 | A Center for Spirituality and Healing. |
| | | Tuesday, December 23, 2014 |
| | | Christmas 2014 at Grace Church
Grace Church's celebration of Christmas begins with worship Christmas eve at 7pm and again on Christmas day at 10am. We continue on the first Sunday after Christmas at 10am with Christmas Lessons and Carols. Our last celebration of Christmas will be at 10am on Sunday, January 4. Christmas doesn't end until the 12th day of Christmas-January 6. Take time to enjoy the season, free of the "Christmas rush." |
|  Christmas Flowers
The flowers on the high altar are given by John Thayer in thanksgiving for his family and by Mary McLain.
The flowers in the Peace Chapel are given by Wanda Miller.
The Potted Poinsettias are given by Grace Staples in thanksgiving for the Grace Church Family, by Anna Black in memory of Waverly Black Sr. and Joseph Black, by Ken and Carol Lyon in thanksgiving for family and Grace Church, by David and Maria Mukasa and family to celebrate their wedding anniversary, by Charlotte Battistone in memory of Rudy Battistone and by Charlene Miller for Charles, Catherine, and Howard Miller.
If you would like to help donate flowers on any Sunday, please sign the Flower Sheet by the Belmont door
or call the church office or email
spikelyon@gmail.com or donate online at
gracecollegehill.org.
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Mo-Tones Delivered the Goodies-Dinner and Concert
The Mo-Tones dinner and concert last Monday drew a great crowd. Over 100 people enjoyed a free dinner of fried chicken and all the fixings, followed by a complete big-band style concert in the nave.
See more pictures here.
The Mo-Tones presented the dinner and concert as a special thank you to Grace Church for its continued support of the Queen City Rainbow Bands over the past ten years. Grace Church thanks the band for this special Christmas gift.
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It's Dinner as Usual on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
The free Community Dinner will be served as usual at Grace from 5 to 7pm on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Join us for a good meal and conversation on these special days. These dinners are served every Wednesday by  Grace Episcopal Church- Good News Baptist Church
- Next Dimension Family Worship Center
- Trans-Saints Ministry of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
With support from - Christ Church Cathedral
- The Episcopal Community Services Foundation.
Pictured are volunteers from Grace Church at a recent dinner. |
Greetings from the Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio
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The Presiding Bishop's Christmas message May Christ be born anew in you this Christmastide Advent leads us into darkness and decreasing light. Our bodies slow imperceptibly with shorter days and longer nights, and the merriness and frantic activity around us are often merely signs of eager hunger for light and healing and wholeness. The Incarnation, the coming of God among us in human flesh, happened in such a quiet and out of the way place that few noticed at first. Yet the impact on human existence has been like a bolt of lightning that continues to grow and generate new life and fire in all who share that hunger. Jesus is among us like a flitting moth - will we notice his presence in the street-sleeper? He pierces the dark like a silent, streaking owl seeking food for hungry and defenseless nestlings. He will overturn this world's unjust foundations like badgers undermining a crooked wall. Like the bat's sonar, his call comes to each one uniquely - have we heard his urgent "come and follow"? God is among us, and within us, and around us, encountering, nudging, loving, transforming the world and its creatures toward the glorious dream the shepherds announced so many years ago, toward the beloved community of prophetic dreams, and the nightwatch that proclaims "all is well, fear not, the Lord is here." May Christ be born anew in you this Christmastide. May his light burn in you, and may you labor to spread it in the darkness. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and it is the harbinger of peace for all creation. The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church |
 Selected Short Subjects
Charlie Parker writes: On Tuesday, December 23rd at 9pm, PBS will be airing the program "Frontline." The subject will be "How Jesus became Christ." *** In spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that our lives seem to be so busy (especially at this time of the year) we are keeping the church open for our Friday morning 11 to noon Prayer & Meditation Hour. We can't usually predict who or how many may come, but even if it's only one person, please feel free to go into the 1st-floor Memorial Chapel (no steps!) or up to the Parlor to take advantage of that quiet time for prayer/meditation. *** Church of England names first female bishop. Downing street has announced that the new bishop of Stockport - and the first female bishop in the Church of England - will be the Rev. Libby Lane, currently vicar of St Peter's, Hale, and St Elizabeth's, Ashley. *** There WILL be a Drum Circle at Grace on December 27th, 7:00pm! The format for the December 27th Drumming and Flow Arts gathering will simply be open drumming and flow. There are no plans for a potluck or other special projects. At 8:30, we will gather for a brief Focused Group Energy Share. We Look Forward to Sharing Space, Energy, Sound, Presence and Movement with YOU!! *** You are invited and encouraged to participate in the College Hill Mass Choir this January, led by College Hill's own Bishop Todd O'Neal of the House of Joy Ministries. We will be singing for the whole community at the College Hill Ministerium's Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration on January 18 at 7pm at First United Church of Christ in College Hill. Rehearsals will be at 1pm on Saturday, January 10 at House of Joy - 5918 Hamilton and on Saturday, January 17 at First UCC at 5808 Glenview. All are invited to participate in this fun, fulfilling, community celebration! Any questions feel free to contact Bishop O'Neal at 513-541-4600. *** Grace Church Seeks Music Leader. We are seeking a musician who will help build up our Sunday morning congregation by leading us in a variety of inspiring worship music. Read all about it here. If you know someone who could help us, please tell him or her about this position. |
Mark Your Calendar
Christmas Eve Services are December 24 at 7pm (note change from previously announced time). Christmas Day Services are December 25 at 10am. Christmas Lessons & Carols are on the Sunday after Christmas (December 28). Now's your chance to sing even more Christmas music. 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). Grace Church worship services and participants' assignments are shown here. |
 Thanks ... ... to Grace Staples for coming in to print the service bulletins for the Christmas eve and Christmas day services. If you want to thank anyone in the congregation for something they did week (leading the meditation in the Friday Prayer and Meditation group, going above and beyond on a routine responsibility, donating food or cooking for the Community Dinner, etc.) then please send that thank you to Ken Lyon (eGraceNotes@gracecollegehill.org) or the office (office@gracecollegehill.org), so they can be recognized. |
Prayers and Thanksgivings
 Prayers for healing are asked for Rev. Ernestein, Patty Rogers, The Rogers Family, (Sarah and Joe Rogers - Patty's parents), Carl, Jackie, Robb Martin, Kim Martin, Melissa, Jordan and Brandie, Lee Hardy, Rhonda Sharp, The Partin Family, D.L., Maree White, Robert and Kathleen Keefer and Anna Keefer, Virginia Chapel and Family, Our President and Our Country, Anni Gibson, Albertha Howard and DeConte Howard, Johnny, Peter Harten, Laura Hubrich, Peter Hawkins, Judy Handy, Madeena Nolan, Gwynne and Naomi Gabbard, Marla, Mae Armstead, Jan Sharp, James McNabb, Bev Olinger, Paul, Katharine Thayer, Grace Moore, Stella Parker, Jim and Nancy Vath, Darryl Handy, Father Hufford, Father Ray Betts and Mary McLain, Ken Lyon, Cyndi Miller, Gene, Wilson, Pauline the desert Queen, David Malis, Earl Sharp, Jo Carroll. Prayers are asked for members often not able to come to church: Elizabeth Kelly, Janet Henthorn, Naomi Koester, Elva Gscheidle, Jo Carroll, Anne Henneberg, Raymond Betts. 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. |
Attend the Trinity Institute at Our Cathedral
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