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. 

This week is the beginning of Lent, a spare, stark, paring-down-to-basics season in the church's year. We gather in silence for the Sunday liturgy, and we depart in silence. We fast from our weekly refreshments and conversation time, and we will return to these joyful practices at Easter. We reverently prepare for the immersion in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that is the Easter Triduum (April 5-8). 

To share Grace's news with a friend, click the "forward email" link at the bottom of the page. This could be a simple way to let someone know about our life and work, and to communicate our welcome.

See you Sunday!

We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00. This Sunday and next we hear about God's covenant with humans--first with Noah, then with Abraham and Sarah. The gospel this week presents Jesus' baptism and describes his being sent into the wilderness for 40 days. 

Our liturgy is as spare as it can be. We gather and depart in silence, without a prelude or postlude. We have an opportunity for repentance and confession at the beginning of the service as we reflect on how well or poorly we have loved God and our neighbors. Our Prayers of the People will incorporate more silent intercession, and our sung acclamations during the Great Thanksgiving are as simple as they get. 

After church, we have the chance to learn and think about how downtown development may affect our church and our neighbors. Read more below. 

Learn more about downtown Allentown and consider how downtown redevelopments may affect us and our neighbors this Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Congregational Forum (around 11:30, after church). Joshua Chisholm, executive director of Congregations United for Neighborhood Action (CUNA) will present information his organization has gathered about downtown poverty and unemployment. He will lead a conversation about how this information relates to the city's plans for the building and operation of the hockey arena and other redevelopment projects. This is important information for us, as our school is in the Neighborhood Improvement Zone and our church is one block outside it. I (Beth Reed) hope many people will be able to participate. If you'd like to learn more about CUNA, check their website.  

During Lent, our Forum time after church will focus on some texts of the Easter Vigil--the Exsultet, which praises Jesus as the Light, and several Scripture texts that we hear each year at that service. Beth Reed will lead these conversations. 

A booklet with these texts and meditations will be distributed this Sunday. It will ground our conversation for four Sundays after church (March 4, 11, 18, 25). These conversations are open to everyone; please consider participating, especially if recent Forum offerings have not appealed to you! Each Sunday's discussion will stand on its own; that is, you do not have to commit to coming to all four Sundays. 

The texts can be read at home to prepare for Sunday's conversation. 

What questions do they raise for you? How do they sound to you in light of our Triduum celebrations? Which parts of the readings comfort and challenge you? How do you hear the Spirit speaking to God's people? When we come to celebrate the Vigil in the darkness of April 7, our experience will likely be richer for having already opened our hearts and ears to these texts.

If you cannot partake of these conversations at the Forum time, 

the texts and meditations can seed your prayer at home through the season of Lent. 

David Moyer and Mae Webster worked all day Tuesday to get ready for the pancake supper on Shrove Tuesday, and other volunteers helped with serving and cleaning and decorating. Two of our neighbors from Grace House came, and conversation around all the tables sounded relaxing and fun. 

Overheard: In the church's neighborhood (Second and Linden), there is an excellent and affordable Turkish restaurant called Aci Halal. They're open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday.