| | A spiritual home where all are welcome; a healing place in a broken world. |
| | | Sunday Summer Worship in the Great HallThis Sunday marks the start of Summer worship in the Great Hall. The 10 am service will be in the (usually) air-conditioned Great Hall until September. The setting is less formal, with seating around some newly-acquired round tables instead of in pews. The weatherman is calling for pleasant temperatures on Sunday. That's good, because our a/c has lost its coolant and won't be repaired until next week. Anthony requests that all that can bring a snack for 10 to 12 people. All dishes will be welcomed! Suggestions: cheese, crackers, fruits, cookies, salsa etc. Join us for a super-friendly gathering around God's Word and Sacrament! |
At the Crossroads:
Where do we Go from Here (and How)
Each of us who lives for a while comes upon the "CROSSROADS" in our lives. At this point we must make a vital choice of what to do, what are the affects and effects on ourselves, others, our surroundings and the relationship with our HIGHER POWER. STANDING at the CROSSROADS can be frightening, inspiring, threatening, or joyful. But if we take the time to sit with and listen to THE GOOD LORD we can make the VITAL CHOICE with clarity, wisdom and FAITH. FAITH IS BELIEVING WITH EXPECTATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT's guidance, JESUS CHRIST's support and THE GOOD LORD's mercy, love & UNDESERVED GRACE. KEEP STILL, LISTEN and BELIEVE WITH EXPECTATIONS. HE HEARS and WILL ANSWER. . . . . . . . . BE READY GRACE! . . . . . . . . . . . Thanks to J White for this article. |
|  Selected Short Subjects Ray Betts has moved to Llanfair Retirement Community in College Hill. Visits are welcome between 9:30 am and 7:00 pm. Wife Mary McLain says he's under hospice care in the memory care unit, room 41. Short visits are best. Questions are difficult for him to answer, so best avoided. Sunday, June 8, is Pentecost--the birthday of the Church--and your Worship Team is planning an extra-special 10 am worship service outside in the parking lot. This will be a worship experience that you'll want to invite your friends and relatives to. Eucharistic Visitor Training will be held on Saturday, June 7, at 11 am at the church. A Eucharistic Visitor is a lay person authorized to take the Consecrated Elements in a timely manner following a Celebration of Holy Eucharist to members of the congregation who, by reason of illness or infirmity, were unable to be present at the Celebration. Pastoral Care Team co-chairs David Mukasa and Laurie LeClaire want to develop a corps of people to take communion to our members and friends. If you're interested, come to the training. More air-conditioning is coming to Grace Church. If all goes as planned by the Buildings & Grounds Committee, we'll have a/c in the Small Assembly Room and the rest of the rooms in the first floor education wing by mid-June. Just in time! |
 About Our Paschal Candle You may have noticed that large white candle on its own stand that's been placed near the front of the church and lit during recent worship services. That's our Paschal Candle. (The word "Paschal" is derived from the Hebrew word Pesach, meaning Passover.) We, along with many other churches, place our Paschal Candle near the front of the church and light it on the first service of Easter. We keep it there the whole fifty days of the Easter Season, which ends on Pentecost Sunday. After Pentecost, it'll be moved near the baptismal font and will be lit for baptisms and funerals. The flame of the Paschal candle symbolizes Christ as light of the world and his presence in the midst of his people. That candle is usually the largest candle in the church. In the medieval church Paschal candles often reached a stupendous size. The Paschal candle of Salisbury Cathedral was said to have been 36 feet tall. You can read a Wikipedia article about the Paschal Candle here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paschal_candle. |
Discretionary Fund Helps Needy People  "My daughter has lice and I can't afford to buy her the medicine she needs so she can get back in school. Can you help?"
"My husband has been out of work for a year and we can't afford to pay our water bill. Another church has offered to help. Can you help, too?" These are two of the phone calls I have received since becoming senior warden. I have not been able to offer much help. We have no money in the regular budget and only about $30 in the discretionary funds to help with personal needs. In response to this, Mission Council at its April meeting passed a discretionary fund policy. The main points are: - Unless there is a rector or priest in charge, the senior warden will be responsible for dispersing the funds for charitable purposes.
- Income to the funds will be through designated gifts from individuals and the open plate offering the last Sunday of the month.
- Income and expenditures will be reported to Mission council each month with names of individuals confidential.
To make a donation to the discretionary fund, you may write a check to Grace church and write discretionary fund in the memo section or put cash in the offering plate the last Sunday of any month. Or contribute on the Grace Church website here. Carol Lyon |
Zumba at Grace Moves to the Parking Lot 
The Monday Zumba class at at Grace moved to the parking lot on Monday. They'll be there next week, too, weather permitting.
These folks look like they're having a lotta fun!
See more info here: tstegmaier.zumba.com. |
 Thanks ...
