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News for and about Grace Episcopal Church
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April 7, 2010
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Dear Ken Lyon,
Easter and spring are both about new life. It reminds your editor of Jesus' saying, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Members and friends of Grace may well find that the upcoming series of Gifts workshops helps them find new life in their lives--more meaning, more satisfaction, more fun. See below for details and plan to come to the first workshop either Sunday or the following Thursday. -o-
Who do you know who would be interested getting news about Grace? Click here to send them a copy of this eGraceNotes. -o-
As always, help keep the over 100 recipients of eGraceNotes informed by sending your interesting tidbits along to the editor. |
Christian One-Liners
Amazing Grace--It's not just a song any more!
Got a favorite one-liner? Sent it in and we'll probably share it.
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| All Are Invited to Attend the First Gifts Workshop Sunday or Thursday
All Grace members and friends are encouraged to attend a series
of three Common Ministry Gifts Workshops starting the coming week. We expect that these workshops may well enable participants to live lives that are more fun, more meaningful and more rewarding. We also expect that the life of the Grace community will be further invigorated.
You may come to
the first workshop on Sunday (April 11 following worship) or on the following
Thursday (April 15) at 6:30pm. Snacks
and child care will be provided both times. If you have not already told someone which workshop you'll be attending, please let Ken Lyon know ( ken@lyonhouse.usor 513-542-2941) so we can be ready for you.
This series of workshops will help each of us identify our special gifts--those things we most
love to do and feel most alive when doing them. We'll also identify the issues
in the world around us that most concern us. We'll reflect on how our gifts
might be used to address our concerns. Finally, we'll see how our individual
gifts and concerns can be combined with those of others to form ministry teams
at Grace Church. Three Grace members attended this series of workshops given by the Diocese. They will be conducting Grace's workshops. Hawley Todd was enthusiastic about what he discovered during his workshop experience. See here and here for his observations.
Here's the schedule for all three workshops:
Sunday, April 11 after worship or Thursday, April 15 at 6:30 pm.
Gifts Assessment Workshop I: "People Who Inspired Me." You will share with
others people in your life that have influenced you and helped you develop the
values that you have. This process will help us realize why we are the people
that we are today and why we believe what we believe.
Sunday, April 25 after worship or Thursday, April 29 at 6:30 pm.
Gifts Assessment Workshop II: "Identifying Our Gifts." We will meet in small
groups and talk about accomplishments in our life that we value or feel good
about. By listening, others in your group will be able to help you assess your
gifts as demonstrated by your stories
Sunday, May 16 after worship or Thursday, May 29 at 6:30 pm.
Gifts Assessment Workshop III: "What Tugs at My Heart?" You will identify what
community and world issues are most important to you, and we will work together
to determine which of these issues are most important to Grace Church as a
parish. |
| A Little Homework for the First Gifts Workshop
You do have a "homework assignment" to
complete before attending the first Gifts Workshop.
Take a few minutes to think of and then write down the names of several
people who have affirmed or inspired you during your lifetime. Think of those who, either by advice or example, have helped you believe in
yourself--people that have helped you
develop self-confidence and become the person that you are today. Write down a few notes about each person and
be prepared to share your ideas about at least two of these people with others
at the workshop. By sharing our ideas,
we hope to discern the gifts that each of us has been given.
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A Special Holy Week and Easter Thanks to the Efforts of Many
Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter were special at Grace this year, due to committed contributions of many people. Worship services were conducted on seven of the eight days during that period (Palm Sunday, three Morning Prayer services, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter). S  omeone said, "Amazing Grace isn't just a song!" Attractive bulletins were prepared by Tammy Robertson,
Lisa Perry, Judy Handy, Ken Lyon and Mary McLain.
The Altar and Flower Guilds did
triple duty.
Somehow, Florence Poyer and Tony Denbo were also able to fit in a wedding the Saturday evening before Easter.
Instrumental
music for the services was provided by Ken Blue, Jonathan Tan, Judy Handy, John Thayer and Tina
Larkin.
The Easter Sunday service was enlivened with drumming by Bob
Laake and Kevin Drigger.
Virginia Chapel organized an Easter Egg hunt following the service.
Beautiful Easter flowers were provided by David & Maria Mukasa, John Thayer, Justine Matovu, Bob & Florence Poyer, Tammy Robertson & Lisa Perry, Mary McLain, and Judy & Walter Handy.
Thanks also to our officiants, Father John Bower, Mother Kimberly Knight, Roger Perna and Ken Lyon.
Our facility got extra attention in preparation for Easter.
- The front door was painted bright red by Roger & Belinda Perna and Ken Lyon.
