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IN THIS ISSUE
- Daughters of the King to Meet Sunday
- Troop 400 Flag Retirement Ceremony Monday, 9/11
- Serve At Grace
- Are You Ready For MORE Baseball?
- Meet Our Volunteer - Ramiro "Ram" Arredondo
- Missionaries Getting Married!
- Applications Open For General Convention Official Youth Presence 2024
- From The Brothers At SSJE - Weakness
- Gents of Grace Game Night - September 16 at 5 PM
- Empty Bowls Fundraiser - Tuesday, September 19
- Grace 101 Newcomer's Class & Tidbit - September 24, 10:30 AM,
- Pumpkin Patch Kick-Off & Bake-Off - September 24
- Pumpkin Unloading - September 30
- Pet Blessing - October 1
- For More October Happenings, Scoll To "The Pumpkins Are Coming"
Liturgy Of The Week
- Holy Eucharist Rite II
- Godly Play With September newsletter
- The Preaching Moment Podcast - 75 Episodes Published!
- A Holy Pause With Mother Suzanne
- Rector's Tuesday Bible Study
- Wednesday Noonday Prayer Around The World
- Wednesday Sanctuary Choir Practice
- Mobile Food Pantry - Saturday, September 9 & Thursday, September 14
- Food Ministry Statistics
- PB&J Delivery Fridays - Volunteers Needed
- On Generosity...
- Click Here For The Prayer List
- Click Here For The Church Calendar
- Click Here For The Server Schedule
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Click Here For The Live-Streaming Team Schedule
- Click Here For Parish Directory
- Click Here For The Coffee Host Schedule
Keep Scrolling to Learn More...
If you know of a brother or sister with no computer or internet access - would you please print off this email and drop it off to that person? We don't have many, but there are some. Let's help all of our Grace Family stay connected.
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Daughters Of The King
Meeting This Sunday 1:00 PM
At Susie Creduer's House
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Nan is making gratitude beads for one of the gifts for the Assembly bags. Anna and the girls (JDOK discerners) are hand stamping the gift bags with our DOK cross and music notes. The theme of Assembly is “The Joy of Music.”
Final preparations for Assembly will be planned at our meeting, which will also include devotions and prayer time.
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Troop 400 Flag Retirement Ceremony | |
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Looking for ways to plug in at Grace, meet new people, and contribute to the beauty of our worship? Sign up for one of our ministry teams: Ushers, Lectors, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Acolytes, Altar Guild, A/V, Hospitality, or Coffee Hour. Learn more and sign up at rev.suzanne@gracechurchalvin.org
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Are Your Ready For More Baseball? | |
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This season, every time the Astros loaded the bases, the Chick-fil-A Houston market pledged to donate 2,000 meals to help fight hunger in Houston.
The Astros Foundation generously came alongside the Chick-fil-A Houston market to match that pledge. The Astros have had an amazing season and as of August 24th loaded the bases 66 times. Chick-Fil-A and the Astros Foundation translated those 132,000 meals into dollars to donate out to local charities that help to feed those in need.
Grace was nominated by Chick-fil-A Alvin to receive a portion of these dollars. Over 100 Chick-fil-A restaurants througout the Greater Houston Area each nominated a local charity to receive these generous donations.
We have been selected as one of nine charities from the Greater Houston Area to receive a $4,000 donation, which will be matched by the Houston Astros Foundation.
The check presentations for all 9 charities will be held together on Monday, September 18th at Minute Maid Park on the field during the Astros vs. Orioles pre-game show at approximately 6:40 pm. Grace and each of the other charities will be receiving a check for $8,000.
We may still have tickets available for this game. The cost of the tickets is $29 each. They are in Field Box 133.
If you would like tickets, please text Ed Carrette at 832-244-1084. If we still have tickets, a link to your tickets will be texted back to you. After you receive your tickets via text, you can pay for them.
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Once you land on the giving page, use the "General Fund" line to enter a multiple of $29 and in the notation field enter "Astros Tickets"
Alternatively, you can drop a check by the office, noting "Astros Tickets" on the memo line.
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Meeet Our Volunteer
Ramiro "Ram" Arredondo
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Ram took some time off from volunteering with the food ministry to visit the Alvin Walmart Grand Re-Opening. | |
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Sister Hannah and Elder Jackson
Are Getting Married!