... to the eGraceNotes editor for including the article about the history of the word "warden," from Jackie Millay.
... so much for including Kathy Casebolt in Grace's prayer list. Sadly, Kathy passed away on Sunday, May 18th at 4:00 AM. It was less than 3 months since her original diagnosis of cancer of unknown origin. Her husband, family, and I are grateful for your prayers. Pauline Lutmer.
Even though everyone who does something special may not be recognized each week (although we do try), we are aware of how hard members of this congregation work together to keep this church going. Most of the work done in this church is by volunteers, so thank you to every one in this congregation for keeping our dream of Grace Church alive by your consistent contributions. None of us could do it without all of us working together.
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A Memory of Dr. Maya Angelou  The following is taken from a post in the Episcopal Cafe. See the whole article with links to more information here. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Legendary author Dr. Maya Angelou has died. She was 86. Here is an excerpt from a February 2013 Q & A with Dr. Angelou: "Maya Angelou discusses her faith, politics, courage ahead of LSU event next week" in The Times-Picayune. Q: Would you say (spiritualism) is something that has inspired you over the years?
MA: Yes, and I'm happy to say, I'm pleased and delighted to say yes. It's a wonderful thing to know that there is something to know there is something greater than I am, and that is God itself. Q: So how has what has inspired you changed over the course of your career? MA: Well, I believed that there was a God because I was told it by my grandmother and later by other adults. But when I found that I knew not only that there was God but that I was a child of God, when I understood that, when I comprehended that, more than that, when I internalized that, ingested that, I became courageous. I dared to do anything that was a good thing. I dared to do things as distant from what seemed to be in my future. I became a translator in Serbo-Croat in Yugoslavia, and I conducted the Boston Pops. I taught at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv in Israel, and I worked as a journalist in Egypt with the only English news magazine in the Middle East. All of that, and I come from a little village in Arkansas, smaller than Picayune, (laughs) and I was a young black woman, trying to do all the good things. When I was asked to do something good, I often say yes, I'll try, yes, I'll do my best. And part of that is believing, if God loves me, if God made everything from leaves to seals and oak trees, then what is it I can't do? |
Altar Flowers  The flowers on the altar last Sunday were given by John Thayer in loving memory of his sister, Christine, and other members of his family.
You can donate a bouquet of flowers on the altar on any Sunday in honor of or in memory of anyone. The suggested donation is only $35. Just sign on the flower sheet by the door or call the church office or email spikelyon@gmail.com or donate online at gracecollegehill.org. |
Prayers and Thanksgivings
 Prayers for healing are asked for Rev. Ernestein, Patty Rogers and Sarah and Joe Rogers - Patty's parents, Carl, Jackie, Robb Martin, Kim Martin, Melissa, Jordan and Brandie, Bill, Viola and Irma, Lee Hardy, Rhonda Sharp, The Partin Family, D.L., Merrilee Atkins, Maree White, Anna Keefer, Virginia Chapel and Family, Our President and Our Country, Anni Gibson, Bill Jenne, Don Wake, Albertha Howard and DeConte Howard, Johnny, Peter Harten, Phillis Dietz, Peter Hawkins, Judy Handy, Laura Hubrich (Phillis Dietz' daughter), Madeena Nolan, Gwynne and Naomi Gabbard, Marla, Mae Armstead, The Garland Family - Teresa, Debbie and Jay, Sherry Ridgeway, Jayna, Jan Sharp, James McNabb, Bev Olinger, David McManus, Kathy Casebolt's family and friends, Raymond Betts. Prayers are asked for members often not able to come to church: Elizabeth Kelly, Janet Henthorn, Mary Jane Showers, Naomi Koester, Elva Gscheidle, Jo Carroll, Anne Henneberg, Phillis Dietz. To add or subtract from this list, please contact the Church Office (513-541-2415, office@gracecollegehill.org) with the names of the persons to be included on this list. If you email, please place "Prayer Request" in the subject line. Please also indicate whether the name of the prayer recipient is to be listed in the bulletin. Names remain on the list for about a month. Please let us know if people should be put back on the list. 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. |
We need Grandmoms, Grampas & Nannys We have had the wonderful experience of seeing parents with toddlers recently at our Sunday morning services. It would be nice if we could mobilize our resources to provide child care during the services. If we can recruit volunteers to take a turn watching these children, the parents could enjoy our worship service without having to supervise their child.
Please contact me (pernas2@zoomtown.com, 513-290-7309) if you think you would be able to volunteer your time to provide this needed service for the church. Hopefully, we can get enough volunteers so that each person would only have to serve once a month or less. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I am sure we can count on each other to meet this need.
Sincerely, Roger Perna |
Coming Attractions
See 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, 513-541-2415).
See a list of Grace Church worship services and participants' assignments here. |
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