Grace Church Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 5th following a single service at 9:30am.
The Community Conversation board Please stop by the Connector to add your thoughts to this month’s Community Conversation board, which will explore the topic Space and Stars, in honor of the feast of Epiphany. On Epiphany we pray, “O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son the peoples of the earth…” How might stars and space speak to us today of God’s presence?
The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2023 To date 147 pledges have come in totaling $451,834 – most encouraging, we have 3 new pledges. We still have a ways to go but are off to a very 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 2023. 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.
“Fleeting Epiphanies”: A Zoom Poetry Meditation Series, Mondays at 12:15pm Over four Mondays – January 23rd, January 30th, Feb. 6th, and Feb. 13th – Megan will is hosting another art & poetry-based meditation series at 12:15 p.m. over Zoom, inspired by the season of Epiphany. The theme for the 4 weeks will be “Fleeting Epiphanies.” In the season of Epiphany, we celebrate occasions where Christ’s identity is realized or revealed. In our lives, though, we may sometimes experience epiphanies as complicated or fleeting. The moment where we seemed to grabbed onto something truthful or holy passes, and our feelings and perspectives on what once felt like an epiphany might change. How, then, do we deal with the seeming instability of our own epiphanies? Over four weeks, we will share in poetry that explores some of these complications and invites us to reflect prayerfully on them. Look for the Zoom link in your emails on Monday mornings. Recordings are available from Megan for those who cannot join us live. Feel free to bring your lunch!
Tuesday morning prayer returns Our morning prayer group, which took a hiatus in December, began meeting again Tuesday, Jan. 10th at 8:30 a.m. in the Chapel. Please join us for this creative and contemplative time of prayer and connection! Parishioners rotate leadership of this time and draw on a diverse set of liturgies.
Luminaria Saturday, February 4th, Town Common, 5-8pm Amherst’s week of WinterFest opens with a Luminaria. As part of the festivities, members of the Grace Church Choir will provide music from 6:00 – 7:00 pm in the church. Providing an opportunity for festival attendees to come in from the cold, our singers will offer a variety of choral music, including selections from the “Lift Every Voice and Sing” hymnal, and songs about light and illumination; some piano and organ music will be played by Dick Damon. All are welcome to come in and listen!
Calendar Donations Please bring extra 2023 calendars to the food basket for the Survival Center.
Save the Date
Dine In, Help Haiti Out – Yes, planning for the annual Haiti soup supper extravaganza is underway! Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 18 to enjoy favorite 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, please contact Sarah Chadwick. To bake cookies, please contact Gail Gnatek. This event supports our work at the St. Matthew’s School in Haiti.