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Grace Episcopal Church
Parish News
October 2017
Late Edition
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Sundays
Holy Eucharist
8am and 10:30am
5 pm Holy Eucharist
Taizé Eucharist, October 8, 5 pm
The second-Sunday Taizé contemplative Eucharist is a service of scripture, prayer, music, and communion.
Joint Worship Service, October 15, 9:30
We will have a combined morning Worship service of Holy Eucharist on
Sunday, October 15, at 9:30 a.m. There will be NO 8 or 10:30 am service this day. The service will be preceded by a parish-wide breakfast, starting at 8:00 a.m. This joint service, involving the whole parish, will be a celebration of the completion of our MIQRA, a straight-through, cover-to-cover reading of the whole Bible.
Vestry Elections will also take place on Sunday, October 15. Four Vestry members will be elected for full 3 year terms. One Vestry member will be elected for a 2 year term to serve 2 years of an unexpired term. The polling station will be located on the Bridge, and will open at 9:00 and close at 9:30. It will reopen at 10:30 and stay open for about 15-20 minutes. It will then reopen 10 minutes before the 5:00 service and then again for about 15 minutes after the service.
Absentee ballots are available in the Parish Office until Thursday, October 12 at 5 pm. If you need to make other arrangements to vote, please contact the Parish Office by telephone. No email ballots will be accepted.
Choral Vespers
Sunday, October 29, 5 pm
T
he adult choir will present a Vespers service in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Our own Evensong service is a historical descendent of this lovely evening service and will feature great reformation hymns and selections from J. S. Bach's cantata "Was Gott tut das ist Wohlgetan" (What does that is well done), BWV 99.
Christian Education
Classes for Children,
3rd Floor, Parish House, 9:15
Youth, Sweet Treats, 9:30
The Youth are trying something new. They are joining youth from Good Shepherd and gathering at Sweet Treats on Sundays from 9:30 - 10:10 to discuss
Peace & Justice. Peace and Justice is a curriculum from the Virginia Theological Seminary. Topics include Conflict, Fairness, Injustice, Ethics, Materialism, Environmental Issues, Apathy and Making a Difference. This class is be taught by Holly Pickett. There will be NO class on Sunday, October 15.
Christianity and Culture
, Parish Hall, 9:15
THE REFORMATION ERA
Rarely does a major world-changing movement have a specific start date. The Reformation does, and, this October 31, we observe its 500th anniversary. What swept western Europe starting in 1517 altered the way we think about God, about religion, and about life in countless aspects, profoundly altering the directions of Christianity, reinvigorating or spawning new expressions of faith including our own.
The Reverend David Cox has adapted his course at Southern Virginia University on the Reformation Era for six Sundays this fall during the education hour in the parish hall. Tentative schedule:
October 1:
The Medieval Background
October 8:
What Luther Wrought
October 15 No Class
October 22:
Swiss Protestantism: Zwingli, Calvin, and their followers
October 29:
Radical Reformation: Anabaptists
November 5:
Roman Catholic Rejuvenation
November 12: The English Reformation (with a nod to America)
Parish News
Grace Episcopal Church
A resolution to restore the name of the church was presented at the regularly scheduled Vestry meeting on September 18, 2017. Our historic Episcopal church where Robert E. Lee served as senior warden from 1865 until his death in 1870 has replaced its name, R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, with the name it had in Lee's day. Our parish name has been restored to its original name - Grace Episcopal Church.
The vote followed more than two years of discussion and debate in our parish about whether to change the name. The Vestry is exploring meaningful and significant ways to continue to honor Lee.
MIQRA October 12 to 15
What is MIQRA, you ask?
