Next Over 60s meeting will be Saturday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. in the Connector. Nancy Rose Weeber will lead an inspiring exploration of “Poetry as Prayer.” All welcome, even if you have not come to an Over 60s meeting in the past. For more information, get in touch with Adrian Stair.
This week marks the One Year Anniversary of our Congolese refugee family’s arrival in Amherst. It has truly been an amazing year. The Grace Circle of Care and the Berchmas family continue to be deeply grateful for the support and generosity of this parish. We will be gathering on Saturday, November 23, from 3 to 5 in the Parish Hall of Grace Church to celebrate. We are planning a fun gathering with music, some dancing, party food, and no doubt some sharing of stories and memories, and we invite you to join us!
Annual Feast of Grace! The Annual In-gathering will occur Sunday, Nov. 24th at both services. Pledge cards will be received at the altar following Communion. The 5th Annual Feast of Grace will follow the 10:30 service. Please bring an appetizer, main dish or dessert to share. Beverages will be provided. You can drop off your donation to BLG in the Parish Hall prior to the 8 AM and 10:30 services. We look forward to seeing everyone there!!
Thanksgiving Collection for the Amherst Survival Center – We Did It! This week, we met out goal. 507 packages of bread stuffing were collected, together with 53 packages of instant potatoes and an assortment of totebags and paper bags, for the Thanksgiving distribution at the Survival Center. Thank you for your help.
November 24 is the 4th Sunday of the month and the recipient of the 4th Sunday Offering will be Syrian American Medical Society Foundation (SAMS), a nonprofit humanitarian organization. SAMS physicians deliver direct medical care in Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. In Syria, SAMS operates 106 medical facilities throughout the country that provide both general and specialized medical care for Syrians in need. SAMS also supports thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Currently, the need for medical care and humanitarian aid in northwest Syria is dire as the escalation of violence continues, and airstrikes only cause further harm to civilians already facing extreme difficulty. SAMS has launched an emergency response to provide desperately needed medical services and humanitarian aid to injured and displaced civilians. Please consider generous gift to support this important work. If you write a check, please make it payable to Grace Church and add “outreach” to the memo line. Thank you for any gift you are able to give.
Contemplative Prayer Group is meeting on Mondays at 5:00 to 6:00 pm in the Parker Room. Please contact Michael Erard, 413- 563-3676 (cell)
Amherst/Hadley area Thanksgiving Interfaith Service Thanksgiving for Community; Tuesday, November 26th here at Grace Church at 7:00 pm
Our Thanksgiving Service will be Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, at 10:00 am.
Advent Preparation: The Acolytes and Altar Guild will be putting up the Advent Wreath at 10:00am on Saturday November 30th in the Church. All are welcome.
Vestry Nomination Forms are available in the back of the church.
Seeking volunteers: Please consider joining us on the Altar Guild. The Altar Guild is made up of women and men who help to make our worship service beautiful and run smoothly. Some of us set up the altar before the service and clean up after; some of us arrange flowers for the altar; some of us launder small linens and other items that we use at the altar. All these activities contribute to the beauty and splendor of the altar as we worship together. At this time, we desperately need volunteers to assist with altar cleanup, especially after the 10:30am Sunday service. We try to schedule altar cleanup in pairs, therefore, you will not be doing this by yourself. All are welcome. You may volunteer yourself or include your spouse or partner. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Sheila Mammen at (413) 665-8579. Thank you so much for considering this ministry.
Our Cot Shelter Ministry – An Update! One of our important missions here at Grace is to provide and serve dinner once a month at the Cot Shelter in Northampton from November through April – the winter months. We are pleased to share the news that, in yet another sign of the tremendous spirit of volunteerism and giving here at Grace, we have already filled all of our designated events through April. That’s nearly 20 of our parishioners volunteering for this important mission. We want to thank all those who are serving. For information about this ministry, please contact Steve McKelvey (413-237-3446).
Sustain Earth Our Island Home – Reduce & Reuse – Every time a new product is made it takes a lot of resources – raw materials, energy to manufacture, and fuel to transport to the store. Reducing and reusing is one of the most effective ways to conserve natural resources. And there are a few easy ways to start to make a impact. Get rid of junk mail, connect with neighbors to borrow, sell, but, swap or share. Rent or donate. Buy used over new. Buy to last a fix it if it breaks. For more ideas see sustainislandhome.org.
SAVE THE DATE
St. Nicholas Bazaar Dec. 7 – Volunteers still needed! Thursday and Friday before the bazaar, we need: Helpers to set up tables and display sale items. Saturday, December 7, we need: Helpers to sell at the tables and clean up after the bazaar. Sign-up sheets are in the Connector. Any amount of time you can give will help! Please contact Joan O’Brien with any questions or to volunteer. We cannot accept any non-baked good donations after December 1. Thank you!
Divine Delights at the St. Nicholas Bazaar! Here’s what’s needed: Cookies!! Any kind, especially “Christmassy” ones! Lemon Squares, Brownies, Shortbread, any kind of sweet bars, small loaves of bread (sweet or savory). Any quantity is welcome – half a batch or several batches – it all adds up. Please bring in a single container and include a list of ingredients. Bring donations to the Parish Hall the day before (but “day of” goodies will be welcome, too!). Thank you, and see you at the bazaar!
Arts and Crafts for St Nicholas: In recent years the St Nicholas Bazaar (Dec. 7) has included a “Gifts of Grace” table where arts of all kinds by parishioners is offered for sale. If you are engaging in a hobby or trying a new pursuit, please consider setting aside a creation for this table. We need your watercolor, pottery, jewelry, photograph, handmade card, woodworking or anything you think up. No donations after December 1, please.
A Service of Advent Lessons & Carols, Sunday, December 8th at 4:00 pm One of the loveliest services of the church year, it is comprised of scripture readings interspersed with a variety of choral anthems and hymns, modeled after the traditional Anglican format. All are most welcome – we hope to see you there!
Christmas Pageant: We’re beginning preparation for the Christmas pageant – which takes place at the 4:00 p.m. service on Christmas Eve. All children and young people are welcome to participate! We’re currently gathering a list of participating children/youth. Please let Megan and Kate Atkinson know if your child will be joining in & if they have any preferred roles. Info on rehearsal times coming soon.
Adopt-A-Family For Christmas: For many years Grace Church members have enjoyed buying or making gifts for a family which is struggling. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Mary Hocken at 413-537-0251. Wish lists for some 40 families are available today, Nov. 24th. Please bring gifts to the undercroft on Sunday, December 15th. Thank you so much.
Red Sox Fans: Time to purchase tickets. I’ll be notified soon of availability. Let me know of your interest and how many tickets you would like. Please email Jane Buckloh.