The Grain of Wheat
On Tuesday, at Vestry, we remembered Mia Benjamin's compelling sermon. She asked us to consider what Jesus had said, that grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die in order to bear fruit. So, to open the meeting we asked this question, "What have you had to let go of, let die, in order to go forward?" One vestry member offered an experience, a decision to let go of comfort and safety and risk going forward. At this point, there was a pause, and a bit of a rueful shake of the head. And then this statement. "I had no idea what was on the other side." --- That is a Good Friday truth. The disciples risked and followed and believed. Some managed to stand by the cross. Some did not. But for all of them there was that one truth. They had no idea what was on the other side of the cross. Perhaps this is why Good Friday is Good. This day teaches us to follow, believe and risk. Good Friday is not the end.
Share with us in a blessed Holy Week.
-Rev. Dee
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ- Y-God
Breaking News! Jesus of Nazareth arrives in style on Sunday. More on what to expect below.
Exciting things are happening in Jerusalem this coming week.
Things are happening in Jerusalem this coming week. Jesus arrives in town to great fanfare. Within a matter of days, things change dramatically. Until, on April 1...
You may think you know the story of the Passion of Christ which has been handed down from generation to generation. It is written in the Bible. It has been acted out on stages around the world. Over the last 50 years, it has been a "concept album," a rock musical, and several major motion pictures. But do we really know what took place so long ago in Jerusalem?
Please plan to join us as members of the Grace Church Parish will present a very modern telling of this important story in the Christian year.
"We're going to stick pretty close to the basic story...but we wanted to update it and present it through a contemporary lens," says Jeff Pietrantoni. "The simple set and minimal costume design are all meant to connect the present to the past a little more."
So much of what we learn about world events reaches us in what is commonly referred to as "breaking news." Broadcasters decide what we know and when we learn about it. Whether it is labelled as "fake" or not, the stories invariably take on the biases of the network that is sharing them.
Critics of various reports often site what is "real"and what is "opinion." It is with that in mind that we are asked to recognize that familiar stories from the past are not as simple as they may first appear.
So, who do you get to star in a modern day telling of a familiar story? Rock stars of course. Margaret Smist, Jaeda Hamel, Sarah Masciave and Barbara Kennedy are just a few of the familiar faces who've signed onto the project. Audience energy affects the performances very dramatically, as well. Indeed,
Breaking News! feels like the most ambitious depiction of these events to date.
But that's the point of trying something new; this production may perhaps be our of our collective comfort zone. It's a new look into a familiar story in history that changed the world. Come and see it with new eyes and ears.
We will be asking our audience to imagine that there are cameras and bright lights along with the chaos and excitement of any live broadcast and will just play to the crowd and hopefully it will transcend."
-Jeff Pietrantoni
Holy Week 2018 at Grace Church
Palm Sunday - March 25th
8:00 AM - The Liturgy of the Palms, and the reading of the Passion, followed by the celebration of the Holy Eucharist - Rite I
9:30 AM- The Blessing of the Palms - Medford Square -with procession back to the church.
10:00 Am - Presentation of the Passion Play for 2018 followed by the celebration of the Holy Eucharist - Rite II
5:00 PM- Solemn Stations of the Cross will be prayed.
Wednesday in Holy Week
7:00 p.m. Tenebrae - A Service of Shadows - Candle-lit with readings and music.
Maundy Thursday
7:00 p.m. Celebration of the Holy Eucharist with the Washing of Feet
Good Friday
12:00 and 7:00 p.m. The Proper Liturgy for Good Friday with Communion from the reserved sacrament.
5:00 p.m. A Good Friday service for our children will be offered.
Holy Saturday
10:00 a.m. The Prayer Book liturgy for Good Friday will be read (no Eucharist).
The Great Vigil of Easter - March 31st
7:00 p.m. The Vigil Liturgy - the Lighting of the Paschal Candle - Holy Baptism and the Celebration of the First Eucharist of the Resurrection.
Easter Sunday - April 1st
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist - Rite I
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist - Rite II
Easter Egg Hunt following the 10am service.
