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Save the Dates
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First Sunday of Advent:
Nov. 27
Greening:
Dec. 18
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Neighborhood Events
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Holiday Gift Gallery:
Baum School
Nov. 23-Dec. 23
A Christmas Carol
at the Civic Theatre:
Dec. 2-17
Free Admission
at the Art Museum:
Every Sunday
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Welcome to the weekly e-newsletter of Grace Episcopal Church. Read about what's happening at Grace, and use the quick links to the left to find other helps to our life with God. To share this news with a friend, click the "forward email" link at the bottom of the page. See you Sunday!
--Beth Reed, Priest-in-charge
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| Sunday, November 27, at Grace | | |
Eucharist, refreshments, forum
We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00. It's the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year. The first words of the first Scripture text for the new year have Isaiah crying out to God: "O, that you would rend the heavens and come down!"
We start with a lament, a prayer for God's intervention. Do we think we need God's intervention? Do we want it? Has God intervened? Will God intervene? For the full readings, click on "Sunday Scripture texts" (above left).
After the service, we'll gather for refreshments and then for the Congregational Forum. |
| Advent | | | Consider a new spiritual practice
This 4-week season immerses us in images and texts and music that herald the Incarnation (God becoming a human person in Jesus). We do not pretend that Jesus hasn't come in history; rather, we ponder how desperately we and the world still long for the fullness of God and God's justice. In the midst of our darkness, we yearn for the Light.
What does this mean for us? How could we think and feel and pray more deeply in our need for God? One way is to ponder texts from our tradition at home.
Scripture passages for each day are printed in the back of the Sunday bulletin. These psalms and passages are read across our larger church; that is, they form one way our Anglican communion prays together. In public and for individual devotion, Anglicans across the world meditate on the same texts each day.Texts are assigned to the morning and the evening.
What could be different about our life with God if we spent ten minutes at the beginning and the end of the day with these passages? If this practice is new to you, you may prefer simply to rest with one passage at a time. Daily scripture texts can also be accessed from the link at the top left of this page. |
| Stewardship Follow-up | | |
Many pledges are in
Many members put their pledges in the collection plate last week, and we had a great luncheon afterward (what other kind do we have?).
The Vestry is grateful for all the pledges received so far. The budget for 2012 will be developed based on all the pledges that come in. If you have not yet pledged, please put the pledge form in the collection plate soon or drop it off in the parish office or mail it in. If you need another form, check the back windowsill in church or call Bob House at 610-435-0782.
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| Church Events | |  Save these dates
December 18, after the Eucharist, we will "green" the church for Christmas. Children, young people, and adults are all needed and welcome; there are tasks for all. We decorate our huge wreath, drape garland, set out candles, and string lights on trees. John Adamson and other musicians (children especially) provide some Christmas carols. It's a lot of fun.
December 17, Saturday morning, volunteers will be needed to prepare for the greening. More details on a time will follow. |
| Grace in the Theatre | | Go see 5 members in A Christmas Carol
Out of five people in the family of Merce and Mike Fegley, four of them play Cratchits in the Allentown Civic Theatre's A Christmas Carol. Oakes is Tiny Tim, August is an older daughter, Merce is Mrs. Cratchit, and Mike is Mr. Cratchit. Julia Reed is a singing urchin. Performances run from Dec. 2 through Dec. 17. |
| Financing Flowers and Greens | | |
We'll skip the flower sale this year
If you have been around Grace for a while, you know how beautiful the church is for the Christmas season: trees, greens, wreaths, flowers, candles. The cost of this runs about $1,000, and to pay that, we've had a flower sale and asked for donations. Last year those two efforts did not cover the entire cost.
As we look at the numbers, the flower sale was a lot of work and netted less than $100, so this year the Vestry decided to handle the finances for Christmas flowers this way: We will obtain trees from a cut-your-own place and transport them ourselves (instead of having them delivered from Hickory Grove). We may use smaller trees. We will not have a flower sale, and we will ask for donations to cover the other costs. Bob House will soon send a letter out about this.
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