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Growing in Faith. Creating an Inclusive Community.
Serving with Compassion. Working for Social Justice.
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Sunday, August 3, 2025
The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Worship Service with Holy Eucharist
in person and online at 10 am
Service held in the air-conditioned Guild Hall
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Summer Worship: Join Us at 10 am on Sundays
Reminder: We will have only one service at 10 am on Sundays.
Join us online via Zoom for our worship service.
If attending via Zoom, please sign into the meeting no later than 10 am in order to guarantee entry to the Zoom meeting room and view the service.
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Summer Hymn Sings
The Hymn Sings at Grace have concluded but you can still join at Plymouth Church in August!
Tuesdays in August:
August 5, 12, and 19
from 7 - 8:30 pm
at Plymouth Church
75 Hicks Street
Plymouth Music Room
Led by Jacque Jones and Raymond Trapp
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Vivian Harrison Memorial Service and Reception
Saturday, August 9, 10 am
Grace Church Brooklyn Heights
Please join friends and family for a service of thanksgiving for the life of Vivian Harrison on Saturday, August 9 at 10 am. A reception will held in the Guild Hall following the service.
This service will be available to view on our Livestream.
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Volunteer at Red Hook Farms with Grace
Our next volunteer day is Saturday, August 9. Please plan to join us!
Click here to register by Thursday, August 7. For questions, email Theresa Seabaugh.
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Return of the Rotating Shelter to Grace in October
We will once again be hosting men overnight in the Grace gym for five nights a week (Sundays-Thursdays) in the month of October. Volunteers are needed to serve as supper cooks (two per day) and sleepover volunteers (two per day).
If you would like sign up for either role, please click the button below. An information meeting for volunteers will be scheduled in September. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Stong.
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Donate School Supplies
Back-to-school season should be full of hope, but it can bring stress and uncertainty for some children.
Our neighbors at Forestdale Inc. are gearing up for their annual Backpack Drive. Over 900 children in Forestdale's preventive and foster care programs are preparing for a new school year—and with your help, we can make sure they start it strong.
Your donation will provide a child with a brand-new backpack filled with essential school supplies, easing the burden on families and helping kids feel ready, supported, and excited to learn.
Every backpack makes a difference!
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Holy Cross Retreat: September 23-25, 2025
September is just around the corner! Our annual fall retreat at the Holy Cross Monastery will be held Tuesday to Thursday, September 23 to 25.
Holy Cross, an Episcopal/Anglican monastery, is located in West Park, NY, a few hours up the Hudson, on the river. This trip provides an opportunity to get to know each other better through discussion, relaxation, worship, and adventure. The theme of our retreat is “Encounters with the Divine.” There is a handicap-accessible elevator.
The cost for 2 nights (private room + all meals) is $220, plus an $80 stipend for the retreat leader, Brother David Hoopes (formerly an assistant at Grace). Contact Robin Ketchum by early August to reserve a spot. Contact the Rector privately to inquire about financial aid.
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Bishop Search Survey
The Search Committee for the Ninth Bishop of Long Island warmly invites you to take part in the Diocesan Landscape Survey. This is a vital part of our shared discernment as we seek, with God’s help, the person who will serve as our next bishop.
Your voice matters. Each response helps shape a clearer understanding of who we are as a diocese—our hopes, our challenges, our diversity, and our calling. We ask that you complete this survey prayerfully, listening for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you reflect on your experiences, dreams, and concerns for the Church.
This is more than a questionnaire—it is a tool for holy listening. It will guide the creation of our Diocesan Profile and inform upcoming Listening Sessions. It is one way we can join together in faithful discernment, trusting that the Spirit is at work among us and through us.
The survey is anonymous, confidential, and being collected by an independent third- party to ensure full privacy. It is available in English, Spanish, and Korean and open from Wednesday, July 16 through Wednesday, August 13.
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Listening Sessions
As the Search Committee for the Ninth Bishop of Long Island continues its prayerful work, we are pleased to announce a series of Listening Sessions to be held throughout our diocese in the coming weeks. These gatherings are a vital part of our discernment process, and we warmly invite and encourage every member of our diocesan family—lay and ordained—to participate. What we learn from these sessions, along with the responses to the landscape survey, will shape the diocesan profile we are now preparing.
Listening is holy work. In these sessions, we will engage in holy listening, creating space for your voices, hopes, concerns, and dreams for the future of our diocese. We believe that the Holy Spirit speaks through the people of God, and your feedback will directly inform the development of our diocesan profile and shape the vision for our next bishop.
Each session will include opportunities for reflection, time of sharing, and prayer. Members of the Search Committee will be present to listen deeply and respectfully to all who attend.
We urge you to come and share. Whether you are a long-time parishioner, a new member, or someone who feels on the margins, your voice matters.
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Bible Study Summer Reading
We look forward to seeing you in September (date to be announced) when we will discuss our summer reading: Joan Chittister's Between the Dark and the Daylight, and Bishop Mariann Budde's How We Learn to Be Brave.
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Evening Prayer
Grace Church offers Evening Prayer every Tuesday - Friday at 5pm online.
