Sunday announcements
February 10, 2008 - The First Sunday in LentNote: Personal phone numbers are removed from the Web version of the Sunday announcements. Please consult your Parish Directory, use e-mail if an address is given, or call the parish office at 919-929-2193 to find out more about the news.
Services This Week
Mon., Tues. and Fri.
5:15 pm Evening Prayer
Tuesday, Feb. 12
5:30 pm Episcopal Campus Ministry
Ms. Jamieson-Drake
Wednesday, Feb. 13
10:00 am Holy Eucharist 1928
Ms. Jamieson-Drake
Thursday, Feb. 14
5:15 pm Holy Eucharist Rite II
Mr. Frazelle
Next Sunday, February 17
The Second Sunday in Lent
7:30 am Holy Eucharist Rite I
Mr. Frazelle
9:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite I
Ms. Jamieson-Drake
10:00 am Morning Prayer (Carolina Meadows Board Room)
Ann Henley
11:15 am Holy Eucharist Rite II
Ms. Jamieson-Drake
3:00 pm Evening Prayer (Carol Woods Lookout Room)
Ann Henley
5:15 pm Holy Eucharist Rite II
Ms. Jamieson-Drake
9:30 pm Sung Compline
Readings: Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17
Adult Education Today
Measuring Your Carbon Footprint (Parish Office)
The Baptismal Covenant - Mr. Frazelle (Chapel)
Adult Education Next Week
Measuring Your Carbon Footprint (Parish Office)
The Baptismal Covenant - Ms. Lee (Chapel)
Today
God and Church Program
There will be an informational meeting today for all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders interested in the God and Church program. The meeting will be held in the parish library after church school (app. 11:15 am). God and Church focuses on learning more about Christ, exploring worship in the Episcopal Church, and discovering opportunities that our congregation provides for ministering to others. For more information, please contact Frank McBride (call church office for number) or at StratAdvan@aol.com.
Episcopal Youth Community
See you tonight! EYC meets most Sundays from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the dining room. We invite and encourage all sixth through twelfth graders to participate. Please contact Caren Parker at cparker@thechapelofthecross.org with questions.
Compline tonight at 9:30 pm
"Set your minds on the things that are above, where Christ is." The ancient monastic service of Compline, the "completion" of the day, is offered in our church every Sunday evening during the university semester at 9:30 pm. An organ improvisation follows the 25-minute service. Come join us and put all of your comings and goings, your beginnings and endings, and everything in-between into the loving hands of God.
Church School
Church School is offered most Sundays, September through mid-May for two year-olds through adults. The classes and their locations are posted around the building and on the bulletin boards in the dining room. Church School is from 10:20 am to 11:05 am. Registration forms are available for parents of children and youth to complete. New students are welcome at any time during the year.
12:30 Social Hour
You are invited each week following the 11:15 Sunday morning service to enjoy food, fellowship and a hearty welcome to the Chapel of the Cross with old-timers and newcomers alike. Heavy hors d'oeuvres and light refreshment are provided by volunteers and the Social Hour NEEDS YOU. Volunteers are needed to bring food to share. Food should be ready to serve. Food suggestions include such savory and sweet items as: cheese & crackers; chips & dip; crudite platter; sandwiches; fruit; cakes; cookies; light liquid refreshment is also welcome. Please sign up for a week to be a food provider on the calendar posted in the kitchen. LABEL your food with 12:30 SOCIAL HOUR, mark it with the date and deliver your food to the kitchen just before the 11:15 Sunday morning service.
This Week
Lenten Programs Begin This Week
Christian Yoga begins on Monday, Feb. 11 at 10:30 am in the dining room.
Monday evening at 7:30 the Christology of John's Gospel begins with visiting theologian, Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop. This class will convene in Room 4 in the basement. Participants are asked to bring a Bible, notebook and pen.
The prayer groups begin today. All groups still have openings: Sundays from 10:20-11:05 in Room 1 in the basement; Tuesday from 12:30-1:30 in Room 6; Wednesday mornings from 9:00-10:00 in Room 6 and Wednesday afternoons from 4:15-5:15 in Room 6. The Wednesday afternoon group offers childcare. Contact Gretchen Jordan for registration.
Episcopal Campus Ministry
All university students are invited to our weekly fellowship and dinner in the campus center Tuesdays at 5:30 pm. Bishop Curry will be coming this week to teach us, in an instructional Eucharist, the reasons we do the things we do during services. It will be low key and really enjoyable. In years past, this has been a favorite program of many!
Red Dinner and Dessert
Celebrate St. Valentine's Day with your Chapel of the Cross Family. Join us for an all "Red Dinner and Dessert" this Thurday, February 14, 6-8 pm in the Parish Dining Hall. Surprise Valentines for everyone. To RSVP, contact the parish office by February 12 at 929-2193.
The Hill is Alive with the Sound of Chainsaws
And if you can split a log, or load and unload a truck, we'd like to hear from you, too. We'll cut and deliver wood to those in need again this Saturday morning, Feb. 16. We'd especially like to have some students join us. A pickup truck is always a plus, but we need people more than anything. To get directions and details contact David Brown (call church office for number) or at david_brown@unc.edu.
