|
Monday
| Prayer Group
No Monday Prayer Group
today or January 2nd.
We will gather again in the chapel on Monday, January 8 at 12:10 to pray. Everyone is welcome to join us, either in person or remotely. We use Noonday Prayer (pages 103-107 in the Book of Common Prayer) and pray for Grace, Madison, and the world. If you have something specific you would like us to pray for, please email Darby Puglielli at. |
|
Tuesday
| 
Meals for Healing
Darby Puglieli will be coordinating delivery of meals (fresh or frozen) to the Ambrosavage family. If you can provide a meal, please e-mail Darby at:
|
|
Thursday
| No Choir Rehearsal
Christmas Break
|
|
Friday
| The Food Pantry is closed.
It will reopen January 3rd.
Friday Fish?
Seaworthy:
A History of Maritime Health & Medicine An examination of subjects such as scurvy, horseshoe crabs, the Middle Passage, SCUBA, Caisson disease, the health of emigrants, desalination, sea sickness, shipwrecks, whaling and the health of seamen across the ages, 12 - 1 p.m.
Ebling Library
UW-Madison 750 Highland Ave. Phone: 262-2402 |
|
Saturday
|
Welcome in the New Year with prayers and thanksgiving. Between the chips and dip of tonight's celebration, stop and listen for the wonderful ways God will call all open hearts to serve at home or around the globe in 2012. |
|
Sunday
| |
10 a.m.
Holy Eucharist, Rite II
The nursery room will be available, but un-staffed. There will be no 8 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Family Gathering Time, Godly Play, or Coffee Hour today. They will all resume again on January 8.
Worship in Spanish will also resume again on January 8 with a celebration of Epiphany led by Father Charles Granger.
The church office will be closed on January 2.
|
|
|
This Week at Grace
December 26 - January 1 |
According to a report just released through the New Zealand Herald, within 50 years frankincense, that highly prized aromatic of antiquity also brought by one of the wise men as a gift to the infant Jesus, could exist no more.
Although alarming as any news of an unnecessary phasing-out is, given a recent experience, it didn't quite shake me as it could have. I've seen this before. Last week at a Sauk City Christmas pageant, the frankincese was quickly replaced by something of a greater and more immediate value.
You see, the baby Jesus, played by the part of a four-month-old member of the congregation, could not stop crying. Poor Mary, who could barely hold the baby and her headscarf together in the calmest of times, was only three lines in when the infant's wails escalated to uncomfortable.
As the wise men began to make their way down the isle, the mother of the upset baby made a bold play. She quickly swapped out the dented gold box of frankincense (the one with the three-year-old wrinkled green bow that had seen better days) for a Nuk pacifier. The robed wise man quickly adjusted to his new gift and deftly headed to the altar, inserted the pacifier into the mouth of the babe, and brought immediate peace to all of Bethlehem.
So much for God's carefully planned foreshadowing of Jesus' death.
Well, at least now that Christmas is behind us we can start to think towards the next blip on the calendar - New Year's Eve.
For most people, New Year's Eve winds up being an overrated time of trying to top whatever lame thing we ended up doing last year on that one night of the year that's supposed to be the best, most cutting edge extravaganza of them all.
So this year I've decided to come out of the closet. I am not going to do anything that involves glittery hats or paper horns. I am not going to go out about town from party to party foisting bubbly drinks. I am not going to watch the ball drop in New York City or set the clocks ahead four hours so my kids will think it's really midnight at eight o'clock like I did the last two years.
This year I'm going on a walk.
When I saw the UW Arboretum was hosting a New Year's Eve hike from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at their Visitor Center I knew that would be the thing to do. Walking out in nature has always been the perfect vehicle for awakening, for thinking.
When the wise men took their long journey following that bright and shining star I imagine they had ample time for thought. There was no in-flight movie or the latest issue of The New Yorker to peruse. Just them and a vast sky. I imagine when the conversation between the three men ran dry, that's when the best kind of inner conversations began.
In all the noise and celebration it can be easy to drown out the conversations between our heart of hearts and God.
As Epiphany and the new year approaches, I can't think of a better time to make time to quietly focus on our own journeys toward Bethlehem. Whether it's a walk in a field or time in mediation and prayer, our souls are long overdue for a little quality time lost in thought and listening.
The best life-shaping movements always seems to spring forth when we give ourselves room to grow.
- Jody
Arboretum New Year's Eve Walk
The Arboretum Visitor Center will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve. A hike begins at 6:30. Dress for the weather and for hiking on dirt/snowy trails. After the walk, meet back at the center for a cup of hot chocolate to welcome the New Year in a quiet, peaceful way.
UW Arboretum Visitor Center
1207 Seminole Highway Madison, WI USA
Phone: 263-7888
|
|
| |
|
In God's Service
|
|
Dear Service Ministers, In the excitement surrounding Christmas I forgot about January! Please check your e-mails to fill out the January ROTA schedule. Many thanks, Jody From the ROTA results in already... January 1, 10 a.m.
Prayers of the People: Judy Rose Lectors: Heidi Barnhill, Max Harris Eucharistic Ministers: Max Harris, Benjamin Farrow, Ann Harris Tellers: Stan Richardson, Heidi Barnhill Healing Prayer Team: Pat Pollock, Heidi Barnhill Ushers: Stan Richardson, Ann Kruger, Steve Smith, Francine Hartman
Vestry on Call
If you have any questions, joys or concerns,
please feel free to contact:
Mary Ann Cook
macook@charter.net or (608) 238-6974
Linda Newman
lhnewman@wisc.edu or (608) 238-6356
Thank you to Michael Leland, Steve Webster and Heidi Barnhill who have served the people of Grace, through the Vestry, faithfully in the past few years. We are eternally grateful for your leadership and vision.
We welcome Hazel Holden, Mary Ann Cook, and John Wood (along with Ginny Shannon serving a new term) as members of the Vestry this year. We look forward to the fruits of your labors!
|
| |
|
Commitment to Grace
|
|
Provide an overview of upcoming events. Generate excitement in your
Pledge Update
Operating
Budget Pledges | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 as of 12/27/11 | | | | | | | | | Number of pledges | 123 | 125 | 117 | | | | | | | | | Pledges as % of active members | 69% | 70% | 66% | | | | | | | | Total amount
of pledges | $324,381 | $323,506 | $320,842 | | | | | | | | | Average pledge | $2,637 | $2,588 | $2,742 | | | | | | | | Pledges $2,000
or less | 75 | 78 | 66 | | | | | | | | | Pledges between $2,001 and $5,000 | 36 | 33 | 37 | | | | | | | | | Pledges over $5,000 | 12 | 14 | 14 | |
If you haven't yet made your pledge to support Grace Church in 2012, a member of our Vestry will give you a call within the next couple of weeks to make it easy for you to accomplish this important task of supporting our church. If you want to pledge now, please fill out your pledge card, which you can place in the offering plate or send to our financial administrator Janet Lubniewski at 116 W. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703
|
|
|