Mary McLain planted pretty pansies in the front flower boxes.
Tony Denbo painted the lower hallway a warm green and put up a series of frames soon to display new pictures of Grace.
Other upgrades in process include a new office on the ground floor for the upcoming Conference Center at Grace (thanks to Tony Denbo and Jeff Goddard) and as well as column-like additions to the Great Hall to allow sconce uplighting in the future (thanks to David Mukasa and his crew). You might also notice that the bay window sills are being replaced, again by David Mukasa and crew.
See pictures of the church at Easter and the Easter Egg hunt here.
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Sunday School is Alive & Well
Virginia Chapel provided us with some pictures of recent Sunday School sessions.
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Keep in Your Prayers ...
Seth Staples,
Jim Edgy,
Phillis Dietz, Jo Carroll, Pete Staples, John (Johnbear) Dunn, Jack Hart,
Anjean Poyer, John Thayer, Gigi Woode, Toussaint Thrower and family, Ray
Harris, Marilyn White, Trevor Van Wagenen, Ed Frye, Karen Van Wagenen, Elaine Hughes, Maureen
Back, Eloise Pinto, Ruth Bertram, Robert Flemister, Judy & Walter Handy,
Molly, 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, Mary Jo, Belinda Hoerst, Steve, Tom, and Mary Ratliff.
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Coming Events
- Sunday, 4/11 at 11:15 am: Gifts Workshop I.
- Wednesday, 4/14: Healing service, 7 pm.
- Thursday, 4/15 at 6:30 pm: Gifts Workshop I (repeat).
- Wednesday, 4/21: Mission Council meets, 6 pm.
- Thursday, 4/22: Parolee Work Day
- Sunday, 4/25 at 11:15 am: Gifts Workshop II.
- Thursday, 4/29 at 6:30 pm: Gifts Workshop II (repeat).
See the Grace Calendar Page for more information and more events.
We try to list every event at Grace in the online calendar to facilitate scheduling. If you know of any meeting that's not listed, please let us know at webmaster@gracecollegehill.org. |
Grace Makes YouTube
See and hear Mother Kimberley Knight and the congregation of Grace Church sing the Sursum Corda ("Lift up your hearts...") here. We make a reasonably decent job of it. Jonathan Tan made the recording. |
Healing Service Visited by the "Hosts of Heaven?"
The monthly Healing Service (aka Celebration
of Wholeness and Healing) is coming up Wednesday, April 14. Drumming starts about 6:30 pm; the service starts at 7 pm and goes as long as people stay. Here are comments from Hawley Todd following last month's service:
Dear Grace Leaders and friends,
I want to thank you all once again for empowering the
healing service at Grace Church!
There was a tremendous outpouring of love again last
night. It is such an honor to be with
people and to give and receive prayer.
Several of us prayed with a lady last night who had come for the first
time. For me, just praying with her
would have been enough. We prayed with
her for a long time and she released so much pent up and buried
emotions. God was so present. I am totally in awe of the grace that
abounds
at Grace.
This service is a blessing for so many of us. Our numbers were "down some" last night. We had about 35 people. Yet
we had scores of angels. I mean that literally!
At the end of the service, two of the drummers told me that
they had heard singing and chanting during different portions of the healing
time. And that it was not from any choir
we had singing at the service! They were people who told me they were totally
blown away by the experience. Then one
of them looked at me and said I didn't look surprised and asked if this happened
before. I got a text message from another participant this morning and he told
me the same thing. I mentioned it to one
of my Healing Touch friends who had been unable to attend last night. She said she had experienced something similar at a prior service. I
really wasn't surprised because I have heard it from others as well. How does one count the "hosts of
heaven?"
For more about this service see here. |
| Gifts Assessment is the Next Step on the Way to Common Ministry In our journey toward Common Ministry, our first steps will be to assess our
gifts as individuals and then put those together to create a picture of what
gifts we have as a whole parish. After that process, we will match our parish
gifts with the community needs that we identify as being most important to us,
and also consider which of these needs we are best equipped to address.
These important steps are being accomplished through:
- Three Bible Studies and
- Three Gift Assessment Workshops.
We have already conducted our three Bible studies. Our three Gifts Assessments Workshops will also take place on Sundays after
church and will be repeated on the following Thursday at 6:30 PM. Our first Workshop will be on Sunday, April 11th and
repeated on Thursday, April 15th. The title of this workshop is
"People Who Inspired Me." You will share with others people in
your life that have influenced you and helped you develop the values that you
have. This process will help us realize why we are the people that we are today
and why we believe what we believe.
