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A spiritual home where all are welcome; a healing place in a broken world.
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Dear
Friend,
"A healing place in a broken world." That phrase appears at the top of every issue of eGraceNotes, on our web site, on our bulletin boards, and on many of our Sunday bulletins.
It isn't like we set out to be a healing place, but as we looked for a common theme that connected our various ministries, healing jumped out as a key element of Grace's purpose in life.
At Grace, it's not just about healing bodies. It's not even just about healing relationships between God and people and among people. For Grace right now, healing is also about healing the too-often broken relationship between church and those people who have been hurtfully excluded from fellowship in one or more of today's churches.
You see "Our Values" posted in eGraceNotes and on our website and in many of our Sunday Bulletins. They were written over 15 years ago. Many of us who have been here a while take them for granted. But know this: they are still Good News to many--Good News they never expected to hear from a church.
Our challenge is to find ways to extend our welcome to people for whom a church is the last place they would expect to be welcomed.
Merry Christmas!
Ken
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Grace Church Augments Healing Ministries --Hosts Quantum Touch Course
 Grace Church will expand its healing ministries by hosting an introduction to Quantum Touch on Monday mornings from 10 am to 1 pm. The course starts January 9 and will run for four weeks. Register in advance by contacting Hawley Todd at todd@episcopalhealing.org. Class size is limited. Tuition for the workshop is $24. Course mentor Jackie Millay explains: "Quantum Touch quickly and easily teaches you to harness and direct the universal life force energy for healing. It is highly complementary with Reiki, Shiatsu, acupuncture and Healing Touch, as well as with traditional medical treatment. It is a wonderful modality to use with your family and friends. It is useful in a wide variety of situations such as pain, hip/occipital ridge alignments, burns, cuts, and bruises, scoliosis, bursitis, arthritis, chronic conditions and cancer. This training is wonderful for those new to energy healing." "We will use an interactive video to learn directly from Richard Gordon, the developer and founder of Quantum Touch. For more information on Quantum Touch, go to www.quantumtouch.com to listen to the CD that thoroughly explains it, or call/email me with your questions. I'm happy to tell you about this tremendous energetic technique." You can contact Jackie at 513-541-4900 (home), 513-405-1514 (cell) or socaja@yahoo.com. |
More About Healing at Grace
During Jesus' earthly ministry, all sorts and conditions of people were drawn to Him to be healed. And healing was one of the first things Jesus commissioned his disciples to do in His name.
If our idea of healing extends to include healing the relationship between God and His people and mending broken relationships among God's people, then healing is the essence of Christianity.
At Grace, our weekly celebration of Eucharist is the most frequent and visible example of Christ's healing ministry, in that He invites everyone to God's table to share in a common meal with Him.
Of course, this ministry isn't unique to Grace. But there are several other ways that Grace offers healing that, taken together, make Grace Church a special place.
Sunday Healing Prayers.  Every Sunday for almost 20 years, people have been coming to the Peace Chapel altar rail during communion for prayers and for laying on of hands and anointing for healing. People state their concern, whether for themselves or others, and prayers are offered by one of Grace's several trained healing prayer ministers.
Wednesday Evening Celebration of Wholeness and Healing.
 For the past five years, Grace has offered a healing service that combines several modes of healing to provide opportunities for God to move and bless those who come.
On the second Wednesday of every month, numerous modes of healing occur. The common thread is our desire for each person to become fully alive in the divine Spirit of the living God. Healing prayer and laying on of hands for healing is led by Hawley Todd, TSSF. Healing drumming is led by Bob Laake. In addition, you might find a Healing Touch practitioner working alongside a Reike master and a Franciscan.
People come and go as their time and schedule permit. Drumming starts at 6:30 pm. The short traditional service is at 7 pm. The drumming stops when everyone has left, typically 10 pm or so.
Sunday Morning Celebration of Wholeness and Healing.
 During 2011, Grace began offering a healing service about one Sunday a month at the 10 am worship time, led by Hawley Todd, TSSF.
Hawley is Executive Director of Episcopal Healing Ministries. He conducts seminars on healing nationally.
Narcotics Anonymous.
12-Step Programs have been meeting at Grace for as long as anyone can remember. Currently, NA meets at Grace every Tuesday at 7 pm. |
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 Thanks to ...
... all members of the choir and especially to Bill Jenne, Judy Handy, Tammy Robertson, Lisa Perry, John Thayer, and Toussaint and Ollie Thrower, for the special music they provided for the Christmas Eve service.
... J White, Hattie (J's cousin), Marjorie Shadd and Wanda Miller for planning and setting up for the Christmas Eve reception.
