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News for and about Grace Episcopal Church
| August 1, 2010
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Dear
Friend,
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. |
Bogus Bible Q & A
Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the
Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
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Bob and Florence Poyer Honored for their Service to the Church
Bob and Florence Poyer were honored for their 20 years of service at Grace Church at a reception following the service on Sunday, July 18. In a certificate of appreciation signed by the wardens, Florence was thanked for vision as a member of Vestry, for providing faithful financial support, for her leadership and service as Altar Guild Chair and Wedding Coordinator, as founder of the Parish Nurse Ministry and the Prayer Shawl Ministry, for her contributions as Chalice Bearer, Lector, Usher and office staff volunteer, and for the many other things she did to the glory of god, known and unknown. Bob's certificate thanked him for his service to the choir, his service as Treasurer, for providing faithful financial support, for his vision as a member of Vestry, for his contribution as Chalice Bearer, Lector, Usher and Member of the Altar Guild, for cooking for social activities, for laboring on buildings and grounds, and for the many others things he did to the glory of God, known and unknown. The Poyers were scheduled to leave Cincinnati on July 30th. They are now visiting
relatives and friends and are scheduled to be in their new home, 134 Begonia Ct. Griffin, GA 30223
on Sept. 2nd. |
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 Thanks to ...
... Florence Poyer from the Sunday School for the rocking chair donated for our soon-to-be "new nursery."
... Marjorie Shadd, who has agreed to head up a the new Pastoral Care committee.
... the wonderful people of Grace, from Bob and Florence Poyer, for the wonderful luncheon you all had for
us. Thanks to Wanda Miller, Mary McLain, Tony Denbo, Grace Staples, Jeff Goddard, Marjorie Shadd, Raymond Ochar and everyone else who helped. It
was so wonderful to see so many old faces--the Black family, Laura, Chuck,
and everyone--that came that day. We even had a Bishop and her
husband attend the service. We love you all and
will pray that the congregation continues to increase. (Bob and Florence are moving to Georgia.)
... everyone who once again trekked off to Procter for another
Common Ministry day on July 10 (Roger Perna, Hawley Todd, Wanda Miller, Marjorie Shadd and Mary McLain).
... Marjorie Shadd for her
great telephone work on keeping people updated on important events like the
Poyer send-off and Phillis Deitz' recent illness.
... Ray Betts for taking communion to our shut-ins and to Phillis Dietz in the hospital.
... Tony Denbo for directing the parolees doing yard work and painting in the Great Hall, and for Bob Jones for helping out.
... Carol Lyon for her dedication to the Flower Guild by
ordering flowers from Michigan while taking care of her mother.
... Grace Staples, John Thayer and Chuck Bowles, who have volunteered to work with Roger Perna to audit our books in the fall.
... an anonymous Grace Church alum who recently gave a $2000 gift to Grace. |
Common Ministry Surveys Sent; All Asked to Return Them Soon
Your Common Ministry Committee mailed surveys to about 100 members and friends of Grace Church early last week. It is important that everyone return these surveys soon, so they can be tabulated in time for a congregational meeting on July 10. The committee is gathering information to help Grace Church better
understand who we are as a community and what God is calling us to be. At a
series of workshops earlier this year, we explored several areas with those who
could attend. We need to get a more complete picture of the Grace Church
community, and so we are asking all members and friends to complete and return three one-page
surveys. The surveys are: - The Gifts Survey--about your gifts/talents/skills.
- The Passions Survey--about the "hungers that tug at your heart."
- The "What's Grace to You" Survey-about what drew you, and continues to draw you, to Grace Church--and what more you'd like Grace to be.
We will
present summaries of these surveys at a congregational meeting on Tuesday, August 10, at 6 pm at the church. If you haven't gotten a letter and you want to be included, you can see the three surveys here. Either print them off and mail them in, or copy them into emails and send them to us electronically. Or ask any of the people listed below to send you your surveys. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact any
member of the committee. If you got a letter, but do not consider yourself a member or friend/supporter
of Grace Church, please let us know that and we will stop sending you members
& friends mailings.
