Greetings from Grace! 
In this Issue: Summer Pilgrimage, Gala Results, Nationals Game, Youth Group Kayaking and More!  

 

Grace Episcopal Church, Georgetown
1041 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
202.333.7100 | 
In this issue...
Youth Group Kayaking and Picnic
21st Grace Church Bach Festival
Spirit in Nature Summer Pilgrimage
Join us at Nationals Park!
Bayou Bash Gala Results
From the Grace Archive: The Organ and the Bach Festival
Vestry Notes from May
UpcomingEventsUpcoming Events
Sunday, June 8th
Following the 10:00 Service
Whitsunday Jazz Brunch
 
Sunday, June 22nd
During the 10:00 Service
Children's Chapel
 
11:30 AM to 3:00 PM
Youth Group Kayaking and Picnic on the Potomac River 
Learn More
 
Tuesday, June 24th
6:15 to 8:45 PM
Parents' Night Out
 
6:30 PM
Third Space
Young Adults gathering
 
Sunday, June 29th
10:00 AM Service
Youth Sunday
Young parishioners from Sunday School and the Youth Group to actively participate in the 10:00 AM Service; details to come
 
July 6th through 13th 
Various days/times
The Twenty-First Bach Festival at Grace Church
 
Saturdays, July 12th through August 2nd
Times TBD
Summer Pilgrimage 2014: Spirit in Nature
Learn More 

Sunday, July 20th
Noon to 6:00 PM
Youth Group invites Grace Parishioners to Join them at the Nationals Game vs. the Brewers 
RSVP Online by July 6th
 
Sunday, July 27th
After the 10:00 Service
Youth Group hosts a Coffee Hour Cookout for the Parish
Details to come
Coffee Hour Hosts
June
1st Altar Guild
8th Pastoral Care Committee
15th Sunday School
22nd Grace's Table
29th Youth Group (Cookout!)
 
July
6th Garden and Grounds Committee
13th Stewardship Committee
20th 20s30s40s / Third Space
27th Music on the Lawn
wednesdaysHoly Eucharist, Wednesdays at 12:15 PM
St. Barnabas

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: 

 

June

4th Martyrs of Uganda

11th St. Barnabas, Apostle

18th Bernard Mizeki, Martyr

25th St. John the Baptist
 
Please join us for this brief (30 minutes) but spiritually rewarding service. 

Leave your little ones with us on Tuesday, June 24th from 6:15 to 8:45 PM and enjoy an evening in Georgetown, attend the Third Space event or simply get some time to yourself. 


Helen Buhr and Chris Kreutziger will be on hand to have fun with the children.  

 

Please phone (301.529.2511) or email Helen Buhr by 4:00 PM on June 24th if you plan to come. 

Join young adults from the three Episcopal churches in Georgetown to discuss issues of faith. 

 

Meet us upstairs at Le Pain Quotidien in Georgetown, 2815 M Street NW, every 4th Tuesday at 6:30 PM.  

 

This month's gathering will be held on Tuesday, June 24th. 

 

Child care available thanks to Parents Night Out (Learn More). 

 

Contact Christopher Upperman for more information. 

Babysitter Available

Grace's own Trellace Lawrimore has a summer internship in DC and is available to babysit for Grace families - please contact her if you are interested. 

June Birthdays

 

John Boynton

Helen Buhr
Agnes Derrendinger
Elinor Dunn

Casper Dunn

Hugh Hatcher

Phil Kopper

Caleb LeBouder

Beth Lee

Eun Ok Lee Mako

Diana Munson

Elizabeth Penner

Phoebe Pham

Ricky Pham

Stephanie Pham

Jamison Riley

Janet Sale

Lilliana Smith

Peter Tietjen

 

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

Flowers for the ChurchFlowers
flower-bunch.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.
                                                                            June 10, 2014
 

Summer's almost upon us! Mark your calendars to join the Grace Community for a variety of events, including a Youth Group Kayaking trip, the Bach Festival, this Summer's Spiritual Pilgrimage and a Nationals Game!

And don't miss out on our Monthly Third Space and Parents' Night Out events, both taking place on Tuesday, June 24th. 

Also learn more about the funds raised by the Friends of Grace Gala, the history of Grace's Organ and what the Vestry's been up to in this issue. 