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Sister Hannah and Elder Jackson DeVinna worked at the Grace food pantry together...and guess what?! They are getting married now! They wanted the Grace family to know about this wonderful event in their lives.
They will send an invite soon...and we will pass word on about their wedding.
Grace has hosted hundreds of Mormon missionaries over the last 3 years...but this is our first marriage between 2 missionaries who served at Grace at the same time! Congratulations Jackson and Hannah!
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Applications open for General Convention Official Youth Presence 2024 | |
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Episcopal teens ages 16 to 19 are invited to apply to become part of the 81st General Convention’s Official Youth Presence, a group whose members have seat and voice in the House of Deputies and can testify at hearings before and during the summer 2024 convention. The deadline to apply is Nov. 17.
READ MORE
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Weakness
Our weakness is not a barrier or an obstacle to God; instead, it is the very thing that allows God to work most effectively through us. The key is that we must recognize and accept our inadequacy and yield ourselves wholly to God, looking for God’s greater strength to do in us what we cannot do ourselves.
Br. Geoffrey Tristram, Society of Saint John the Evangelist
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Gents Of Grace Game Night Saturday, September 16 At 5 PM | |
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From Nathan Vrubel:
Hey everyone,
Just a quick note, we are NOT having breakfast this month on the second Saturday. The church will be occupied for the food pantry, so if you are available, they could use the help.
Since we are getting bumped, we will try something a bit different for the month of September. Next Saturday (Sept 16) at 5, the men's group will host a game night. If you are available, it would be fun to bring the kids (or grandkids) and play some board games, or whatever you bring. I will figure something out for food (I am thinking burgers and dogs).
Put it on your calendar:
Gents of Grace Game Night
September 16th at 5pm.
Nathan Vrubel
vrubel@gmail.com
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Grace 101...as we prepare to meet, learn and grow together in the GRACE 101 class beginning Sept 24, I will share tidbits about the Episcopal Church each week leading up to our class time together.
The Calendar of the Church year appears near the beginning of The Book of Common Prayer (15-33). Before we learn about how to become a Christian through Holy Baptism or how to worship in our weekly celebrations of Holy Eucharist or how to pray on a daily basis, we are told about how Christians measure time.
In the Christian life, we measure our time not by things we achieve or things we need to do. We measure our time by what God has already done for us in the birth and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Our church year is oriented around two special days: Easter and Christmas. Our new year doesn’t begin on January 1, it begins the First Sunday of Advent. This calls us to orient our lives around the birth of Jesus. As Christians, our year begins as we wait with expectation and excitement for the birth of Jesus.
Learn more and sign up at rev.suzanne@gracechurchalvin.org
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Mark your calendars for:
- Sunday, September 24th - Pumpkin Patch Kick-off Training & Bake-off
- Saturday, September 30th at 2:00 PM for our PUMPKIN UNLOADING
- Sunday, October 1 after service - Pumpkin Patch Training
- Saturday, October 7th, Grace Craft Show & Carnival In The Patch - 10 AM - 2 PM
- Saturday, October 21st, Grace Circus Day In The Patch
- Saturday, October 28th, Trunk or Treat & Movie Night - 5 PM
- Sunday, October 29th, Special Pumpkin Patch Coffee Hour
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Annual Pet Blessing In The Pavilion
Sunday, October 1st - 12 Noon
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Please help us conserve resources by downloading to your mobile device or printing ahead of time and bringing it along with you to church | |
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Sunday's Schedule
- Holy Eucharist Rite II - Led by Mother Suzanne
- The service will also be live-streamed via Facebook Live - a musical prelude will begin at 8:50 a.m.
- 3 ways to Give today: Text the word ¨Fund¨ to 844-943-0932 to give via text, download and use the Vanco Mobile* app from the Google or Apple App Store, or visit the link below. Alternatively, you can mail a check to the church office at 112 W. Lang, Alvin TX 77511
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If you would like to host coffee hour, please contact Anna Arendell, anamerican1@yahoo.com | |
From Mother Suzanne:
This time together is between 2-5 minutes. A small touch-point throughout the week to remind Grace and others to whom you belong and that we are together walking the road of faith.
