TODAY AT CHRIST CHURCH

THE FLOWERS AT THE ALTAR TODAY are given to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, in loving memory of Emily Claire Maurand.

WE WELCOME MR. MARK DIRKSEN as organist this morning while John Russell is on vacation. Mark is no stranger here, having served previously on the music staff of Christ Church. Mr. Russell will return next week.

FOR CHILDREN AT THE 8:00 AND 10:00 AM SERVICES: Please borrow a canvas tote while you are here.  Inside, you’ll find a choice of crayons, paper, crafts, etc.  You are welcome to take home your creations.  When you leave this morning, please return the tote, crayons and silk bags to be refilled for next time.  Thanks !

UPDATE ON THE HEATING SYSTEM AND CAPITAL CAMPAIGN:We've had good news and bad news on the replacement of the main church heating system and its associated Capital Campaign.

First, the good news!  Thanks to the generosity of 35 donors to date, the church has received more than $66,000 in gifts and pledges.  This is a wonderful outpouring of support and we appreciate so much the generosity of all who have responded to the campaign.  More good news: the contractors have made great progress!  The furnace room under the stairs to the second floor now has two beautiful new gas-fired boilers installed and the contractors are in the midst of installing the air handlers.  We are on schedule.

Now, the bad news.  When the contractors removed the underground oil storage tank, they discovered that it had in fact been leaking and contaminating the soil behind the church. It is good that we removed the oil tank this year, since another year of leaking would have been much worse.  Following state regulations, this discovery required removal of the soil, drilling several monitoring wells, some lab tests, etc., which added a substantial amount of incremental costs.  While we don't yet know the full economic impact, we believe that it will be approximately $25,000 to $30,000.  The original goal of the Campaign was $75,000 (with a dollar-for-dollar match from the Smith funds), so the goal now must be raised.  We have set a new goal of $90,000, which, with your help, we can exceed!  Other projects, such as the Parish Hall roof, loom near; the oil tank has reminded us to address such problems promptly lest they get larger and more expensive.

We hope very much that each member of the church will give to the Campaign.  Please give what you can -- remember every dollar you give will be matched to make two dollars -- and fulfill your commitment to this project between now and December 31, 2011.  The church needs each family to give what it can, and to share in allowing the church to extend a warm welcome to all!   Thank you very much.

TODAY IS OUR PARISH PICNIC! Please join us for Christ Church's Annual All Parish Picnic, held at the home of Leslie and Ray Desroches (306 Moulton Street in Hamilton), after the 10 AM service, about 12 noon, until 5 PM. Christ Church will provide classic summer fare (hamburgers, veggie burgers, hotdogs and cold drinks) along with tandoori Indian barbecued chicken. Fr. Gray is continuing a long-standing tradition of procuring a keg of local beer.

• Here is what YOU can bring:

-Yourself! If you are unable to bring something, please do come and join us.

-If your last name begins with A-M, bring a side dish, snacks, juice for kids

-If you last name begins with N-Z, bring a dessert, bottles of water or fruit

• A pool is available for swimming, as well as two splash pools for toddlers.

Please bring towels, suits, swim diapers for kiddies still wearing them

• Games provided for children (adults too!)
• Directions- From the Church, take a left onto Asbury Street, Left onto 1A/Bay road.  Follow 1A, passing Myopia and the HWRHS/Miles River Middle School on right.  After the school, take a right onto Moulton Street. 306 is last house on the left, Gray Gambrel with stone retaining wall in front.  Parking is available in the driveway, on Moulton Street, and on Autumn Lane (right turn immediately preceding our house).Please note that the police do not allow parking on Sagamore Street and please be courteous of our neighbors and do not block driveways or park on their lawns. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

THIS WEEK AT CHRIST CHURCH

EPISCOPAL CITY TUTORING, a nonprofit SAT tutoring program that Christ Church has developed in partnership with the Reverend Eric Hillegas of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Dorchester, has two slots available.  Individual tutoring sessions are held at Christ Church on Thursday evenings from 6-9 PM, as well as Saturday mornings from 10AM-1PM.  If interested, please contact Kali Reynolds at 978-407-6368 or 978-468-4268.

UPCOMING EVENTS

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: Christ Church will participate in a Build Day in Peabody on Saturday, September 18th (from 9 AM to 3 PM), and we're looking for a few good men and women who can participate in this important ministry.  But space is limited, so if you are interested, contact us soon!  Fr. Gray can be reached by email or 978-468-4461 x.24.

OCKHAM’S KEGGER: Our next series is already planned, as we do Part 1 of The Seven Deadly Sins.  Confirmed speakers include Dr. Tom Howard on Pride, the Rev’d Eric Hillegas on Gluttony, and our very own Dr. David Aiken on Sloth.  We’re back at the American Legion in Hamilton at 7:00 PM on Mondays, September 20 & 27 and October 4& 11.  Save those dates now!

OTHER NOTES

Time, Talent & Treasure

REFUGEE IMMIGRATION MINISTRY (RIM), a local ministry supported by Christ Church, works to create a community-based support system for refugees and immigrants in the Greater Boston Area.

New Family Arriving! There is a family of 3 (mother, father and 17 year old son) from Eritrea arriving on August 24th. RIM is hoping to place them in Beverly.  We are still looking for donations to set up a home for them including things like bedspreads, bottle and can openers, dish drainers/dish pans, dishes and flatware for 4, ice cube trays, kitchen utensils, meat and paring knives, pots and pans, sheets etc.  Donations can be left in the RIM chest outside the Preston Cutler Room. We are also looking for volunteers to help with moving furniture into their apartment.  If you have furniture to donate please contact Ryan McDonnell at 978 -257-1116 or by email.

English Tutoring: We are still looking for people to help teach English to refugee families who have recently arrived in the North Shore area. ESL training is scheduled for Saturday, September 11th from 9:30-11:30AM at Trinity Episcopal Church in Topsfield.

The next meeting for the North Shore Cluster is going to serve as training for anyone who would like to be more involved with refugee and immigrant families. This meeting is Thursday, September 9th at 7:00 PM at the Friends Meeting House, Friend Street, Amesbury.

Please contact Heidi Busch at 970-946-9948 or by email for more details.

TO ALL MINISTRY HEADS: As we begin to plan for the fall, do you have any announcements for the parish that you would like in the Parish Life Notes during the next few weeks?  Please email them now to Laurie Wilson.

ACORD CONTRIBUTIONS: The Missions Committee is hoping that many parishioners will be involved in local ministries and the ACORD food pantry on Willow St. in Hamilton is one of these opportunities. Please bring canned or boxed foods and leave them in the box outside the PCR. Thank you for contributing.

Et Cetera

COPIES OF “FORWARD DAY BY DAY,” the booklet of daily Bible readings and devotions, are available at the entrances to the Church and Chapel.  This edition covers August through October and is available in both large and normal print.

Special Note

We will return to three services on Sunday, August 29th.

8:00 AM in the Chapel

9:00 AM in the Church

11:15 AM in the Church

The Praise Band and Church Choir will return to lead the music at 9:00 and 11:15 AM respectively on Sunday, September 12th and education classes will also begin Sunday, Sept. 12th at 10:15 a.m.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!