Page Title

Message From Father Karl

We linger a second week in Matthew 13. Last Sunday we watched an extravagant sower scatter seed; this week we stand with workers eager to pull weeds. In Jesus’ parable, an understanding landowner stops his workers, revealing God's patience.


Wheat and darnel, the weed in the text, look nearly identical until harvest, when the brown kernels of wheat can finally be distinguished from the black kernels of darnel, which are poisonous to people and livestock.


The parable is very interesting because it reminds us that our calling, the vocation of the church, is to plant and tend, not to sort or uproot. In other words, God is patient with the tangled fields of our lives and our world. Our role, according to Jesus, is to focus on planting and tending to our gardens, trusting that God’s patience will bring about growth and harvest in God’s perfect time.


Thanks be to God who keeps sowing, tending, and working in us, quietly, patiently, and fruitfully.

See you Sunday, Father Karl

Office Information

Upcoming Events/Dates

Vestry Meetings

3rd Thursday of the month

  • August 20th
  • September 24th

Christ Church Office

The church office is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 am until 1:30 pm.


For pastoral emergency, Father Karl Krueger may be reached at 610-209-6193 (cell).

This Week's Schedule

Sunday, July 19th, 2026

8th Sunday after Pentecost

9:15 am Holy Communion

Link for all livestream services:

christchurchithan.org/live

How Our Gardens Grow - Part 3

From Katharine Woodhouse-Beyer:


Peter, John, and I planted a small pollinator garden adjacent to our driveway here in Newark, DE. Last year, our salvia, butterfly bush, and butterfly weed attracted monarch butterflies, and we had 24 hungry caterpillars who enjoyed a visit with us. 


This year we added more coneflowers - beautiful. We like growing orange and purple flowers for an exciting color mix. We haven’t seen the monarchs yet. 


We also have other “growing things” in our garden - we set up bluebird houses in our garden in the late spring and have enjoyed watching Chili (female bluebird) and Bandit (male bluebird) hatch their first nestlings (3!) a few weeks ago. They are now sitting on their second set of eggs! We offer them ample amounts of dried/roasted mealworms. We see so many birds visiting our bird feeder with a camera (nuthatches, cardinals, catbirds, Carolina wrens, and woodpeckers) and watch the bluebirds through a small telescope. 


The flowers and birds have given us such happiness during what has been such a challenging year thus far. My father passed away on January 20 (age 88), and my stepmother passed away on April 26 (age 87).
 

Elspeth McNeil

Parishioners Martin McNeil and Jacqui North recently returned from a visit to England where they said their goodbyes to Martin's 97 year old mother, Elspeth. 


Elspeth grew up in Scotland, working in her father's grocery store during and after WW2, when food rationing was still in place. After raising three children, she started a career in sales, selling skincare products, sunglasses, and other accessories to pharmacies all over the country. She moved to England at 94 and spent her final years on the Somerset coast, enjoying her daily glass of red wine and the occasional espresso martini.

Good Works Need

Megan Passarelli, a social worker with JusticeWorks Youth Care, based in the Greater Philadelphia area, recently contacted our Good Works program asking for help on behalf of a single mother of three children who lives in Coatesville and needs help furnishing a new apartment. She is starting fresh after completing a program for substance addiction and needs everything from furniture to tea towels.


If you have anything in good condition you can donate, please contact Julia Gould at juliagould1@gmail.com.