Thirteen from Grace Explore Common Ministry at Procter
 Thirteen Grace Church
people attended the Common Ministry conference Saturday at
Procter Conference center, along with over 200
others from throughout the Diocese. They included not only members of parishes
but members of SOLLI (the Southern Ohio Lay Leadership Initiative), the Commission on Ministry, Diocesan Staff and members
of the Alban Institute.
The agenda for the day included an address by Bishop
Breidenthal, followed by workshop discussions in five smaller groups.
Ken Lyon recalls the following from Bishop Breidenthal's address:
- "The ordinary [day-to-day] life of the congregation is the seedbed of the Kingdom of God."
- "It's better to be surprised than in control."
- "None of us is called to shape anything; we are called to be shaped by the Holy Spirit."
- "The role of clergy is to bless and encourage."
- "None of us has a bailiwick that we are in charge of."
The bishop used the phrases "false contract" and "clergy disease" as he called for an understanding of ministry that recognizes that the church's ministry is the responsibility of all baptized Christians.
The
five workshops were: Common Ministry in Regional Centers (multi-clergy
churches),
Possible Town/Village Models (for one-clergy churches), The Small
Church (churches without full-time clergy), The Role of Deacons in
Common Ministry and Exploration of Common Ministry.
The Small Church workshop drew the largest attendance both
from the total attendees and from Grace Church. Bob and Florence Poyer, Mary McLain, Ray
Betts, Hawley Todd, Susan Givler, David Mukasa
and Wanda Miller attended this workshop.
The workshop on the Role of Deacons was attended by Gary
Givler and Ken Lyon.
The workshop on Exploring Common Ministry was attended by
Carol Lyon, Jackie Lewis and Roger Perna.
Meeting Called
Common Ministry Chair Carol Lyon has called a meeting to discuss conference learnings and next steps for Thursday at 6 pm this week at her home at 1414 Hillcrest (1 block east of Grace). All conference attendees and anyone else who is interested are invited to attend. Email Carol (spikelyon@gmail.com) if you're coming so she can have a snack ready for you. If you can't come but have thoughts to share, do send them to Carol.
You can read more about Common Ministry on the Diocese web site and on the Grace website. |
Former Grace Vicar Named First Black Female Rector in Diocese of Southwest Florida
The Saint Petersburg Times has a very complete article about the call of Vicar Ernestein Flemister to be Rector of St. James House of Prayer Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida. You can read it here.
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Coming Events
Common Ministry meeting to which all are invited: Thursday, September 17, 6 pm, at the home of Ken & Carol Lyon, 1414 Hillcrest, just a block east of Grace. Officiants in the coming month: - The Hip Hop
Service
restarts Saturday, October 3, at 5 pm.
- Save the date: October 9 for movie night for children.
- The Healing Service with African Drumming and Reiki restarts October 14 at 7 pm.
See the Grace Calendar Page for the most up-to-date listing of events at Grace. Let us know at webmaster@gracecollegehill.org if we've missed anything.
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| Share Your Views About What's Right About Grace
These are urgent times at Grace Church. As we focus on meeting
the challenges of the present and immediate future, we can get overly concerned
about the things that we're not doing.
In last week's eGraceNotes, we shared Jim Edgy's list of good things that he's seen happening at Grace (see Jim's list here).
What's your story? What brought you to Grace? What keeps you coming back? Send a sentence, or a paragraph, or an essay, to eGraceNotes@gracecollegehill.org.
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 Grace Member Signs Up for Preacher Training
Grace member Ken Lyon has signed up for Preacher Training offered by the
Diocese of Southern Ohio through the School for Ministry, with the objective of being formally licensed to preach.
The
training program is a three-year program that meets monthly at the
Procter Camp & Conference Center ten
times per year. The program includes worship, Bible study, theological
reflection and the practice of writing, delivering and evaluating
sermons. |
Education for Ministry Resumes at Grace
 Two Education for Ministry classes started up again at Grace this month, under the mentorship of Hawley Todd. The Monday evening class has 10 students; the Friday morning class has 7. For more about EfM, see here. |
Hip-Hop Worship & Praise Service Resumes
 The Hip-Hop Service resumes at Grace on Saturday, October 3, at 5 pm, and continues on the first Saturday of every month.
Come and join us as we sing
God's praises through scripture, poetry, testimonies, and all kinds of music:
hip-hop, rap, gospel, Christian contemporary. Refreshments follow the service.
Why are we doing this? Because
we are told to "Sing our hearts out for the Lord!"(Colossians 3:16)
Thanks to Roger Perna for this announcement.
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| Work Day Help Needed
Parolees will be at Grace again for a work day on Thursday, September 24, from 9 am to noon. This is not only an important work and socialization opportunity that Grace can provide these men, it also gets some needed work done around our buildings and grounds.
If you
can help in supervising a group of men or with the lunch, please let the office
know (office@gracecollegehill.org, 513-541-2415).
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Christmas Dinner Planning Starts Now
We would like to have our 3rd
annual Christmas Dinner this year.
If you are willing to help with this, please let Jim Edgy know (office@gracecollegehill.org, 513-541-2415). We will have a planning meeting soon and need
to know who to invite and count on for this event. There will be three committees this
year:
- Set up and decorations;
- Food and serving;
- Clean up.
Please help if you can. We need you to make this happen.
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Tutoring Opportunities in Public Schools
Grace Staples sends us this from Heidi Smith (hsmith@LNGC.org) of the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati:
Tutoring programs are starting to gear up in Cincinnati
Public Schools. At least five schools have told me they will start calling
their tutors next week. Please keep in mind that if your school does not
connect with you, I am happy to connect you to the coordinator there.
I am writing today because I have had several specific
tutor requests. If you are interested in helping with one of these requests,
please let me know.
1) Rees E. Price in Price Hill has several needs. They
need volunteers to work with 3rd graders to help get them ready for the Ohio
Achievement Test in May. They will take help any day, any time during school or
in their after-school program from 2:30 to 5:30. Additionally, they have a
number of seventh and eighth grade students who are reading severely below
grade level. They are looking for reading tutors for this group during the
school day.
2) Pleasant Hill has a 2nd grade non reader. He has
memorized a few sight words but he does not know the alphabet. The school will
let him be tutored M-F any time during the school day.
3) Pleasant Ridge has a Kindergartener who has Down's
Syndrome. The child is thought to be high functioning but will need a lot of
one-on-one attention.
If you need help connecting with your school for tutoring
or if you are interested in helping with one of the specific tutoring requests,
please let me know.
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| How to Respond to Visitors Asking for Help
Sometimes, we are visited by people who are looking for help. As Christians, we want to respond, but sometimes we don't know what the appropriate response is.
Mission Council has discussed this with Deacon Gary Givler and has concluded that visitors looking for help can always be referred to Deacon Givler.
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It's Easy to Keep in Touch with What's Happening in the Diocese
The Diocese has its own eNewsletter called e-Connections that provices regular updates on Diocesan matters. To subscribe, click here. You can catch up with what's happening at the Diocesan web site. |
Choral Evensong at Our
Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral
offers Choral Evensong at 5 pm on first Sundays of the month during
the 2009-10 program year. October 4 is the first Evensong of the
season, and will be followed by a festive reception.
The cathedral is located at 318 East Fourth Street, downtown Cincinnati. For
more information, call 513-621-1817. |
| Episcopal Healing Ministries Helps Congregations
The 2009 General Convention
of the Episcopal Church passed an Episcopal
Health Ministries resolution calling on "congregations of The Episcopal Church ... to
explore and implement health ministry as an organizing concept or vital
component of outreach and pastoral care ... and to raise
awareness of health ministries and promote the understanding that health
includes body, mind and spirit."
Since
its inception in 1987, The Episcopal Healing Ministry Foundation (EHMF) has
worked diligently to help congregations do just that. Preaching the Gospel and healing the sick are imperative for the
wholeness and salvation of everyone.
This year, EHMF dropped the word "foundation" from its name and became simply "Episcopal Healing Ministries." EHMF discerned that the word "foundation"
could be misleading since it implies an endowed organization with a financial
legacy, which is certainly not the case.
Episcopal Healing Ministries is engaged in active ministries and receives numerous
requests for missions and training events from congregations.
For
more information, check out the Episcopal Healing Ministries website or contact Hawley Todd TSSF at 513-967-6581. |
 Anglican Heritage Tour
Forward Movement is celebrating its 75th Anniversary next year with a first
class tour of Northern Britain. The Anglican Heritage Tour will take visitors
to cathedrals, chapels, and churches, as well as some of Britain's prettiest
gardens and houses.
Forward Movement editor the Rev. Dr. Richard H. Schmidt (Dick), will
lead the tour, lecturing along the way about the sacred spaces and historic
places that will be visited. The tour, June 4-14, 2010, is limited to 22 participants
who will travel by deluxe motor coach. The accommodations are all excellent
hotels and converted country houses, and meals will be provided in fine dining
establishments or historic manor homes.
Tour information is available on the Forward Movement website.
Brochures are also available by contacting Forward Movement at 513-721-6659 or
800-543-1813.
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| Diocese School for Ministry Offers Courses to Empower Lay Ministries The Diocese's School for Diaconal Ministry is broadening its offerings and
changing its name to the School for Ministry. Several courses will be open to
all persons in the diocese to support and strengthen the ministry of all the
baptized. Future offerings will include a variety of subjects such as
scripture study, theology, spirituality, pastoral care, liturgy and
preaching.
This fall two courses will be offered: "Introduction to the Old
Testament" and "Spirituality for Every Day." Classes will be
held on Saturdays: Oct. 3, Oct. 31, Dec. 5 and Jan. 9. The cost of either
four session course is $80, which includes lunch. The cost for both
courses is $120 including lunch. There will be additional costs for the
purchase of books.
Courses can be taken for credit or audit. A certificate of
attendance will be given to those who attend all sessions (audit). A
certificate of completion will be given to those who satisfactorily complete
the regular reading and written assignments (credit).
The Old Testament classes
will meet from 10 a.m. until noon. The course will study the books of the
Bible from Genesis to 2 Kings exploring the History of Israel through the
Divided Kingdom. The Rev. Michael Kreutzer will be the instructor.
"Spirituality for Every Day" will be offered from 1 to 3 pm
and will be taught by the Rev. Elise Feyerherm, Ph.D. The course will explore
ways to develop a regular practice of prayer and connect spiritual disciplines
to everyday life and ministry.
For questions about course offerings and credits, contact the Rev. Canon Karl
Ruttan at The Bishop's Center at kruttan@diosohio.org or 800-582-1712. For questions
about registration or payment, contact Kay Sturm at the Bishop's Center at ksturm@diosohio.org at
the same number. |
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