In Christ's Redeeming Love,
John Graham, Rector
 
The Youth Group will be enjoying the beauty of God's creation from Georgetown's Waterfront Park!
 
We'll be meeting at Grace at 11:30 AM on Sunday, June 22nd. After kayaking and a potluck picnic, we'll head back to Grace for pick-up at 2:45 PM. 
 
(If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll have an indoor picnic at Grace)
 
Youth Group members, please RSVP Online and let us know if you can join us. Contact Jeanne Jennings with questions. 
 
Save the date! July 20th, Youth Group invites the parish to join them at a Nationals Game! Learn More
BachThe 21st Grace Church Bach Festival
  
Please save the dates!
 
July 6th, 3:00 PM
Francine Mate, organ with violinists Regino Madrid and Armine Chamasyan, cellist Char Prescott, and soprano soloist Soo Young Kim Crisfield
 
July 7th, 7;30 PM
Larry Molinaro, organ and special guest Piotr Pakomkin, classical guitarist
 
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
Stephen Ackert, organ, and Rebecca Smith, harp 
SpiritinNatureSummer Pilgrimage 2014: Spirit in Nature
By The Reverend Sarah Motley

Calling all!  It's summer again, and Grace's unique intergenerational Christian Education offering is coming soon.

 

Following two summers of 'Pilgrimage' visits to area sites (2012: Interfaith Spirit; 2013: Spirit in the Arts), summer 2014 brings 'Pilgrimage: Spirit in Nature.' 

 

With our own serenely beautiful garden as an inspiration, we will venture to the Bishop's Garden at the National Cathedral, the National Arboretum/Herb Garden, the American Horticultural Society at River Farm (Alexandria) and Green Spring Gardens (Alexandria).

 

At each site we will consider the history and thematic elements of each garden, and along the way there will be some study of the themes of nature in the Bible and Christian theology, as well as Christian stewardship of creation.

 

Dates for the Pilgrimage are Saturdays July 12, 19, 26 and August 2, (times to be determined).

 

Sign up sheets will be on the kiosk beginning in June: all ages welcome; the Summer Pilgrimage is also a nice way to introduce a friend, family member or neighbor to the spirit of Grace in an off-site setting. For questions or more details call or email The Reverend Sarah Motley.

 

(Also, there is a very small Pilgrimage Plot in the Grace Garden, near the stairway to South Street, growing vegetables to add to the abundance of flowering plants.)

baseball-glove.jpg NatsGameNationals vs. Brewers
Sunday, July 20th
 
The Grace-St. John's Youth Group invites all Grace and St. John's parishioners to join us when the Nationals take on the Brewers Sunday, July 20th beginning at 1:35 PM.
 
Youth Group members and parishioners are also welcome to bring family and friends! 
 
We'll be purchasing group tickets at $15 per person. The Youth Group will meet at Grace at noon, walk to Foggy Bottom and take the metro to the game (estimated metro fare: $5 per person). You're welcome to join us on the train or, if you prefer, find your own way and meet us at the game. 
 
Please plan to bring additional money for food or bring something with you to eat; Nationals Park allows visitors to bring in Outside Food and Beverage (guidelines here). 
 
We need to have a final count by Sunday, July 6th, so if you're interested please RSVP online today! 
 
Contact Jeanne Jennings via email or phone (202.365.0423) with questions.
We are pleased to announce that the contribution to the Saving Grace Fund for the stone work of the church is $32,700. Thank you to everyone -- attenders, contributors and committee members who made this new record amount happen!
Francine Mate
with our Organ
Gleanings Gleanings from Grace: The Organ and the Bach Festival
By John Boynton

 

The Bach Festival at Grace Church begins its 21st season on the 6th of July. 

 

Always highly anticipated and favorably reviewed it has strong community support among music lovers, Bach aficionados and a small but dedicated coterie of organ nuts. 

 

Our Grace organ, lovingly crafted by A. David Moore and essentially hand built to Grace Church requirements, was on its consecration received as a major musical event in Washington and the subject of celebration in not only the local press but also in nationally recognized organ magazines.