MIQRA (meek-rah) is a Hebrew word meaning "a holy convocation; a public reading," especially in the setting of a public reading of the Scriptures in a called assembly of the people. Our MIQRA begins Thursday, October 12 at 9:00 am, and ends Sunday, October 15 with a unison reading of Revelation 22 during the joint worship service. The continuous reading will take place in the courtyard, weather permitting, or in the chancel. We will need LOTS of readers! Sign up for an hour of
reading in this special, holy endeavor using Sign Up Genius at
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b48a4a623abf85-miqra
Godly Play
Godly Play meets on Tuesdays, from 3:45 - 4:30. Godly Play provides a time and a space for children to engage with God and with the story of God's people in the Bible. A Godly Play session includes a time to gather in a circle with music and singing, a time to listen to a story, a time of wondering, and a time for children to respond to the story through art or creative play. Godly Play is for children ages 3 to 7.
Wednesday, October 25, 5:30- 6:30, Our One Word, Library
Our One Word ladies group meets monthly here at R E Lee Church. Please join us for an hour of simple food, drink and conversation. We will focus on one significant word and explore if that word has or has not been at work in our lives that week. Our past words have been community, tenderness, vunerability and
wonder. Bring a friend!
Hurricane Relief
Episcopal Relief & Development urges prayers and urgent donations for communities devastated in the Caribbean and the US.
Please give today to the Hurricane Relief Fund and help our partners reach vulnerable communities devastated after Hurricane Irma and other major storms. In the face of what could be a record-breaking hurricane season, please make an urgent gift today to provide relief to devastated communities in the Caribbean and the US.
www.episcopalrelief.org
Being Called - Annual Giving Campaign
Our Annual Giving campaign is underway. Pledge Sunday is October 29.
Now is the time for us to come together as a family of faith and show our support for God's work on earth through our church. The many programs within our church, the outreach to the community and the world, and the maintenance of our staff and facilities all require us to reflect prayerfully on what we are called to do.
We are united in love in that God loved us first, through His son Jesus Christ. In this bond, we are deeply moved to make our annual pledge in gratitude and with glad hearts. We invite you to join us in this.
Get Your Food Drive Bags and Envelopes Our annual Food Drive for the RARA Food Pantry will get under way on October 15. Bags and envelopes (for monetary donations) decorated by our Sunday School children will be hanging in the church. We invite you to take one and fill it with non-perishable items and write a check to the RARA Food Pantry.
Return the bags to the church (under the table outside the Parish Office) no later than Monday, November 6.
The ECW Bazaar will be Saturday, November 4, from 1-5:oo p.m., with all the favorites: Country Kitchen, Treasure Trove, Frozen Foods/Casseroles, Fabrications, Jewelry, and the Silent Auction. Please begin to think about how you can participate toward a successful event, because all profits will go to outreach. This year, in cooperation with the Outreach Committee, there will be a special focus on RARA and how we can help with their mission in the community. Please begin to save items for Treasure Trove (Carol Dent), Silent Auction (Jane Brooke and Carole Elmore), and the Jewelry table (Julia Littlefield). If you knit, crochet, or sew, consider making items for Fabrications (Darlene Keane and Dot Fogo). We'll be contacting you later about donations of baked goods (Liz Moss and Diana Kenney) and frozen foods/casseroles (Erika Brooke, with Catherine Harcus and Cindy Mullen working on donations). We'll celebrate with music, food, and beverages as we end the event. Call Carol Dent, 462-2897, with any questions. The Bazaar involves everyone - don't miss it!
Fall UTO Ingathering - November 12
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church has delivered a supportive and timely message on behalf of the United Thank Offering as we look forward to the Fall Ingathering. In it he cites UTO's 125th anniversary in 2014 and announces this year's September celebration of the birth of Julia Chester Emery 165 years ago, he says, "through educational opportunities and programs that highlight the good and important work of the United Thank Offering."
As most of us know, the history of UTO goes back even further. Julia's older sister Mary Abbott Emery preceded her as the National Secretary of the Women's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions of the Domestic and Foreign Society, and two younger sisters, Susan Lavinia and Margaret Theresa Emery, joined the Women's Auxiliary staff. A decade or so later in 1889 the first United Offering funded missions in Alaska and Japan, and by the end of WWI the name was changed to the United Thank Offering.
