Annual Meeting of Grace Episcopal Church This Sunday
 The Annual Meeting of Grace Church will be held this Sunday after the 10 am service. After a pot-luck luncheon (bring a dish to share), the meeting will proceed to: - elect Wardens,Mission Council Members, Delegates and Alternates
to Diocesan Convention according to
vacancies to be filled, and
- to receive reports by Mission Council Officers and Organizations of the Parish, and to conduct
other such business that may properly come before the meeting
as specified in the Grace Church By-laws. Junior and Senior Wardens are elected each year to one-year terms. We understand that the nominating committee intends to nominate David Mukasa to be re-elected as Senior Warden. Junior Warden Carol Lyon will not continue in this position; we understand that Wanda Miller has agreed to be nominated for this position. Nominations from the floor will be accepted. Mission Council consists of from six to nine members. The normal term is three years and usually, one-third of Mission Council seats are elected each year. However, this year, the only Mission Council members who have not resigned or whose terms to not expire this year are Justine Matovu and Wanda Miller. If Wanda Miller is elected Junior Warden, that leaves from five to eight Mission Council members to be elected at this meeting. We understand that the Nominating Committee intends to nominate Ken Lyon, Hawley Todd, John Thayer, Lisa Perry, Grace Staples and Roger Perna to Mission Council terms of various lengths. Nominations from the floor will be accepted. Two Delegates and two Alternate Delegates to Diocesan Convention will also be elected. Your editor does not know of any nominations for these positions. Nominations from the floor will be accepted. |
Grace Votes to Join Diocesan Common Ministry Program
In a January 28 letter to Canons Johanssen and Ruttan, Junior Warden Carol Lyon wrote:
Last Sunday at a Parish meeting, Grace church parishioners voted to participate
in the pilot program of the Diocese on Common Ministry.
The vote was preceded by two Sundays of information about Common
Ministry. On January 10th, Roger Perna conducted a Bible study about
Common Ministry (see a summary here). This was to help lay the theological foundation for
Common Ministry. The following Sunday, the Pilot Program was explained
more fully by Roger Perna and Wanda Miller (see a summary here). Questions were answered and
concerns raised. Last Sunday, any final concerns or questions were
discussed and answered before the vote was taken.
Of course, we at Grace church have been talking about Common Ministry with the
congregation for almost a year. We previously have written articles for
our e-newsletter and the bulletin. Verbal announcements were made at
Sunday morning worship. Members attended workshops sponsored by the
Diocese. And, we feel like we have been doing a great deal of common
ministry.
We look forward to embarking on this venture with the Diocese and other
parishes. To prepare for the first step in the process, several Grace members are attending a Gifts Workshop at Procter Conference Center this weekend. This will prepare them to lead gifts discernment sessions at Grace. See several articles about Grace's journey to Common Ministry (including the above-mentioned ones) here. |
 Service Cancellation Policy
Grace Church intends for our worship services to be available to our members, friends and visitors whenever humanly possible. The only occasion when we plan to cancel services is when a Level III Snow Emergency is declared, making it illegal to use the streets for anything but emergencies.
We understand that this means that sometimes the phrase "where two or three are gathered together" will take on real meaning. If a priest cannot be present, an appropriate service will be conducted by one of our licensed worship leaders who lives nearby.
If there is an occasion other than a Level III Snow Emergency when services need to be canceled, every attempt will be made to inform members and friends via eGraceNotes or telephone.
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Coming Events
- Sunday, 2/14: Annual Congregational Meeting and pot-luck luncheon follows the 10 am service.
- Wednesday, 2/17: Ash Wednesday services at noon with the Rev. Ray Betts and at 7 pm with Fr. Bower. The noon service is a simple one without Eucharist; the evening service includes Eucharist.
- Sunday, 2/28: Bishop's Visitation.
- Sunday, 3/7: Sharing Sunday.
See the Grace Calendar Page for the most up-to-date listing of events at Grace. The calendar has been reformatted and we are attempting to have every meeting listed to help prevent conflicts. Let us know at webmaster@gracecollegehill.org if we've missed anything.
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| First Sundays are "Sharing Sundays"
The first Sunday of every month at Grace is "Sharing Sunday," when we contribute non-perishable foods and other items for use at the Christ's Community in College Hill food pantry. At this time, they have a special need
for laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, and dish soap.
Ralph and Lisa at Christ's Community in College Hill write:
CCCH has been very busy in the
business of feeding the needy. Along with the regular food pantry items, the Freestore foodbank blessed us with some nice free items that we were able to
give to our clients last month. There were lots of fresh produce, juices, bread
and even meat! We are hopeful that we are able to do the same this month.
