THE CHRIST CHURCH CONNECTION The Newspaper of the Mother Church of the Dakotas From the Interim Rector - Fr. Tim Fountain Like any field, church work produces it s share of jargon. A word making the rounds right now is engagement. With fewer people coming to Sunday worship services on a regular basis, there is conversation about how to engage people where they are, at home, at work, wherever. Here are some of my current stabs at engagement: Half Way Church (or, as it is rendered on Twitter, # Half Way Church) is a short summary of my upcoming Sunday sermon, offered live on Facebook around lunchtime every Wednesday. As I say at the start of each one, We re halfway through your week, and here comes waaaay less than half of a sermon. Is it engaging? Well, the September 19th message about Humility reached 180 people. That s obviously more than our 10 a.m. service and about 5-times more than one of our typical Facebook posts. So more people are hearing a bit of the Christian message, and hearing an invitation to visit Christ Church. But how that will that translate into actual church life? Too soon to tell. Might not do much more than what it s done in the first month of effort, but might wind up connecting us to some folks we might otherwise have missed. Do keep the effort in your prayers. Check out the messages at https://www.facebook.com/christyankton/ Like the page so you get notifications, and share them with your friends. Blessing of the Animals is the first Saturday of this month (10/6) at 10 a.m. There s more about it (with great picture!) in this edition of the newsletter. It s an effort to engage our neighbors who love their pets, are farmers, or care for God s creatures in other ways. It also provided opportunity for me to go out and meet folks in the community. I dropped off posters for the event at a local pet shop, veterinary clinics, a coffee house, and HyVee. Got to say hello to some nice neighbors and put our church s caring presence in their work places. Will folks come? We ll find out on October 6th. Will folks connect? That s yet to be revealed. Pray about this event. Invite friends. Social Media like Facebook, Twitter and, less often, Instagram are places where I post inspirational verses, pictures, news and other resources to engage people where most of them are at least some part of every day. I m trying things like tagging the Chamber of Commerce when a sermon topic might cross over into the work force (subjects like Encouragement or Dealing With Disappointment). I m getting some great help from some of our church members, especially on Facebook and Twitter. I m hoping to recruit some of our younger members to take up the work on Instagram they re much better at that than I can hope to be. Our Twitter following has grown as has our engagement on Facebook posts. But the question remains open: how will it impact our church life? Jesus compared the work of the church to fishing. And when you fish, there is not a guaranteed catch. Still, like the bumper sticker says, A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work. God just asks us to throw out some lines and let Him handle the rest. Timothy+ October 2018
You re Invited! 1st Annual Blessing of the Animals Rev. Tim Fountain Refreshments for pets and people Please leash or crate your pet Saturday October 6th 10:00 am No reservations required! For questions or more info email: churchsec@iw.net 517 Douglas Avenue, Yankton, SD 570078 (605) 665-2456 www.christchurchyankton.com
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!! S p a g h e t t i D i n n e r Christ Episcopal Church Sunday, October 21, 2018 11:00 am 2019 Annual Pledge Drive Join us in celebration of our mission at Christ Episcopal Church with an afternoon of Italian cuisine and fellowship with others in the Christ Church family.
Second Annual ECW Ladies Evening Social The Second Annual ECW Ladies Evening Social was held on Wednesday, August29th. Thirty-six guests enjoyed an evening of fellowship and delicious refreshments while bidding on more than 35 silent auction items. The committee gratefully thanks all who made this 2nd annual event a wonderful success. We appreciated all who attended, provided silent auction items, gave donations, and helped set up and clean up. This evening of fellowship, refreshments, and fundraising netted more than $2500. Funds raised will be used by ECW to support the needs of Christ Church and many local charitable organizations.
Banquet Photos Christ Church hosted The Banquet at the United Church of Christ in Yankton on September 13 with 16 volunteers serving 241 guests.
