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Bishop Lee's Christmas Message
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| God Comes to Us Still: Bishop Lee's 2018 Christmas Message |
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Epiphany Party
will be held on Sunday, January 6th at 5 pm at Robert & Diann Marsh's house at 309 Park Avenue. Please bring your favorite dish to share and a wine or other beverage to share. Dessert will be provided.
The Way of Love: An Epiphany Opportunity
Please consider joining me during the Epiphany season for a nine-session study of the Way of Love. In each of our meetings, there will be prayer, check-in, discussion, practicing the Way of Love, check-out, and worship.
Our first meeting will include information about developing a Rule of Life to guide and increase awareness about how we actually practice our faith, and the final session will help each of us recognize our way forward. In the seven "middle" weeks, we will study and apply each of the seven practices, one at a time: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest.
We will meet on Tuesday afternoons, from 2:00 - 3:30, beginning January 8, and concluding March 5. I have found these ideas helpful and enriching and would like to share this experience with you. Many Blessings ~ Diane Luther
Annual Meeting Reports
from ministry leaders are due in the church office by Friday, January 11. The meeting will take place after worship on January 27th.
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The Rector is on holiday with her family from December 25-January 5. In her absence Rev. Linda Packard will preside at worship and be available for pastoral emergencies. Diane Luther will be the preacher on December 30.
See you in church,
Gloria+
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READINGS:
1 Samuel 2:18-20,26: Samuel grows under the care of Eli the priest, and his parents visit him annually when they come to the Tabernacle for the sacrifice.
Psalm 148: A psalm calling all of creation to praise the God who has strengthened God's people.
Colossians 3:12-17: Instruction on how those who have been chosen and forgiven by God should live - in compassion, harmony and peace.
Luke 2:41-52: Mary and Joseph accidentally leave Jesus behind in Jerusalem, and return to find him in the Temple in discussion with the religious teachers. Jesus is obedient and grows in wisdom and stature.
We are still seeking to gain some grasp of the incarnation itself in this Sunday after Christmas. The clue in the Lectionary this week is in the reading from 1 Samuel which forms a kind of parallel with the Gospel. Both Samuel and Jesus were at home in the temple from a very young age. Both had parents who valued and visited the Temple. Both became teachers and leaders of God's people. And both were completely human. As such, both had to learn and grow and be nurtured into their ministries. In a similar way, the Psalm speaks of God as the one who strengthens all of creation - which responds in praise. Finally, in Colossians, God's people are also called to learn and grow into the life of following Christ - a life of compassion, harmony and peace.
So,as much as we celebrate the divinity of Christ, and acknowledge that in him God has become flesh, the focus this week is on how the humanity of Jesus enabled him to understand and experience life as we do, and made it possible for him to be an example for us to follow. This means that we can't use the divinity of Jesus as an excuse to accept lower standards for our lives than those embodied in his. His call for us to follow him is based in the truth that his life was completely human, and therefore completely accessible for us. It also means that as we follow Jesus, we do so with the same need to grow, learn, change, fail and develop as Jesus did. Our faith is not a doorway to a magical life free of the usual human struggles. Rather it is a pathway that enables us to journey through our humanity with deeper meaning, understanding and connectedness.
For more on the global and local implications of this week's texts, click here:
The thumbnails
and reflections excerpted from sacredise.com
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Many thanks to all who submitted their financial pledges for 2019 to contribute to the ministries of Grace Church. To date, 52 pledges have been received for a total of $142,314.
If you have not yet pledged but wish to do so, there are extra pledge forms and information in the Narthex. Or, you may contact the Rector or the Treasurer, Richard Luther.
Please remember that commitments, regardless of the amount, are important to our community of faith. Such an intentional commitment is both a practical and a spiritual matter. It is practical because it allows the church to plan for carrying out its ministries with an understanding of the resources that are available. It is a spiritual practice because it is a way of giving back a portion of God's goodness through the church and its ministries, a way of learning to live generously. It is hoped that all who participate in Grace Church will pledge in accordance with their ability to do so.
Automatic Bill Pay for Pledge
If you have this set up to send to the church, this is a reminder to change the mailing address to:
107 S. Prospect St.
Thank you.
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EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT (ERD)--just one of many agencies supported by Grace Church Outreach
This Sunday we have the opportunity to give to Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) and have our gifts matched. For over 75 years through ERD we have been able to be partners in healing a hurting world. Please let our treasurer know that you would like your gift to go to ERD by noting such in the memo area. ERD is currently helping out in over 40 countries and supporting almost 3 million people annually. Learn more at https://www.episcopalrelief.org/.
Carmen Ferguson, Grace Church Outreach Ministries
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| Worship Ministries Update |
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ALTAR GUILD
The 2019 Flower Chart is on the bulletin board. Please choose a date to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or a loved one.
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Cooking with God's Bounty
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New Year's Eve Hoppin' John
Ingredients:
1 pound dry black eyed peas, soaked overnight
4 cups chicken broth
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup instant rice (or use 1 cup already cooked rice, and stir it in at the very end)
1 (10.5-ounce) can Rotel
1 bunch of collard greens or kale, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Soak your beans overnight in a bunch of water and drain well in the morning and rinse in cool water.