Bishop Curry, however, continues today: "I was in a country that had been in a civil war for a number of years; much had been destroyed, much of the landscape; the city where I was had been destroyed and was barely recognizable as an urban community. There was one building that stood among the rubble, and at the top of that building were the words "Peace House." I found out later that that building was built in the 1960s with funds from the United Thank Offering. That building is used to this day as a place where people who differ and disagree gather together for conversation and to work out their problems.
"The work of the United Thank Offering makes a difference around the world; it makes a difference here in the United States. It makes a difference because through the United Thank Offering, and our offerings to it, we can follow in the footsteps of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. God bless you, Julia Chester Emery, and God bless the United Thank Offering."
Stay tuned. Remember the Blue Box. May that "Peace House" in Africa inspire us here at Grace Episcopal Church.
In daily thanksgiving for God's many blessings,
Julia Littlefield, parish UTO coordinator
Choir News
Junior Choir
The Junior Choir meets on Wednesday's from 3:45 - 4:45. Children ages 7 and up will learn to sing, read music, and understand music theory; older children and more advanced singers will have the opportunity take part in the new Part Choir. We are always looking for new members and the beginning of the year is great time to try it out! Please contact Ted Bickish
[email protected] or through the church office for more information.
Our Junior Choir has been invited to take part in a choir festival in Staunton, VA along with the choirs of Stuart Hall and Trinity Church the weekend of October 29th. James Litton, the former director of the American Boy Choir, will lead and work with this combined choir on Friday and Saturday. Then, on Sunday the 29th the choirs will sing for Trinity's morning Eucharist at 11am and later that afternoon will perform a concert there at 3pm.
Adult Choir
The Adult Choir rehearses on Thursdays, from 7:00-9:00. We are always looking for new members, and the beginning of the program year is a great time to try us out! For more information, please contact Ted Bickish.
In the Diocese
Pursuing the Beloved Community: A Continuing Conversation on Race
The Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, in partnership with other faith communities and community organizations, is convening three community conversations across Southwestern Virginia entitled
Pursuing the Beloved Community: A Continuing Conversation on Race.
Each event will feature a presentation by Dr. Wornie Reed, Director of the Race and Social Policy Research Center and Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at Virginia Tech. Following Dr. Reed's presentation, there will be question and answer time as well as informal discussion.
These events are being live-streamed and recorded. See
www.dioswva.org for more information
Roanoke, VA | October 25, 2017 | 6:00-7:30pm
Northwest Community Center
Wytheville, VA | November 8, 2017 | 6:00-7:30pm
Room TBA, Wytheville Community College
Want to Know More About What's Going on in the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia?
Morning Prayer
Morning Prayer is read Monday - Friday at 8:30 in the church.
Men's Prayer Breakfast, Tuesdays
The men of our parish meet for breakfast and prayer at 7 a.m. each Tuesday. All are welcome.
Kendal Bible Study with the Rector and Eucharist
Thursdays, 10:00 am
October Birthdays
2 Donnie McBrayer
4 Anne Hansen
Mary Lawrence
5 Marguerite Old
6 Alex Retzloff
7 Kay Horner
Christine Wood
9 Jerry Nay
Will Sayre
10 Elizabeth Locher
11 Libby Cumming
Heather McBrayer
Paul Russell
12 Al Gordon
14 Betty Goad
15 Charlie Smith
17 Derek Carter
18 Tom Litzenburg
Judy Hopkins
20 Eloise Adams
Norman Bowles
Tim Golden
Drusie Milford
22 Scott Glore
Shane Lynch
23 Claudia Ellis
Brendan Lynch
24 Peyton Craighill
25 Mason Grist
Lily Youngman
26 Melissa Cox
27 Emma Burleson
Connie Loughhead Carter
Samantha Russell
28 Ted Bickish
29 Tracey Riley
30 Steve Shultis
31 Peggy Hays
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click here to view calendar
Photos of Godly Play friends, the Feast Day of Marc Nikkel
and the Community Blessing of the Animals.
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