The
pantry is getting low on canned meats, corn bread and stuffing, jelly, and
spaghetti which are some items that are not available at the freestore at this
time. Please share this message with your congregations and various committees
you might be associated with. We would be forever grateful.
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| Join the Office Staff
The church office is now being
covered on a volunteer basis by Roger Perna, Mary McLain, Florence Poyer, and
Hawley Todd. If you are available and willing to serve in this capacity
on any particular mornings from 9-12, please contact Roger (rperna@cinci.rr.com). Duties include checking phone and email messages and some other
simple tasks as they come up. We have "openings" for either
Mondays or Tuesdays.
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Episcopal Relief & Development Responds to Devastating Earthquake in
Haiti
 Episcopal Relief &
Development has reached out to its Haitian partners to coordinate a swift response. To learn the current situation and/or to donate to the Haiti
Fund, visit the Episcopal Relief and Development website. You can also mail your gift to Episcopal Relief & Development, PO Box 7058,
Merrifield, VA 22116-7058. Please put "Haiti Fund" in the memo
line of all checks.
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Letter from Florida
We received this missive in mid-January from member Grace Staples.
Greetings! Our first week or ten days in southwest Florida were a real killer in more ways than
one. The temperature at night on the way down was 18 degrees at our stops
in both Georgia and northern Florida. It continued in the 20's and 30's
at night after we got here; we were glad to have friends visiting the first
week so we could stay inside and talk and talk.
But more importantly, the extended freezing has killed many of the crops,
landscaping and also the fish and turtles, etc. It's been a 3-pronged
(including tourism) blow to the state's economy and will show up in your
grocery bill, for sure.
When the Haitian earthquake hit, it was another blow to this area. St. Nathaniel's, where we attend here, has quite a few members from the
Caribbean. So many people here have relatives in Haiti. The trickle
of news out of Haiti is on the TV 24 hours a day. A second collection was
taken on Sunday for Haitian relief through the Episcopal Relief and Development
fund (ERD) and the basket was full. Our rector, Patricia Powers, a
Cleveland native who was a missionary in Brazil for many years, attested to the
fact that all the money goes to the relief projects and is FAST. She said
when her mission school burned down, she had a check in five days to begin
re-equipping and re-building. The Rev. Pat was recently made a canon in
the Diocese of Brazil.
Another thing I love about St. Nathaniel's is that it is a family and informal like
Grace Church. Our first Sunday back, the organist was sick and a dear
soul had been commandeered into playing the piano. The rector said they
were grateful to her and if the music stopped, just keep on singing!
I read that Mary McLain and Belinda Perna did a fantastic job at the first
College Hill IHN hosting. I love you all and think of you often and keep
you in my prayers as you are addressing so many important issues. |
 Thanks to ...
...The
EnGuard Flag & Drill Team for providing a hot breakfast after last week's service. The quiche was great! ... The people who cleared the snow off our walks and parking lot twice in the past two weeks. They include Roger & Belinda Perna, David Mukasa, and your editor. ... All the people who contribute to keeping Grace Church alive and well these days. If you know of others who deserve our thanks, do let the office know at 513-541-2415 or office@gracecollegehill.org. |
Keep in Your Prayers ...
John (Johnbear) Dunn, Jack Hart, Anjean Poyer, Jim Edgy, John Thayer, Gigi Woode, Toussaint Thrower and family, Ray Harris, Marilyn White, Trevor Van Wagenen, Ed Frye, Jo Carroll, Karen Van Wagenen, Elaine Hughes, Maureen Back, Eloise Pinto, Ruth Bertram, Robert Flemister, Judy & Walter Handy, Shelly Martin, Barbara Todd, Kim Martin, Robb Martin, Dean Bryeans, Chris, Irene Bryeans, Joshua, Caleb, Anne, and Darryl Handy, Marcus Flemister, Kim Herrmann, Al Berghausen, Mary Lou Bellows, Jackie Lewis, Mike and family, Chris and family, Malcolm Daniel, Jean Cavalieri, Shelby Hager and family, Laura Chace, Erik, Alison, Nathanael and Alexis Handy, Bennyce Hamilton, Laura Hall, Bret Barnard and Durand Carroll, Lisa Perry, Mary Jo, Belinda Hoerst, Steve and Tom.
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The Bishop is Coming! The Bishop is Coming!
Bishop Bishop Nedi Rivera, retired Bishop Suffragan of Olympia and Provisional
Bishop of Eastern Oregon, will be visiting Grace Church on Sunday, February 28. Bishop Rivera will be relocating to
Cincinnati in February and has graciously agreed to help out while
Bishop Price serves as the Provisional Bishop of Pittsburgh. Grace will be Bishop Rivera's first visitation in this Diocese. (You can read more about Episcopal Visitations on the Diocesan web site here.)
