Announcements 6/9/24

Guest Preacher  The Rev. Susan Schaeffer, who is preaching Sunday, June 9, came to Grace from the Diocese of New York.  She earned a Ph.D. in New Testament from Union Theological Seminary and has taught numerous classes here.  While in New York, she served on the Ecumenical and Liturgical Commissions, was elected to Standing Committee and the presidency of the Region II Assembly.  She was rector of St. Peter’s in Port Chester for 12 years.  Recently retired from Forbes Library in Northampton, this fall she will have happily sung in the Grace Choir for 20 years.

We are now on our summer service schedule, with one service at 9:30am.  The regular service schedule will resume on Sunday, September 8th

Climate Action@Grace, Sunday, June 9 at 10:45am  Climate Action@Grace meets on the second Sunday of each month at 10:45am in the Fireplace Room.

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. Next meeting, in the Connector: June 10, 2024

Raising the Questions, Tuesday, June 11 at 9:30am  Raising the Questions is a Grace Church reading and discussion group that focusses on theology and liturgy. We meet monthly on the second Tuesday at 9:30 am.  This month we are meeting in the Parker Room. Got questions? Come join us.

11th Hour Bell Ringing for Climate Change, Tuesday, June 11th at 11:00am  Be part of the 11th Hour Bell Ringing for Climate Change this Tuesday, June 11th at 11:00am. Join friends and neighbors for prayer and meditation before the 11th hour ringing begins. This is an invitation to join religious groups across the country and beyond to express our hope and determination that together we can act boldly to address the climate crisis.

The ClimateAction@Grace Committee has set up a poster of a tree in the back of the church near the bell tower. Please add leaves to the tree to show things you are doing now to help care for creation. We hope to have the tree full of leaves by Earth Day (April 22)!

The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2024   To date 152 pledges have come in totaling $497,326. 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.

Haiti Ministry: School clothes  The Haiti ministry is already looking ahead to the coming school year. A number of you have already contributed toward uniforms and supplies for the students at St. Matthieu’s School. Thank you so much! We still have a long way to go to support 250 students. $75 provides everything for one student. Any contribution at any level is valuable. To donate, visit us at coffee hour. Or send a check or use the Grace website, in each case noting “Haiti Ministry: uniforms.” For more details visit graceinhaiti.org.

Greening Grace  What can we do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint? We’ll be posting two ideas a week for the summer. Here are a few ideas from Greening Grace.      Lucy Robinson

  • Choose local organic foods in season.
  • Change lights to LEDs.