Greetings from Grace! 
In this Issue: Youth Group to Host Grace's Table, Pictures from the Friends of Grace Gala, Sunday School Acts of Service and More!  

 

Grace Episcopal Church, Georgetown
1041 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
202.333.7100 | 
In this issue...
Youth Group to Host Grace's Table
Spirit in Nature Summer Pilgrimage
21st Grace Church Bach Festival
Sunday School Acts of Service
Friends of Grace Gala: Pictures
Youth Group Watches "Oh God!"
Parishioner Profile: John Hassell and Scott Shaughnessy
From the Grace Archive: The Regional Addictions Program
Vestry Notes from April
UpcomingEventsUpcoming Events
Sunday, May 4th
Following the 10:30 Service
20s30s40s Bible Study

Saturday, May 10th
9:00 AM to Noon
Garden Work Day
 
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Youth Group Serves Lunch for the Homeless at Grace's Table

Sunday, May 18th
During the 10:30 Service
Children's Chapel
Downstairs in the Sunday School area
 
Following the 10:30 Service
20s30s40s Bible Study

Sunday, June 8th
Following the 10:30 Service
Whitsunday 'Music on the Lawn' Performance
Details to come
 
Sunday, June 22nd 
Noon to 3:00 PM
Youth Group Kayaking and Picnic on the Potomac River 
Details to come
 
Sunday, June 29th 
10:30 AM Service 
Youth Sunday
Young parishioners from Sunday School and the Youth Group to actively participate in the 10:30 AM Service; details to come
 
Sunday, July 20th 
Noon to 6:00 PM
Youth Group invites Grace Parishioners to Join them at the Nationals Game vs. the Brewers 
Details to come
Coffee Hour Hosts
May
4th Koinonia
11th Seminarian Lay Commitee
18th Greeters
25th Memorials Committee
 
June
1st Altar Guild
8th Pastoral Care Committee
15th Sunday School
22nd Grace's Table
29th Garden and Grounds Committee
wednesdaysHoly Eucharist, Wednesdays at 12:15 PM
St. Matthias

Each Wednesday during the 12:15 PM service we celebrate a holiday or the life of someone important in the church. Here's the upcoming line-up: 

 

May

7th Julian of Norwich

14th St. Matthias

21st Alcuin, Deacon and Abbott

28th Eve of Ascension
 
Please join us for this brief (30 minutes) but spiritually rewarding service. 
Greeters Needed

Welcoming people to Grace on a Sunday morning is a very special thing. 


We give out the service bulletins and look for people who may be new to the church. After the service we try to meet these new people. 

Our purpose is to make a connection with them and see if we or Grace can help them in any way. 

If you would like to learn more about being a Greeter at Grace please contact Helen Buhr
Housing Needed

Grace's own Trellace Lawrimore has a summer internship in DC and is looking for a place to stay; please contact the office if you have can help. 

ThankYouThank You Friends of Grace Gala Committee!

Paige Baschuk

Helen Buhr (co-chair)

Peyton Craighill

Diana Dick

John Graham

Christina Kreutziger

Scott Murphy (co-chair)

Donna Pica

Janet Sale

Luis Solares

Ari Lynn Tonini

Crystal Upperman

Camp Edow 2014

The Diocese of Washington summer camp program at Lions Camp Merrick, Nanjemoy, MD exists to promote the spiritual and emotional development of children, youth, and young adults through the fostering of a safe and positive environment for all. 

 

It is the goal of this program to encourage the growth of relationships with self, others, and God.

 

Learn more

Gluten Free Communion Wafers

Grace consecrates gluten free communion wafers along with communion bread for every service. 

 

If you'd like to take advantage of this gluten free option, please let the Rector know before the service or just ask at the altar when you come up for communion. 

 

We hope this will make the Lord's table more open to all. 

