Grace Church Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 4th following a single service at 9:30am. All commission and committee reports should be sent to the Parish Administrator

No Monday Zoom meditation on January 15th  Because the office will be closed on January 15th, Megan will not be hosting the Monday Epiphany meditation. Please join us again on Monday January 22nd.

Calendar Donations Please bring extra 2024 calendars to the food basket for the Survival Center.

Botany for Gardeners and Cooks  Have you ever wondered why some plants turn red in the sun? How fall mums get so bushy? Why cooked beans get mushy? Then you’ll want to come to Botany for Gardeners and Cooks. The remaining sessions in the Grace Church Connector are: January 20 and February 10 & 17 from 9:30-11:00 am. The course covers plant structure and function as they relate to gardening and cooking, led by John Horn, a retired botany professor and Episcopal priest.

Cantabile Vocal Ensemble Benefit Concert re-scheduled to Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 3 pm  Cantabile Vocal Ensemble will present “The Prince of Love and Death” featuring sacred and secular music by the Italian renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa. The program will also include thoughts on Gesualdo from Dennis Costa as well as an essay by Anna Smith. The concert is free but donations will be gratefully accepted to support Craig’s Doors and Safe Passage Northampton.

The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2024   To date 132 pledges have come in totaling $ 460,287 – most encouraging, we have 2 new pledges. We are off to a good start. To those who have pledged God Bless, to those who have yet to pledge please pray and pledge so our Vestry can budget for 2024.  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) 530-3805.

2024 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.

A Series on Death and Dying

• On Sunday January 21st, Kell Julliard will lead a talk and discussion related to scientific research into dying, consciousness, and spirituality, to be held after the 10:30 service in the Parish Hall.
• On Sunday January 28th, Brown Kennedy will lead a discussion considering death in the context of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to be held after the 10:30 service in the Parish Hall. She recommends reading or watching the play, but if you don’t get around to it, come anyway! (The Kenneth Branagh film version is a fine adaptation.)

Save the Date

Joy of Living Group, 7:00-8:30 p.m., 2nd and 4th Mondays  This group combines meditation, practices integrated in the flow of life, and discussion. Led by certified mindfulness instructor Kell Julliard and practice leader and licensed acupuncturist Claudia Citkovitz, it meets in the Connector. Next meeting: 22, 2024

Calming the Mind meditation workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., continues Feb. 3, 2024   Learn how meditation can transform the way we relate to stressful situations and challenging emotions, and how to embrace all aspects of life with mindful awareness. For more information, contact Kell Julliard, 917-648-7695, or click here.

Dine In, Help Haiti Out  Mark Saturday, February 10 on your calendars for the annual Haiti soup supper extravaganza!  Enjoy delicious soups made by parishioners and local restaurants.  In the meantime, we are looking for volunteers to donate soup, bake cookies or bread, or to help out in general.  For general information or to make soup, please contact Sarah Chadwick at .  To bake cookies or bread, please contact Gail Gnatek.  This event supports our work at the St. Matthew’s School in Haiti.