A parishioner shared a delightful email with me last week. I found it wonderful and read it last Sunday during announcements. After church, several people asked if we would share it in our weekly news. Here it is.

Welcome to Flight 2025. We are prepared to take off into the New Year. Please make sure your positive attitude and gratitude are secured and locked in the upright position. All self-destructive devices, pity, anger, selfishness, and resentment, should be turned off at this time. All negativity, hurt and discouragement should be put away. Should you lose your positive attitude under pressure during this flight, reach up and pull down a prayer. Prayers will automatically be activated by faith. Once your faith is activated, you can assist other passengers of little faith. There will be no baggage allowed on this flight. God, our Captain has cleared us for take-off. Destination – greatness.

Wishing you a New Year filled with new hope, new joy, and new beginnings! Stay Blessed, and welcome 2025!!

As is our custom at Christ Church Ithan, we will return to Holy Eucharist, Rite II during the Sundays following the Epiphany. If you worship online and would like a paper copy of the worship pamphlet so that you may follow along, please contact Nancy in our church office at 610-688-1110. She will gladly send you a copy.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

9:15 am Holy Eucharist

Link for all livestream services: christchurchithan.org/live





In case of a pastoral emergency, Father Karl Krueger may be reached on his cell phone at 610-209-6193.

Charlotte Eastwick, granddaughter of Biff and Dorothy Maddock, is in the ninth grade at The National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., and is a Chorister in the Girls Cathedral Choir.

As a member of the choir, Charlotte sings every other Sunday at The National Cathedral and at Evensong on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Pictured below (front row left) is Charlotte singing at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. Charlotte's parents took the picture looking at their television.

The next meeting of our book club is Tuesday, February 11th at 7:30 p.m. by Zoom. Our discussion lasts for one hour and our facilitator has been described as "fabulous at keeping us on track." The book to be discussed is This is how it Always Is by Laurie Frankel.The novel is about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.

“Brave, complicated, occasionally horrifying and frequently very funny…Frankel is a first-rate storyteller."

―Seattle Times

New members are always welcome, and anyone interested in joining for just one book discussion is encouraged to do so. Please contact Nancy Breitling if you would like to participate: nanbreit@gmail.com.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Altadena, CA, has been lost to the fires. Rev. Carri sent a moving message to her parishioners, and we at Christ Church Ithan are looking at how we can best support them. We are contacting the Diocese of PA to see if they are leading any efforts. We may also contact Rev. Carri directly to see what the parishioners need, like pop-up tents and tables to distribute food, water, and clothing. Stay tuned and keep praying for them and all the victims of the devasting fires. 

Have you ever wanted to host a coffee hour? Sounds a bit scary, I know. I thought that too—all that planning, baking, and shopping. Well, I have good news!  Our pantry is well stocked with all the essentials: cream, tea, plates, cups, napkins, and coffee. You just need to supply the snacks, which can be as simple as a plate of cookies. Feb. 9 and 16 are available, and you can sign up by emailing me at lwdugan@verion. net or signing up on a sheet posted in our parish hall next to the front entrance. 

Lori Dugan - Co-Chair Hospitality 

Do you have a winter coat you no longer need? Do you want it to be of good use? Please bring your clean winter coats (no holes, missing buttons, or broken zippers) to the church or church office by January 26th. We will be giving them to a One Warm Coat drive at Haverford High School. If you have other winter items, we will collect them and take them to Green Drop. 

 

National nonprofit One Warm Coat provides free coats to children and adults in need while promoting volunteerism and environmental sustainability. For 32 years, One Warm Coat has provided coats to people in need across all 50 states through an extensive network of 1,500 local nonprofit organizations. More than 50,000 individuals and organizations have held coat drives in communities across the country, collecting over 8 million coats. In addition, One Warm Coat’s focus on fashion circularity and reducing textile waste is keeping millions of pounds of textiles out of landfills each year.