Programs and Ministries | Christchurchhomehtml

Growing Together

Recognizing that we are all lifelong learners, we offer various opportunities for education, formation, and fellowship.

YOUNG CHILDREN are welcome in our Nursery program, open to children 18 months through age 3. Nursery is offered between 9:15 and 12 Noon on Sundays.

ELEMENTARY AGED CHILDREN from preschool through 3rd grade are invited to Children's Chapel during the 10:30 liturgy.

Sunday School meets weekly from 9:15 - 10:15 during the school year. In addition to learning about God, kids are also engaged in special activities and mission work, including the Exeter Food Pantry and Operation Christmas Child.

MIDDLE SCHOOL kids also participate in Sunday School, but have their own special program, as well. W.H.A.M. (Wednesday Homework and Music) is open to kids in 5th grade and above, and is a time to hang out with each other, participate in junior choir (optional), work on homework, and - of course - eat!

JUNIOR HIGH students are invited to join our Confirmation program, designed to give them an opportunity to explore and deepen their faith as they prepare to make a mature commitment to Jesus. Junior High Youth Group also meets several times each month for food, fellowship, fun, and formation.

SENIOR HIGH students have their own Youth Group, as well, and are invited to participate in a special Sunday morning program designed for this age group.

ADULTS gather at 9:15 for the Adult Forum, held in Harris Hall. In lecture format, we explore what it means to be a Christian through various topics.

The Education for Ministry (EfM) program is a four-year program offered as a distance-learning opportunity through the School of Theology of the University of the South. The basis of a theological education is taught one night per week by trained leaders.

ALL MEMBERS OF THE CHRIST CHURCH COMMUNITY gather at various times for fun and fellowship. Whether it's as simple as Coffee Hour following each liturgy, the annual Parish Picnic, Greening of the Church at Christmas, or an outing to see Fisher Cats baseball, there's no better way to meet other members of the church and share in some fun.

Whether listening to a choral anthem on Sunday morning, admiring a mural painted by kids, or taking in a Youth Theatre production, the arts are intertwined with our life as a church.

MUSIC at Christ Church is diverse and inspiring. Teens and adults take part in our Parish Choir, which sings most Sundays, or the Festival Choir, which assembles for Christmas and Easter. Not your run-of-the-mill ensembles, our choirs sing spirituals, multicultural selections, traditional anthems, and contemporary music - sometimes in the same liturgy!

Kids are invited to join the Youth Choir or Junior Choir, each rehearsing weekly and singing one Sunday per month.

INSTRUMENTALISTS are often part of our liturgies, either as guest soloists or in small chamber ensembles. Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday are two popular times that we have featured small instrumental ensembles.

THE LIVELY-FULCHER ORGAN, built in 2006, is a 3-manual, 45-rank pipe organ with extensive carvings, exquisite details, and a large palette of sounds.

YOUTH THEATER has been a part of Christ Church for the past five years. Aiming to provide a meaningful and spiritually-rewarding theatrical experience to both parishioners and community members, we seek to open the hearts and minds of those we serve through the use of dramatic arts.

Past shows are Godspell (2007), It's Cool in the Furnace (2008), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2009), Bring On Tomorrow (2010), and Shout! (2011).

ART is very visible here, as well. For the past several years, 5th & 6th Grade Sunday School classes have painted murals that have been displayed both outside and inside the facilities.

Our Good Friday Liturgy features works of art projected on a large screen in the church. Historical masterworks are featured alongside locally-produced works and those of lesser-known and aspiring artists.

At Christ Church there are several ways to reach out to those who are sick, grieving, or otherwise in need.

The PASTORAL CARE TEAM is a group of parishioners who bring communion to shut-ins, provide meals for parishioners who are recovering from illness or surgery, assist with funeral and memorial receptions, provide rides for homebound parishioners, and deliver flowers.

Our HEALING MINISTRIES TEAM offers the laying on of hands and anointing with oil each Sunday during communion at both liturgies. Healing prayer has its roots in the Gospels, when Jesus healed the sick, blind, and deaf, and healing was a central part of the early Church.

SEACOAST FAMILY PROMISE unites congregations to assist families experiencing homelessness due to a crisis. On a rotating schedule with other local churches, we turn the lower level of Harris House into a temporary home for 3 to 5 families for the duration of one week.

Since 1929, the Christ Church RUMMAGE SALE has provided an alternative to shopping in retail stores for those with limited incomes. Harris House is filled, upstairs and down, with every type of item imaginable, from clothes and linens to books and kitchen supplies. All proceeds support community outreach programs. Last year, the Rummage Sale raised almost $9,000!

As current events dictate, members of Christ Church will come together to participate in a MISSION TRIP. We have helped with church renovations, assisted families following Hurricane Katrina, hosted 400 high school students from across the country to repair homes, and partnered with the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston, Maine.

Each fall we assist with Exeter's THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS BASKET programs. Whether providing turkey with all the trimmings for area families or purchasing gifts for kids to open on Christmas Day, those with very limited incomes are blessed with the bounty given to them by members of the parish.

Reaching Out

Music, Arts, & Liturgy