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)
(In case of inclement weather, our service will be streamed ONLINE on Facebook Live. Check your eTidings, our Facebook page, or this website before leaving for church on Sunday morning if the weather looks iffy!)
A Reflection from Pastor Emilie
Dear People of God,
I've been thinking this week about observing the season of Lent in troubled times. It's a little bit two-sided. On the one hand, the familiar readings and prayers can resonate differently to us, given what is going on in the world, and in our own country, right now. It can be comforting to know that we are not alone in the wilderness. At the same time, the emphasis on penitence and discipline can feel harsh, like "too much" with everything else that is happening.
So here is my best advice for observing Lent in troubled times. First, doobserve the season of Lent. Attend Sunday services, and Soup Suppers, and Holy Week liturgies. Welcome every opportunity the season offers you to hold still for a moment and take a breath. But don't try to "make something happen" when you do. Just let the prayers and readings and sermons and activities, and the companionship of those around you, wash over you and take you wherever they take you. Trust the Holy Spirit.
Second, do choose a Lenten discipline. Having a point of regular stillness and stability can be calming when the world is chaotic and frightening. But choose something small. Something doable. Even something easy. Maybe consider taking on a simple discipline this year, rather than giving something up. Don't try to do something really difficult, or take on multiple disciplines, or give up something you are depending on for mental stability. This is not that year.
Consider choosing as a discipline something you wanted to do anyway. Sign up for the emails and play Lent Madness. Commit to being present at the Lenten Soup Suppers, for the sake of yourself and those around you. Clean one thing you've been meaning to clean each week. Read just three or four pages of a book on your TBR list each day.
And finally, consider choosing a discipline that will gently stretch your mental flexibility, your capacity for empathy, your compassion for others. When times are troubled, our human instinct is often to "circle the wagons," or to withdraw emotionally from difficult things. Lent gives us an opportunity to carefully and gently work against this tendency in favor of practicing kindness and love of our neighbor in very small ways.
Building a habit of kindness and love in small things means that when big things happen, kindness and love have become reflexive. Make no mistake. If enough of us do this, it can change the world completely.
Your sister in Christ,
Emilie+