Seeking and Serving Christ in all Persons

Parish News For the week of May 15, 2022

Christianity and Culture

Three Kings of Israel

Sunday, May 15 (Josiah), 9:15 - 10:15 am

Parish Hall (ZOOM)

Doug Ayer will be treating from a historical perspective three Kings of Israel who exemplify prominent aspects of the development of Israel's Monarchy.  David transforms a Tribal Confederation into a Nation-State. Solomon expands David's State into a Regional Empire. Josiah, near the end of the Pre-Exilic Period, institutes a major if short-lived Political Reform which institutes elements of limited government parallel in some respects to features found in institutions in Ancient Greece during roughly the same period.

Compassion and Community:

Supporting People with Opioid Use Disorder to Recover 

May 18, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Presentation with Q&A

Registration: https://bit.ly/38tERuU

This training is appropriate for all members of our faith community and is offered free by C4 Innovations and the Opioid Response Network, a training center sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Click here for description of training.

Please sign up HERE

Or email [email protected]

From the Minster of Music

A Vesper service will be held Sunday, May 22 at 5 pm. It will be led by musicians Ginny Maddock (St. David's, Ashburn), Martha Burford, Bill McCorkle, and Paul Vasile, and others, including the Choir of Grace.

Music in the Garden

Grace Episcopal Church has joined in the 2022 sponsorship of Music in the Garden at Boxerwood. Join your Grace family at the first MITG concert, Tom Artwick and the Regency Trio, Friday, May 27, from 6:30 – 8 pm. Gates open at 5:30. Pack a picnic and we’ll see you there!

SUMMIT

Join us on June 4 and discover Invite Welcome Connect at Grace Episcopal Church! Invite Welcome Connect is a ministry of transformation that equips and empowers congregations

and individuals to cultivate intentional practices of

evangelism, hospitality, and belonging.

Rooted in the Gospel directive to "God and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) the vision of Invite Welcome Connect is to change the culture of The Episcopal Church to move from maintenance to mission. 

Jenni Faires, DIOSWVA Canon of Youth and Evangelism

will be our facilitator for the day.

Come, join us in Mission!

May is Preservation Month! Putting a Human Face to Slavery in Rockbridge County

May events sponsored by HLA: https://historiclexington.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/HLF-Newsletter-Winter-2022-Preservation-Month.pdf

On May 14 at 2 pm at the First Baptist Church in Lexington, HLF is pleased to host a public presentation by Lucia (Cinder) Stanton entitled From the Little Mountain: The Enslaved Families of Monticello and Beyond. Ms. Stanton will draw on the results of a thirty-year oral history project to shed light on life in the cabins and workshops of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Her talk will explore the ways the enslaved men, women, and children survived and resisted the harsh realities of slavery. The “Getting Word” oral history project, which she directed, revealed the remarkable strength of family bonds in the face of these realities. How did Monticello’s enslaved families maintain those bonds and, at the same time, hold on to hopes of freedom, two goals often incompatible under the institution of slavery? These issues will be illustrated by members of the well-known Hemings family, descendants of Sally Hemings, some of whom have lived in Lexington over the last two centuries. Ms. Stanton retired in 2012 as Shannon Senior Historian at Monticello, where she worked for over 30 years. She is the author of Those Who Labor for My Happiness: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, a collection of essays on Jefferson the slaveholder and plantation manager, the enslaved families of Monticello, and some of their descendants. From 1993, she directed “Getting Word,” a continuing research and oral history project that seeks to learn about Monticello’s African-American families through interviews with their descendants—over 200 to date.

On May 28, Charles Dew, author of the acclaimed book, Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge, will speak at 2 pm at Falling Spring Presbyterian Church, south of Lexington on Falling Spring Road off Rt. 11. Following his presentation, Dr. Dew has agreed to a book signing of Bond of Iron. Participants will then have an opportunity to visit nearby Buffalo Forge, thanks to the property’s owners.

Congratuations!

Congratulations to Samson Mamour, Cara Modisett and Will Yagel! They graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary on Thursday, May 12! They will be ordained to the sacred Orders of Deacons on Saturday, June 18 at 11 am at Grace Episcopal Church.

