christchurch2007

When I arrived on Ash Wednesday at 5:00 AM, the sun had not yet risen. Sometimes making a special effort to mark this important day in the church year by arriving before the dawn breaks is rewarded by the beauty and stillness of the morning and time for quiet reflection and prayer before the service.












Liturgy is the word that defines what we do in our worship services. It literally means, "the work of the people." The liturgical color for Lent is purple. Our altar guild set the Table and decorated the church for Ash Wednesday.















The open door is an invitation to community with God in the middle of all that we do. Ash Wednesday services brought us all together and marked us for our journey.
















Father Wally awaits the arrival of early morning worshippers.










After the 6:30 AM service, some of us gathered at CJ's for a bite to eat and some good conversation.



Calvin and Conrad help their Mom, Cathy, in between the services as she prepares for the services of the day.













Father Bill and Peg Tobey after the 10:00 AM service.

Labels: Ash Wednesday

Mark Richard donned the apron and flipped some serious pancakes. Mark said he thought he had a vision while looking at one of the flapjacks, but he ate the pancake so we are walking by faith on this one. Thanks for the cooking Mark!






















Sandy Pringle seems to have grown another set of hands after undergoing surgery on one of his hands. Hmmm... Sandy and Elizabeth treated the parish with the meat for the evening.















Vic Cooper makes his entrance.



























Gwen Fleischer provided musical interludes on the piano and in voice. Thank you Gwen!



















Katharine Bingham offered a bit of history about past Shrove Tuesdays. A number of years ago the meal consisted of tacos with all of the fixings. It was called Taco Tuesday. Katharine served with distinction in the preparation of this year's food.Thank you!



















Fran Pullara, one of our newest members at Christ Church, joined the kitchen crew in preparing our meal. Thanks Fran and welcome!















Peter and Carolyn Henshel,members of our 8:00 AM worshipping family, arrive to help prepare the feast. Thank you Peter and Carolyn!













Sandie Nelson is part of the Fruit Salad team. Sandie and her husband, Bob, also were part of the planning team for the evening and helped set up the tables with Susan Mulledy-DeFrank and Kevin Griswold. Thank you Sandie, Bob, Susan, and Kevin!




















Father Bill prepares for surgery in a winning effort to create the Christ Church Fruit Salad. Thank you Bill!










Dave Walbeck took on the mellon slicing duties this year. Thank you Dave!







Elizabeth Nelson provided encouragement to the kitchen crew and shared her large collection of toy dogs. A rendition of "How Much is that Doggy in the Window" was played by Gwen Fleischer. Thank you Elizabeth and Gwen!






Jack Wright carves a mean apple to make our fruit salad colorful and tasty. Thank you Jack!









Susan Mulledy-DeFrank prepared the grapes for our wonderful fruit salad. Thank you Susan!




Gary Santo prepares to get the sausages into the oven. Thanks Gary.


Christopher of the Saint Stephen's Gathering created this beautiful clothespin cross. I will be writing a Gospel Reflection in the weeks ahead that these crosses inspired. Thank you Christopher and the whole St. Stephen's Gathering!


Here is a photo of a part of the gathering that enjoyed pancakes and friendship on Shrove Tuesday. I will be posting more photos in the coming days. Please check back to see them. I took photographs of everyone in attendance, so, if you were there, you may see yourself right here on the Christchurch2007 blog.

Labels: Shrove Tuesday

Gary Santo sent this fabulous photo he took in Playa Del Rey (Beach of the King)after the last rain storm. Gary also provides us with the headline above: "We'll Be Keeping the Ligh On For You!" Thanks Gary!

Labels: Parish Photos

At the end of the Ten O'clock service on the Last Sunday of Epiphany, three of our children recessed our three wise men down the aisle.



Sandi Nelson, below, is offering prayer cubes and holding crosses as we begin Lent. There is a bedtime prayer cube that would make a good Easter gift. The holding crosses are made of many different colors and patterns.

Hi Father Bob,

I took this photo from the front of the building where I work, the morning after bible study class. I happened to look up and saw this beautiful view. I work at a sewage treatment plant, the structures in the foreground are part of our Cryogenic Oxygenic Separation Plant, where we distill oxygen from air to feed to bacteria that help clean up the wastewater flow.

Proof that God's beauty is all around us!!!

Dave Walbeck

Labels: seeing God

A great feast of food, friendship, and fun were offered at this year's annual meeting. These photos show the gathering of the parish family to celebrate another year of grace together. The minutes from our meeting will be posted in the near future, so that those who did not attend will be able to read about the business that was conducted. The kids who attended got to play in the "bouncer" that was shaped like a castle. Would Jesus have said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a bouncer that looked like a castle?" Hmmm... Perhaps our children would like this parable.