No Sunday School Before Liturgy in the Chapel This Week – Come Early to Help Set-Up! Because of the holiday weekend, we are slightly altering Sunday School/Liturgy in the Chapel schedule for Jan. 19th. There will be no Sunday School classes held before Liturgy in the Chapel. If your family attends the 8 a.m. service or would still like to arrive at 9:15 a.m., we welcome you to come directly to the chapel where we’ll need help setting up for Communion! Otherwise, please join us for our service at 9:45 a.m.
Jan. 19th – Combined youth group with South Church! Our youth group for grades 6-12 will meet again with the youth group at South Church in Amherst, 4:30-6pm (note: NOT 6:30). We will meet at South Church, 1066 S. East St.. Join us for fun, food, and further exploration of what the Psalms have to say to us today. Friends and newcomers welcome. Please be in touch with Megan with any questions.
Iconography Workshop, January 20 – 25, 8:30 am to 5 pm, Parish Hall. Participants will create icons using ancient techniques and natural materials rich with symbolic meaning: carved wood boards prepared with gesso made from chalk and glue, finely ground clay, pure gold leaf, and ground mineral pigments in an emulsion made from egg yolk. The underlying theology of the icon will be equally emphasized, as each technical step has a corresponding symbolic meaning. For more details, contact Sandy Lillydahl 413-549-2740.
Monday, January 20 The office will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
Contemplative Prayer Group is meeting on Mondays at 5:00 to 6:00 pm in the Parker Room. Please contact Michael Erard at 413- 563-3676 (cell)
Adult Education, Wednesday, January 22 7:00 pm in the Connector. “Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” Brown Kennedy will lead a discussion of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night–a play which serves up wit, laughter, loss of identity, the crazy-making folly of love and desire, along with the inversions of class and gender which often characterized post-Christmas celebrations in Elizabethan England. Those interested in listening to the play beforehand can find a BBC audio book recording from 1998 on YouTube. Twelfth Night cake will be served!
Next Sunday, January 26, is the 4th Sunday of the month and the recipient of the Outreach Offering will be The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. In our region, approximately one in every eight people suffers from chronic food shortages or needs emergency food assistance. The Food Bank responds to immediate and emergency needs through food distribution programs by partnering with local food pantries, meal sites, shelters, residential programs, and youth and elder care centers throughout the area. Thank you for any gift you are able to give for those facing hunger in our region. If you write a check please put “Outreach” in the memo line.
The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2020. To date 158 pledges have come in totaling $446,752.00. To those who have pledged God Bless, to those who have yet to pledge please pray and pledge so our Vestry can budget for 2020. If you need a pledge card, they are available as you enter the church or you can contact the office (413) 256-6754 or Tom Dougherty at (413) 563-7321.
2020 Pledge Envelopes: If you requested envelopes, you may pick them up from the box on the table in the back of the church beginning this Sunday. They will (hopefully) be in alphabetical order. Note: if this is the first year that you have requested pledge envelopes, your pledge number may have changed.
Sustain Earth By Eating Lower on the Food Chain – Cattle and sheep release a substantial amount of Methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. Reducing meals with beef or lamb just once per week will benefit the environment. And research shows choosing a plant-based, whole grain diet with less or no animal protein is beneficial for your health. Learn more at sustainislandhome.org.
SAVE THE DATE
20s & 30s Next Gathering – Potluck on Jan. 27th, 6:30 p.m. in the Connector. In addition to enjoying food together, we’ll share stories of faith, using a program called Sharing Faith that has been embraced by Episcopal churches across the country. Contact Megan at mmcdermott@gracechurchamherst.org for more information. If you are in this age group and not already on our 20s & 30s email list, please let her know!
Adult Education, Wednesday, January 29 7:00 pm in the Connector. “A Something so Transporting Bright” – Sandy Lillydahl will lead us in a visual exploration of the mystical theology of light in Christian art, including the created world’s light that is seen, the uncreated light that sees, the realms of glory, the cloud of unknowing, and the sun at midnight – light upon light.
Help make Super Bowl Sunday, February 2, 2019 a “Souper Sunday” –a day of soup drives for the Amherst Survival Center’s Food Pantry! Donations of all kinds of soup are welcome: canned, boxed, vegetable, meat, fish, and low- or no-salt, please. Please bring your donations to church on the upcoming Sundays and we’ll deliver them to the Center after the Super Bowl!
Grace Church Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 2nd following a single service at 9:30am.
Mark Your Calendar! Raising funds for Haiti. Come to the Games Night and Soup Supper on Friday, February 7, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Enjoy your favorite games, savor a delicious meal with great company. Volunteers needed to help with setup and clean-up. Tickets available in the connector after services: $20 per adult, $10 for children under 12, $50 for a family. Please contact Sarah Chadwick at snchadwick@verizon.net or 413-539-8649 with questions or to help. See you there!
High schoolers can now register for this summer’s Episcopal Youth Event! Anyone currently in grades 9-12 is invited to join the Western Mass. group attending this summer’s Episcopal Youth Event. We’ll travel to University of Maryland, College Park and stay there for three days of worship, speakers, and workshops alongside Episcopal teenagers from around the country. Departure date July 7th and return July 11th. For more information on EYE: https://events.episcopalchurch.org/eye/ or contact Megan at mmcdermott@gracechurchamherst.org who will be one of the chaperones.