April 2011 Newsletter

Lilies from the altar are delivered to parishioners who may be homebound, in a convalescent home, or have experienced a loss during the past year.  

Please be a part of this very special Easter ministry. After the 10 am Easter Service take a lily (flowers will be on table in Merrill Hall during Coffee Hour)) to a fellow parishioner. Lily may be delivered on Easter or later in the week.

Christian Healing Ministries in New England

Last year a dozen parishioners from Grace Church attended the conference and were very blessed.   It was a time of healing and refreshment.  Below, you will see information about this year’s conference, which will be held in June. 

If you have any questions about this annual event, please speak with one of the clergy.  The Rector and Associate Rector will attend and have been asked to serve as Spiritual Directors for this event. This Year's Topic is:


“Empowered by The Holy Spirit; Awakening The Gifts Within You”

Sometimes we tend to wrestle with God. We keep trying to tell Him and show Him what we were made for. We keep giving Him better and better ideas. But the truth is: all of our gifts were given to us to be used for the glory of God and His Kingdom. Many of us already have an idea of what our gifts are, but few of us exercise them to their fullest. This conference will not attempt to fit you “into a box” of what your gifts are, but will rather, awaken, empower and release the gifts God has already determined for you. All through the power of the Holy Spirit! 

“All the gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines”.  (I Corinthians 12:11) Conference Dates are June 15-18, 2011; location of Conference is at The Grand Summit Resort and Hotel at Mount Snow. Attendees must make their own hotel reservations directly with the hotel in the area of the conference they wish to attend. The Grand Summit is a ski resort with multiple properties and pricing options. For reservations, please call 800-817-0764 (ask for special CHM conference rate).

Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

We, your bishops, are writing to invite your parish to participate in a special Lenten appeal to support the rebuilding of the Episcopal Church of Haiti. Specifically we are asking every worshipping congregation of the Diocese of Connecticut to give to a special appeal, coordinated by The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, for the rebuilding of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince.

In the year since the earthquake in Haiti, the Rt. Rev Jean Zaché Duracin, Bishop of Haiti, and the staff of the cathedral schools and other ministries have carried on heroically amidst the ruins, while at times living in tents. The music school and grade school are in operation again even though there are no walls and only temporary shelters. Students practice under trees, surrounded by rubble. During this time, the Diocese of Haiti has identified the rebuilding of the Cathedral complex in the heart of Port-au-Prince as its top priority.

Last November, Bishop Duracin wrote:

Rebuilding Holy Trinity Cathedral will do more than raise up bricks and cement. It will raise the hopes of a people who have lost so much of their earthly habitation. It will raise the Spirit of a community made weary... As we rebuild Trinity Cathedral, brick by brick and stone by stone, it will serve as a beacon and shelter for literally thousands who are rebuilding their lives with little more than hope and prayers.

The Diocese of Connecticut has a long association with the Diocese of Haiti. For over 150 years, from the founding of the Episcopal Church of Haiti under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. James Theodore Holly, one-time rector of St. Luke’s in New Haven, to the current partnerships many of you share with different schools, churches, clinics, and ministries in Haiti, we have built relationships rooted in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are now being called upon to help rebuild Holy Trinity Cathedral, a tangible sign of our deep commitment to each other as one people of God and as a sign of hope, reconciliation and renewal for the rebuilding of Haitian society.

God is at work in the ministry of the Episcopal Church of Haiti. Thousands of people who have lost so very much are being fed by the proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the sacraments, and the ministries of the communities of the diocese. A rebuilt cathedral will be the hub of God’s continuing mission and a center of prayer and renewal. Our brothers and sisters in Haiti have asked for our help. Let us respond, “Nou ave’ou!” "We are with you!"

God bless you in your generous response and God bless the ministry of the

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens

Avery Rose Leopold Needs your Help

Avery Rose Leopold is an endearing two year old girl who lives in Old Saybrook.  Like many other two year olds who live in Old Saybrook, she has a loving mother, father and sister.  But Avery also has something that no other child in Connecticut has.  She’s one of the 200 or fewer children in the world who have been diagnosed with CDKL5, a rare genetic disorder.

Avery has suffered from daily seizures since she was 6 weeks old.  She is profoundly impaired in all areas of her development.  She cannot walk, talk, crawl, or use her hands for function.  She is also visually impaired.  The first year of Avery’s life her mother, Kristen, and her father, Mark sought medical help for their daughter from numerous doctors, but it wasn’t until last April that Dr. John Pappas, a geneticist at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, diagnosed Avery’s condition as CDKL5.

WHAT IS CDKL5?

CDKL5 is a rare X-linked genetic disorder that results in early onset, difficult to control seizures, and severe neuro-development impairment.  There are fewer than 200 cases worldwide; however, more and more children are being diagnosed as awareness of CDKL5 spreads.

Most children affected by CDKL5 suffer from seizures that begin in the first few months of life.  Most cannot walk, talk or feed themselves, and many are confined to wheelchairs, dependent on others for everything.  Many also suffer with scoliosis, visual impairment, sensory issues and various gastrointestinal difficulties.   To learn more about this disorder, go to CDKL5.com.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

Join “TEAM AVERY” in finding a cure for CDKL5.

•                Donate your cans and bottles -- beer cans and bottles, soda cans and bottles, and water bottles --  to help research to find a cure.  Bring your cans and bottles to the Old Saybrook Transfer Station and follow the signs to the collection area or ask attendants for help.

•                Help in the process of sorting and bagging the cans and bottles.  Local boy scouts have volunteered to help with the process, but they can also use your help.  Contact Larry Bonin through the Selectman’s Office at 860 395-3123 or e-mail larrybonin@gmail.com to become involved.

•                Make a donation to Avery’s Fund.  Mark and Kristen Leopoldino have partnered with the Old Saybrook Youth & Family Services Foundation, creating Avery’s Fund, a donor advised fund which supports the research into the cause and a cure for CDKL5.  Donations may be made to aid in the awareness and research of CDKL5 - please make checks payable to the Old Saybrook Youth & Family Services Foundation (in Memo line, write Team Avery) and mail to OSYFS Foundation, 322 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475.

•                Help organize the June 11th fundraising event.  Volunteer your time to help organize the benefit concert and silent auction scheduled for the evening of June 11^th at The Kate.  Contact Julie Peace at 860 388-0305 or wpeace@snet.net if you’re interested in helping.

•                Donate goods or services to the silent auction.  Items and services are needed for the silent auction.   Contact Julie Peace at 860 388-0305 or wpeace@snet.net if you have an item or a service you’d like to donate.

•                Share other fundraising ideas.  Contact Julie Peace at 860 388-0305 or wpeace@snet.net.

•                Pray for Avery, her mother, Kristen, her father, Mark, and her nine year old sister, Morgan.

Links:

An Easter Prayer

from The Book of Uncommon Prayer

Father God, sometimes it feels like we’ve spent our whole lives waiting.  Like the disciples, we sit together because we know something is going to happen.  We stay locked in our rooms, afraid to go out, afraid to move forward, afraid to look back.  Send the Holy Spirit into our hearts like You sent the Spirit into the upper room of the disciples.  Come into our hearts like a storm inside a closed room.  Change everything.  Pick us up and spin us around and make everything new.  GIve us that one moment when all things are possible, and we feel like we can do anything in Your name.  Give us a chance and let us show You that we can change Your world.  We can be the creations who honor their Creator.  Turn our lives upside down, God.  Make us new. 

Amen.