Posted on Jul 30, 2017 in Children, General, Outreach, Worship, Youth Group | Tags: Tools 4 School
During our 10 AM worship service, The Reverend John Conners blessed our ingathering of school supplies that will donated to area children in need. Father John also blessed all students, teachers, bus drivers, school staff, and administrators for a safe and productive school year. For more information about ways to support school children in need, email Jolene Johnston at jjohnston@hfec.org.
O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
Posted on May 3, 2017 in Children, Christian Education, General, Outreach, Youth Group |
During Sunday school on April 29th, students in preschool through high school helped to pack supply bags for the homeless. They talked at length about the challenges faced by the homeless and how specific items in the bags can be comfort items or even save lives.
Youth Group member Mikaila Blake and her friend Lauren Crimm organized the outreach project. They also consulted Holy Family’s deacon, The Reverend Cathy Scott, for suggestions about distributing the bags. Deacon Cathy also helped secure additional donations of items from St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Carmel. Mikaila had the following to contribute:
“We decided to start a project to help the homeless in Downtown Indianapolis. We have always desired to make a difference no matter how big or small. A few months ago we started a Go Fund Me campaign so we could buy items that people like you and I take for granted. We raised around $350. With that money we bought dried fruit, water, drawstring bags, snacks, socks, deodorant, and dry shampoo. We also received items from our schools, CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ), family members, and St. Christopher’s Youth Group in Carmel. We appreciate all of the help and are very blessed to be able to do this for others!”
The bags were blessed by The Reverend Bob Dekker who celebrated Eucharist at Holy Family this week. For more information about ways to help the homeless, please contact our Deacon, the Reverend Cathy Scott. cscott@hfec.org
Posted on Apr 4, 2017 in Christian Education, General, Music, Outreach, Worship, Youth Group |
On March 24th, members of Holy Family’s Youth Group hosted a Lenten Lock-In for 21 students from our community. Please
CLICK HERE to view photos and descriptions of all the activities shared by our youth. For more information about Holy Family’s Youth Group, please contact Youth Director Marty Blake. mblake@hfec.org
Posted on Oct 24, 2016 in City of God, General, Outreach, Troop 199 | Tags: Landscaping
As the final piece of our City of God expansion project, Fishers Boy Scout Troop 199 held a day of service in early October to install landscaping on the church grounds. Scouts, adult leaders, and families spent 300 man hours installing plants, mulch, and stone on the property under the leadership of Mark Keys. Allisonville Nursery provided the landscape design and planting materials for the project. Holy Family wishes to extend sincerest thanks and appreciation to Troop 199, Allisonville Nursery, and all who helped make this project such a success.
Posted on Oct 7, 2016 in General, Outreach | Tags: Haiti, Hurricane Matthew
On Thursday afternoon. October 6th, Father Mike was able to contact Father Jean Michelin in Haiti. Father Michelin and his family are safe following Hurricane Matthew, but there have been some deaths and injuries sustained among the parishioners of the seven churches he serves. At the time of our communication, they were still assessing the damage.
Father Michelin reports that a number of his schools were significantly damaged, including reports of some damage to the St. Andre School in Mithon, which was built by the Diocese of Indianapolis. Father Michelin has sent several photos of school damage. Father Michelin has asked for our prayers as they assess damage and begin recovery efforts.
Posted on Sep 26, 2016 in Christian Education, General, Outreach | Tags: Second Helpings
On Sunday, September 25th, Holy Family welcomed two representatives from
Second Helpings in Indianapolis. Nora Spitznogle
, Director of Programs (shown at left), and Adriane Rios, Manager of Volunteer Services, led our Christian formation hour for adults and all children and youth in second grade and higher.
Each day, Second Helpings volunteers and staff rescue prepared and perishable food from wholesalers, retailers and restaurants — preventing unnecessary waste. That rescued food is used to create 4,000 hot, nutritious meals each day that are distributed to 80 social service agencies that feed people in need. The Second Helpings Culinary Job Training program trains disadvantaged adults for careers in the food service industry. This helps eliminate hunger at its source. More than 600 adults have graduated from this program, and Second Helpings alumni are now working in Central Indiana as cooks, executive chefs, business owners and culinary instructors.
During the presentation, Holy Family congregation members were introduced to the services provided by Second Helpings and suggested potential new ways that they may connect in order to offer support.
During the month of September, Holy Family congregation members collected pasta and spices to donate to Second Helpings. The donated items, as well as those who work with Second Helpings, were blessed by Father Mike during our 10 AM service. For more information about Second Helpings, please visit their
website..