Blessing of the Animals Scout here - please join me and Fr. Tim at the Blessing of the Animals - Saturday, October 6 at 10:00 a.m. on the church lawn. As you can see my mother has very high hopes (and lots of faith) for my blessing. We hope to see all of you and your furry (or scaly, or feathered - you get the idea) friends there!! Millard & Charlotte Davis On September 19th, Millard and Charlotte Davis from Georgia stopped by to see Christ Church. Millard is the grandson of Christ Church parishioners Victor and Tura Larson (Tura s name appears on the dedication plaque above the organ). Millard lived in Yankton for several years in the 1960s as his family helped care for Victor. He sang in the choir and was delighted to show Charlotte the spot where he sat for most services. In Memory Erik and Kim Aasland spent several years doing missionary work in Kazakhstan. During their vacation visits to Yankton, they worshiped at Christ Church with their young son and three daughters. The family now resides in California. We offer our prayers and condolences to them as they mourn the recent death of their son, Nathan. The Rob Marchand Education Center On September 10, 2018 the Rob Marchand Education Center in Anse-a-Galets, Island of LaGonave, Haiti was dedicated. The school has 113 students in grades 1 through 4. There are four classrooms along with one room for the school s principal on the first level. It is our goal, that in the future, a second level can be built to house grades 5 through 8 along with room for a library and lunchroom. Currently the students eat in their classrooms. Thank You Emma Hershfeldt, for making a great live video on What I like best about the church at the Sunday School Picnic Deacon John, for correcting errors on the Blessing of the Animals posters we put up at HyVee Shann Doerr, for working overtime to get mentors matched with Lincoln Elementary students for Kid s Hope Our parish team, who fed 241 neighbors at The Banquet Kathy Wright and Beth Kathol, for taking team pictures at The Banquet (plus serving!) The Search Committee, for hours of work on our parish profile for the Rector search Liz Lynch, Pat Michels, and Carol Smith, for serving as Christ Church delegates for the Annual Convention Jane Hawk, for updating our church mailing list Somer Bares, for helping make invitations for the Pledge Drive Kick-Off Spaghetti Dinner The dedication was such a special moment for my adult children and myself, as well as the other three members on our team. Meeting the teachers, principal, and the men who built the school, along with seeing the many children and their families, made for a very heartwarming evening. We went back the following day (the first day of school) and delivered school supplies along with backpacks and Rob Marchand Education Center T-shirts (both donated by a local Mitchell business). There are simply no words to explain the emotion of watching these children s eyes light up as they received these items. My children and I were so proud to see my husband s/ their dad s name on a school and see the children learning in this new school. Rob would have loved it. Only fifty percent of the children on the Island of LaGonave attend school and thanks to the kindness and generosity of many we were able to ensure 113 children had a school. If you have more questions about the school or wish to donate, please contact: LaGonave Alive, 1035 N.Spencer Lane, Tea SD 57064 Or visit: LaGonaveAlive.com Thank you, Mary Helgeland Marchand
5:00 PM Sunday October 7 to Monday October 8 at 3:00 PM (Central) The cost of this Ministry Weekend is $30 per person. This covers the cost of instruction and dinner and lunch Friday and Saturday. You can register at the following website: https://episcopalchurchsd.org/ministry-weekendregistration For more information, call the Diocesan Office at (605) 494-2020 or email Chris Corbin at chris@episcopalchurchsd.org.
We are still in need of Sunday School Teacher and assistants. If you are able to help, please contact Carol Smith. Our parish family welcomed two precious children in the sacrament of Baptism, on July 29th. Braylin Chaske LaCroix, daughter of Katie LaCroix, was born March 10th. Blake Thomas, son of Tara and Joshua O Gorman was born last December 21st. Heavenly Father, bless and guide these families. Amen October 1 Tre Hayes 2 Letrell Hayes Mary Ann Anderson Tonya Lambertz 7 Teresa Luke 8 Edward Meng, Sr. 10 Sandy Cope 13 Barbara Lyle Jackie LaCroix 23 Lisa Newland 27 Lavonne Lorenzen October 8 Norm & Kathy Wright Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation. We pray for those requesting our prayers: Roger, Jo, Brett, Jim, Ken, Debbie, Andy, Pat C., Pat M., Shirley, Drew, Lois, Somer, John, Tony, Michael, and Noah John and Jackson Dennis Evans and their family.
Christ Episcopal Church Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 9-11 Office Carol 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 pm Eucharistic Visitor training 2-4 Office Carol Office Closed 10 am Blessing of the Animals at Church Office Closed 20th Sunday after Pentecost 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 9 am Serenity 10 am Holy Eucharist and Sunday School Carol at training in Pierre 9-1 Office Carol 1-3 Office Carol 9-1 Office Carol Office Closed Blessing of the Marriage of Mike and Kim Houfek Office Closed 21st Sunday of Pentecost 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 9 am Serenity 10 am Holy Eucharist and Sunday School 9-11 Office Carol 1-3 Office Carol Office Closed Office Closed 22nd Sunday of Pentecost21 22 23 24 25 26 27 9 am Serenity 10 am Holy Eucharist, Sunday School & Pledge Spaghetti Dinner 5:15pm Vestry Mtg 9-11 Office Carol 1-3 Office Carol Office Closed Office Closed 23 rd Sunday of Pentecost 28 29 30 31 9 am Serenity 10 am Holy Eucharist and Sunday School 9-11 Office Carol 1-3 Office Carol