May Birthdays

Charles Bolmar

Amaya Bravo
Vicki Carlson
Don McCree
Jenevieve McCree
James Pener
Sofie Pham
Whitney Redding
Jackson Sipple-Asher
Alecia Torres de Valdez 
 

 

We'd like to include you in this list! Please email us with your birthday!

Exam Care Packages for Georgetown Students

The Sunday School children decorated the boxes...parishioners donated goodies to fill them...and attendees at the 10:30 AM service on Sunday, May 4th put together exam care packages for our student friends at Georgetown University. 

 

Thanks to all who participated -- and especially to David Bujard for organizing the effort!
FlowersFlowers for the Church
yellow-flower-closeup.jpg

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! 

Email or call (202.333.7100) the church office about the date you desire. 

 

You may deliver flowers to the church yourself on Saturdays or we can order them and have them delivered for $65.
                                                                            May 6, 2014
 

A good time was had by all (and funds were raised to begin repair work on the church) at the Friends of Grace Gala last month -- see pictures below. Thanks to all who attended and/or donated items for the silent auction, and thanks also to the committee for a wonderful event. 

The Grace-St. John's Youth Group will be hosting Grace's Table this coming Saturday. Please take a minute to RSVP if you haven't already. Also read about initial details on this year's Summer Pilgrimage, Spirit in Nature, and our 21st Bach Festival

Learn more about the Sunday School's Acts of Service, Grace's history of helping those in need and Parishioners John Hassell and Scott Shaughnessy in this issue. 


In Christ's Redeeming Love,
John Graham, Rector
 
The Youth Group will be feeding the homeless and those on the margins at Grace's Table on Saturday, May 10th. We'll meet at 10:30 AM to make chili and fixings; we will be done with clean-up at 1:30 PM. 
 
Youth Group members, please RSVP Online and let us know if you can join us. Contact Jeanne Jennings with questions. 
SpiritinNature Spirit in Nature: 2014 Summer Pilgrimage
By The Reverend Sarah Motley

'Summer is a comin' in' ... and here at Grace, that means it's soon going to be time for Christian Education's intergenerational
Summer Pilgrimage.   

 

Summer 2014 will be another intentional experience and study of sites around the region: Spirit in Nature (Following Summer 2012's Interfaith Spirit, and Summer 2013 Spirit in the Arts).

 

This year, we will plant our own 'Pilgrimage' plot in Grace's gorgeous garden, adding a few vegetable plants to symbolize the gifts of sustenance (as well as beauty) that God provides so abundantly from the Earth. 

 

Visits to the Bishop's Garden at the National Cathedral, the National Arboretum, and Green Springs Gardens are a few of the field trips in the planning stages (Many thanks to Nancy Bagwell for consultation on area educational gardens).

 

Watch for details in the June Greetings from Grace, and plan now to join us for a summer celebrating God's Spirit in Nature. 

 

For more information, email The Reverend Sarah Motley

BachThe 21st Grace Church Bach Festival
  
Please save the dates!
 
July 6th, 3:00 PM
Francine Mate, organ and Francine's Bach group
 
July 7th, 7;30 PM
Larry Molinaro, organ
 
July 9th, 7:30 PM 
Roland Stangier, from Essen Germany, organ
 
July 11th, 7:30 PM 
Julie Evans, organ, all star J.S. Bach trio sonatas
 
July 13th, 1:30 PM
Stephan Ackert, organ, and his group 
 
Additional details to follow
ActsofService Acts of Service
By Kagiso Seferian

 

During Lent, Sunday School decided our sacrifice would be doing nice things for our family, friends, and even nature.

 

We shared our acts of service with the church on Easter and Reverend Graham prayed over them.

 

This taught us that helping others is a good thing.  Also, it can be fun to help others.

gala Friends of Grace Gala 

Pictures Courtesy of Barbara de Beaufort 

 

 

Grace-St. John's Youth Group Enjoys Dinner and A Movie

On Saturday night, April 26th, the Grace-St. John's Youth Group shared a night of make-your-own pizza, hot buttered popcorn and "Oh, God!", the 1977 film starring George Burns in the title role. 