 

The story of the acquisition of this instrument features three major figures; John Fesperman, Grace's organist and music director, Noreen Dann Martin, Senior Warden and The Reverend Jo C. Tarrt

 

John located the organ, intended for another parish and left unfinished in David's Vermont workshop. 

 

Noreen even-handedly oversaw the eventual purchase of the organ between a party of risk-averse parishioners with real fears about the cost of the instrument and another group who hoped that giving the instrument a home at Grace would be an investment in liturgical expression and community outreach for decades to come. 

 

Jo, during whose tenure Grace blossomed into a growing, open and welcoming presence in and beyond Georgetown imparted the wisdom that conflict can be creative and not necessarily dangerous.

 

The reality that the predecessor organ was beyond its useful life brought this opportunity forward. John used this undeniable truth to leverage support from the Grace congregation and the Washington musical and civic community toward what can only be described as a bold venture. David had a growing reputation as a skilled and dedicated craftsman of which John was aware. 

 

John presented any alternative as a near-term compromise to musical excellence, to which he was sincerely dedicated. Which is not to say that he was shy about putting a thumb on the decision-making scale and in some cases working both ends against the middle.

 

With events that were in the grand tradition of suspense fiction cliff-hangers, finding a home for the organ careened from crisis to near-disaster to ultimate triumph on a near operatic scale and after a series of explainable but frustrating delays the organ was dedicated in the early part of 1981. A line of local music directors and organists were graciously invited to try out the new organ and its reputation grew greatly in the ensuing weeks.

 

Recently David was encountered in the Grace organ loft doing essential cleaning, tuning and re-voicing of some pipes. He was cordial, even affable, despite an interruption of his time on a brief trip from Vermont to refurbish his creation. 

 

Easily recognizable from photographs taken in the 1980's, his older face emphasized his youth as incipient master craftsman. His recollections of Grace and John were warm and affirming.

 

And the response of the congregation to Grace's tradition of excellent liturgical music today under the directorship of Francine Mate, and of the community to the annual Bach Festival, fostered by then musical director and present parishioner Larry Molinaro and family could also be described as warm and affirming. 

 

To one ear at least, Bach's transformation of simple themes into intricate and ever-changing music mirrors Grace's simple origins in the middle 1860's and its growth and transformation to meet the challenges of its times and the needs of its congregation and community. Every note played on our organ is a "Grace" note.

 

Editor's note: in a previous month a former rector's name was stated as C. Miles Perkins rather than C. Mills Perkins who was known as Mills to the congregation and greater Georgetown community. (I wish it could be attributed to a typo rather than a faulty memory) 

Vestry Vestry Notes from the May Meeting
By Barbara de Beaufort 

 

The Friends of Grace Gala was a huge success. The decorations were wonderful. The food was excellent, although people wanted more oyster po'boys! The attendance was the best we have ever had. The silent auction exceeded our expectations!

 

The Vestry reviewed a draft of the Sunday School and Child Care Emergency  and Security Procedures. In the new procedures, the gray entrance doors would be closed and locked at certain times when Sunday School is in session. Additionally, a buzzer system would be installed for when the doors are locked.

 

The Children's Sunday School is scheduled to have an emergency drill on June 15.

 

John Graham, Leila Harrington, and the Vestry  are considering a new form for Koinonia Dinners. One possibility is to have pot luck dinners at Grace three or four times a year. Dinners would be planned around a theme like Harvest, Valentine's, All Saints.

 

Sarah Motley, our Assistant Rector, is leading the Spirit in Nature, Summer 2014 Christian Education Pilgrimage. This will be a four session tromp through gardens and arboretums in the DC region. Stops will include the Bishop's Garden at the National Cathedral, the National Arboretum, Green Spring Farm, and River Farm.

 

John Graham and Diana Dick attended a Pre-Application Grant Workshop hosted by the Preservation League of DC. We qualify for a grant for our Stone work because we are a religious property and we are in an historic district. The competitive award can be $10 up to $50,000. The application is due on 6/20.

 

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

 

9:45 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)
 
10:00 AM
(10:30 AM September through May) 
Holy Eucharist 
Music, child care and Sunday School

 

6:00 PM
(5:00 PM September through May) 
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 with one time use pass from Grace Church.


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  |  Office@GraceDC.org  |  www.GraceDC.org