Pledge Ingathering and Consecration will be Sunday, November 18th. A letter including a pledge card is in the mail to each household. Please review the material and prayerfully decide how you are called to support the mission and ministry of Grace Church. Bring your pledge card on the 1 8th! Extra copies of the mailings are available in the office.

 

St. Andrew's Day Celebration is also coming up Sunday, November 18th. There will be kilts, bagpipes, and a special coffee hour of Scottish goodies!   

 

Thanksgiving Worship

The funeral will take place on Friday, November 30th at St. Luke's in Dixon at 11:00am. Condolences may also be sent to Sandra Schauble 405 12th Avenue, Mendota, IL 61342.

Advent begins the first Sunday in December. Grace Church will prepare for that holy season of preparation for Christmas with an Advent Quiet Day on Saturday, December 8 from 10 am to 3:00 pm. Our leader will be Sr. Bobbi Bussan, the Director of Benet House Retreat Center at St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island. A native of Galena, she says "My roots will always be in Galena. . .where I first knew God was going to be a centerpiece of my life." An experienced retreat leader with all ages (from elementary students to adults), she works with homeless women and children and has a passion for Benedictine spirituality. In addition to the opportunity to learn about Centering Prayer, the day will include: brief talks, discussion, and plenty of opportunity for journaling or quiet. Lunch in the new parish hall is included. The church is located at 107 S Prospect St., Galena IL. There is a $10 suggested donation. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

 

Each year, as we are preparing for Thanksgiving, we also send off a delegation to the annual Diocesan Convention. This year, we will participate in the 171st Convention of the Diocese of Chicago on Friday and Saturday, November 16 & 17th, at the Westin Yorktown in Lombard IL. The Grace delegates are Lynn Giles, Elizabeth Ludescher, and Richard Luther. The alternates are Larry Poston, Greg and Karen Serwich. The Rector will attend as will our postulant for the Diaconate, Diane Luther.
      The keynote speaker will be Ray Suarez, prominent journalist, author and lifelong Episcopalian. He will discuss a rapidly approaching tipping point--the year 2044, when demographers predict that a majority of Americans will be members of minority groups--and what it means for the church.
      The two days will include business sessions where resolutions and reports are considered, workshops on a variety of useful topics for our congregations that range from the practical subjects of buildings, grounds, and insurance, to ways of helping our churches to thrive and grow in spiritual  vitality to our ways of being the church in a world that needs justice, kindness, and mercy.
     There are also opportunities for networking with other

	Bishop in the purple shirt

congregations. Some are focused on being informational or special interests, while others are basically fellowship and fun. This year, there will be luncheon roundtables, a breakfast for women clergy, and a Friday evening dessert and dancing party where, no doubt,  our Bishop will show off his skill in "cutting a rug!" And, for those who like to sing, there is always the "All Y'All Choir" that provides the music for worship on both days! Yes, we practice early each morning. But it is very enjoyable to join people from all over the diocese in lifting our voices to God!  You might think that worship in a huge hotel ballroom might be dry or even boring. But you would be wrong! Thanks to our musicians, our deacons, and our bishop--who always inspires us with his address and his sermon, it is spirited and God-filled, leaving us singing as we go back into our own congregations. If you look closely below, the video screen shot shows three of our own!
     I am so grateful to have a full delegation from Grace each year, and to be able to experience the community of faith that is the extraordinary Episcopal Diocese of Chicago! 

 

Please keep the diocese, our bishop, and our delegation in your prayers.  

See you in church,

Gloria+      

READINGS:

Daniel 12:1-3: In a time of great trouble, the people whose names are written in God's scroll will be rescued, some being resurrected to life and others to disgrace. But, those who are wise and lead others to righteousness will shine like stars.

Psalm 16: A Psalm in praise of God's protection and blessing, God's instruction and guidance, God's presence and God's ways of life.

Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25: Jesus offered the perfect once-for-all sacrifice and then sat down at God's right hand. He perfected God's people, and now we can enter God's presence with confidence because of our faith, the cleansing of God, and our high priest in God's house. In response we are to hold on to our hope, and motivate each other to acts of love and goodness.

Mark 13:1-8 : As they leave the temple, Jesus' disciples are awed by the size and beauty of the building, but Jesus predicts that it will be destroyed. When the disciples ask for a sign, Jesus warns them about false messiahs who will come, reports of war, earthquakes, and famines. But, these, he explains, are just the beginnings of the end.

 

In a world in which war and violence are a constant reality, humanity desperately needs to learn two things. First, we need to relinquish our addiction to wealth and power, which inevitably creates both competition and oppression - winners and losers. Second, we need to embrace the Jesus way of "powerless peace", in which we trust in God's justice and love, even when the world seems to be descending into chaos and anarchy. The way of peace is not a "quick-fix" alternative to injustice. Nor is it an apathetic, inactive resignation which accepts reality without trying to change it. It is a painful, sacrificial journey that takes a long view of human history. When peacemaking rises up against violence and injustice, things often get worse, and oppressors and tyrants use greater violence and threats to try and silence the peace and justice making. But, when we remain steadfast in our faith that God is at work in our world, and that God's purposes of justice and peace will continue to overcome violence and oppression, we can absorb the pain, refuse to respond in kind, carry the cross, and ultimately wait until, as inevitably must happen, God's Commonwealth prevails.

 

The thumbnails and reflections excerpted from sacredise.com