Third Sunday Of Lent
March 12th, 2023
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IN THIS ISSUE
- Update on Elizabeth Reimer
- Cub Scouts In The News
- An Invitation To Reconciliation
- Confirmation Classes Will Resume March 26th
- Lenten Soup Suppers Wednesdays 6:00 - 7:00 PM
- Taizé Evening Prayers Wednesdays 5:30 - 6:00 PM
- Friday Stations Of The Cross 6:00 PM
- Holy Lent - Book Study Continues Sunday
- Need A Spiritual Discipline During Lent? Check this out
- Grace Men's Prayer Breakfast - March 11 - 9 AM
- First Christian Church Pancake Breakfast - March 11
- Troop 400 Spaghetti Bistro - March 25
- Come And Craft With Your Grace Family - March 26
- Parish Spring Cleaning Now April 1st
- Confirmation Classes Have Begun
- Palm Sunday Bishop's Visit - Sign Up For Reception Food
- Second Sunday Of Lent - Holy Eucharist Rite I
Liturgy Of The Week
- The Preaching Moment Podcast
- A Holy Pause With Mother Suzanne
- Rector's Tuesday Bible Study Will Resume March 21st
- Wednesday Noonday Prayer Around The World
- The Mobile Food Pantry - Thursday, March 16th
- Food Ministry Statistics Update
- PB&J Delivery Fridays
- On Generosity...
- Click Here For The Prayer List
- Click Here For The Church Calendar
- Click Here For The Server Schedule
- Click Here For Parish Directory
SERVE AT GRACE: Are you looking for ways to plug in at Grace, meet new people, and contribute to the beauty of our worship? Consider signing up for any of the following roles: ushers, lectors, lay eucharistic ministers, acolytes, Altar Guild, A/V, hospitality team, or coffee hour. Click here to learn more and sign up
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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Please keep our dear Elizabeth Reimer in your prayers, she has now contracted pneumonnia and will be in the hospital for at least two more weeks.
Thank you.
SS+
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We Are Grateful To
Our Pack 400 Cub Scouts
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Earthworm found during playground clean-up
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Last Sunday the Cub Scouts from Pack 400 and their families spent a couple of hours pulling grass and weeds from our playground mulch and general clean up of the area. One of the dads reported they found three of the largest earthworms he had ever seen.
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Mother Suzanne will offer The Rite of Reconciliation during Lent. To find out more about this, click on the link.
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Lenten Soup Suppers
6 - 7 PM Wednesday
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Jolene Guilmet's hearty Italian Sausage & cabbage soup, so yummy!!!
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This week's offering from Brooks Short - delicious home-made focaccia
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The youth of Grace are hosting the Lenten Soup Suppers every Wednesday from 6 to 7 PM during Lent. Soup suppers will continue through April 5. Soup suppers are a time where the community will gather and enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread.
Next Wednesday, Teresa Garza will be treating us to her famous Taco Soup. We're looking forward to seeing what bread Brooks Short surprises us with.
A brief time of reflection and prayer will be offered each week. Please suspend your cooking on Wednesdays during Lent to support our youth and enjoy some much needed, continual weekly fellowship.
If you are new to the community of Grace, this is an excellent way to meet people and learn more about Grace.
~Mother Suzanne+
Generous donations for our youth will be kindly appreciated.
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Wednesday Evening Taizé Prayer
5:30 - 6:00 PM
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Each Wednesday through April 5th, from 5:30 - 6:00 PM, join us in the Nave for Contemplative Evening Prayer in the style of the monastery in Taizé.
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Friday Stations Of The Cross
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Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross)--Every Friday at 6pm during Lent in the Nave
A devotion to the Passion of Christ which recalls a series of events at the end of Jesus' life from his condemnation to his burial. The Way of the Cross imitates the practice of visiting the places of Jesus' Passion in the Holy Land by early Christian pilgrims. The first stations outside Palestine were built in Bologna in the fifth century. This devotion was encouraged by the Franciscans, and it became common in the fifteenth century. The number of stations for prayer and meditation in the Way of the Cross has varied, but it typically includes fourteen stations. Each station may have a cross and an artistic representation of the scene. The Way of the Cross is a popular devotion that is often done on Fridays during Lent.
The stations will be led by Donna Tate, Craig Harland and Anne Harland.
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Our Lenten Book Study
Continues Sunday
Never Too Late To Join
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We live in a world that demands relentless perfection. Happy marriages and easy friendships. Bucket-list-level adventures and matching family photos. But what if your actual life doesn’t feel very #blessed? Might our regular lives be worthy of a blessing too? Even an average Tuesday?
This Lenten season you are invited to journey with Mother Suzanne through The Lives We Actually Have.
