Weekly Announcements
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General Announcements for April 28 - May 5, 2021
In-person Worship Service, April May 2
8:00 am - Rite I Service (Sanctuary) 10:00 am - Rite II Service (West Lawn) Our 10:00 am service will meet outdoors so that we can welcome more people and have more flexibility with music and masks (no masks when seated and spaced out). Please bring a lawn chair and sunglasses. If the forecast by Friday is problematic, we will move the service into the Sanctuary, and we will announce that on our Facebook page and the Worship page of our website. Registration is necessary for an indoor 10:00 am service because we are limited to 40 households, but it is not necessary if it is outdoors. Registration is not required for an 8:00 service. On Sunday, May 2, we will have the sacrament of Holy Baptism during the 10:00 am worship service.
If you are unable to attend an in-person service on Sunday, May 2, a pre-recorded service will be available on the Worship page of this website.
Episcopal 101 Offered in May. Join Rev. Chana for a 4-week introduction to The Episcopal Church offered at two times:
Tuesday 6:30 pm on Zoom (May 4, 11, 18) or Sunday 11:30 am in person (May 2, 9, 16, 23) The series will include what we're about (the tradition); why we do what we do (the nuts and bolts); why we read so much Scripture; and help you reason through it all (answering the questions YOU bring). There will be an opportunity for confirmation or reception into the Episcopal Church at our Bishop's visit in June. Please email Rev. Chana to join and receive the meeting location and login. New to St. Christopher's? Meet some members and find out more about ways to become involved at our gathering for newcomers on Sunday, May 2, at 1:00 pm via Zoom. Email office@stchriscarmel.org to be included.
Communion Visits. Both priests are now fully vaccinated, so if you would like an at-home communion visit or want to arrange a time to meet at church, please email either cspaccarelli@stchriscarmel.org or ctetzlaff@stchriscarmel.org
Giving Statements. Giving statements for the first quarter will go out by email on Thursday. If you would like to have a printed copy, contact Cindy Short.
FormationAdult Formation - Common Grounds
9:00 am - 9:35 (note new ending time) We know that some of our Common Grounds community may want to attend the 10:00 am service, so we have changed the time for our remaining sessions to allow travel time to the church. Yes, this is a tight period of time, so we will start and end promptly to make it work for Rev. Cara and those who plan to travel to church following our adult forum. Thank you for understanding the adjustment, as we are delighted to encourage in-person worship and continue our Common Grounds sessions on Zoom. May 2 - We will finish the year reflecting on hope with a lesson from the Bible Project. Biblical hope is different from optimism, enduring even in the most difficult of circumstances. While optimism is based on the belief that things will work out for the best, biblical hope is based on God’s unchanging character and promises. Marty Torrance will lead this forum. The Zoom link will be in the Sunday email. Youth Formation
Youth formation (for grades 5-12) will meet in person on May at 9:00 am in the Outdoor Classroom at the Natural Playground. We will then walk to church together at 9:45 am.This Spring we will explore dreamers in the Bible and our own dreams. We will look at how God's purpose shapes our dreams and God's dreams shape our purpose. Youth Group will meet in-person in the Outdoor Classroom on Sundays through May 23, at 6:00 pm. Children's Programming. We continue with our animated Bible story series, Friends and Heroes, which is shared through weekly email links directly to families, grandparents, or other caretakers of children in preschool through fourth grade to view at home. A discussion page is part of the weekly curriculum. If you are new to the parish and would like to receive the weekly email for your child, please contact Cathy Scott.
We will make giant pinwheels after the 10:00 am service on May 16. Look for more information in future issues of The Weekly News. OutreachSt. Christopher’s Crops is a raised-bed vegetable garden located east of the Sanctuary and the Memorial Garden. The garden has provided fresh vegetables to local food pantries since 2007.
The garden offers a unique fellowship opportunity for volunteers of all ages to come together to share gardening experience and tips, learn from one another, and share a laugh or a concern in a beautiful, peaceful setting. We are growing community as well as vegetables. We hope you’ll join us in the garden this summer! Volunteer opportunities begin on Sunday, May 16, immediately following the 10:00 am service, when we will plant and bless the garden. Then, on Saturdays, May 22 through June 26, volunteers will weed and tend the plants. Would you like to help? Please use the Signup Genius link below to choose the dates you want to help. Questions about volunteering in the garden? Please contact Barbara Needleman:
bsneedleman@gmail.com or 312 479-6007 (text or phone). Summer Meals Program. For the past four years St. Christopher’s has been a part of the Carmel Youth Assistance (CYA) Summer Meals Program that included multiple church sites to deliver food to hundreds of Carmel children and their families. With the support of the congregation and many volunteers our church met the multiple demands of ordering, storage, packing, and distribution, but the growing numbers have made it impossible for individual churches to meet this increased demand. To solve this challenge Carmel Youth Assistance and Merciful Help have centralized the location to St. Elizabeth Seton Church, where all the preparations will be done. The need for a high number of volunteers continues.
This year the five-week program will run from June 30 to July 28. Packing, distribution and delivery will all take place on Wednesdays between 11:00 am and 6:30 pm at St. Elizabeth Seton Church. St. Christopher’s and the other church sites can volunteer and a sign-up genius will be sent out before May. If you would like to lead in one of the core areas of packing, distribution, delivery, or family contacts, please contact Melissa Yarger ASAP: MelissaYarger@hamiltoncounty.in.gov or 317-606-9575. While we are sad to see the program leave St. Christopher’s we understand the necessity of the move. We celebrate the role we have shared in facilitating the program’s expansion, and we hope you will continue to support the Summer Meals Program. (This change does not affect our involvement with the weekend Back Sack program, which serves the same families, but operates under a different program structure.) Upcoming dates for your calendar
May 16 | Graduating Seniors and Acolyte Recognition May 16 | Planting Day for St. Christopher's Crops, after 10:00 am service May 16 | Children's Giant Pinwheel Making, after 10:00 am service May 23 | Pentecost June 13 | Bishop's Visit and Confirmation June 13 | Family Camp Sunday, 5:00 - 7:00 pm (Vacation Bible School) July 11 | Family Camp Sunday, 5:00 - 7:00 pm (Vacation Bible School) July 18 | Family Camp Sunday, 5:00 - 7:00 pm (Vacation Bible School) |