The Common Ministry Committee, Carol Lyon, Chair, 513-542-2941, spikelyon@gmail.com. Bennyce Hamilton, 513-218-3068, hamiltobe@greatoaks.com. Ken Lyon, 513-542-2941, ken@lyonhouse.us. Wanda Miller, 513-542-7892, millerw@fuse.net. Roger Perna, 513-542-8464, rperna@cinci.rr.com. Hawley Todd, TSSF, 513-967-6581, todd@episcopalhealing.org. |
Congregational Meeting Called for August 10
The Common Ministry Committee has called for a meeting of the Grace Church congregation on August 10 at 6 pm to discern the future direction in which Grace is called to go. This meeting will key to deciding what
Ministry Teams (aka Committees) Grace wants/needs to have as it moves
forward--and who will lead them. The idea is that Grace's future will be determined in large part - by the gifts and passions of our members and friends,
- by the facts of our location, our facilities and our identity,
- and the needs of the communities we serve.
At this meeting, we hope to discern God's will for Grace as we take all these factors into consideration. For a report on the current status of Common/Shared Ministry at Grace, see here. All members and friends are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served.
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| Keep in Your Prayers ...
 Phillis Deitz, Jim Edgy, John (Johnbear) Dunn,
Jack Hart, Anjean Poyer, Gigi Woode,
Toussaint Thrower and family, the Harris family, 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, Mike and family, Chris and family, Malcolm
Daniel, Jean Cavalieri, Laura Chace, Erik, Alison, Nathanael and Alexis Handy,
Mary Jo, Belinda Hoerst, Steve, Tom, and
Mary Ratliff. Earl, Eddie Hausfeld,
Janet Henthorn, Chuck Bowles, Jackie Lewis, Pete Staples, Elizabeth Kelly,
Shelley and Bill.
We also give thanks for the lives of Rosie and Saleem Ahmed,
friends of Marjorie Shadd.
If you need pastoral care or know of someone who does, please call or
email the office (513-541-2415, office@gracecollegehill.org). Please keep us
informed about about illness, hospital stays, requests for visits, communion,
and prayers for special concerns. Help us to serve you. |
Book Drive Ends Monday
13-year
old Elizabeth Schultz was an avid reader and lover of books. Friends
and family are collecting books in her memory. All types of books are welcome
and will be distributed to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, several schools and
adult shelters. Please put any gently used books in the marked box near the lower Belmont door. Thank you. |
| Church Night at the College Hill Block Party
Church
Night at
this year's College Hill Block Party is Friday, August 6th. It starts with a Unity Walk at 5:45 pm
from the old Kroger lot to the Presbyterian Church and continues in their
parking lot where Grace Church will have a booth.
Let's reserve that night for some good
fun and fellowship in the name of Grace! (Pictured is a previous year's Unity Walk.)
The annual College Hill Block Party runs four nights this week, starting Tuesday, August 3. There's something different every night. For more information, check this College Hill eNewsletter article. |
Mission Council Meeting Notes
At its July 21 meeting, Mission Council: - Heard Treasurer Roger Perna report that at this point, halfway through the year, spending exceeds income by only $600. Spending and income are both within 1% of budget. Noteworthy was a $2000 gift from a Grace Church alum.
- Voted to create a Pastoral Care Committee and to recruit a person with a gift for organization and follow through to head it.
- Voted to look into Stephen Ministries as a possible resource for "training and
and organizing lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to
hurting people in and around your congregation."
- With respect to use of building contents:
- Agreed that only Grace Church members may remove things from the building.
- Agreed that anyone using the building must have something in writing authorizing them to do so.
- Agreed that anyone seeing unfamiliar people using the facility or its contents should feel free to ask to see their written authorization.
See Mission Council Minutes here.
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Coming Events
- Tuesday, August 10, 6pm: Congregational Meeting
- Wednesday, August 11, 7pm: Celebration of Wholeness and Healing with Prayers, Drums and Healers.
- Wednesday, August 18, 6pm: Mission Council Meeting.