To attend, click this Zoom link.
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The Rector's Discretionary Fund
Even the most meticulously crafted budget can’t always cover an unexpected emergency, e.g. a child’s trip to the ER, a car vandalized and needing an expensive part, an elderly parent in another city requiring help.
Since it was established in 2004, the Rector’s Discretionary Fund has given to parishioners in circumstances like these. The need is great, and the sole source of funding for this important fund is the generous contributions of our congregation, helping members of our Grace community when they are facing temporary financial hardship.
Contributing to this important fund fulfills our parish goal of Serving with Compassion. If you would like to participate, you can do so by using our online payment system, Realm. If you prefer to pay by check, please make it out to Grace Church Brooklyn Heights with Rector’s Discretionary Fund on the memo line. Thank you for your faithful generosity.
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Parish Prayer Concerns and Thanksgivings
This week we pray:
... that we, whose lives are hidden in Christ—we, whose lives are both sheltered in Christ and yet-to-be-revealed in him—may, with God’s help, do our best to strip off the old clothing of greed, malice and unthinking consumption of things and people that infect our culture. As we put on the garments of Christ—love, compassion, patience, forgiveness—and trust in God for everything, may we increasingly allow Christ’s triumph, and the not-yet-seen truths of God’s Kingdom, to shape our words, our actions, and our very being.
... that the Church may be a sign of God's unconditional and abundant love through all our ministries.
... that the people of Grace Church, who know both material and spiritual abundance, may be generous to others, and especially to those in need.
... for the leaders of our cities, states and country. May they recognize the real fears, but also the greed, envy, covetousness, malice and vain seeking for control that fuel gun violence in this country. May our leaders have the commitment, courage, and perseverance to forcefully take action until this scourge is ended.
... for peace with justice in Ukraine, Gaza, the West Bank and all places where war and privation prevail. May God open new opportunities for dialogue and concern for the common good. We pray also for all who live daily in the shadow of starvation and fear, that their cries will be heard, and they will be delivered from their distress.
... for those who are ravaged by anger, those who are consumed by hatred or resentment, those who are despondent, and for all who can see no solution to their problems but violence against others or themselves; may God’s love penetrate their darkness, and may they receive the help they need.
... for stronger faith, that, though we are surrounded by examples of the vanity of lives and efforts, of human intransigence, God will grant us the faith to persist in working to better this world, and to be open to joy in the smallest places.
... for all who bear the burden of mental illness. For all who are enduring excessive heat, storms, wildfires, flooding or earthquakes. For those who have been commended to our prayers this week, especially, Beverly & Keisha, Diana & Jimmy, Paula, Kevin, Sandra, Anthony, Roger & Paula S., Rayner, Margie K.W., Robert, Tom C., Heidi, Lenore, Diane & family, Jill, Rick, Wally, Max, José, Nickela, Lisa, Nick & family, Anne S., Amara, Kevin M., Jane S., Bill, and Jimmy. For those who endure incurable or chronic illness, those who care for sick or aging loved ones, and those whose names and needs are known only to God.
... for all who have died, especially the Right Reverend Daniel S. A. Allotey, Assisting Bishop in our diocese, and for all who have been killed by gun violence in the last week; may they rest in the larger life of the resurrected Christ. We also pray God’s consolation for all who mourn. Eternal God, Hear our prayer.
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Sundays at Grace
During the summer, we have one service on Sundays at 10 am in the air-conditioned Guild Hall. All are welcome! See the full church calendar of upcoming services and events on our website.
Join us for coffee hour. Please join us for coffee and snacks after the service.
We have childcare available in the Colonial Room (across the hall from the kitchen).
Holy Eucharist is offered in both kinds, bread and wine. The wine is offered from a common cup. At communion, after receiving the bread, proceed to the eucharistic minister to receive the wine by drinking directly from the chalice. Intinction is not permitted. Those not wishing to drink from the chalice may cross their arms and reverence the cup.
If you have any questions about our worship schedule, please contact Melissa Kelly, Parish Administrator, at parishoffice@gracebrooklyn.org or (718) 624-1850 ext. 10.
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Giving to Grace
You can make a pledge or general offering donations by text! Send a text to 73256 with the message "GraceBrooklyn." You can also make one-time pledge payments and general offering donations online here. If you would like to set up a recurring pledge payment, please contact Melissa Kelly.
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In Remembrance or Gratitude...
Altar flowers are a wonderful way to express gratitude for life's blessings or to memorialize a loved one. If you would like to contribute altar flowers, please contact Melissa Kelly. The suggested donation, which covers the cost of the altar flowers for Sunday services, is $200. An acknowledgment will be included in the service bulletin.
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Grace Notes Submissions
Announcement submissions for Grace Notes and Sunday bulletin can be sent to Melissa Kelly. All submissions must be received no later than Thursday at 10 am in order to be included in that week's e-newsletter and bulletin. Thank you!
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Weekday Visits to Grace
When you visit, please use the Clergy Door, which is the first door on your right in the Hicks Street courtyard. Our summer office hours are Monday-Thursday 9 am-5 pm, and Friday 9 am-1 pm.
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