Put the beans directly into your slow cooker. If you don't have time to soak the beans overnight, that's okay! Instead, put them in a pot with a bunch of water and boil rapidly on the stove for 10 minutes.
Then turn the heat off, and cover the pot. Let it sit for one hour, then drain and rinse and plop into the pot.
easy-peasy!
Once the beans are in the crock, add broth and sliced sausage. Stir in the rice and rotel.
Add greens, and sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
Cover ( you may need to shove in greens to get the lid on nicely) and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours, or until the beans are soft.
Stir well before serving.
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Vestry Liaisons
V
estry Liaisons' primary purpose is to assure two-way communications between the various ministries and the
Vestry,
to represent the ministries for resources
or
policy issues, and to
support
their
events
an
d activities.
Worship:
Rector
Building and Grounds:
Pete Stryker (Sr. Warden 2017-2019)
Worship Committee: Pam Malik
(class of 2019)
Formation and Spirituality:
Greg Serwich (Jr. Warden 2018-2019)
Fellowship &
Hospitality: Anita Sands (class of 2021)
Pastoral Care/
LEMs: Bonnielynn Kreiser
(class of 2020)
Outreach:
Tony Packard (class of 2021)
Deb Pausz (class of 2019)
Communications: Larry Poston (class of 2020)
Governance: Wardens & Rector
Officers:
Pete Stryker, Senior Warden
Greg Serwich, Junior Warden
R
ichard Luther, Treasurer
Elizabeth Ludescher, Clerk
Rect
or
: The Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell
Parish Ad
ministrator: Fräni Beadle
O
rganist/Pianist: Robin French, Nancy Cook
Choir Director: Pat Terry
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December 30, 2018
Sunday Morning
Christmas 1
10:30am
For quick reference, find Sunday's readings by clicking here:
The Lectionary
Ministers of the
Service:
Lector:
Richard Luther
1st Chalicist:
Diane Luther
Cathie Elsbree
Acolyte:
Donna Davis
Vestry Coordinator:
Anita Sands
Greeter:
Amy Hardwicke
Altar Guild:
Charlotte Stryker & Pat Golden
Presider:
Rev. Linda Packard
Preacher:
Diane Luther
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Christmas 2
January 6, 2018
Eucharistic readings
for your own study:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7,10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
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For a current prayer list, click on the following link:
Grace Prayer List
The
Request For Prayers notebook is in the Narthex/ Entrance area of the Church. Please feel free to request prayers for yourself or others at any time by filling out a form or contacting the office by either phone or email. May we first and always be "a people of prayer."
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7:30 am
Midweek Morning Prayer
The following groups will break for the holidays and resume the week of January 6th
8:10 am
Community Breakfast at Victory Café
Cursillo Reunion
St. Francis Room
Morning Bible Study Parish House
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| Wednesdays at 7pm
Saturdays at 10am
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For current and
upcoming events, download a copy of the calendar with this link:
January OR check out the goog
le
calendar on the new website
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**
If you put out trash, please put in a secure trash can.
Thanks to all for your cooperation. **
12/30 - Available
1/6 - Available
1/13 - Jackman
1/20 - Cordero
1/27 - Banas
R
eminder for hosts:
Napkins and plates
are provided. Use
what you need from
our pantry under
the coffee maker.
Remember: Keep it simple. We usually have about 35-40 attending.
**Coffee schedule sign up is on the bulletin board in the Parish House.**
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You can now get information on Formation Ministries directly from the new Grace website at the following links: Children and Youth Adults
Spiritual Practices
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If you are in need of assistance while ill or recovering: meals, transportation, visits, please contact the
Ministry of Care
facilitators:
o Carol Poston
o Charlotte Kennedy who can assist you and connect you with parishioners who have trained and commited to this ministry that includes Parish Visitors, Meals, Rides, as well as the ongoing Servants through Prayer, LEMs, and the Greeting Card ministry.
Ministry of Care Leadership
Team:
Facilitators : Carol Poston, Charlotte Kennedy
Clergy Advisors: Gloria Hopewell, Linda Packard
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DEADLINES !
News and prayer requests:
Sunday
Bulletin --
Wed. end of day.
e-Blast:
Thursday noon.
Anniversaries and Birthdays
Have your celebrations been missed in our bulletins?
Send to Frani.
Thank y
ou!
News and Photos
f
or e-Blast!
People
want to know
what's going on at Grace! T
here are places
here for your
event,
program, or
interesting
tidbit.
Comments on this e-Blast may be sent here.
Audio files of sermons are posted on the Grace Church website as well as in the next week's e-Blast. They also may be found on the church's FB page.
Paper copies are available upon request.
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Grace Galena Christmas Eve 2018
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| Grace Galena Sermon Advent 2 2018 |
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| Grace Galena Sermon Advent 3C 2018 |
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