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Looking For A Spiritual Discipline
To Take On During Lent?
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We see 65-100 visitors on our campus every day looking for food in our blessing box and blessing fridge. Thus we have a constant need for large quantities of food to give away. Our average Sunday attendance is now 60 - if every one brought two or three items each Sunday for our pantry, it would go a long way toward this.
Perhaps you would consider taking this on as your spiritual discipline during Lent. Please bring lots and lots of nonperishable food items to church on Sunday. Or Tuesday through Friday come by the office from 9 AM - 5 PM
Our biggest needs are simple meals like pasta, rice, oatmeal, pop-top ravioli/Spaghetti O’s. All regular pantry items needed as well!
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Thank you for helping to feed our neighbors!
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Together For Alvin Youth Event
Stuff Welcome Bags Tonight,
Friday, March 10 - 7PM
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Grace Men's Prayer Breakfast
Saturday, March 11th - 9 AM
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Come & Craft with your Grace Family!
Sunday, March 26
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When: Sunday, 3/26, after the morning worship service
Where: Outside in the pavilion, weather permitting
What: $10 fee per craft - we hope each household will want to create one of these simple Holy Week pieces that will adorn our tables on Palm & Easter Sundays. Then you may take yours home as an Easter symbol for your home.
All supplies will be purchased in advance & no crafting experience is necessary. The skill level is Easy & the results will be beautiful
Note: If there are any left over funds from this event, they will be donated to our food ministry for the blessing box and fridge.
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Next Confirmation Classes Will Be Held On Sunday, March 26th
Bishop Monterroso Arrives Palm Sunday,
April 2nd
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In preparation for Bishop Monterroso's visit on April 2 (Palm Sunday) in which he will confirm and receive new folks into the Episcopal Church, Mother Suzanne will offer a series of confirmation classes: February 26, March 5 (we will skip the two weekends of Spring Break) and March 26 after the 9 AM service. If you have a desire to attend classes, please let Mother Suzanne know. Please plan to attend all three.
The sacramental rite in which the candidates "express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop" (BCP, p. 860). Those who were baptized at an early age and those baptized as adults without laying on of hands by a bishop are expected to make a mature public affirmation of their faith, recommit themselves to the responsibilities of their baptism, and receive laying on of hands by a bishop (BCP, p. 412). Adults baptized with the laying on of hands by a bishop are considered to be confirmed.
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Reception Honoring our Newly Confirmed Members and Bishop Hector Monterroso
Everyone is invited to be part of providing our reception honoring our newly Confirmed and Bishop Monterroso on Palm Sunday, 4/2, after the 9am service.
We will be building a large, opulent table filled with fruits, vegetables, cheeses, crackers and more. This spread will be both simple and elaborate.
In order to have good quantities and not have duplicates, we have created a signup sheet with the food items needed. The sign up sheet will be available after church on Sundays. You may contact Mary Smith for more information and/or to sign up to bring an item or two.
Thank you!
Mary
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We Will Be Offering Holy Baptism
On Easter Sunday
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If you are interested in Holy Baptism, please contact Mother Suzanne.
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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 host coffee hour, please contact Anna Arendell, anamerican1@yahoo.com
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We Are Only 7 Downloads from 1000!
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Or you can find The Preaching Moment on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.
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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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Discipline
It may be that there is a laundry list you have prayerfully assembled to tackle this Lent. You are not going to get to everything. Pick one or two things and then stick with those. Hold these intentions as a focus of your prayer with Jesus and ask him to heal and transfigure them. In this way we can turn a season of discipline into a lifetime of discipleship.
Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE
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Rector's Tuesday Bible Study
Paused Until March 21st
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Wednesday Noonday Prayer
Around the World
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This 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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Church in the Streets
Mobile Food Pantry
Thursday, March 16th
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Please consider volunteering, even if just for an hour - we could use your help. We begin setting up at 7:30 am and distribution ends at 1 pm. 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.
Upon conclusion, a delicious lunch is provided for all volunteers.
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Your Food Ministry Statistics
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Weekly Update
The week of March 2, 2023, we distributed 9,556 pounds of food to 228 families, including 49 homebound deliveries, totaling 669 people. We welcomed 16 new families. This was all made possible by the 62 volunteers (including drivers) who showed up to make it happen.
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We are so glad to have our Waymaker friends here on Friday mornings, in addition to their participation in our Thursday Mobile Food Pantry.
This week they bagged Panera bread and stuffed Easter Eggs. So grateful to them!
Waymaker provides day activity sites for people who have intellectual developmental disabilities and other special needs.
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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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Support Grace on Amazon Smile
Do you shop at Amazon? Grace is recognized as a charitable organization under the AmazonSmile program.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Grace every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases, made each quarter of the year, to the church.
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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
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