As well, I think it's a good practice to pause during the day and "look up".
Please join if you are able on Grace's Facebook or Instagram pages....no particular time... The Holy Pause is also uploaded to Tik Tok.
If you subscribe/like/follow our Instagram and Facebook you'll receive a notification when we go live.
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The Rector's Bible Study has resumed on Tuesdays. We are studying I Samuel. Join us in the Parish Hall at 11:15. | |
Wednesday Noonday Prayer
Around the World
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On Wednesday, let's pause together as we join our prayers with brothers and sisters around the world via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Beginning at 11:55 you can log in to Zoom here (passcode 032547) to join us as an active participant in the prayers. Or if you prefer, just follow along via Facebook Live beginning promptly at 12:00 PM this coming Wednesday, Book of Common Prayer beginning on page 103, which you can download ahead of time here.
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Sanctuary Choir Practice
Wednesday Evenings
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Church in the Streets
Mobile Food Pantry
Saturday, September 9
With The Harbor
AND AGAIN
Thursday, September 14th
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Please consider volunteering, even if just for an hour - we could use your help. We begin setting up at 7:00 am and distribution ends at 12 Noon. Clean-up follows that. We especially need volunteers for deliveries to the homebound and to help with tear down and clean up starting at around 11:30.
The Harbor invites all volunteers back to their church afterwards for lunch.
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Your Food Ministry Statistics
From Harriet Sturgeon
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Weekly Update
The week of August 31, 2023, we distributed 8,334 pounds of food to 272 families, including 62 homebound deliveries, totaling 771 people. We welcomed 15 new families. This was all made possible by the 51 volunteers (including drivers) who showed up to make it happen.
Monthly Update - August
For the entire month of July, we distributed 34,998 pounds of food to 1,333 families, including 336 homebound deliveries, totaling 3,891 people. We welcomed 100 new families. This was all made possible by the 297 volunteers (including drivers) who showed up to make it happen.
Year-To-Date
As of the end of August, in 2023, we have distributed 623,236 pounds of food from the Houston Food Bank to 7,999 families, with 556 new families coming to us for food. We have made a total of 2,181 deliveries. The total number of individuals served is 22,177. It required 1,815 volunteers to pull this off!
Thank you Harriet Sturgeon for being our statistician!
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PB&J Fridays - Volunteers Needed | |
A couple of volunteers are need from 1 PM - 4 PM every Friday to serve guests visiting our Blessing Box and Blessing Fridge. If you would like to volunteer, please email edcarrette@gracechurchalvin.org | |
Have you noticed the cards on the table as you enter the church on Sunday? Well, one of our parishioners sets these cards out for us to sign and send a greeting to someone we may not have seen in a while, or someone who is ill.
Please take a minute as you come in, or before you leave to sign the cards and maybe write a brief note.
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1st Sunday
Did you know that the loose plate offering on the first Sunday of each month goes to the Rector’s Discretionary Fund? This fund is used, at the Rector’s discretion, to assist the poor and indigent and to further the ministries of the church, not covered in the church budget. One of the main uses of this fund, at Grace, is to fund our Blessing Box and Blessing Refrigerator.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
You are invited to make a financial offering in honor of your birthday or anniversary. These offerings go to the Herrington fund, which provides scholarships to church conferences and camps for members of our church. Your offering may be placed in this little basket beside the piano as you approach the Chancel steps.
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Kroger Community Rewards
You can help support Grace by simply linking your Kroger Rewards Customer number to Grace. You only need to sign up once and you will earn rewards for the church with every shopping trip! You can enroll at any time, so please try to get your family and friends to sign up as well! Every time you make a Kroger purchase, Kroger will make a donation to Grace. (And you still receive your reward points)
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Matching your gift is a great way to make a bigger impact. Many companies match cash gifts from employees to qualified non-profits. Some even match gifts from retirees or spouses. To find out if your company will match gifts to Grace, visit your Human Resources Department. The Parish Office can provide you with a copy of our IRS Letter of Determination and W9 should you need it. | |
If you are not receiving text messages with important updates from Grace please click here for instructions.
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In case you hadn't noticed, we've expanded our social media presence to Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube | | | | |
