sunday Morning Adult Forum Series
A Different Community: Christians in the Public Square

Beginning Sunday, October 6, 9:30 a.m. in the Parish House

As Christians, we are called to be a community transformed into the image of Christ. This transformation is powerful enough to reach every sphere of our lives—not only when we show up at church on Sunday morning, but also when we scroll through our social media feeds, sit around the Thanksgiving table, and park next to that car whose bumper stickers betray an ideology very different from our own. Many narratives of our current cultural and political climate tell a story of “division,” but the truth is that there’s much more we have in common. Join the Revs. Cathy Zappa and Samantha McKean as we explore together how our identity in Christ shows us a different way to be in the world, empowering us to live into the unity, reconciliation, and love that God offers us in Christ.

Fall Evening Program in October
Ordinary Saints: How Christ Shines through the Lives of Everyday People

Sundays, October 6, 13, 20, and 27, Undercroft, 6:00 p.m.


Mother Teresa, Francis of Assisi, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King—these are the kinds of people who come to mind when you hear the word "saint." But what about those us who don't build orphanages, tame wolves, defend France, or lead great movements of justice? Join us each Sunday in October at 6:00 p.m. in the undercroft as we hear about the extraordinary things God does through seemingly ordinary people. Each week, a different panel of Christ Church members will share their stories of following God's call (even when they didn't realize it at the time!). Discover your own story in theirs, and learn how God leads us not to become somebody else, but always to be more truly ourselves: ordinary saints, through whom God does extraordinary acts of love.
 

Sunday, October 6: Called to Care


Despite cultural ideals of independence and individualism, a fact of being human is that all of us, at one point or another, will depend upon another's care. It is also true that all of us will be faced with the task of caring for another: a child, an aging parent, a vulnerable neighbor, or someone else God places in our path. How does Christ show up in caregiving? How might listening to God's call to care be more than a burden or obligation, but open up a whole new path to life? Join panelists Catherine Renner, Katie Griffith, Dr. Jay Howington, and Kate Bailey as we explore these questions and more.

Catherine Renner has been enjoying retirement since 2022. She is the former Director of Annual Giving at Telfair Museums, a position she held for 12 years. Although born and raised in Atlanta, she spent 27 years in the DC area working and raising her sons Adam and Will. She relocated to Savannah 18 years ago to be closer to her aging parents, Joe and Sarah, a decision she has never regretted. She and her husband Brian live downtown.

Katie Griffith founded Over the Moon, the diaper and period supply bank for Savannah and Coastal Georgia, in 2019. A core belief behind the the non-profit that "Everyone deserves to be clean, happy, healthy, safe, and dry." OTM is volunteer-led and partners with with social service agencies across the Low Country. Katie and her husband Lee have one daughter, and Katie currently serves on the vestry.


Dr. Jay Howington
is a neurosurgeon with fellowship training in cerebrovascular disease, which means that his main focus is on the prevention and treatment of stroke. Jay and his wife Cathy attend Christ Church with his family, and Jay also serves as a Lay Eucharistic Minister.



Kate Bailey
is a mother to Reese (16), Eli (15), and Oliver (11) and a nurse at the Savannah Country Day School. She spends a lot of time caring for young people—not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. For Kate, this calling is deeply rooted in her faith in a God who similarly cares for us.

In the Spirit: Monday, October 7 at the Sandfly 5-Spot

Second and Fourth Mondays, 5:30 p.m.

"In the Spirit" is a discussion group for those who seek to deepen their faith through meaningful conversations. Join us this Monday at The 5-Spot in Sandfly (7360 Skidaway Rd), where you can grab a drink or a bite as we spend time together. We'll gather at 5:30 p.m. and begin our discussion at 6:00.

This week's topic: Stuff

This week we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the son of a successful silk merchant who once lived an indulgent life of luxurious pleasures. But one day Francis left it all, renouncing worldly goods to become a beggar and live an itinerant life of poverty and simplicity.

