Light, Warmth, & Joy: contribute to our Community Board in the Connector!
How do you experience winter? This month’s Community Conversation board invites you to lean into the places you find light, warmth, and joy in the midst of winter and share those with us! Feel free to grab an index card and write your thoughts on occasions of winter light, warmth, and joy…or to answer any of the questions provided!
Sunday School (K-5th grades) begins again, today, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Liturgy in the Chapel next Sunday
After taking a break in January, Sunday School class resumes in-person today in the parish hall. Open to all children in K-5th grades; newcomers very welcome! Over the course of several weeks, we explore a Bible story through a variety of methods, including drama, art, and games. Liturgy in the Chapel, our monthly children’s Communion service, is also resuming this month and will be held next Sunday, Feb. 20th, from 9:45-10:15 a.m. in the Chapel; Sunday School students start off with a mini-lesson at 9:15 a.m. in the parish hall. Email Megan at mmcdermott@gracechurchamherst.org with any questions about these ministries.
Mindfulness, Meditation, and Epiphanies, Wednesdays February 16, 23 For four Wednesdays in February, from 6:00 – 6:45 pm in the church, we will have an opportunity for inner renewal and the deepening of prayer and worship. The first part of our time together, led by Kell Julliard, will teach specific practices of mindfulness and meditation. This will be followed by a modified compline service, led by Megan, in which we will apply the practices we learned to deepen our experience. Each week will feature a different epiphany. Even if you couldn’t take part in our first two events, we encourage you to join us for the next two Wednesdays – focusing on myrrh for the emptying that precedes our experience of the presence of God and finally the water of baptism, which enables us to bring these epiphanies into our life in the world. The church will offer us the opportunity to be socially distanced in this time of COVID.
Palestinian olive oil sales will be delayed this month due to the Grace Church Annual Meeting. Instead of the first Sunday of the month, the oil will be available on February 20th after both the 8 o’clock and 10:30 services. The proceeds from the sale enable Grace to provide a scholarship for a student in the hospitality stream, Teya Awad, at the Episcopal Technological and Vocational Training Center in Ramallah.
Grace’s Closet is starting up again With the cold weather upon us, particularly being another winter in this time of COVID, the Fireplace Room in the Parke House will be a storage and distribution site for warm winter clothes for those in need. There are several ways you can help. Volunteers sort and organize clothes in the Fireplace Room, as well as deliver clothing to the Amherst Survival Center, Craig’s Doors, and Not Bread Alone as requests come in. Parishioners can also donate clean, usable coats and winter clothes for adults only by dropping off items on Sunday mornings or during regular business hours Monday – Friday. We hope you feel called to help, because we need your help. Please check the pockets of clothing you bring. It is unpleasant for the volunteers to have to go through them to take out used tissues! Even more unpleasant for a homeless person to receive such clothing. Thanks. All health and safety protocols will be maintained, including the need to wear a face mask at all times. For more information, please contact Kevyn Smith at kevynsmith09@gmail.com.
The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2022 To date 136 pledges have come in totaling $419,238 – most encouraging, we have 7 new pledges. To those who have pledged God Bless, to those who have yet to pledge please pray and pledge so our Vestry can budget for 2022. If you need a pledge card, they are available as you enter the church or you can contact the office (413) 256-6754 or Bruce Stebbins at (413) 549-5933.
Parish Directory It’s time for a new Grace Directory! The last one was done in 2018. We have new members, and some folks have moved. Please send your updated address and phone number(s) to Terrie Korpita at tkorpita@gracechurchamherst.org. We plan to use the same photos as the last directory; unless you wish to submit a new one. Thank you!
Save the Date
Conversations about Haiti, 7 p.m. on two Tuesdays in March, On Zoom. The first two meetings in this series have been very informative and fruitful. We hope you will join us in March for further conversations with leaders of organizations that work with education in Haiti. We’ll begin with brief presentations and will then open up the floor for questions, and for sharing experience, advice, and ideas. Each session should last about 90 minutes. Here is the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7028052390 March 1: The Rev. Rebecca Crosby, co-founder and Executive Director of the Crosby Fund for Haitian Education, Old Lyme, CT. The Crosby Fund provides full scholarships for students from pre-k through university and offers additional academic support at their Education Center in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley. They began fifteen years ago offering scholarships to 32 secondary (high school) students. Today they offer over 500 full scholarships to students at the primary, secondary, technical and university level. The Reverend Rebecca Crosby is one of the founders of the organization and remains deeply involved. For more information see https://crosbyfund.org/ March 8: Leslie Harrison, long-time volunteer with the Be Like Brit Foundation, Worcester