Aaron Mair: COP27 and Environmental Justice, April 16, 2023, 2:00 pm, Adults $15.00, Students/Seniors $10 The Green Team at Saints James and Andrew organizes special creation care events every third Sunday of the month. Everyone is welcome. Sts James & Andrew Episcopal Church, 8 Church Street, Greenfield, MA. Tickets are available at various locations, see https://www.saintsjamesandandrew.org/upcoming-events.
Adult Confirmation Class, Final Session on Wednesdays, April 19, 6:30 – 8:00pm via Zoom Bishop Doug Fisher will visit Grace Church on Sunday, May 7. In preparation for this occasion, there will be a 5 week course offered for anyone who is interested in being confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church. Confirmation is for anyone who desires to make a mature affirmation of one’s beliefs in the presence of a bishop. Reception is for anyone who has been confirmed in another tradition but who now desires to be received into the Episcopal Church. Explore the mystery of God and discuss Episcopal Beliefs and Practices. This course is open to all. Share your beliefs, thoughts, concerns, and even doubts. There are no questions that cannot be asked. This course will be led by Tom and Megan. For further information, please call the church office at 256-6754. The Zoom invitation will be posted closer to the start of the program.
Grace Communications Committee: Grace has recently established a communications committee. The goal of this committee is to share information about our church in order to expand our reach and publicize information about our many offerings. This includes sharing information via our current website, exploring opportunities for social media options, and marketing. If you have expertise or an interest in this area, please contact co-chairs, Sarah Chadwick and Patrick Kelly. We would welcome the opportunity to work with you!
Fundraising Committee Grace Church is forming a new committee to generate ways of closing a significant budget gap. Its charge is to envision additional fundraisers to join the Saint Nicholas Bazaar in meeting this year’s fundraising goal of $22,000, while also increasing community participation and incorporating fun. If you’d like to brainstorm with us and work to bring these ideas to fruition, please contact co-chairs Donna Devine (cell: 413-992-9151) or Suzannah Muspratt (landline: 413-256-6812). We need your ideas and your energy!
The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2023 To date 152 pledges have come in totaling $460,984 – most encouraging, we have 4 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.
Save the Date
Mindfulness and Meditation Workshop, April 30th, 12:15pm in the Parish Hall We’ve likely all heard of mindfulness, but what, is it, exactly? And how does meditation fit into it? Most importantly, how can these things enrich your life? Join Mariah Freemole for a talk, discussion and practice of meditation and mindfulness techniques. Designed for beginners and experienced practitioners, alike. Mariah Freemole is a certified mindfulness teacher who has a background in Tibetan meditation and a personal practice of 20 years. She lives and teaches in the Northampton area.
Poets’ Theology: A Book Launch Event – Saturday May 6th, 2 p.m. Megan’s first full-length poetry collection, Jesus Merch: A Catalog in Poems, will be published this spring by Fernwood Press, the poetry imprint of a Quaker publisher based in Oregon. To celebrate and share with the congregation, Megan will offer a reading from her book alongside a poet whose work is also deeply theological, Boston-area post Matthew E. Henry. In Jesus Merch, Christian games and toys, Sunday School supplies, and religious home decor serve as springboards for meditations on a variety of topics, including both large-scale theological concepts and more personal experiences. Its poems seek to uncover the potential meanings of objects spanning several centuries, at times highlighting their troubling theologies and other times finding surprising depth or possibility. Matthew E. Henry is the author of the Colored page (Sundress Publication, 2022), Teaching While Black (Main Street Rag, 2020), Dust & Ashes (Californios Press, 2020) and the forthcoming The Third Renunciation (New York Quarterly Books), a book of theological sonnets. Henry holds an MFA, an MA in Theology, and a Ph.D. in Education and has taught at the high school, college, and graduate levels. His writing explores, among other topics, race, religion, relationships, and education. The event will be in the church at 2 p.m. Refreshments to follow in The Connector, where books will be optionally available for purchase and signing.