We were a small but engaged group:
Dan Brown (co-leader)
Emily Rowell Brown (co-leader)
Axel Demmerle
Fielding Fischer
Martin Fischer
John Graham (clergy)
Jeanne Jennings (co-leader)

If you haven't watched "Oh God!" recently, we all highly recommend it (even with John Denver's bowl-cut hairdo and Teri Garr's very 70s wardrobe). Here are a few of our favorite quotes:

"You know, Voltaire may have had me pegged. He said I was a comedian playing to an audience who's afraid to laugh."

"The last miracle I did was the 1969 Mets. Before that I think you have to go back to the Red Sea."

"[They're asking me] 'Did man fall from grace in the Garden of Eden?' I'll tell you something that never came out. I made Adam 17. Eve was 15, 16 tops. I figured then 16, 17 was middle age, you know. Who knew people would live so long? Trees I figured had the best chance. Now I realize that they were kids, babies. Young people can't fall from my grace. They're my best things."

"I know how hard it is in these times to have faith. But maybe if you could have the faith to start with, maybe the times would change. You could change them. Think about it. Try."
 
Afterward we talked about the key message of the movie (That God gave us everything we need to make the world work -- but that it's up to us to use what He gave us to make it work), how we might feel if we were in John Denver's shoes and our thoughts about George Burns' depiction of God. A good time was had by all. 
ParishProfile Parishioner Profile: John Hassell and Scott Shaughnessy
By The Reverend Sarah Motley

 

It's always interesting to discover how parishoners find their way to Grace Church. Some hear about the church from friends, others hear about the Bach festival or the outreach or simply find their way via 'church shopping.' Because Grace is located in a dense and heavily commercial neighborhood, not so many walk in, stop in, and stay. Two of these 'lucky few', Scott Shaughnessy and John Hassell, live just a few blocks away, and have been faithful participants in the Sunday Evening Eucharist for many years.

 

It was Scott who first discovered "a beautiful little church that inspired me, right around the corner" when he moved into the neighborhood in 2005. Scott grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition, which was important to his mother, as the family moved from New York to other places around the U.S. and Puerto Rico, though enjoying occasional visits to Episcopal services with his father, an Episcopalian.

 

After college at William and Mary and Georgetown, followed by graduate work leading to Masters, a Doctorate and the academic life, he turned first to the non-profit sector, then the private sector.  

 

Scott started rediscovering his need for prayer, meditation and faith after a period "in the wilderness" while living in New York City, where, in the late 1990s he was working for the accountancy firm KPMG. His Park Avenue office was located next door to St. Bartholomew's (St. Barts), one of New York's landmark Episcopal churches. Though drawn initially to St. Barts' majesty, ritual, and "blue blood" legacy, as well as its commitment to the community, what Scott has come to value at Grace's Sunday evening service is the "simplicity, intimacy, spirituality, and contemplative atmosphere."  Scott has also been appreciative of the Bach concert series, Music on the Lawn, volunteering at Grace's Table, and becoming acquainted with others who attend the evening Eucharist - in fact, Scott and John met up, unexpectedly, with a fellow 5pm Sunday service attendee and her husband, for dinner in Port of Spain, Trinidad during the Christmas 2012 holidays!

 

Though his path to Grace Church is somewhat different, John Hassell echoes the primary reasons that this place has come to mean so much to him. "I like to enjoy the riches all the people have to offer," he says, "Grace is at the intersection of so many parts of this city - the wealthy and poor, high-end retail and homeless ministry center; Grace is a reminder that here's this church, right in the intersection of so much, calling the community to follow Jesus to care for the poor, the prisoner, the hungry."