(There will be no 5pm service on Easter Sunday.)
Sing with the choir on Easter
Sunday!
Reprising the wonderful experience of Easter 2016, the Grace Choir invites singers in the congregation to join their voices in Handel's "Hallelujah" Chorus at the 10 am service on Easter morning. Experienced singers and the adventurous can just come up at the moment; there will be sheet music available for all. If you prefer to rehearse ahead of time, you can attend choir rehearsal
Thursday night
March 28 at 8 pm, and/or at
9:20 on Easter morning, beginning in the choir room, then upstairs for a run-thru.
You can also rehearse at home with the following youtubes. (
Note that we will be singing in the Key of C, one step lower than the original D.)
Easter Lilies
Order slips for Easter flowers will be found in your Sunday bulletins this week and may also be picked up at anytime at Grace Church. Please consider making a donation and having flowers on the altar in memory of or in honor of someone special in your life on Easter Sunday.
Medford Community Breakfast at Grace Church before the March for Our Lives --
March 24, 2018
Gather on
March 24 at Grace Church to prepare for the March for Our Lives with breakfast and sign-making! March for Our Lives is led by students who want to stop the epidemic of mass shootings. People all over the country will march on
March 24 to stand against the senselessness of American gun violence. Grace Church is offering breakfast and sign-making in Medford before the event. We will have transportation information to help people get to Boston for the march. Everyone is welcome, so invite your friends and family! The continental breakfast will start at
9:30 a.m., and sign-making materials will be provided. We also hope to have a few speakers. For more information on March for Our Lives, go to
https://www.facebook.com/events/1607397545975790/?active_tab=about
MISSION OUTREACH
Lisa Carson is the coordinator of Grace Church's work with the St. Luke's Community Dining ministry. Please contact Lisa at
lisajiggy@aol.com if you can help.
Food is needed for the food pantries that Grace Episcopal Church supports. Food items may be placed in the baskets just outside the main entrance to the sanctuary (an usher can help you locate them). This week's food item is pasta/sauce.
YO Tea
Please note that the date of YO Tea has changed from 3/24 to May 12th from 3:00 to 6:00pm.
Grace Church Week at Barbara Harris Camp
Our week this summer at BCH will be July 8th-13th. Our diocese has a wonderful summer camp in New Hampshire, where kids come together from all over Massachusetts to learn about their faith, be inspired and have fun swimming, canoeing, and eating the world's best French toast (according to Maggie's daughter, Clara). See Rev. Maggie about scholarships, and register at
bchcenter.org.
Book Club
The Women's book club meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7pm, except in August. All women are invited to attend any meeting. On April 26th (note the date change) we're reading Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan. The book for the May 17 is Gap Creek by Robert Morgan. And we're reading The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith on June 21. For more info please contact Genita Johnson at church or at pawleysleagcy@verizon.net.
Coffee Hosts Needed
If you would like to bring food to share with the congregation after 10am service, please sign up in Wiles Hall outside our coffee window.
Diocesan Youth Offerings
Friday, March 30: Good Friday Overnight at Trinity Church in Copley Square, a Taize inspired time "away from it all" to contemplate Jesus' death.
Saturday, April 7: New England Youth Environmental Justice Summit in Manchester, NH.
June 25-28: Micah Conference: Empowering young people to create social change, this youth-led worship will equip young people for activism.
Annual Palm Sunday Concert
You are invited to the 33rd annual Ecumenical Palm Sunday Concert, Sunday, March 25th at 7:30pm at Immaculate Conception Church in Malden. Area church choirs and soloists with organ will perform "Olivet to Calvary" by Maunder. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. For further info: 781-324-4941.
2018 Global Mission Summit
Think about attending the Global Mission Summit- Saturday, April 21st. This year's theme, Partnering with God: From the Theological to the Practical Implications of Answering God's call into mission. Registration is online through the Diocesan website at
www.diomass.org/event/global-mission-summit. For more information concerning the Global Mission Summit, please contact Laura Walta, Iwalta@diomass.org.
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