Sunday, July 28: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
10:00 a.m. Nursery Opens
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Baptism: BULLETIN
Livestreamed services can be found on the on the Christ Church YouTube channel.
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MESSAGE FROM THE REV. BERTICE BERRY
What We Believe: Our Elevator Pitch![](https://mcusercontent.com/5da6420af0ce411d2ce23d0bd/images/45e174dc-26ee-d21c-9bf9-a03c714da254.jpg)
Why do we have creeds: Isn’t the Bible enough?
As a Public Sociologist, author, and lecturer, I am often asked what I do, what I have written, and what I will be speaking about. (The last question is often asked right before I am getting up to speak.) As soon as I launch into a dissertation on Sociology and my relationship to it, or what I write and why I write it, I can see that the person asking the question is wishing they hadn’t asked it. Most often, I am being asked to give what is known as an elevator speech: a speech that can be given during an elevator ride but completed before the door is opened.
A creed is a formal statement of belief, one that gives an agreed upon summation for the body of believers. In the Episcopal Church, we have two: The Apostles Creed, which is used in daily worship and at Baptisms, and the Nicene Creed, which is said on Sundays right after the homily. (Our beloved former rector, the Rev. Michael White, pointed out that no matter what the preacher said prior to saying the Creed, we are all pulled back to what we believe.)
I love these creeds, but when I first came to the Episcopal church, I was not sure if I could recite them in their entirety. I did not know if my faith was strong enough. Then one day during service it dawned on me that the Apostle’s Creed was literally what the apostles of Jesus believed and that our recitation thereof connected us not only to believers throughout the world, but all the way back to the Apostles themselves. This eye-opening experience enabled me to connect to the creeds like never before. The more I recited The Apostles Creed, the more connected I felt to the words I had been saying. My belief, or as Marcus Borg points out in The Heart of Christianity, "my beliefs are my beloveds, or what I am loving,” expanded with each reading.
The Nicene Creed resulted from the work of the Council of Nicaea in the year 325. This gathering of the Council of Bishops in ancient Greece helped bring about consensus among Christians concerning a date for the observance of Easter, the Divine nature of God the Son and his relationship to God the Father, and the creation of canon law.
As to whether the Bible is enough, the short answer is “yes,” but the creeds not only enable us to affirm what we believe, they also assist us in making sense of the Bible we believe in. They are our elevator speech, one that unites, inspires, and affirms both the individual and the church.
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Finance and Stewardship Updates: Did You Know?
You can make your gifts to the church by automatic deduction from your account! You can set the time each month for this to occur, or you can give by check or Venmo. While gifts made on our website via credit card have associated fees, contributions made via automatic deduction, check, or Venmo have very little cost to the church.
Please contact Catherine Gussler for more information.
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Christ Church Choristers
This coming fall, Christ Church will start a new chorister program for all children and youth in 3rd through 12th grades. Through this program, young singers will learn musicianship, leadership, music theory and history, as well as the Episcopal liturgy and theology that we practice every Sunday. The program is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music in America, which shares our Christ Church belief that children are not the church leaders of the future; they are the church leaders of the present. For more information or to sign up, please contact Director of Music George Fergus.
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Christ Church Website Gets a Makeover
![](https://mcusercontent.com/5da6420af0ce411d2ce23d0bd/images/f24a47cd-e743-6b80-d9d2-fb37ff6afa8f.png)
Our updated website is now live! This new version includes up-to-date information in a streamlined, navigable format, without altering the look or feel of the original site. In consultation with the vestry, a communications task force made up of Rosemary Mackey, Sarah Smith, Suzanne Phillips Smith, George Fergus, and Samantha McKean partnered with web designer Seth Golbey to implement these changes. Check it out at christchurchsavannah.org!
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Christ Church Book Project Update:
Did You Participate in EfM?
The University of Georgia Press deadline for the complete manuscript of the new Christ Church history is this November; it should come out in 2026! Barrie Bradley would like to interview someone at Christ Church who participated in EfM (Education for Ministry) at Christ Church. This 4-year program seems to have had a life-changing influence on those who completed the course, but she needs some more background and direct quotes for the book. Please email her at barriescardinobradley@gmail.com if you are willing to meet with her and discuss your impressions.
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RJGA Book Discussion
Thursdays, 7–8 p.m., July 11–August 1
On Thursday evening, July 25, Racial Justice Georgia will continue its four-part discussion series of Dr. Catherine Meeks' recently published memoir, A Quilted Life. Please join us! The final meeting after this one will take place on August 1, 7–8 p.m.
Click here for the Zoom meeting link.
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Baptism of Cole Durham Benhase on Sunday
Join us on Sunday as we we lcome the newly baptized!
Cole Durham Benhase was born October 12, 2023 in Savannah to John Caleb and Sarah Durham Benhase. His big brother Chance Kelly was baptized at Christ Church in 2022, and Sarah and John were married at Christ Church by the Revs. Michael and Helen White in 2016, while still living in Atlanta. Like Chance, Cole will be baptized by his Poppy, The Rt. Rev. Scott Benhase, retired Bishop of Georgia. He and Cole’s Grammy, Kelly Benhase, live where John grew up (mostly), in Durham, NC. Sarah grew up in Cross City, FL and met John while getting her Masters in Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He was shucking oysters. Sarah doesn’t eat oysters, but tried them that once. Cole’s godparents are longtime friends and parallel parents Wesly Shane and Britni Layne-Gardiner Johnson, who literally may have their incoming baby boy at this service. Cole will have two “godsisters” in Harper and Avery Pearl. He has maternal grandparents, fours aunts, and an uncle who round out his loving family.
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Save the Date!
- August 11, Savannah VOICE Festival Concert at Christ Church
- August 18, Back-to-School Blessing
- August 18, Pool Party for Kids at Bockius-Suwyn House
- September 4, Wednesday Noon Service resumes
- September 8, Interim Rector Canon Cathy Zappa's first Sunday
- September 8, Adult Forum at 9:30 a.m. resumes
- September 8, Concert Series: George Fergus, organ
- September 15, Neighborhood Parties
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Next Week at Christ Church
Sunday, July 28: Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Baptism
Monday through Friday, July 29–August 2
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Docent Tours
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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
That's a lot of sandwiches!
![](https://mcusercontent.com/5da6420af0ce411d2ce23d0bd/_compresseds/6efce8b8-cd5b-7658-3aa4-b978c84b7106.jpeg) ![](https://mcusercontent.com/5da6420af0ce411d2ce23d0bd/images/20ffc097-ac04-7d33-f30a-49a3712e3a45.jpg)
![](https://mcusercontent.com/5da6420af0ce411d2ce23d0bd/images/6329b721-2f2e-0be0-261d-37641673c02a.jpg)
Children's Chapel kids have been learning about Jesus as the "bread of life." To put this lesson in action, over the past two Sundays they have assembled and bagged a total of 225 sandwiches for Emmaus House, where they'll be distributed to our Savannah neighbors.
Thanks to Mills Fleming for the photographs.
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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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