 

John also grew up as a Roman Catholic, in Virginia, where he attended college at William and Mary. When he moved to Washington, DC in 2002, John became involved with Metropolitan Community Church. He spent years after college in the corporate world, then turning to work for "things in line with social justice" beginning with UNAIDS. While on assignment in Trinidad & Tobago, in 2011-2013, he attended services at All Saints Anglican Church in the capital city Port of Spain, and came to know a priest whose ministry was actively engaged with the LGBT community. Her presence was a significant factor in his openness to the Episcopal Church when he returned to Washington, D.C. in 2013.

 

During his re- acclimation to Washington, John has also been actively involved in the Church of the Saviour, where the alternative approach to structure and ministry is based on what are termed "expressions". "They have started and spun off so many urban services, and work intentionally with long-term issues such as racism" he emphasizes. In his quest for a deeper sense of a calling toward social justice, he has also taken two classes in Hebrew Scripture at Wesley Theological Seminary ("not for a degree but for knowledge") during which the Psalms came alive to him in a new way as "such human expressions of faith."   (He co-led the Lenten evening study series at Grace, "Darkness, Light and the In-Between: Two Psalms for Lent.")

 

What was ultimately conveyed during his study, however, was that "Christianity in its true form has a subversive message; it questions power and money as they affect those who can't take care of themselves. This is where Grace struggles to stay engaged, and what draws me here."

 

Finally, both Scott and John find a home at Grace because "here we are accepted as an openly gay couple, in a diocese that brings the LGBT community into full participation in the church."  "Grace may not have all the bells, whistles, stained glass, etc., but here there is peace, intimacy, a commitment to community, and security; a place to feel completely relaxed where the burdens and anxieties of life are lifted."

 

That surely describes Grace Church, and just as surely, that quality of grounded openness is what Scott and John not only receive but also offer to the community here.

Gleanings Gleanings from Grace: The Regional Addictions Program (RAP)
By John Boynton

Recently a long awaited Spring was intruded upon by the justifiable focus in the press on three young adults in Fairfax County who died overdosing on heroin from the same supplier, who was also an addict. 

 

The supplier's sentencing shed light on a heroin epidemic in our Virginia Suburbs the full scope and impact of which is just now being assessed by law enforcement and public health agencies. 

 

This is a somber note in a glorious Spring which is the season of the Resurrection. The motif of resurrection sounded in the story of one young addict who had recently completed the Regional Addictions Program (RAP) prior to his fatal overdose. It was a note of promise of resurrection for other addicts to whom the RAP program is available.

 

Grace Church has been through many resurrections, none more dramatic than its near collapse as a dwindling congregation of aging parishioners back in the 1960s. A well-intended attempt at social relevance foundered when a new vestry sought to reinvent Grace as an Center for the Arts, putting secular creativity ahead of liturgical worship. 

 

The controversial resignation of The Reverend Stuart Gast and that vestry was a near disaster until the Diocese stepped in and a new vestry was formed by the very few remaining Grace members and volunteers from St. John's Church Georgetown. 

 

With an interim supply priest with a day job at the Department of State and the new vestry a new Rector was sought and a call was made to The Reverend Richard Martin who had returned from mission parish experience in Africa.

 

He arrived at a high point in the history of the nation, DC, and Georgetown. The Vietnam War was raging and increasing numbers of protesters thronged the city, among them Hippies who brought with them the drug lifestyle. Far too many were throwaway child drifters, runaways from all over the country and even suburban weekend dropouts. 

 

The Reverend Martin met the challenges of a social paradigm shift with courage, resolve and imagination in his brief tenure from 1969 to 1971. At least a dozen faith based or faith supported outreach efforts were housed or launched within the gates of Grace Church. Their story is enough for another time, but none were as important as twin efforts to aid persons with drug issues. 

 

The first was 'Switchboard,' staffed with volunteers from the alternative community, which fielded calls ranging from talking down bad LSD trippers to helping find a way out for drug users trapped in addiction. 

