Greetings from Grace! 
In this Issue: Ice Skating Party, Fat Sunday Brunch and Indulgences, Christmas Pageant Pictures and More!  

 

Grace Episcopal Church
1041 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
202.333.7100 | 
In this issue...
Ice Skating Party, January 27th
Fat Sunday, February 10th
Grace's Archive and Sesquicentennial
Profile: Luis Solares, Grace's Sexton
Christmas Pageant Pictures
Vestry Notes: Same Gender Marriage
Update: Bike Rack on Wisconsin Avenue
Success: Congregation-based Shelter at Grace
Upcoming Events
Sunday, January 13th
After the 10:30 AM Service
Coffee Hour hosted by the Dunn Family
 
Pastoral Care Knitting Circle
Contact Susan Tobias for more information 
 
Sunday, January 20th
After the 10:30 AM Service
Coffee Hour hosted by the Pastoral Care Committee
 
20s30s40s Bible Study
Led by John Graham, the theme is same-gender marriage, using Bishop Mariann's recent theological reflection as our principal discussion guide
 
Sunday, January 27th
10:15 AM
Prayers for the Nation and the World
at the Memorial Cross immediately before the 10:30 AM Service
 
After the 10:30 AM Service
Coffee Hour hosted by the Counters
 
Grace Ice Skating Party
Please join us!
More Information
 
Sunday, February 3rd
After the 10:30 AM Service
Coffee Hour hosted by Gardens and Grounds
 
Sunday, February 10th
After the 10:30 AM Service
"Fat Sunday" Brunch and Indulgences with Live Jazz Music hosted by the Outreach Committee with help from the Music on the Lawn volunteers
 
Wednesday, February 13th
12:15 PM and 7:00 PM
Ash Wednesday Services 
 
Sunday, February 17th
After the 10:30 AM Service
Coffee Hour hosted by the Memorials Committee
 
Sunday, February 24th
10:15 AM
Prayers for the Nation and the World
at the Memorial Cross immediately before the 10:30 AM Service
 
After the 10:30 AM Service
Coffee Hour hosted by the Greeters
Eucharistic Ministries

Interested in becoming a Server, Communion Minister or Reader?

We'll be holding training in February; all new Servers and Communion Ministers will be scheduled to apprentice with veterans before going solo.  
 
Contact John Graham  via email or phone (202-333-7100) to learn more or sign-up.  
Thank You Grace's Table Volunteers
Thank you to all the Grace's Table Volunteers that brought food from September through December 2012!
 
Grace's Table offers hot lunch, Bible study and fellowship on Saturdays for people who are homeless or living on the margins. 
 
If you can volunteer to cook a meal please contact Sarah Haft or Kay Horst.
 
The Outreach Committee is happy to reimburse Grace's Table volunteers for their out-of-pocket costs of providing food and parking.
Jazz Vespers
Grace was happy to host a brief service of Evening Prayer with musical offerings from the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra all-stars on December 2nd, 2012.
January Birthdays
Bill Carter
Henry Carter
Rosalie Cornelius
Miriam Dotson
Adam Harrington
Jean McKinney
Sharon Ollison 
 
We'd like to include you in this list! Please email us with your birthday!
Flowers for the Altar
It's always a pleasure to see flowers in the church!

 

If you have a loved one or an event you'd like to commemorate, please consider contributing flowers for the Sunday services! 

 

You may deliver flowers to the church yourself on Saturdays or call 202-333-7100 or email
the church office and we can order them and have them delivered for $65.
Write for Greetings from Grace!
You don't have to be Superman -- you don't even have to be Clark Kent or Lois Lane -- we'd love to have more writers contribute to the newsletter.

Contact our editor, Jeanne Jennings, to discuss opportunities.  

Greetings from Grace is published every month to inform and engage members and friends of Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown.
                                                                                      January 12, 2013
Dear Friend of Grace,

Happy New Year! Our Christmas Pageant back in December was a success -- nearly 30 children participated, see some pictures below. 

