Happy Eastertime! 

Do you know people who are longing for God or a spiritual community? Forwarding this newsletter could be a simple way to let them know of Grace's prayer and work.

See you Sunday.

We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00. It's the Fifth Sunday of Easter. "I am the vine, you are the branches . . . those who abide in me bear much fruit," says this week's gospel passage. How are we abiding in the vine? What fruit is Grace bearing? Which branches are unproductive? What pruning could God do, and what pruning could we do, in order to be more fruitful?

After the service we will gather for conversation and refreshments. This is a great time to welcome visitors and catch up on each other's news. 

After coffee hour, we'll begin a three-week conversation about the Book of Common Prayer: how it grounds our worship and our communion, what riches lie between its covers, and how we can use it in daily life (not just on Sundays). Beth Reed will lead these conversations on May 6 and May 20, and someone else will lead on May 13.

Last Friday's event at Fegley's Brew Works raised a record amount: about $20,000 for the school's Scholarship Fund. This is a milestone! It was a lot of fun, and about a dozen Grace parishioners enjoyed the festivities. 

This year the school celebrates 20 years of serving children and their families in Allentown. 

It took a lot of effort by a lot of people to make this event a success: planning, organizing, publicizing, attending, donating, bidding on auction items, and other work. Many, many thanks to all who contributed time, energy, and money.

Our pantry serves about 400 people each month, but it rarely has access to fresh fruits and vegetables to give to the people who come here.

If you keep a garden (or need a reason to start one), would you consider growing some food especially for the pantry clients and donating it? For example, green beans (bush and pole varieties) are easy to grow and produce large yields. Zucchini is notable in this regard as well. 

If you don't have extra space to plant, even your extra garden produce would be welcomed by our neighbors who come to Grace for food.

This is a new approach to supplementing the food our pantry is able to distribute. The idea is for people to drop off their produce at the pantry on a Thursday between set hours, and then the food will be available for distribution on Fridays, when the pantry is open. 

For more information, contact Bob House by email or phone (610-435-0872), or Patty McNamara, the pantry director, also by email or phone (610-435-7245). 

Every so often people with particular tasks in our worship need to get together for a refresher (or orientation if they are new) so we are all clear on how and why we do these tasks in the Sunday assembly. It's been a while since such an event has happened at Grace for ushers and lectors. (Acolytes have the opportunity for this more regularly because they rehearse for particular services.)  

On Saturday, May 26, all lectors are asked to come to the church at 11:00 am for a half-hour refresher/orientation. At 11:30, all ushers are asked to come for a half-hour. These sessions will be led by Kelly Cannon, Libby House, and Beth Reed. 

Pentecost is May 27 this year, and it's a key feast in the church year. It's often called the Birthday of the Church; we remember and celebrate that Jesus has breathed the Holy Spirit into the church. The first disciples experienced this as speaking in languages they hadn't learned, and yet being understood by the multilingual crowd.

One way Grace has celebrated the Feast of Pentecost is to proclaim and hear a scripture reading in multiple languages at once. Readers practice the text on their own, then rehearse together. We've heard Mandarin, Pennsylvania Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Welsh, Polish, Slovak, and other tongues.

Do you speak or read a language other than English? Would you be willing to participate in this communal proclamation? The rehearsal will be on Saturday, May 26, at 10:15 AM in the church. Let Beth Reed know if you would like to read.