Thought for the Week

I don’t know how it got to be the second half of August. My to-do list grows every day, and I’m constantly trying to figure out how to tackle what’s next, what’s after what’s next, and what should have been tackled yesterday. I usually track the progression of summer by the flowers I notice outside. First azaleas, then rhododendrons, hydrangeas, etc. It seems like I only just noticed the hydrangeas starting to flower, and now they’re fading and the leaves on the trees around Salem are starting to turn.

I appreciated Cliff’s sermon on Sunday, which described the Canaanite woman in the Gospel reading as opening up new possibilities. Opening up new possibilities is certainly something that our community has been doing during this interim period, which I am seeing, more and more, as a valuable opportunity rather than an anxiety-laden task list. Each season, each month, each week has its own particular fleeting beauty and possibilities for us to notice and explore. This time is not simply a waiting room between the last chapter and the next chapter. It’s a chapter in its own right.

~Ryan

—————

The Bright Field



I have seen the sun break through

to illuminate a small field

for a while, and gone my way

and forgotten it. But that was the

pearl of great price, the one field that had

treasure in it. I realise now

that I must give all that I have

to possess it. Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after

an imagined past. It is the turning

aside like Moses to the miracle

of the lit bush, to a brightness

that seemed as transitory as your youth

once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

—R. S. Thomas

Knitting News

Starting August 26, Knitting Group will be meeting on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Grace Church is now accepting gifts via Realm!

Realm is an online tool to help us keep more accurate and up to date stewardship records. This will be an alternative to the PayPal button on our website and automated bill pay options. If you pledged for 2026, you will soon receive an email invitation to login to your personal Realm account and create a password (if you don't see it please check your spam folder)

Should you choose to log in, we need your help to ensure our records are up to date. We did our best, but please double-check that your contact information looks correct. Additionally, please review your pledge information and giving history for accuracy. If you notice any discrepancies or have questions, please reach out to me at treasurer@gracechurchsalem.org

While we encourage you to try this new way of giving, don't worry all the old ways still work too! Thank you in advance for your patience as we learn this new tool together! 

~ Katie Scott, Treasurer

Use the QR code below or click here to give through Realm!

Upcoming Services

Parish Prayer List

Please keep the following in your prayers:

Karen and Tom Tucker, Mary Brown, Robert Borden, Linda Abbene, Deven Manthorne, Margarette Connor, Barbara Dwyer, Lilyann, John Gilbo, Vance Gilbert, Reny Sparapani, Laurel, Gary Young, Amy, Paul, Heather and Prescott, Ariana, Sheridan, Javy, Faith Aroko and Family, Jesse Hurst and Family, Maureen Joyce, Arthur, Deb Young, Cindy Rhodes, Ron, Allison Mascolo, Melissa Glassman, Max Joyce, Marc Britt, those battling cancer, Mel, Corey MacNeil, Dianne, Jenny, Loretta and Kris, Priscilla Lemons, Deb Papps, Derek Fuller and Family, for the peaceful repose of the soul of Smadar and all victims of war the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and their ministries; the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem, the Salem Public Schools and for an end to racism, war, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, gun violence and oppression. In thanksgiving, we pray for the ministry of The Reverend Debbie Phillips and her husband, Eric Wagner, this community of faith, for God’s grace and forgiveness, for those with the courage to stand up to tyranny, for creation, for the diversity of people, and for all the blessings of this life.



If you have additions or deletions to the prayer list, please email prayerlist@gracechurchsalem.org by Tuesday at noon for publication in that week's e-news. 

The Parish Prayer List is read aloud each Wednesday at Morning Prayer.