Parish Notes
Child Mortality Cross
Beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing through Lent, we will be building a cross in the dining room from colored popsicle sticks. Each stick represents a child under the age of five who will die from causes related to poverty between our breakfast and bedtime during ONE day of Lent. These children will die from treatable, preventable causes, yet we will be using over 15,000 sticks to build the cross. Please take a moment during Lent to glue sticks to the cross. Copies of the devotional "Seeking to Serve" are available to encourage reflection on these tragic deaths and the many ways the Millennium Development Goals can help prevent them.
Social Ministry Committee Table
Beginning this morning, the SMC plans to have a table in the dining room Sunday mornings between the 9:00 am and 11:15 am services. A committee member will be there to answer questions, provide information on parish outreach projects, identify volunteer opportunities or just chat! We welcome the chance to communicate with interested parishioners on social ministry and outreach issues. Come by and say hello.
Protect God's Creation! "Fast from Carbon" for Lent
The Environmental Stewardship Committee invites you to "fast from carbon" during Lent and beyond. Carbon dioxide is the dominant "green house gas" that is contributing to the warming of our planet and the disruption of our climate. During the five Sundays of Lent, members of the committee will be stationed in the parish office between the 9:00 and 11:15 services, with computers and Internet access, ready to help you measure your "carbon footprint." By answering a few questions, you will learn the amount of carbon that you are putting into the air in the form of carbon dioxide. You will also receive information on how to reduce that footprint and measure your progress. It is not essential, but it will be helpful if you have an approximate idea of how much you spend each month for energy in your home (i.e. for electricity, natural gas, heating oil or kerosene). If you have questions about this, please contact Linda Gaines (from Jan. 27-Feb. 18) at lggaines.95@alum.mines.edu or Linda Rimer at lbrimer@bellsouth.net (after Feb. 18, 2008).
Can you pack a "trash free" lunch?
This Lent, church school children will be encouraged to go on a lunchbox "trash-fast" to reduce their carbon footprints. Packing a trash-free lunch - with no plastic sandwich bags, no juice pouches, no string cheese or candy wrappers - is surprisingly easy (and usually a lot healthier, not just for the planet but for the kids!) Did you know a discarded juice box retains its weight, volume and form for at least four decades? Or that a banana peel thrown into the landfill will decompose only 25% in fifteen years? The average child packing a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of trash a year. The best way to reduce trash is to stop creating it. Simple ideas for going "trash-free" are on the bulletin board in the Yates stairwell and on flyers in the dining room. For more information, go to www.wastefreelunches.org.
Small Ways to Help
The Chapel of the Cross's 46th annual Attic, Basement, Closet (ABC) Sale will soon be upon us! The sale date is Saturday, April 12. We need of a little presale help. We need gardeners to grow plants for the garden shop, shoppers to save paper handled bags, a large tent for sale day, and a donation of a storage space for sale items in Feb. and March. We are also in need of a few financial sponsors. We need to fund a Treasured Affair cocktail event ($300), purchase a cake for the volunteer luncheon ($100), purchase reusable advertising signs ($300), and purchase reusable department chair aprons ($200). If you are able to help us with this important charity fund-raiser in any of these ways, please contact the sale coordinators, Mindy Morton (mortons04@nc.rr.com or (call office for number)) or Heather Benjamin (habenjam@bellsouth.net or (call office for number)).
Vacation Church School
This year's Vacation Church School will be held June 23-27. Teachers, teen assistants, and occasional volunteers (both before and during the week) are needed. If you're interested in helping make VCS a success, please contact Boykin Bell at bbell@thechapelofthecross.org or 929-2193. Registration forms for children ages four through fifth grade will be available March 1, with priority placement going to parishioners until May 15, when registration will be opened to the community.
Recruiting Coordinators
Coordinators are needed at 5:15 pm. It is a wonderful way to contribute to our Sunday afternoon service in the Chapel. Rotation is running every 4 - 6 weeks. If you are interested please contact Allan Rimer (call office for number) or rimerae@bv.com.
Our Cup Runneth Over
If you have lost car keys, glasses, books, coats or other misc items, please claim them in the church office before they are donated to IFC. If you have questions contact Marsha Pate weekdays at mpate@thechapelofthecross.org.
Desirable Vestry Attributes
The following is an excerpt from Vestry Papers, a national Episcopal publication, offering guidelines and advice for Vestry members. With Vestry elections scheduled for Feb. 17, this reprint seems timely for us all.
1. Be a non-anxious presence, especially in the midst of conflict. This is especially important as a leader. Keep communication open and honest, but don't amplify fear and anxiety...
2. Don't leave your brain at the door. The church tries to walk the line between contracts and covenant; between law and promise. There is wisdom in the practice to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves."