... Chuck Bowles, Ken Lyon, Grace Staples, Ruth Bertram, Toussaint Thrower and Belinda Smith and Bob Smith for donating food for the Christmas Eve reception.
... Holly Pratt for donating a fax machine to the church office.
... those who provided flowers for this Christmas season:
- John Thayer, in memory of his grandparents, George and Mary Matile
- Phillis Dietz, in loving memory of her husband Jim Dietz
- and also Wanda Miller, Mary McLain, Marjorie Shadd, Grace Staples, Chuck Bowles, Ken and Carol Lyon
... John Hodapp and Sons Funeral Home for providing our calendars of the church year as they have for many years. They are so helpful to Altar Guild, Worship Committee, Lectors and all of us. Look for them in the back of the church.
We're sure that we've left out many of the people who deserve our thanks. Let us know who we've missed by clicking eGraceNotes@GraceCollegeHill.org. |
Prayers
P lease keep these people in your prayers for their special needs: Jonathan S., Noah, Chico & family, Lauren, the Daniel family, the Cavalieri family, Virginia Chapel's family, Anne, Darryl, Caleb & Joshua, Brian, Kim, Robb, Erik, Alison, Alexis & Nathanael, Marie, Irene Bryeans, Dean Bryeans, Diane, Maxwell & family, Barbara, Beverly, Bob and Rita, Alice, Christine Zuniga, Nathaniel, Zachary, Bonnie, Kristine, Judy J., Marci, Susan, Pat J., Rehan, Dee, Kim H, Mary S., Margaret K., Beth Tracy, Karen and Diana, The Partin-Sharp family, Rita, Mimi, Brenda, the Fantetti family, the Bennett family, the Visbal family, Nadine-Renee, Luanne, Fr. John, Gayle and Ernestein Flemister. Please pray for all on our prayer lists and the following members and supporters who are not always able to attend services: M. Back, M. Bellows, J. Carroll, E. Gescheidle, N. Hall, A. Henneberg, J. Henthorn, E. Kelly, N. Koester, E. Pinto, M. Ratliff, C. Relyea, MJ Showers, and J. Strohmeier. Requests for prayers may be called in to the church cell phone: 513-763-9520. Please also indicate whether the name of the prayer recipient is to be listed in the bulletin. Pastoral Care
If you need pastoral care or know of someone who does, please call or email the office (513-541-2415, office@gracecollegehill.org). Keep us informed about about illness, hospital stays, requests for visits, communion, and prayers for special concerns. |
What's Happening at Grace
The online Grace Church Calendar lists most everything we know about that's happening at Grace Church. If something's not listed, or if you see errors, please tell the office (office@gracecollegehill.org). Note especially: - Adult Bible Study - Sundays, 9 am, parlor (except January 1)
- Snack 'n Chat - Sundays after service, Small Assembly Room
- College Hill IHN Hosting - January 6, 4:30 pm thru overnight, First UCC
- Healing Service - 2nd Wednesday of each month, Grace Church sanctuary
- Mission Council - Monday, January 16, 5:00 pm
- Mission & Formation Team Leaders - January 4, 1 pm, office.
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 News Shorts
- Senior Warden Roger Perna reports that 2012 pledges to date total $47,700. This virtually the same amount as we received last year. If you are a member and have not yet made a pledge, you may email Roger with your pledge at SeniorWarden@GraceCollegeHill.org. If you'd like to make a one-time contribution to Grace's ministries, we've made it easy by offering an online option here. Of course, checks or cash are also perfectly acceptable.
- Grace Church volunteers will again provide meals and overnight hosting to homeless families thru the Interfaith Hospitality Network on Friday, Jan. 6, at First UCC. (Other College Hill churches provide these services throughout the rest of that week.) Please contact Mary McLain if you can provide food, activities, cleanup, etc.
- Bring a snack to share at Snack 'n Chat after our 10 am Sunday services.
- The Worship Service Volunteer Schedule through the end of January is posted here. If you're listed and can't serve on your appointed date, please find a replacement and let the webmaster know. If you'd like to be added to the rotation in any area, please contact Worship Team Leader Judy Handy 513-681-5829, jhandy23@cinci.rr.com).
- Alison Acord, who, along with her partner Christina Haan, provided much great music at Grace a few years back, will perform at our Cathedral's Music Live at Lunch on January 10 at 12:10 pm. Bring your lunch or purchase one for $5.
 Did you know that the Episcopal Church has a "Brand Strategy Statement?" Here it is:
For those looking for more meaning and deepened spirituality, The Episcopal Church offers honest and unconditional acceptance, which removes barriers to Jesus Christ and permits belonging to an authentic church community.
What do you think? Let us know at eGraceNotes@GraceCollegeHill.org.
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