Welcome to Christ Church Parish, Redding, CT
we are redding's episcopal parish
We are a welcoming community of loving Christians exploring our faith, serving others, and growing in God's love. We are active in our community, and take great joy in fulfilling Jesus’ command to love God and our neighbor, in prayer, word, and action. All are welcomed, included, and affirmed at Christ Church Parish. To find out more, click below!
We meet at 9am on Sundays for a service of either Morning Prayer or Holy Eucharist.
We gather in our Parish Hall after the service for Coffee Hour.
CLICK HERE for more information!
Located at 184 Cross Highway, Redding, CT (on the corner of Cross Highway and Route 58)
A Reflection from Pastor Emilie
Dear People of God,
Welcome to the season of Epiphany. The holidays are over, the New Year has been rung in, and and the magi have found the baby Jesus, given him their gifts, and gone home by another road. The excitement is over, and whether you experienced that excitement as joyful and good, or as challenging and exhausting, it is done, and we are all likely to crash, at least a little bit. We are all likely to return to our everyday life a little dazed and confused, wondering, "What now?"
When I find myself asking that question during the first few weeks after the Christmas Holidays, I always find my deeply loved Christmas with Julie Andrews album, and listen to one particular song, over and over. My mother gave me this CD one Christmas when I was about 14 years old, and this song quickly became one of my favorites. The Secret of Christmas was written in the 1950s for Bing Crosby, but I will always hear it as I first heard it in 1995, in Julie Andrews’ voice:
It's not the glow you feel when snow appears
It's not the Christmas card you've sent for years
Not the joyful sound when sleigh bells ring
Or the merry songs children sing
The little gift you send on Christmas day
Will not bring back the friend you turned away
So may I suggest the secret of Christmas
Is not the things you do at Christmas time
But the Christmas things you do all year through
The holidays are over, but Christmas isn’t over. Christmas is never over. The spirit of Christmas—the spirit of Christ—is not something that exists only during the month of December. The spirit of Christ was born into the world on that silent night we remember on December 25, and discovered by the three magi we remember today, on January 6, and has existed on earth ever since.
So this year, find your own star. Find the place where Christ is calling you this year. Find the place of need where you can support, help, comfort, or advocate. And bring your Christmas spirit with you into 2026.
Your Sister in Christ,
Emilie+