 

The other was RAP, a way out of the cycle of addiction. Rap today is music, but "to rap" in the 1960's was to communicate closely, a foreshortening of rapport. Drug users finding their way back from addiction assisted by peer counselors with a history of recovery in an intentional community was neither invented nor perfected at RAP. But the personal breakthroughs in intensive "rap sessions" between struggling drug users and peer counselors provided an element unavailable to that date in area drug treatment.

 

RAP exists today under the leadership of Ron Clark who was there at the beginning. Unknown thousands of persons in the Greater Washington Area have walked out of the hell of addiction through their doors. People helped other people at a phone bank and a nascent treatment modality...dreams realized in the Grace Rectory in a time of crisis and resurrection.

 

There are thousands of bad jokes about drug use in the sixties but RAP is not one of them. And the church that provided "crash space" on the churchyard lawn, a co-op food bank, and a day labor cooperative was known by "wayward youth" all over town as Amazing Grace.

Vestry Vestry Notes from the April Meeting
By Barbara de Beaufort 

 

We were delighted to welcome Peter Tietjen to the Vestry.

 

The Vestry reviewed the changes in the duties of the Vestry Member in Charge (VMIC). We looked at what our responsibility for the security of the Child Care and Sunday School needs to be.

 

The Vestry set up a nametag system. The VMIC will take the basket with nametags down to the Church entrance, and will return the basket to the cabinet for storage after coffee hour.

 

The Vestry reviewed the Guidelines for Weddings at Grace Church.

Our suggestion was to raise the fees, since they haven't been raised in many years. Lower fees may be negotiated with the Rector in cases of special circumstance.

 

Sarah Motley, our Assistant Rector, reported on the success of Easter Day Children's Chapel.  It was held in the Fellowship Room "Standing Room Only!"

 

We have a new groundskeeper, Timothy's Garden, under the leadership of Timothy Wessel. Our Junior Warden, Diana Dick, reported that he did a good and complete job of cleaning up our grounds and preparing the garden beds for spring planting.

 

Diana Dick and the Garden Committee spent the morning of April 12 planting perennials and annuals.

 

Diana reported that plans for the Gala were on schedule. Donna Pica designed the fun  bayou decorations. Scott Murphy and Ari Lyn Tonini and a number of volunteers worked on the auction items. 


Full minutes of Vestry Meetings are in the binder in the Volunteer Office of the Rectory after they have been approved by the Vestry.

Weekly at Grace
 
Sundays
8:30 AM
Holy Eucharist

 

10:15 AM
Prayers for the Nation and the World
Held outside at the Memorial Cross, includes remembrance of the Fallen (only the last Sunday of each month; 15 minutes)
 
10:30 AM 
Holy Eucharist 
Music, child care and Sunday School

 

5:00 PM 
Evening Eucharist
Plan to stay for refreshments after the service
 
Laying on of Hands for Healing, second Sunday of each month at the 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM services. 

 

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. 

 

Contact the church office for more information or to volunteer.  

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.

Sunday Parking: 3 options

 

1. South Street Lot behind the church - 20 spaces free until 1:30 PM with one time use pass from Grace Church entrance.

 

2. Eagle Bank Lot across Wisconsin Avenue from the Church - 8 spaces free until 12:30 PM (grace period until 1:00 PM) with one time use pass from Grace Church and limited use based on availability for the 5:00 PM service (6:00 PM June through August).


3.
Cinema Garage on K Street just east of Wisconsin Avenue - 2 hour free parking until 1:00 PM with a separate exit ticket from Grace (exit tickets just inside the church left side door) - use both tickets at the pay station to leave the garage.

Weekday Parking at the Cinema Garage on K Street just east of Wisconsin Avenue - Monday through Thursday Day and Night and Friday until 6:00 PM. 2 hour free parking with a separate exit ticket from Grace (exit tickets just inside the church on the left) - use both tickets at the pay station to leave the garage.

 

Grace Episcopal Church
1041 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
202-333-7100  |  [email protected]  |  www.GraceDC.org