3. Try something you've never done before. Risk failure and hope for success. Vestry people are in a position to see the bigger picture. They can be more aware of more resources and a longer time frame. Take advantage of this privileged point of view...
4. Pray and then get out of the way. Prayer is a gift, whether offered silently or aloud...Leave room for grace. Make time and space for the Holy Spirit to weigh in on any given situation.
5. Exercise the Spirit's gifts, those St. Paul describes in Galatians 5:22-23: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
6. Finally, remember Pope Gregory who knew who was in charge with his nightly bedtime prayer, "God, your Church needs you. Now I'm going to bed."
Office Volunteers
Our church office counts on volunteers to help answer phones, prepare mailings, data entry, and assist with special projects. Times are available Mon.,Tues., Thurs. & Fri. in 2-hour slots, weekly or bi-weekly. Please contact Marsha Pate at 929-2193 or mpate@thechapelofthecross.org if this unique contribution appeals to you.
Youth Inquirers' Class Begins Soon
The Youth Enquirers' Class, a spiritual formation worksop series for high school students, begins Feb. 20. For regsitration or for more information, contact David Frazelle at 929-2193 or dfrazelle@the chapelofthecross.org.Mark Your Calendar
Reading with a View to Spirituality
For some Lenten reading, please join us Saturday, Feb. 23, from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm in the parish library for reflection upon The Ascent to Truth by Thomas Merton. All are welcome. Bring your book and your lunch. For more information, call Raquel Goldberg at (call church office for number).
Save the Date
Saturday, April 5. Plan to participate in a hands-on opportunity to help eliminate world hunger. Bring your friends, your neighbors, your scout troop, your parents, your grandchildren, and join with other churches and community organizations to package meals to be sent to some of the most destitute countries in the southern hemisphere. Last year 175,000 meals were packaged in Chapel Hill alone, and participants enthusiastically asked to be invited again this year.
Stewardship Opportunities
Orange - Alamance Prison Ministry
The Orange Alamance Prison Ministry is in the final weeks of a drive to raise money to build a modest chapel at the Hillsborough unit where members of our parish visit weekly. Any amount is appreciated. A $100 donation will purchase a memorial brick with a name, an inscription on it , to be placed in in the Peace Garden. Checks can be made to Chapel of the Cross with a note "for the Prison Chapel." If you have questions call Terry Johnston (call church office for number).
Orange County Sponsoring Committee
The Orange County Sponsoring Committee is an effort to build a broad-based organization with the power to take collective action in the name of justice and the common good. The potential members of the new organization are religious congregations, schools, unions and community and civic organizations in Orange County. This effort is being led by clergy and lay leaders from religious congregations representing nine major religious denominations, working in partnership with other community leaders The next meeting is Feb. 21. Please contact Peggy Pratt if you are interested in learning about this opportunity.
Ways to Assist our Burmese Friends
If you have school-aged children, consider taking several of our children on an outing with your family. (Our six children range in ages 4 - 18 years). Do you need yard work done such as mulching, raking, general clean-up, or garage clean-up? Consider having one of our adults help you for a day. If you are familiar with the bus system in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, consider spending a morning teaching them how to get to the Carrboro Clinic or the Social Service Office on Homestead. If you need help tackling a pile of ironing, consider having Po Loe over for a morning. Visit the Social Ministries table between the 9:00 and 11:15 Sunday services to sign up or get more information. For more information, please contact Barbara Tremblay (call office for number) or Gale Gilchrist (call office for number).
Community Notes
NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program
A series of 12 weekly classes structured to help family members understand and support their family member suffering with a mental illness will be offered this winter. There is no cost to participate in this NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program. In Chapel Hill the class will be held in the Dogwood Room at the Seymour Center on 2551 Homestead Road beginning on Tuesday, March 4, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. For further information please contact Gove Elder (call church office for number) or for confidential inquiries via email write to gbelder@bellsouth.net.
Diocesan Course on the MDG Ministry
The North Carolina Diocese MDG Committee is sponsoring a three-class series on ministry for the MDGs, "Building an MDG Ministry in Your Congregation." This course emphasizes three things that motivate us to take action: personal experience, community formation and vision. Leaders for the MDGs will connect these three in ways that invite others in and allow them to see themselves as participants in the dream of ending extreme poverty. Lallie Lloyd will lead the class to be held at Church of the Holy Comforter in Burlington beginning Feb. 23. The course fee is $150, with discounts available for additional participants from the same congregation. Only 15 slots are available.For more information, contact MDG Committee Chair Debra Smithdeal (call church office for number), or debra@dioncmdg.org.
Environmental Stewardship Green Tip
Protect our climate! Drive less; walk, bike and carpool more often.
Sunday Announcements
The deadline for announcements is 10:00 am on Wednesday. Announcements should be brief. Parish-related submissions are given priority. Include daytime phone and email address for contact. All submissions are subject to editing; publication of the submission is not guaranteed. Email information to submissions@thechapelofthecross.org or leave paper copies in the Publications Assistant's mailbox in the parish office. Email is preferred.
Last updated: February 11, 2008
