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| News for
and about Grace Episcopal Church |
May 9,
2008 | |
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We invite and embrace
you. Come witness God's Grace and
act.
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| Dear Reader,
This Sunday, we celebrate Pentecost (see Vicar's message
below). It's traditional on Pentecost to wear something red.
Red recalls the tongues of flame in which the Holy Spirit
descended on the first Pentecost. The color red also
reminds us of the blood of the martyrs. See you in
red! Ken Lyon, Editor eGraceNotes@gracecollegehill.org |
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Pentecost Message
 Dear Brothers and
Sisters in Christ, Receive the Holy
Spirit! This Sunday--Pentecost Sunday--we arrive at the
end of our journey through Easter. Once again, we will
celebrate God's gift of the awesome and life-sustaining
presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Our Gospel
taken from John 20:19-23 reads:
When it was evening on that
day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house
where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said
to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me,
so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and
said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the
sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of
any, they are retained."
Jesus tells his
disciples, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I
send you." He then breathes on them and says "Receive
the Holy Spirit." We too are given God's peace and
invited to "Receive the Holy Spirit." Along with
this amazing gift, God invites us into his creative presence
by allowing us to be his agents of forgiveness. Verse 23
says,
"If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any,
they are retained."
As always, God gives us the
choice to either let go of and release or hold onto and retain
the sins of any. If we make the decision to accept and
receive the Holy Spirit, we have but one choice: to open
ourselves and let go of anger, hurt, resentment and whatever
else that keeps us from experiencing the fullness of this
marvelous gift. We must let go in order to receive the
gift and blessing of God's Holy Spirit. So, my
brothers and sisters, on this glorious Pentecost I invite you
to RECEIVE THE SPIRIT. As the Father has sent Jesus, so
Jesus sends us out to use this gift of forgiveness and
reconciliation to heal our broken world. Peace
be with you. Amen. The
Vicar. |
Get Homemade Shopping Bags; Save Planet; Swell Vicar's
Discretionary Fund
 You can save the
planet and help the Vicar's Discretionary Fund by purchasing a
homemade cloth shopping or book bag. Barbara
Todd has volunteered to make these bags from some of the
designer fabrics in her collection. They are beautiful,
sturdy, and will not only support the Discretionary Fund but,
if used, will support our environment conservation
efforts. The bags are $5.00 each. See Barbara to
select the fabric for your
bag. |
More Work Day Thanks
We missed
some Work Day "thank you's" in our previous issue. Here
are more people who made that day a success.
- To Phyllis Schoenberger who arranged for the men to
help.
- And to the those who supervised and worked with the
men: Chuck Bowles, Laura Hall, Roger Perna, Bob Poyer
and Bob Jones.
- To David Mukasa who loaned his truck for us to get the
mulch.
- To Grace Staples and Chuck Bowles who organized and
provided much of the excellent meal,
- and to the following who contributed and worked to serve
it: Susan Dewbrey, Ernestein Flemister, Judy Handy,
Wanda Miller, and Roger
Perna.
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More Thanks
- To Barbara Todd for contributing energy efficient light
bulbs for many places throughout the building.
- To Belinda Perna for chairing our upcoming Ladies
Luncheon.
- To Walter Handy for writing our Health and Wellness
article each month.
- To Ken Lyon for his continuing help with our computers,
web site, eGraceNotes, and all the
other things he helps us with.
- To J. White, Judy Handy, Maria Mukasa, and all who
helped in making our effort to assist Christian
efforts in Africa through the sale of crafts such a
success.
If you know of others who deserve a public
"thank you," please let us know at office@gracecollegehill.org. |
A Stewardship Moment: "Praise God from all Blessings
Flow"
"Praise God from whom all
Blessings Flow" is known by many of us as the "Doxology." This
is perhaps the most frequently used piece of music in public
worship today. Many churches sing it every Sunday.
The words are so familiar that here at Grace we don't even
have the lyrics printed in our Sunday Bulletin. However,
most of us sing it loudly each time that we have the
opportunity to do so.
This is actually the last verse
of a longer hymn, "Awake, My Soul,
and with the Sun," written by Thomas Ken in 1674 for his
students at Winchester College. It does not say "Praise
God from whom some
Blessings Flow," but we are reminded that all of our blessings come
from the Lord. Psalm 100 tells us that "it is He that
has made us and not we ourselves."
When do we sing
this hymn? We sing it as we present our offerings at the
Altar each Sunday. We thank and praise God by giving
back some of the abundance that we have received from
him. During the same part of the service, we also recall
Paul's message to us in Ephesians to "walk in love, as Christ
loved us and gave himself for us . . . "
Let us
remember to pay homage to our Lord as we thank him and praise
him for all our blessings. Every time we sing "Praise
God from whom all Blessings Flow," let us pay attention to the
message that is being given to us.
Roger Perna, Chair, Stewardship
Committee.
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Opportunities to Serve
- Volunteer needed to chair Grace Church participation in
the College Hill Block Party, scheduled from Aug 5 to Aug 8,
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm nightly. If you can help, please
let Ernestein or Jim know.
- Help us honor our Ladies on May 18.
- If you are a lady, please reserve your place at the
luncheon with Belinda Perna or Jim Edgy.
- If you are a man, please volunteer to help us cook
and/or serve the food. Please see Belinda Perna or Jim
Edgy.
- Help Sponsor a child at the Rafiki School in
Africa. The cost is between $40 and $50 per
month. If you are willing to pledge toward this,
please let Ernestein or Jim know.
- We are reviving the Grace Cook Book. Please bring
us your recipes and give them to Judy
Handy.
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Team Lachey Performs to Benefit IHN on Sunday, May 18
 If you haven't
yet seen Team Lachey perform in person, don't miss this golden
opportunity to see the choir that won NBC's Clash of the
Choirs this past December and made our city so proud. Team
Lachey will be performing to benefit the Interfaith
Hospitality Network* Sunday, May 18 at 5 pm at First
Unitarian Church, corner of Reading and Linton Sts. in
Avondale (three blocks north of Wm. Howard Taft Av.).
Act fast! Seating is limited and ticket prices are
reasonable--$20 per adult, $10 per student, children under 12
free. You can't beat the price or the cause! Tickets are being
handled by First Unitarian coordinator Mimi Gingold, not by
IHN. So please contact her at mimigingold@gmail.com or
at 513-531-9218 if you're interested (which of course you
are!!). Grace
Staples*In 2007, the Interfaith Hospitality
Network housed and provided food and social services to 116
adults and 208 children through its network of area churches.
Grace Church is a long-time supporter of
IHN. | |
Coming Events
- Drumming, Rieke and Healing: May 14 and every 2nd
Wednesday at 6:30pm.
- Evening Prayer & Confession: May 17 and every 3rd
Saturday at 5:00pm.
- Ladies Luncheon served by men: May 18 following
10:00am service.
- Stewardship Committee: May 21 and every 3rd Wednesday
at 10:00am.
- Mission Council: May 21 and every 3rd Wednesday at
6:00pm.
- "Got Questions Brunch" & Discussion: May 25
following the 10:00am service.
- Outreach Committee: June 4 and every 1st Wednesday at
6:00pm.
- Hip-Hop Service: June 7 and every 1st Saturday at
5:00pm.
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