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. |
Healing Services at Grace
Hawley Todd writes,  We had two healing services at Grace the week of July 11, the first at our regular Sunday worship time and the other on Wednesday evening. I loved being at both. Many thanks to J White and Tammy Robertson for their help praying for
others at both services. And thanks to
Ray Betts for helping on Sunday. The Wednesday night service continues to grow and draw
new people. It was 11:52 when I got home from the Wednesday service. Folks just stayed and prayed and
drummed. Tammy and many of those who
came helped clean up. As usual, I heard stories afterwards about the wonderful
ways God was manifest during the service. Here is a personal story from that service. Going home from the June service, I felt a
strong conviction that I was to speak on "water" at the July service
and the scripture reading was to be the one from John 4 on "living
water." Two of the new people at that service told me that have special connections to just that topic. It astounded me! We had leadership from two other spiritual communities last
night. Both asked me to be in dialogue
with them in the coming weeks. God is
moving in and through that service. Who knows where it may go? The attendance was astounding. Around 6:45, I counted about 40 people. A
little later we counted 47. Much
later in the evening, after Roger, my friends from St Tim's, and the group who
had wandered in from College Hill had left, I counted 71. The place was packed! Given the ebb and flow of folks throughout
the evening we could easily have had 81. Laura Hall was there as well! On Sunday we had 27 at our Sunday Celebration of Wholeness and Healing. For those of you who were at Sunday morning,
is there anything that you would like to share? Frustrations, joys, blessings - I would love to have honest
feedback. One thing I know for sure is
that the liturgy portion is too long and I have already worked to cut it way
down. May Jesus bless you always and in all ways.
Hawley Todd, TSSF
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| Education for Ministry Fall Classes Now Forming
Education for Ministry is a program of theological education for lay people offered by
extension from the School of Theology of the University of the South,
Sewanee, Tennessee. It has been offered in southern Ohio since the
1970s and at Grace Church for over 10 years. The enrollment deadline is late July, so act now!
Hawley Todd mentors two EfM groups at Grace; one meets Monday evenings, the other on Friday mornings.
EFM combines the traditional functions of fellowship group and Bible
study with a method of theological reflection designed to tap into our
creative, metaphorical and mythical ways of thinking, to help us make
conscious connections between our faith traditions and the
"post-religious" world we find ourselves in today. A group of six to
twelve participants, led by a trained mentor, meets weekly for 36 three
hour meetings in the course of a year. The course is a four year program
but participants commit to one year at a time.
EfM features: Small Seminar groups of from 6 to 12 students Trained mentor(s) and thought-provoking texts Theological reflection practiced regularly Prayer and worship in a Community of study
For contact information and to download a list of fall clases in the
diocese, click here. |
Lay Preacher Training Resumes in September
The Center for Life Formation will begin a new class to train lay persons for
licensing as Preachers in the fall. The training is a two year program
that meets monthly at the Procter Camp & Conference Center from 10 am to
3 pm on Saturdays, nine times per year. The program includes worship,
Bible study, theological reflection and the practice of writing, delivering and
evaluating sermons.
Ken Lyon is in his second year of this program and would love to have someone else from Grace in the program with him.
For more information, see here. |
Treasurer Needs Help
Roger Perna has a great need for clerical assistance in the
work of the church treasury. If you are
able to spend some time in the church office doing this kind of work, please
contact Roger (513-290-7309, rperna@cinci.rr.com). Thank you. |
St. Joseph Orphanage Needs YOU!
St. Joseph Orphanage, a mental health facility for abused
and neglected children, needs volunteer job coaches. As a job coach, you would volunteer 1- 2 nights/week for 2 - 3 hours. You will
receive valuable training suited to your schedule prior to supervising the
teenagers. The current work sites are
the SPCA, Krohn Conservatory and a Senior Citizen Center. Please contact Penny Jarrett, Volunteer
Coordinator at 513/741-3100 ext. 2225 or atl penny.jarrett@sjokids.org if you
are able to help us with this important volunteer opportunity.
"Do it. You'll love it!" - SJO Volunteer Job Coach
Thanks to Marjorie Shadd for this article. |
Spend a Morning--Get Briefed on Children's Issues
Voices for Ohio's Children invite advocates, educators, parents, students,
policymakers and physicians to join us for the 2010 Children's Regional
Briefings on state and federal children's issues.
What
you can expect from these briefings:
· Learn about
the status of Ohio's children
· Get
information about the State Board of Education Strategic Plan
· Receive
updates on Ohio's economic and budget climate
· Learn
information you can use to educate candidates running for public office
· Share
feedback on the impact of budget cuts in your program and community
· Get
information about state and federal policies affecting children
There
is no fee to participate, and the benefits to your organization and to Ohio's
children are real. Register online for the August 16 morning meeting in Cincinnati here.
From e-Connections, News from the Diocese of Southern Ohio. |
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