We are now on our summer service schedule, with one service at 9:30am. The regular service schedule will resume on Sunday, September 11th.
Palestinian olive oil will be available for sale in the connector following the service today, Sunday, July 3rd. It is organic, extra virgin, first cold press and fair trade. The proceeds from the sale enable Grace to provide a scholarship for a student at the Episcopal Technological and Vocational Training Center in Ramallah. Our current student is Teya Awwad. She is studying hospitality and culinary arts and has e-mailed us pictures of her scrumptious looking dishes of food.
Enriching Our Worship
For at least throughout the summer, we will be using the Episcopal Church’s Enriching our Worship liturgical resource. You will notice slight changes to some prayers, as well as a new Eucharistic prayer. Enriching Our Worship is an authorized supplement to our usual liturgical texts from the Book of Common Prayer. Some of you may be familiar with this resource from past uses at Grace Church. Following the class offered this Lent on Language & Liturgy, we are excited to have an opportunity to explore alternative liturgical language as a whole worshipping community.
Poem and Prayer – Over Zoom on Mondays, 12:15 p.m., Through Summer Season Start off your week with a poem by a contemporary poet and an invitation into prayer! Each week will feature a different poem that invites us into meditation together. Megan will offer a short reflection on the poem and spiritual questions it might open for us, before ushering us into a time of silent prayer and then shared conversation on the poem. This will be a 15-20 minute spiritual practice to add to your week over the summer months, from wherever you might be spending them! Zoom link will be sent out by email. Please email Megan at mmcdermott@gracechurchamherst.org with any questions. If you cannot make this time but would like recordings of the poems and reflections, please let her know.
July Community Conversation Board: Rest & Restoration All of our summer schedules look different, but for many of us, it’s a time we try to carve out opportunities for rest and restoration! This month’s community conversation board, located in The Connector, invites you to share your thoughts on rest and restoration. How does your faith provide rest or restoration? What kinds of things help you feel rested and restored – especially over the summer months? And what are the challenges to accessing rest? Stop by the conversation board to provide your own answers or see the insights of fellow parishioners!
Climate Action@Grace will meet Sunday, July 10th at 11:00am in the Fireplace Room in the Parke House.
Volunteer Opportunity with Appalachian Trail Hikers this July We have a full team of volunteers for Grace’s day serving hikers in Sheffield, Thursday, July 7th. Thank you! We still have some open spaces, however, on our diocesan young adult day serving in Sheffield. If you are a young adult, please consider joining the Western Mass Young Adult Ministry Network (YAMN)’s volunteer day on the trail, Saturday, July 23rd. The Young Adult Ministry Network brings together young adults ages 18-40 from across the diocese for growth in faith and friendship. At a large tent in Sheffield, we will help provide hikers with burgers, hot dogs, snacks, a charging station for electronics, friendly conversation, and a shady place to sit and relax! Email Will Harron (william.harron@gmail.com) to volunteer with the YAMN group.
Haiti Ministry: Outfit a Child for School The annual school uniform campaign to prepare the students of St. Matthew’s in Haiti for the academic year has started. In our first week, we have received $1,750. Thank you to those of you have donated. You are truly a blessing. Won’t you please be a blessing to a child in Haiti too? A donation of $50 would cover the cost of a school uniform, $25 will cover the cost of a child’s school supplies, and a $100 donation will provide a uniform and supplies for one child as well as a bit more for books for the new library and operating expenses. But whatever you can contribute – any amount at all – will be very helpful to the children and the school. If you can help again this year, please make checks payable to “Grace Church” and write “Haiti School Uniforms” on the memo line. You may also give via the church website by clicking the “Give” button and then selecting “Haiti Ministry” in the “To” drop down box.
Over60s Gathering will be meeting only once a month through the summer. For information and dates, please contact Rev. Adrian Stair (revadrian@comcast.net).
Evensong Services will be held in the Chapel downstairs through the summer. It is much cooler there.