Restoration Project

We are glad to be able to report to you that pledges paid toward the Restoration Project now total $654,949.37, and that --by and large-- is where we need to be at this point in our three-year campaign. This is all thanks to you, who have generously pledged and given. As we enter the second year of the campaign, we are just weeks away from the start of construction, so keep your pledge payments coming. Working and giving together, we will get the job done.

If you are interested in making a donation, please mail your checks to Grace Church, 14 Boltwood Ave., Amherst, MA 01002 (attn: Steve Hasbrouck, Ass't Treasurer) and note that they are for the Restoration Project.

September 10th has been selected for the ground-breaking ceremony that will be conducted as part of both Sunday services. Please mark your calendars for this happy event, in which we can all express our joy and thanks for the impending renewal of our church buildings. Chris Freitag reports that actual destruction/construction will begin on September 11th, conditions permitting.

The recent chilly weather reminds us that the harvest season is here, so we are writing to tell you of the harvest gathered by the Restoration Project since Commitment Sunday on June 12^th. We are happy to report that to date, gifts and pledges totaling $1,363,748.00 have been made! We thank you for this generous outpouring, which exceeds what was thought possible for an initial offering. Yes, we still need to grow to reach our final goal, but this magnificent opening effort shows that we can accomplish this much- needed project. We also want to thank everyone who pledged to the Annual Stewardship Campaign, and to encourage those whose pledges will help reach our goal of $415,000 for this fiscal year.

We have scheduled a Restoration Thank You/All Saints’ Party in thanks for this great beginning, on Saturday, October 29 from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. So please come with your friends and family members of all ages for a celebration of God’s abundance in this “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.” We want to thank you for your generosity and to share the latest news on the Restoration Project: where we are now, and our present timeline for the beginning of construction work. There will be a light supper served, with wine and cider to drink. A game of “Ghosts in the Graveyard in the Garth” will entertain the children. Mark your calendar for this joyous event and please let us know if you are planning to attend, by calling Robin Morris at 256-6754 or e-mailing her at grace at gracechurchamherst.org. Please contact Robin as soon as you can; it will help us with our planning

I believe that the Holy Spirit is calling us to manifest God’s love in a new way at Grace Church, Amherst. The more time I spend at Grace, the more I discover the power of God’s presence and love in our questions, in our search, and in our welcoming others into that walk with the Risen Christ. I believe that God is now calling us to show the world that our faith in Christ is alive and awake.

We live in an era when our souls are being tested. Some would have us believe that a Christianity that is progressive, inclusive, and as expansive as Christ’s love for all creation is fading from this world. I refuse to believe that our faith in Christ impels us to love less, but rather that it urges us to love, and therefore risk, more. I trust in this God who raises up those things that were cast down and who makes all things new.

I believe that we are on the threshold of nothing short of an “Amherst Awakening” at Grace Church. Here we can offer a place of worship for all people, including persons of any race, gender, sexual orientation, economic class, and yes, even religion. Here all can come and see that God is a living presence in our members. I see worship services in which the Word of God is preached with honesty and imaginative power, not merely by the preachers, but in the lives of those who are nourished at this Altar and then sent out to their many callings. I see educational programs that feed souls without disengaging minds. I see spaces where the youth of Grace will bring their friends because they find being here fun, safe, and unexpectedly strengthening for the myriad challenges they face. I see a Chapel, dedicated to Mary Magdalene, that will nourish our daily life of prayer and meditation. And I see a new “connector” where anyone, anyone, can enter our life together to worship and bear witness to God’s transformative love.

With this vision in mind, I am making a pledge to the Restoration Project that is more than what is comfortable, and probably more than what is safe; in other words, it will be a sacrifice. I encourage you and your household to consider in prayer what kind of sacrifice you are called to make. While some will be able to give more, and others less, I truly believe God’s power will transform each of our sacrifices into something glorious. Thank you very much for your participation, at every level, in this historic project. We are grateful for your prayerful consideration.