If this sounds hard to do, that's because it is! While we often think of ourselves of having a hold of our possessions, it might be more true to say that our possessions have a hold on us. Why is "stuff" so alluring to us? And what might we learn from the examples of Francis and Jesus, who seemed to think wealth could be exchanged for something better?

Questions to Ponder:
  • Why do you think buying things and having things is so attractive to us, especially in modern America? Why do we always seem to want more?
  • What do you think Francis lost when he renounced his previous lifestyle? What do you think he gained?
  • Jesus famously told his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." How do you interpret this statement? Why do riches seem to be such a hinderance to entering God's way of being in the world?

If you have questions or would like to receive emails about upcoming In the Spirit topics, please contact the Rev. Samantha McKean.

Artwork: Giotto di Bondone, Christ Blesses the Mystic Marriage of St. Francis with Poverty, 1330, Château de Chantilly.


Christ Church Book Group

Thursday, October 10, 10:30 a.m.

Join us each second Thursday in the undercroft as we explore insights from thought-provoking works. This month, the selection is The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. The Lemon Tree is a moving work bringing the tragedies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a human scale. In 1967, Bashir, a young Palestinian, journeys to Israel with the goal of seeing his beloved old stone house that he had fled nineteen years earlier. Unexpectedly, he is greeted by Dalia, a nineteen-year-old Israeli college student, whose family fled Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship tested over the next thirty-five years in ways that neither could imagine.

Donations for Disaster Relief

Many have asked about where to send donations for Disaster relief. One option is to donate directly to the Bishop’s Fund for Disaster Relief. Donations can be sent by check to the diocesan office (18 E. 34th Street Savannah, Georgia 31401) or by texting  "EDOG Relief" to 73256 or by clicking this link for the Realm giving portal.

Another way to provide aid across the Diocese is to give to Episcopal Relief and Development. ERD provides grants to dioceses to help them send direct aid to the most vulnerable in their communities impacted by this disaster. Donations can be sent to ERD’s Hurricane Relief fund by clicking here.
 

A Prayer in Time of Natural Disaster

O God, our times are in your hand. In the midst of uncertainty lead us by your never-failing grace as we seek to be agents of healing and hope. Walk with us through difficult times; watch over us in danger; and give to us a spirit of love and compassion for those who suffer and mourn. And finally remind us that you have promised never to leave us so that even in the valley of the shadow of death your love may be felt, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Baptism of Thomas Matthews Harper on Sunday

Join us as we welcome the newly baptized! Thomas Matthews Harper, born April 15, 2024, is the son of Caroline and Sam Harper. He is the grandchild of Nan and Hal Harper of Macon and Catherine and Joe Gussler. He will be christened in his great great grandfather, Thomas Augustine Barrow's baptismal gown from 1883. Our beloved rector, F. Bland Tucker, christened his grandmother at Christ Church in this gown in 1961. His godparents are Taylor Elizabeth Shook and Ralph Lee Lineburger. Today he will become a fifth-generation member of Christ Church. 


Next Week at Christ Church


Sunday, October 6: The Feast of St. Francis, observed
     9:30 a.m. Adult Forum: A Different Community
     10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Baptism
     6:00 p.m. Evening Adult Program: Ordinary Saints

Monday through Friday, October 7−11
     10:00 a.m.−12:00 p.m. Docent Tours

Monday, October 7
     5:30 p.m. In the Spirit. Stuff

Wednesday, October 9
     12:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist and Prayers for Healing
     5:15 p.m. Chorister Rehearsal
     7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal

Thursday, October 10
     10:30 a.m. Christ Church Book Group

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK







Thanks to Mills Fleming for the photographs.
Centered in Worship
All are Welcome
Joyful Living

Servant Leadership


We invite you to worship with us at Historic Christ Church.
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Church Location: Johnson Square | 28 Bull Street
Our mailing address is:
28 Bull Street
Savannah, GA 31401

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