The next Workshop will be on Sunday, April 25th and repeated
on Thursday, April 29th. The title of this workshop is
"Identifying Our Gifts." We will meet in small groups and talk
about accomplishments in our life that we value or feel good about. By
listening, others in your group will be able to help you assess your gifts as
demonstrated by your stories. The third Workshop will be on Sunday, May 16th and repeated
on Thursday, May 20th. This workshop is called "What
Tugs at My Heart?" You will fill out a survey about what community and
world issues are most important to you, and we will work together to determine
which of these issues are most important to Grace Church as a parish.
These steps will get us started on developing goals and missions for Grace
Church and give us a foundation to create the ministries that we want to take
out to our community. Common Ministry is a way in which all of us will be able
to honor our Baptismal Covenant to "proclaim, by word and example, the Good News
of God in Christ" and to "seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your
neighbor as yourself." (Book of Common Prayer, page 305)
The Gifts Workshops are being set up on Sundays after church and
repeated on the following Thursdays so that as many parishioners as possible can
participate in this process. This is the only way we will be able to create
goals and missions that truly reflect the nature of the entire parish.
Please make every effort to attend all three of these workshops, whether
it be on the Sunday or the following Thursday. Together, and with God's
guidance, we will be able to develop Grace into the strong parish that it can
be. We can be a real force for God's work in greater Cincinnati. Please come
along with us on this exciting journey.
Sincerely, your Common Ministry Committee:
Carol Lyon, Ken Lyon, Roger
Perna, Wanda Miller, Hawley Todd, Justine Matovu Read more about Grace Church's involvement in Common Ministry here. (Yes, we know that this article repeats much of what was said earlier, but we thought that this was important enough to bear repeating.) |
An Important Resource for Spiritual Growth
 Marjorie Shadd brings to our attention a great resource for deepening our faith understanding. Xavier's Brueggeman Center for Dialogue hosts or co-sponsors a variety of free presentations. For example, the calendar for just the rest of April has: - Town Hall Meeting: Wendell
Berry, Wes Jackson and Gene Logsdon; 7:00PM; Cintas Center
Arena; Apr 11
Sun
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Survivor Soulmates; 7:00PM; Bellarmine
Chapel, Xavier University; Apr 13
Tue
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The Jewish Bible in Christian
Renaissance Art: Why It's There and What It Means; 6:00PM; Skirball
Museum/Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; Apr 14
Wed
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Spirituality and Social
Critique: A Modern Jewish Perspective; Time: 7:00PM; Location: Schiff Family
Conference Center in the Cintas Center, Xavier University; Apr 15
Thu
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Hindu Deities and Their
Artistic Expression: 7:00PM; Hindu Temple
of Greater Cincinnati; Apr 21
Wed
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Writing God's Word: The Qur'an
and Art; 7:00PM; Islamic
Center of Greater Cincinnati; Apr 28
Wed
Click here to see the April calendar, which has links to more information about each of these events. |
 Need a Stairlift?
Following the death of his father-in-law, Chips Lanier of
Christ Church, Dayton has an almost-new stairlift that he is willing to donate
to a church that may have a parishioner sorely in need of it. Do you know someone who is house-bound who cannot afford the thousands needed to buy
one of these systems?
Here's a link to information about the stairlift. Please contact Chips
directly if you are interested. His email address is cchips-lanier@woh.rr.com.
Thanks to Ariel Miller, Episcopal Community Services Foundation, for this information. |
Love Your Neighbor--Eat Chocolate & Bid ECSF's Silent Auction Until April 15
The
first-ever online auction to benefit community ministry across the diocese
opened the day after Easter. By Holy Week we had over 70 amazing
items to bid on, with more added daily.
Here's just a sampling: great tickets to
the May Festival and the Cincinnati Reds, an evening at the Opera with the Bishop,
home-made quilts, a spirited selection of beers and wines, cooking gear, travel
packages, restaurant gift cards, a pastel painting of your garden and a tram
tour of Spring Grove. Auction proceeds help fund Episcopal Community Service Foundation grants to churches meeting myriad human needs across Southern
Ohio. Browse the catalog and bid here.
Do Good, Eat Chocolate: It's easy
to order tickets for ECSF's Chocolate Fest April 17, where you can see and bid
on most of our terrific auction items in person. Tickets are $10 for
adults, $5 for children, $20 maximum for family, and entitle you to taste all
recipes plus unlimited refreshing drinks. You can also get tickets at
the door. Bring your friends and prove that Episcopalians have
more fun. Location: The beautiful parish hall of St.
Thomas, 100 Miami Avenue, Terrace Park, from 2-4 pm. Order tickets
here at or
call 513-221-0547.
Info provided by Ariel Miller, Episcopal
Community Services Foundation. |
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