This is the last Sunday of our summer service schedule, with one service at 9:30am. The regular service schedule of 8am and 10:30am will resume next Sunday, September 8th
Palestinian olive oil will be available for sale in the connector following the service today, Sunday, September 1. It is organic, extra virgin, first cold press and fair trade. The proceeds from the sale enable Grace Church to provide a scholarship for Joyce Harish, a student at the Episcopal Technological and Vocational Training Center in Ramallah, to study computer programming, drafting and installation.
Education for Ministry Presentation, Sunday, September 1 This Sunday after church there will be a brief presentation in the Parish Hall about Education for Ministry (EfM) at Grace Church. This would be a good time for you to ask questions and possibly to discover if EfM is right for you. If there are six to eight people interested, we would like to begin the seminars in September.
Sunday School/Jr. Choir, Sundays 9:15-10:15 a.m., beginning Sept. 8th, Kindergarten & up This year, our Sunday School program is open to children and youth in kindergarten all the way up through high school. Our mixed-age group will meet together from 9:15-10:15 a.m. beginning September 8th in the upstairs classroom of the Parke House. An online Sunday School registration form can be completed at https://forms.gle/ytxMtVXfMw1Q2LeQA; or email me, Megan, for the link. Even if your child has participated in the past, we appreciate an updated registration sheet! If you would prefer to fill out a physical form, please let me know. This can be provided at the beginning of the school year.
The good news from Haiti Amid all the sobering news from Haiti, there is much good news from L’École St. Matthieu. This is a great time to hear it! Please plan to join the Haiti Ministry for updates, food, and celebration, Sunday, September 8 at noon in the Parish Hall.
Climate Action@Grace will meet Sunday, Sept 8th at 9:15 a.m. in the Parker Room.
Haiti Ministry: Thank you! Through your generosity, we have exceeded our fundraising goal for uniforms and school supplies! Thank you for supporting a better future for Haitian children. If you’ve meant to give but haven’t yet, donations to the general fund are gratefully received. New participants in this ministry are also very welcome. Contact Bonnie Vigeland or Sandy Muspratt, and see the next Grace Notes for more details.
Save the Date
Seeking Self and Spirit through Self-Portraits: A Zoom Art Meditation Series Many important spiritual and theological questions relate to the relationship we have with ourselves. How do we view ourselves in light of being made in God’s image; in light of the human capacity for sin; in light of the vast and mysterious creation of which we’re one, small part; or in light of God’s abiding love? Over time, many artists have tackled the subject of the self through self-portraiture. Rather than merely capturing their physical likeness, artists often also convey something deeper about how they see themselves. Throughout the rest of Ordinary Time, our Monday art meditation series will reflect on different examples of self-portraiture each week, from diverse artists across different centuries and styles, as a way of exploring our own relationships to the self and God’s Spirit. This series begins Monday, September 9th and will continue through November 25th, meeting on Zoom at 12:15 p.m. Grace Church will send out the link by email early Monday mornings.
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: September 9, 2024
Solemn Evensong for the Feast of the Holy Cross with reception following, Saturday September 14th at 4pm All are welcome to celebrate Solemn Evensong for the Feast of the Holy Cross on Saturday September 14 at 4pm in the sanctuary. Our festal Evensong will also commemorate the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s stigmatization. As mentioned in our Lesser Feasts and Fasts: “Not long before his death, during a retreat on Mt. La Verna, Francis received on September 14, Holy Cross Day, the marks of the Lord’s wounds, the stigmata, in his own hands and feet and side.” We wish as well to honor Francis’s love of nature by calling attention to the fact that, now more than ever, our physical world is experiencing all manner of injury and suffering. The Rev. Rachel Field will be guest preacher at the service. She is the Program Manager for An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice as well as the Priest Associate at St Mary’s in Northfield Vermont. She lives on a regenerative farm and forest in Randolph VT with her beloved cat Eowyn. Evensong will be followed by a reception in the Grace Church Parish Hall, featuring light refreshments, along with three brief talks on various aspects of St. Francis’s legacy. Please join us.
First Youth Group event (grades 6-12) – mini golf Sunday Sept. 15th, 12:30 p.m. – All youth are invited to a game of mini golf at the Western Mass. Family Golf Center in Hadley! Feel free to bring friends. RSVPs aren’t required, but if your child(ren) will tentatively be able to make it, please let me know for planning purposes! Youth group registration can be done online here – https://forms.gle/4dXpRzZ9eBQxRMLt7, or email me for a link. Even if your child cannot attend mini golf on the 15th, I’d love to have updated info on file for anyone who might participate this year! Please return at your earliest convenience. If you would prefer a physical form, please let me know.
Life Story Writing—
Beginning Tuesday, September 17 from 9:30 to 11 a.m., we will meet in the Grace connector on the 3rd Tuesday of the month for three sessions to begin (or continue) writing our life stories. Newcomers welcome. Session dates: Sept 17, Oct 15, Nov 19. Session one is essential. No prior writing experience required. This is your chance to review your life so far, to recall highlights, anecdotes, and joys, to remember the people and events that have influenced you, and to consider the roads taken and not taken. We’ll have a full house and I’m eager to get started. Our stories are all we really have of ourselves, so here’s your chance to tell your story in your own words. Anne Lamott says, You’re going to feel like hell if you wake up one day and you never wrote the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart: your stories, memories, visions and songs, your truths, your versions of things, in your own voice. Multiple handouts each session. Email Nancy for details and to reserve a seat (limited).
One 9:30 service & St. Michael’s Picnic, Sunday, September 29th There will be one service at 9:30 followed by the Saint Michael’s Picnic. All are invited and encouraged to attend. Brother Lawrence Guild supplies hamburgers, hotdogs, rolls, condiments, & drinks. If you are able, please bring a side dish, salad, or a dessert. Weather permitting, there will be some seating outside in the Garth. Please join us!
Nicholas Bazaar Donations are being accepted for the bazaar, December 7, 2024. Please remember that items should be in good condition and clean. We accept many kinds of items, but please no textbooks, binders, VCR tapes, cassettes, clothing, or mildewed items. Place donations on the table near the large shelves in the undercroft. Contact Joan with any questions. Thank you!