We're also starting out 2013 with a bang! Join us January 27th for an Ice Skating Party at the new Washington Harbour rink in Georgetown and don't miss our "Fat Sunday" brunch and indulgences on February 10th. Both events will be taking place right after the 10:30 AM Services on those Sundays -- read on to get details. 

There's a lot more here as well -- please take a moment now to catch-up on the latest news from Grace. 


In Christ's Redeeming Love,
John Graham, Rector
Skating Sunday, January 27th -- Grace Church Ice Skating Party! By Jeanne Jennings

Please join us, and feel free to invite family, friends and neighbors, for an ice skating party on Sunday, January 27th, following the 10:30 AM service. 

We'll be skating at the new outdoor ice skating rink in Georgetown, just a short walk from Grace at Washington Harbour, 3050 K Street NW.


It's a fun and healthy activity for children and adults -- I've already become a rink rat. They have penguins that kids just learning can use to help with balance while they're getting the skating motion down. Rental skates start at size 8J and go through adult. 

If we get 10 people, we'll qualify for a group rate of $10 per person, which includes skating and skate rental. This is a savings of $2 to $4 dollars off the usual cost.

We'll meet and leave from Coffee Hour after the 10:30 AM service. If you're planning to join us or would like more information please email or call (202.333.4363) me! Looking forward to seeing you on the ice! 
FatSunday"Fat Sunday" -- Join us for Brunch and Indulgences on February 10th!

To help us prepare for Lent, the Outreach Committee will sponsor a brunch on "Fat Sunday" after the 10:30 service on the Last Sunday of Epiphany, February 10th (Ash Wednesday is February 13th).

 

"Fat" or "Shrove Tuesday" is a traditional occasion for using up the cooking oils, lard and butter in a household before the fast of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Grace has moved this celebration to the preceding Sunday so as to increase attendance.

 

Come and enjoy an all-star combo from the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra and a rich smorgasbord of brunch dishes, desserts and other tasty treats laden with fat and totally lacking in any nutritional value. 

 

To ease guilty consciences, the Outreach Committee will be selling indulgences. All indulgence payments and other contributions support the work of the Outreach Committee, which helps to fund our Grace's Table ministry with homeless neighbors, Music on the Lawn, and Grace's membership in the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). 

 

If you are trying to lose weight or simply disapprove of this whole event, the Outreach Committee would still welcome your monetary contribution.

archiveGrace's Archive and Sesquicentennial Celebration  By John Boynton

Cataloging the parish archive continues to be a fascinating activity. 

 

I skipped ahead and opened each box to see what was ahead of me. A significant discovery was two boxes of photographs probably taken from 1960s forward with only a few identified as to persons and or dates.

 

Those of you who were part of the congregation in that era could help greatly if you could contact me through John Graham and sit with me for a while to see what we could document.

 

Additionally I discovered some transcripts of interviews with former rectors and parishioners that add a great deal to the written record. I acquired a recording device that can be downloaded to a computer with which an oral history project could be started. I mentioned this to a few folks over the summer, and let it go until the holiday season. I'm making a New Year's resolution to follow through.

 

Lastly, should anyone have ideas toward making the sesquicentennial celebration special please share them with me. New ideas would be appreciated, volunteers acclaimed. 2016 is a lot closer than we think.

Profile: Luis Solares, Grace's Sexton By Jeanne Jennings

When John suggested we interview Luis for the newsletter, I jumped at the chance!

 

He was so helpful to me during Music on the Lawn; it was great to get to know him better and I'm hoping I can share with you some things you might not know about Luis.

 

It's been more than 11 years since Luis became the Sexton here at Grace. That was before John Graham got here (David Bird was the Rector), but Helen was already managing our office. 