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 Help for Healers
We have added two articles about Healing Prayer to Grace's online file cabinet. Caregivers and Healing Prayer offers help for those who are involved in giving care to others. Guidelines for Ministers of Healing is for anyone who is offering healing prayer in public or private settings. A previously-added article, Healing Prayer FAQ, provides some answers to quesitons many people have about healing prayer. These articles were written by Hawley Todd TSSF, who is the Foundation Director and the Formation Director of Episcopal Healing Ministries. Grace offers healing prayers for individuals every Sunday during communion in the Peace Chapel. Prayers are again offered at a Celebration of Wholeness and Healing the second Wednesday of each month, starting at 7 pm.
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Mission Council Notes
A revised Rental Policy was presented, modified and approved. You can see it here.
A committee has been formed to select a permanent organist. The committee consists of the members of the choir plus Phillis Dietz and Wanda Miller. Supply organists have been scheduled through Easter.
Programmable thermostats are being installed in all rooms and are being set so that rooms are heated for all regularly scheduled meetings.
Minutes of the January 20 meeting may be seen here.
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Refresh
Your Soul Conference March 12-13
Episcopal
Retirement Homes' (ERH) Parish Health Ministry will hold its 2010 Refresh Your
Soul Conference on Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13, at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel in Cincinnati (5901 Pfeiffer Road). The keynote speaker will be Harold G.
Koenig M.D. presenting this year's theme "Medicine, Religion and Health:
Where Science and Spirituality Meet."
Dr.
Koenig will provide an expert review of findings regarding the connection
between medicine, religion and health, offer a clear analysis of what the
evidence means, and discuss practical recommendations for integrating
scientific and spiritual care.
This is
the eighth Refresh Your Soul Conference sponsored by ERH and it has proven to
be a very popular event drawing approximately 200 people from all over the
tri-state region. This year's theme is particularly timely as the future of
healthcare is a primary concern to all of us and more evidence is surfacing
everyday on the role spirituality can play on maintaining and improving both
physical and mental health.
The
activities begin Friday evening with a dynamic presentation by Rev. Maggie
Sebastian titled "Winter Grace". Rev. Sebastian is the Senior
Minister at the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Wheeling WV and
chaplain at Ohio Valley Medical Center and Wheeling Hospital. Rev. Sebastian is
a highly respected speaker and journalist in the field of spirituality and
aging.
For more
information about the conference visit www.ParishHealthMinistry.com or call Ellen
Schneider at 800-835-5768 Ext. 4545. Or click here to download conference brochures, bulletin inserts and flyers.
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A Quiet Day in Lent
The Affirmative Aging Commission is sponsoring a Quiet Day in Lent
on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, at Procter Camp & Conference
Center. The day will begin at 10 am and conclude at 3 pm. Lunch is
provided.
Come away for a while and enrich your soul during Lent--a season
of introspection and renewal. A quiet day is like a 'mini-retreat,' with
a leader offering a series of meditations interspersed with times for quiet
solitude and reflection with an opportunity for spiritual direction. What
a blessing in this noisy world!
The Affirmative Aging Commission offers this quiet day for
everyone, wherever you are on your spiritual journey. There is no fee, but donations will
be accepted.
Please RSVP to the Rev. Steve Cuff at scuff@erhinc.com or 513-533-5045.
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Queen City Rainbow Band Plays Mardi Gras Blowout
 The Queen City Rainbow Band, which practices weekly at Grace, is heading for the Below Zero Lounge on Saturday, February 20th from 8 to 11 pm for a HOT evening of COOL music!
Enjoy swing, big band and pop music by the Queen City Rainbow Band's Jazz
Ensemble and "Better Than Sax" Quartet + Combo.
A $5 cover will
be requested at the door for the evening of music, free beads and door prize
ticket. All proceeds support the mission of the QCRB.
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Llanfair
Hosts World Day of Prayer 2010
Llanfair Retirement Community invites the public to its observation of the World Day of Prayer on March
5.
 Llanfair's new Margaret Jean Wells Chapel is one of six official Cincinnati locations
celebrating the worldwide, ecumenical observence. This year's focus is
Cameroon.
The
women of Cameroon have written the service around the theme, "Let
everything that has breath praise God." The worship service will emphasize
the importance that the people of Cameroon place on music and celebration in their
praise to God.
Registration
begins at 12:30 pm, with the program beginning at 1 pm. For information
call Chaplain Jan Ledford at (513) 591-4526.
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