Luminaria: Saturday, February 1st, 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!
Grace Church Annual Meeting will be held February 2nd following a single service at 9:30am.
Palestinian olive oil will be available for sale by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship in the parish hall following the annual meeting. It is organic, 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, Bisan Freij, is studying hospitality and culinary arts.
Help make Super Bowl Sunday, February 2, 2019 a “Souper Sunday” –a day of soup drives for the Amherst Survival Center’s Food Pantry! Donations of all kinds of soup are welcome: canned, boxed, vegetable, meat, fish, and low- or no-salt, please. Please bring your donations to church on the upcoming Sundays and we’ll deliver them to the Center after the Super Bowl!
Contemplative Prayer Group is meeting on Mondays at 5:00 to 6:00 pm in the Parker Room. Please contact Michael Erard at jmerard@gmail.com or 413- 563-3676 (cell)
Adult Education, Wednesdays, February 5 and 12, 7:00 p.m. in the Connector. Rev. Dr.Susan Schaeffer , a priest who has been a “Gracie” for over 15 years, will present a two-part series, “From Sources to Scripture.” The Bible is a collection of books with many voices and a long history. Who or what are the sources called J, E, D, P, Q? D1 and D2? This class will look at how the biblical writings are rooted in the histories of Israel and early Christianity, and are shaped over time by the religious perspectives of later generations. The later portion of the class will look at the use of the Bible as holy scripture by the Church and consider how it speaks to us today.
Mark Your Calendar! Raising funds for Haiti. Come to the Games Night and Soup Supper on Friday, February 7, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Enjoy your favorite games, savor a delicious meal with great company. Volunteers needed to help with setup and clean-up. Tickets available in the Connector after services: $20 per adult, $10 for children under 12, $50 for a family. Please contact Sarah Chadwick at snchadwick@verizon.net or 413-539-8649 with questions or to help. See you there!
Over 60s meets Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Connector. Our opening question: “What’s on your mind?” We meet twice a month for a lively exploration of the joys, challenges, and surprises of this phase of our lives. Our spring schedule is: Feb. 8 and 22, Mar. 7 and 21, Apr. 4 and 18, May 2 and 16, June TBA. New members are always welcome. For more information please get in touch with Adrian Stair, revadrian@comcast.net.
The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2020 To date 163 pledges have come in totaling $454,952.00. To those who have pledged God Bless, to those who have yet to pledge please pray and pledge so our Vestry can budget for 2020. If you need a pledge card, they are available as you enter the church or you can contact the office (413) 256-6754 or Tom Dougherty at (413) 563-7321.
Sustain Earth By Reduce and Reuse Actions – Whenever we buy new things, it takes lots of energy and resources to create them. Raw materials must be extracted from the earth or grown and then the product must be manufactured and transported. When we buy less, we save natural resources and energy and reduce climate emissions. Learn more at sustainislandhome.org. Courtesy of Greening Grace.
SAVE THE DATE
Multi-Church Ice skating Party for the whole family on February 16. Arrive at 12:00; skate from 12:30-1:20 You’re invited to the Mullins Center for a multi church ice skating party. The whole rink is booked and skate rentals are free! Bring a friend and join us for an afternoon of fun on the ice. You can also bring a lunch to enjoy in the party room and we’ll have snacks and water on hand for everyone. Parking is available right next to the rink.
High schoolers can now register for this summer’s Episcopal Youth Event! Anyone currently in grades 9-12 is invited to join the Western Mass. group attending this summer’s Episcopal Youth Event. We’ll travel to University of Maryland, College Park and stay there for three days of worship, speakers, and workshops alongside Episcopal teenagers from around the country. Departure date July 7th and return July 11th. For more information on EYE: https://events.episcopalchurch.org/eye/ or contact Megan at mmcdermott@gracechurchamherst.org who will be one of the chaperones.
Will you join us? Help plan the next steps in the ongoing work of Grace Church with St. Matthew’s School in Bayonnais, Haiti. Whether you see yourself as a part of the committee that meets monthly or as someone who would work on specific short-term projects, we promise conversations and working sessions that are efficient, interesting, and fun! Suzannah Fabing (sfabing@smith.edu), John Stifler (jstifler@econs.umass.edu), Bonnie Vigeland (bvigeland@gmail.com), or any other member of the committee will be delighted to talk with you about how you can make a difference in this ministry.