 

Luis had been living in the DC area but returned home to Bolivia after his father passed away, to help settle the estate. When he got back to DC he was in need of a job and a friend suggested he call Grace. He interviewed with David and the rest is history.

 

His time spent as a building engineer prepared Luis well for his job as Sexton; having to either fix or find someone to fix anything that goes wrong in an office building isn't unlike the work he does here at Grace. But Luis didn't begin his life in DC as a building engineer.

 

26 years ago Luis left Bolivia and, after a short stay in Florida, came to DC to see a friend. Although he had taken years of English in school, he struggled with the language. After jobs in fast food and janitorial services, a colleague noticed his strong work ethic and invited him to take classes to improve his English and train to become a building engineer. Luis was thankful for the opportunity and made the most of it.

 

While he initially came to the states alone, through the years Luis has been able to bring his children here from Bolivia to be with him. All are grown and now live in the DC area - and he has four grandchildren here as well!

 

Luis and I took a walk to the new ice rink at Washington Harbour after lunch. I'm hoping that he and maybe even his children and grandchildren will join us for the Skating Party on January 27th - it was nice to learn that he knows how to skate and enjoys it.

 

We also talked a lot about bicycling! Luis has two bicycles and enjoys going out to ride. These days he can most often be found on the trail to and from Bethesda, but he used to enjoy riding all the way to Reston and back! Luis had hoped to participate in the Bishop's Bike Ride this summer, but ended up not being able to. Maybe a group of us from Grace, including Luis, can join Bishop Mariann this year, if she hosts rides again.

 

I asked Luis what he enjoyed most about Grace; he didn't miss a beat before replying that it was the people. He said that the parishioners are so appreciative of the work he does here and they are constantly thanking him! This, he says, makes him feel good.

 

I wish you all could have joined our lunch - there's so much more I'd like to share with you! But at the very least, the next time you see Luis, take a moment to ask him how his grandchildren are, find out whether he's been ice skating yet and once again thank him for all he does for Grace. 

 pagaent Christmas Pageant  

We are so proud of our youngest parishioners! Nearly 30 children and teens took part in our annual Christmas Pageant and it was wonderful! Here are some pictures; special thanks to Amy Dunn, Danielle Dotson, Jacqueline Walters, Stacy Carter, Sherry Anderson, Mitzi Aden, Catherine Aselford and all the other adults who helped make this special celebration happen!


Vestry Notes from the December Meeting By Barbara de Beaufort 

 

 

  • John Graham noted the changes by Bishop Mariann of the guidelines concerning same-sex marriages in the Diocese of Washington.
    • First, Bishop Mariann lifted Bishop Chane's previous restrictions on same-sex marriage for those coming from other jurisdictions.
    • Second, for congregations and clergy who feel called to preside at same-sex marriage, she asks that marriage policies be the same for both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
  • Since the resolution of the Vestry was published in the Grace Newsletter, John has had a large number of written and verbal expressions of support. Some parishioners stated or re-stated their concerns about same-gender marriage, while several expressed great pride to be associated with Grace and this resolution.
  • John, the Vestry, and the Parish took a year and a half to consider and reflect on this issue. Kimberly Ludwig expressed appreciation for John's leadership. He made certain that everyone had the opportunity to express their thoughts on this historic decision. She thanked him for the deliberative process and the time to make the decision.
  • The following resolution was passed unanimously by the Vestry by voice vote: Resolved:that the Vestry of Grace Episcopal Church, Georgetown, authorize the Reverend John M. Graham, in his capacity as Rector of Grace Church and at his discretion, to solemnize same-sex marriages at Grace Church in accordance with the authority granted by the 2009 and 2012 General Conventions of the Episcopal Church and by the guidelines promulgated by the Diocese of Washington in response thereto.
  • For the Bishop's Guidelines for Same-Sex Marriage, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, please visit www.edow.org.marriage
  • Peter Wallace, the Vestry Treasurer, presented the first draft of the 2013 Budget. He noted that we will close 2012 with a balance of $125,000 in the general account. In the first review of the 2013 Budget, he projected pledge income of $312,000, about $8,500 more than last year.
  • On the cost side, including all the items we might want to fund, we come up with a deficit. Peter suggested that we may want to lower our ambitions. 
  • One major increase will be the National Church requirement that parishes offer health care coverage for lay and clergy staff working more than 1,000 hours yearly. 
  • The Vestry had a lengthy discussion of the Budget, and discussed Peter's proposal on the health care coverage and his other suggestions for cutting costs. 
  • Due to time constraints, John Graham and Paul Alligood will send email reports to the Vestry on the progress on their items, including the stone work, the crane easement, the South Street garden, and Bike Share.