BY THE GRACE OF GOD

AND WITH THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE

THE RIGHT REVEREND MARK A. BOURLAKAS

BISHOP OF SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA

WILL ORDAIN

SAMSON JAMES MAMOUR

CARA ELLEN MODISETT

WILLIAM WESTWOOD YAGEL

TO THE SACRED ORDER OF DEACONS

IN CHRIST’S ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH

SATURDAY, THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF JUNE, 2022

AT 11:00 A.M.

GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

123 W. WASHINGTON STREET

LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450

YOUR PRAYERS AND PRESENCE ARE REQUESTED

Hosting Ukrainians 

A local group has begun planning to host families from war-torn Ukraine.

A first meeting has taken place, with all attendees expressing an overwhelming wish to help. The community-based group, “Hosting Ukrainian Families,” welcomes others to participate, to be a partner in helping ease the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in front of us.

If you would like to answer a call to join us, please let us know at [email protected] .You will be sent progress reports with information on how to take part.

Faces of Grace spotlights different members of Grace every 2 weeks. Thank you to Sharon and Jim White for this week's addition.

Faces of Grace

Sharon and Jim White

From Sharon: I was born in Hopewell, VA, and grew up in Chesterfield County. I went to VCU and have a degree in Music Education. I have lived in Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, and Louisiana before settling in Lexington almost 25 years ago. I have 2 children, Sarah and Nat, who grew up at Grace Church. I have taught school, and have been a choirmaster/organist/pianist before I became the Program Director at Grace in 2008. I met Jim in 2017 and we were married on January 1, 2021. Jim is my partner in ministry. My favorite activity is spending time with my family and friends.

I am a mentor for Education for Ministry. I mentored from 2006 to 2011 and started co-mentoring again this past September. My experience in EfM has been one of the most inspiring activities of my life. Through EfM, relationships with fellow parishioners have grown through worship, prayer, study, and sharing. If you are interested in EfM please talk to me!

I grew up active in the Baptist Church. I discovered the liturgy of the Episcopal Church in 1983 and have been a very active Episcopalian ever since! I love the Anglican expression of Christian faith, the three-legged stool, Tradition, Scripture, and Reason. My path to discipleship? I identify with Dorcus in the Bible. I have always had a servant’s heart. I find joy in serving at the communion rail and helping others find their place in ministry.

From Jim: I was born in Virginia and raised in Orlando Florida. I have lived in Florida, Virginia, and Illinois. I moved to Lexington VA to marry the love of my life in 2021. I worked in general, commercial, and corporate aviation maintenance for 25 years. 'Retired' from Information technology support after 20 years. I have 2 sons and 3 grandchildren. My favorite outdoor activity is bicycling.

I am inspired by the parish’s message to reach out and love all people regardless of gender identity, sexual preference, social status, disability, religion, or anything else. I am constantly challenged by Paul's example of becoming all things to all people to bring some into fellowship with God.

I grew up in the Baptist Church and was a member of the Church of Christ when I lived in Roanoke. I was confirmed at Grace Episcopal in December 2019. Like many people, I feel that public expression of my faith is muted by feelings of insecurity. I excel in acts of service where I can express my love and faith to individuals and the church.

RARA needs your help on May 14th between 12-6 pm to process thousands of pounds of Stamp Out Hunger donations. Shifts are two hours long and are a great opportunity for community groups, coworkers, teams, and families to volunteer together!

Stamp Out Hunger, the nation's largest food drive, is back on May 14th after a two-year hiatus! Postal workers from ten post offices throughout Rockbridge County will collect donated canned and dry food items from city and county residents and deliver them to RARA, as well as food pantries in Buena Vista and Glasgow. Stamp Out Hunger is sponsored by members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, and the U.S. Postal Service. The last drive in 2018 brought in over 8.3 tons of non-perishable food to Rockbridge County, providing almost 14,000 meals.

Vestry Minutes

Vestry Minutes are available on our website under the vestry tab.

Happy Birthday

Jim White (5/1), Elizabeth Harralson (5/2), Ruth Smith (5/2), River Hull (5/8), Kate Holston (5/8), Anne Hershbell (5/12), Jenny Mastin (5/15), Ren Price (5/16), Elaine Price (5/16), John Dickerson (5/17), Cynthia Robertson (5/17), Joan Crawford (5/20), Foster Pickett (5/20), Anne Tyler McCabe (5/31), Ellie Mastin (5/31)