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! 

We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00.

We continue our semi-continuous reading of the gospel of Mark. These week, we hear how Jesus asks about an argument between some disciples, "but they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest."

One way Jesus responds is by putting a child among them and saying that whoever welcomes such a child welcomes the one who sent Jesus.

What questions do these words raise for you? For the full texts of the Sunday readings, click on "Sunday Scripture texts" above. 

After the Eucharist, we will share refreshments in the gathering space. 

David Moyer is organizing a Spaghetti Dinner for tomorrow night. It's downstairs in Hadesty Hall, from 4:30-7:00. The event is a fundraiser for the church. The cost is $9 for adults, $6 for children 5-18, and free for kids 4 and under. We've invited our neighbors at Grace House to join us as our guests. 

 

Two of David's friends (including a retired chef) are preparing marinara sauce and meatballs from scratch--the word is their cooking is outstanding! They are donating their time and skill. Several parishioners have volunteered to help with set-up, clean-up, and serving. 

The vestry is the governing board of the parish, and regular vestry meetings are open to all parishioners. At the last vestry meeting, there was some conversation about increasing and improving communication between the vestry and the parish. One result is that a parish meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 30, after the celebration of the Eucharist. 

At the meeting, we need to elect some new vestry members because there are some vacancies on the vestry. We will also consider where we are as a parish and consider our work in the short term. We can also begin to think about the mid- and longer-term health and mission of the parish. Please come to the meeting and add your voice to the discussion.

 

The list of vestry members is published in the back of the bulletin each week. If you have a question or concern, please feel free to share it with any vestry member. The next regularly scheduled meeting is Thursday, October 18, in the evening. 

 

Read more about the movie and see clips at the website. 

The Allentown Community Benefits Coalition (ACBC) invited the community to a conversation about hoped-for benefits from the coming downtown development. Five people from Grace participated in the meeting, which was attended by more than 50 people from downtown churches and other organizations, including the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, NAACP, and the Hispanic American League of Artists (HALA). We met at Resurrected Life Community Church at 9th and Turner. 

The group discussed possible benefits the community would like to see in the areas of affordable housing, employment, youth programming, education, and business development. We experimented with a survey tool that could be used to engage other community members in the conversation. 

WFMZ covered the event, and you can watch a video clip here.

To learn more about the ACBC, click here. The next community-wide meetings are scheduled for Monday, October 8, and Monday, November 12. All are welcome.

The linden tree just outside the back window of the church was more than 50% dead, and it was further damaged in a summer storm. The city required that we have it taken down and mandated that a new linden tree be planted there. Our costs for this are around $650. 

Ellen Roberts coordinated the communication between the church and the arborist, and he came with his assistants last Saturday. There is now much more natural light at the back of the church, and the pesky starlings will have to find another place to roost.