Full minutes of the Vestry Meeting will be filed in a notebook in the Volunteer Office of the Rectory after they have been approved by the Vestry.

 

bikerackUpdate: Bike Rack on Wisconsin Avenue

Many thanks to those who write notes and made calls, and to the District and neighborhood officials who responded to them.

We've gotten word from Bikeshare that the rack will be moved off the street and onto the sidewalk as soon a weather and their schedule permit.

The Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission unanimously passed a resolution supporting this plan at their meeting on Wednesday, January 2. 
shelter Success: Congregation-based Shelter at Grace

Grace once again hosted the Congregation-based Shelter that the Georgetown Ministry Center puts together each winter. 

Roughly a dozen homeless men and women received a hot dinner, safe and warm place to sleep and healthy breakfast for the two weeks in December that the shelter was based at Grace. 

Thanks to all the volunteers that cooked and served meals, spent overnights, helped move our guests belongings in and then out after their stay and who generally make Grace a welcoming place for those in need.  
Weekly at Grace
 
Sundays
8:30 am
Holy Eucharist

 

9:40 am
Adult Forum: Evil and the God of Love
Held in the parish hall; child care available
 
10:15 am
Prayers for the Nation and the World
Held outside at the Memorial Cross, includes remembrance of the Fallen (last Sunday of each month; 15 minutes)
 
10:30 am
Holy Eucharist 
Music, child care and Sunday School

 

5:00 pm
Service of Prayer, Meditation and Communion
Informal

 

Tuesdays
12:15 pm
Centering Prayer
35 minutes
 
Wednesdays
12:15 pm
Holy Eucharist
30 minutes
 
Saturdays
11:30 am
Grace's Table

Grace's Table offers hot lunch, Bible study and fellowship for persons who are homeless or living on the margins. 

About Grace

Grace Episcopal Church, Georgetown, was founded nearly 150 years ago to serve the laborers, craftsmen, shopkeepers, and watermen of the Georgetown waterfront.

By 1857 regular services were being held in a wooden chapel that stood in the southwest corner of the churchyard, where the World War I Memorial Cross now stands.

Outreach to the community, particularly lower Georgetown, remains a vital ministry of Grace.

To that end we host a variety of events for the public, including an annual Bach Festival and Music on the Lawn. Our parishioners are also active volunteers for the Taste of Georgetown, which supports the Georgetown Ministry Center, located in the basement of our Rectory. 

Grace Church is committed to providing a spiritual refuge for everyone living and working in the Georgetown area regardless of their religious affiliation. 

Visitors to Grace find a warm welcome, wonderful music, and a heartfelt faith. We are located on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue, just below M Street and the Canal, in the heart of Georgetown. 

Please join us for a service, an event, or just moment of quiet during your day. A weekly schedule of events appears in the column to your left.

Grace Episcopal Church
1041 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-333-7100
 
2 hours free parking, with Grace validated exit ticket, is available in the Cinema Garage on K Street (just east of the intersection of Wisconsin and K Streets, one block south of the church):
  • Sunday until 1:00 pm
  • Monday through Thursday until 11:00 pm
  • Friday until 6:00 pm