Posted on Sep 15, 2016 in General, Outreach, Worship, Youth Group | Tags: Boy Scout, Eagle Scout Project
Ian Johnston and Thomas Canter
In the summer of 2016, Holy Family gained two major improvements to the church grounds by way of Eagle Scout projects. Two members of the Holy Family Youth Group hold the rank of Life Scout with Troop 109 in Fishers and chose their home church to fulfill their Eagle Scout project requirements. Both scouts led volunteer teams of youth and adults from the church and Troop 109 in order to complete their projects.
In July 2016, Thomas Canter made improvements to Holy Family’s outdoor chapel area.* He created a gravel path from the parking lot to the outdoor chapel in order to make it handicap-accessible and more convenient for all congregation members.
He also added landscaping around the outdoor chapel with burning bushes, arborvitae trees, dwarf Korean lilacs, and mulch. The final piece of Thomas’ project was building a large, wooden cross for the altar area. The outdoor chapel is used several times a year by small groups within the church as well as the entire congregation.
In August 2016, Ian Johnston built a tool shed for the Holy Family Community Garden. The garden was established in 2011, and a portion of the produce grown is donated weekly by gardeners to a local food pantry. The shed project included building a platform base, then constructing and installing the shed.
The shed will hold the lawn mower, trimmer, hoses, and other supplies needed to maintain the garden area. It will also provide the community gardeners a place to store their personal tools throughout the growing season.
Holy Family wishes to thank Thomas, Ian, their families, and all volunteers for their hard work and dedication to improving the church grounds.
* The outdoor chapel altar and benches were completed as a Girl Scout Gold Award project by Holy Family Youth Group member Ellen Everett in 2015.
Posted on Sep 11, 2016 in General, Outreach, Troop 199, Worship | Tags: 9/11
On Sunday, September 11, 2016 Holy Family held a special 9/11 Remembrance prayer service. We prayed for all those effected by traumatic events such as disasters and terrorist attacks.
Father Mike said special prayers for first responders who perished on, and in the days following, the attacks on 9/11/2001.
Prayer for First Responders
God of the selfless,
God of the strong and the brave,
Grant a perfect rest among the souls of the righteous
To those who died in service to others
during the 9/11 attacks,
May their dedication to protecting life
serve as a shining lamp of love
And the works of their hands
bring us all merit in heaven.
Bless the souls of all who have died to save others,
Civilians and professionals,
The trained and the untrained,
In every age and in every land,
Men and women who answered the call of honor, duty and service.
May their memories be sanctified with joy and love.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst. Amen.
Following the playing of TAPS by Aaron Lackner, Father Mike also prayed for current first responders, blessing them in their daily acts of courage and bravery. Local first responders were honored during our Community Block Party with a VIP sticker, gift, and free lunch for their entire family.
Our prayer service was attended by members of Boy Scout Troop 199 which is chartered at Holy Family. They provided the color guard for our service as well.
Posted on Aug 24, 2016 in Christian Education, General, Mission Trip, Outreach, Youth Group | Tags: Holy Family Youth Exchange, Mission: United in Faith
On Sunday, August 21st, members of this year’s Mission: United in Faith mission trip team presented to the congregation during our 9 AM Adult Forum. Marty Blake, Director of Youth Ministry, shared an overview of the week’s service work, worship opportunities, and fellowship. Youth Group members shared personal stories as well.
During the presentation, the mission team shared a compilation of photographs and short video clips from the week. Special thanks are extended to Youth Group leader Ruth Everett for creating the video. You may view the video presentation by clicking below.
Posted on Jul 21, 2016 in Christian Education, Fellowship, Mission Trip, Outreach, Worship, Youth Group |
Holy Family recently held its first Mission: United in Faith mission trip as part of the larger Holy Family Youth Exchange program. This program was funded in part by a Youth Ministry Initiative Grant from the Center for Congregations. The week-long program was held in Brown County and Marion County, Indiana.
Seventeen youth and six adults participated in a variety of service activities including serving meals at Mother’s Cupboard, working at the Wheeler Mission Thrift Store, and making improvements to the facilities at Waycross Camp and Conference Center. They worshipped together daily using the Book of Common Prayer and had several special worship opportunities including those led by Bishop Cate Waynick, Father Mike Galvin, and Deacon Cathy Scott. Throughout the week they enjoyed fellowship through teambuilding games, swimming and canoeing, a drive-in movie, and scavenger hunt.
Photos from the trip are available on the Holy Family Youth Group Facebook page. Please CLICK HERE to view the photos (you do not need to have a Facebook account to view the photos.) The Youth Group will continue its Youth Exchange program during the school year and will connect with other Episcopal Youth Groups around the country. For more information about this program, please contact Youth Director Marty Blake at mblake@hfec.org.
