The iceman seems to have been delayed (she moaned, looking at the mercury rising to the mid-nineties), but the Education for Ministry (EfM) registration deadline cometh towards us at roughly the speed of light. August 1 is the last day to sign up for next year’s program! If you’re interesting in registering or want more information, please contact Janet McCollough at [email protected].

This Sunday, Fr. Zack and eleven teenagers from Grace Church will join up with the youth from St. Timothy's on Signal Mountain for a summer service trip in Gatlinburg, TN. We will spend the week assisting with ongoing wildfire relief efforts -- working with home rebuilds, the humane society, and the Sevier County Food Bank. We will also be visiting with parishioners from St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in Sevierville and Trinity Church Gatlinburg, whose congregations were both effected directly and indirectly by the fire.  On Friday we will enjoy a fun day at Dollywood before heading back Friday night. Our theme for the week comes from Isaiah 58:12, "You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets to live in," and we are selling extra mission t-shirts to help support our work. You may purchase one online at this link. Our participants are listed below. Please hold us in prayer for a safe and meaningful experience!    

*Emily Evans, Riley Hendrix, Robert Holekamp, John Lazenby, Kathryn Lazenby,

Zack Nyein, Jackson Ricketts, Annalee Thompson, Zoe Ubamadu, Kira Vassilev, Jonathyn Weeks, Lauren Wright

* The names of these participants were to be included in the Sunday order of service, but a technical glitch obscured part of the list from view at a crucial juncture, so only a few names were included. Apologies to those whose names were left out!

The Grace Office needs a volunteer to answer the phone and manage the front door from 9-12 on 4th Monday each month. To volunteer, contact Coylee Bryan at 697-0002 or [email protected].

The Election Itself: A week from today, the worthies of the church will gather in Knoxville to elect the fifth bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee. Fathers John and Zack and delegates David Stanislawski, Vivian Dodds, and Sean McEwen will be representing Grace Church. Your prayers for the wisdom and guidance of the delegates and clergy will be welcome!  

Letter of Thanks from the Nominees: http://www.dioet.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3186908

Video Recordings of Walkabout Sessions: http://bishopsearch.dioet.org/the-walkabouts.html

Thanks for the many donations last Sunday! We still need kid-friendly canned vegetables (corn, green beans, mixed vegetables), boxes of mac and cheese, and cans of ravioli and other pastas that young children are willing to eat. The pantry has been besieged recently by large families, and supplies are running low in these areas.