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News for and about Grace Episcopal Church
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June 4, 2009
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Dear
Friend,
The past two Sundays at Grace have been exceptional ones. Two Sundays ago was Sunday School Sunday, with a wonderful Q & A Sermon that evoked some very thought-provoking questions from our kids. Last Sunday was Pentecost, with bright red balloons and African drums and EfM graduates and honored members and friends from Grace's Past. Read on for details, and think about who else might want to read about these happenings at Grace. Click here to send them a copy of this eGraceNotes. As always, help keep the over 100 recipients of eGraceNotes informed by sending your interesting tidbits along to the editor. |
| Vicar Ernestein's Tenure Extended
Mission Council is
very happy to announce that Vicar Ernestein's stay with us as Vicar has been extended
for one month through the end of July.
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| Keep in Your Prayers ...
Karen Van Wagenen, Grace Staples, Elaine
Hughes, Maureen Back, Eloise Pinto, Ruth Bertram, Robert
Flemister, Mrs. Matthews, Judy Handy, Shelly Martin, Barbara Todd, Kim Martin, Robb Martin, Florence and Bob Poyer, Dean Bryeans, Mary Hall, Chris, Irene Bryeans; Joshua, Caleb, Anne and Darryl
Handy, Marcus Flemister,
Kim Herrmann, Al Berghausen, Teri, Mary Lou Bellows, Jackie Lewis.
Please let us know if you need pastoral care
or know of someone who does. This includes
information about illness, hospital stays, requests for visits, communion, and
prayers for special concerns. Please help us to serve you.
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| Sunday School Program Culminates in Sunday School Service
The Sunday School program this year has brought more young people into Grace than we've seen in a while.
On May 24, the young people of the Sunday School took over much of the Sunday service. They read lessons, led the prayers of the people sang an offertory song and took up the collection.
They also participated actively in a Q & A Sermon led by Vicar Ernestein that took an interesting and revealing turn.
 The sermon started out with questions being posed to the students by Vicar Ernestein. This went about as might be expected, but things took an interesting turn when Vicar Ernestein asked the young people if they had any questions for her.
The first question posed to our Vicar, "What do you like best about yourself," was unexpected but easily fielded by the Vicar; the rest of our young people's questions were perhaps equally unexpected, but the deep concerns that their questions revealed about the difficulties they face in living their lives made easy answers impossible. Your editor could imagine spending a whole year working with these students on questions like these.
Our Vicar and Sunday School leader Virginia Chapel and her staff are to be commended for creating an environment in which our young people feel free to ask honest questions about their deeply felt concerns.
You can see more pictures of the Sunday School and of the Sunday School Service in the Grace photo albums here.
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Pentecost Service a Multi-Storied Event
Sunday's Pentecost Service combined several elements, any one of which would have made the service special.  The choir opened the service with an African song accompanied by Bob Laake and his African Drummers (they are a regular part of Grace's monthly Community Healing service; this is the first time they have joined the Sunday service). The choir and drum corps also led the congregation in enthusiastically singing an African song at the offertory.  The church was decorated with bright red balloons and beautiful red altar flowers, and many of the people were wearing red--the color of Pentecost. The lessons, psalm and prayers of the people were read by members of the congregation in German, French, Ugandan and Liberian, reminding those present of the diverse origins of the people in the crowd on the first Pentecost. All known former Grace members had been invited to come and be honored, and several were there to introduce themselves. Two of this year's seven Education for Ministry graduates, Jim Edgy and Shirley Wang, were presented with their diplomas (the others were honored in their own churches). You can read more about the EfM program in the May 22 issue of eGraceNotes. You can see pictures of much of what went on in the Grace photo albums here. |
Thanks to ...
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all
the youth who made the Sunday School Service so exciting. A special thanks goes to their teachers, Virginia
Chapel, Maria Mukasa and Dominick Mukasa, and to all others who
have contributed so much in making our Sunday School such a success this year. It's wonderful to see so many young people in church!
... Mary
McLain, Chuck Bowles, J. White, Belinda and Roger Perna, Tammy Robertson and
Lisa Perry for their help with the final Stir the Pot event in May. We also thank all
who have made these films and discussions an interesting and provocative series
this year.
... Carol Lyon, Belinda Perna and Wanda Miller, who invited all known past members to come to Grace to be honored on Pentecost, and who prepared the reception following the service. ... Bob Laake and his African Drummers who provided the drumming to accompany last Sunday's service. ... EfM mentor Hawley Todd, for making the Education for Ministry program a resource to the Greater Cincinnati community. ... Belinda and Roger Perna for another sofa for the parlor. ...Jane Edgy and Carol Toole for making lunch for the parolees' work day last Thursday. ... Ken
Lyon, for repairing the lights in the hallways. |
 Red Doors Are Coming
The exterior doors of the
church are badly in need of repair and paint.
Rather than attempt to re-stain them, Mission Council
has approved painting the doors red.
This
will happen over the summer. Watch for the
transformation. In the meantime, take a look at your editor's approximation of what red doors might look like.
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| Eucharistic Visitors, Worship Leaders, Preachers Needed
If you would like to assist in visiting the sick and
shut-in and in taking them Communion please plan to get Eucharistic Visitor Training. Let Vicar Ernestein or Jim Edgy know of your
interest.
We also need volunteers to
train as lay worship leaders and preachers.
These positions need to be trained before Ernestein leaves us. If you are willing to do any of these, please
let us know.
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Painting Brightens our Worship Space--Help Needed to Finish
Fresh paint in our worship space has immeasurably brightened our services, thanks to lots of volunteer painters. To finish the job, we
have to pay the person who is doing the very high areas. If you would like to help with this, any
contribution will be appreciated.
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