The Epistle E-news
GRACE CHURCH
in New York City
In This Issue
RSVP for Springtime Cocktails
This Sunday
Coming Soon
Quick Links

Like us on Facebook

Don't Miss 

SPRINGTIME COCKTAILS

ON THE LAWN

MAY 15th

 

RSVP NOW!

 

On Thursday, May 15th please join us for a festive cocktail party for adult parishioners outside the Rectory. We'll enjoy fellowship, drinks and light hors d'oeuvres from 6 - 8 pm.

 

Admission is free, but you must RSVP by Friday, May 9th to be added to the guest list.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY.

MAKE A PLEDGE FOR 2014.

 

(Remember, you have the whole year to make payments on your pledge.)

 

Just click HERE!

  
May 4, 2014
The Third Sunday of Easter
 
Don WaringDear Friends,
 
I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone accuse Christians of being "just a bunch of hypocrites." It is usually high on the list of reasons that people cite for why they don't belong to a church. A common opinion seems to be that Christians are often caught saying one thing, and doing just the opposite. We give lip service to what St. Paul described as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). On the other hand, our lives are often marked by an entirely other way of being that the Apostle called the works of the flesh: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealously, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and carousing (Galatians 5:19-21). What is more, we often point fingers at and condemn people for engaging in the latter, while we are perceived as hardly even striving after the former. Hypocrites! 

 

A good thing to remember is that the church is not a haven for saints. It is a hospital for hypocrites. Yes, we hold out high ideals for what it means to live as a person who has been redeemed by Christ. And yes, too often we fail to demonstrate that the Spirit of God is making any noticeable difference in the way we live our lives. The problem is not in the ideal, it is in ourselves. The way forward is neither to sacrifice the ideal, nor condemn those (including ourselves) for not attaining it. Rather, it is to keep the ideal ever before us - striving after by the power of God's Spirit, and maintaining charity for all. It is to place ourselves in the hands of Jesus, the Great Physician.

 

George Carey was the Archbishop of Canterbury back in the 1990s. He described how he once replied to a person's persistent criticism of the church's being full of a bunch of hypocrites: "Come join us. There's always room for one more."

 

See you in church.

 

This Sunday, May 4th
 

9 a.m. Holy Eucharist

Sermon: The Rev. Sarah Anne Wood

Music: The Parish Choir

 

11 a.m. Holy Eucharist

Sermon: The Rev. Sarah Anne Wood

Music: The Choir of Men and Boys

 

4 p.m. Choral Evensong

Featuring Excerpts from

Handel's MESSIAH Part III

With The Parish and Adult Choirs

 

6 p.m. Holy Eucharist, in the Chantry

Sermon: The Rev. Mary Cat Young

Music: Hymns with instrumentalists

 

(Service times are updated weekly

on the website.)

 

THE SUNDAY FORUM @10AM - WRITING GRACE. Australian Poet Lachlan Brown, Lecturer in English at Charles Sturt University, Australia, and author of the poetry volume Limited Cities (Giramondo Press) reads poetry and explores what 'writing grace' could mean within a poet's creative process. Topics include the nature of Christian faith, the presence of grace in the Australian suburbs, and the writing of poetry in difficult or tragic circumstances. Introduction by our friend Nicholas Birns, who teaches at the New School and is editor of Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian/NZ Literature and co-editor of Options for Teaching Australian Literature for the Modern Language Association.

 

MAY 4, 18, JUNE 1 - NEWCOMER CLASS. The next three-part sessionmeets on these Sundays with the Rector from 12:45 - 1:45 pm. Come to learn more about Christianity, the Episcopal Church, and Grace Church. A light lunch is served in the Reception Room, and then we'll move to the Music Room for the class. To reserve your space please email Jennifer Metz.

 

COMING SOON 
 

MAY 7 - PRAYING WITH ICONS - Sister Eliseea Papaci�c, a renowned Romanian Orthodox iconographer, will present her recent icons and discuss her process, the language of icons, and the practice of praying with icons. Wednesday, May 7 at 7pm, directly after the 6 pm Holy Eucharist in the Chantry.

 

MAY 9, 10 - THE CHORAL SOCIETY & ORCHESTRA SPRING CONCERT Deeply felt works for unaccompanied choir, choir with organ, and choir with orchestra and soloists, including the magnificent Mozart Requiem. Randall Thompson: The Last Invocation, Arvo P�rt: The Beatitudes, Charles Ives: Psalm 90, W. A. Mozart: Requiem (KV 626). Under the musical direction of John Maclay. Friday, May 9 at 8 pm and Saturday, May 10 at 3 pm. Tickets can be purchased online (and held at will call) or at the door. Visit www.thechoralsociety.org

click "concerts."

 

MAY 11 - EPISCOPAL CHARITIES SUNDAY - Episcopal Charities provides support to the 45 parish-affiliated feeding programs operating in the Diocese of New York. Hundreds of thousands of people will directly benefit many of them children and the elderly. On Sunday, May 11, you'll find an envelope inside your service bulletin, which we hope you will consider using to make a donation to this worthy cause.

 

MAY 11, 18, 25 - JOIN THE ECW IN OUTREACH TO WOMEN AT THE NYC RESCUE MISSION, which now provides emergency shelter to women after 141 years of serving men. The ECW would like to welcome them with bags containing (TRAVEL SIZE): Deodorant, Shampoo, Conditioner, Body lotion, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Dental floss, Bar soap, Washcloth. You may also make a monetary donation to supply the above. (Checks payable to Women's Association of Grace Church.) ECW will have a donation table after the 11 am and 6 pm services on Sundays, May 11, 18 and 25. Also JOIN US to assemble bags on SUNDAY, JUNE 1 after the 11 am service! Contact Elana with questions. Info and a video here: http://nycrescue.org/womens-shelter/

 

MAY 17 - CONSECRATION OF BISHOP SUFFRAGAN The Diocese of New York invites you to join in the celebration of the Ordination and Consecration of The Rev. Allen K. Shin as Bishop Suffragan of The Episcopal Diocese of New York at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, in the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.

 

MAY 20 - OPEN DOOR MINISTRY: SEEKING VOLUNTEERS! Thirteen thousand visitors crossed our Church threshold on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in 2013! The Open Door ministry seeks to provide a welcoming presence for them all. Please consider volunteering just 2 hours a month to support this worthy mission - and for fellowship and fun as well! To find out more, come join the Open Door volunteers at our next meeting and celebration on Tuesday, May 20 @ 7pm. RSVP to Singleton Cox.

  
802 Broadway  New York NY  10003  (212) 254-2000