Grace Episcopal Church  
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Sunday Ministers
Birthdays
Sunday Services

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Christmas Eve
4:00 PM
Celebrant: The Rev. Noah H. Evans
Preacher:  The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold
Minister of Music:
Ruth Roper
LEM I: Agnes Opara 
LEM II: Louis Carson 
Lector I: (Isaiah 9:2-7) Chioma Opara 
Lector II: Sean Kerans 
Ushers: Kristen Spence and Butch Edgecomb

Christmas Eve 7:00PM
Celebrant: The Rev. Noah H. Evans
Assisting Priest: The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold
Minister of Music:
Ruth Roper
LEM I: Branwen Smith-King 
LEM II: Rochenet Joseph 
Lector I: (Isaiah 9:2-7) Lucia Page 
Lector II: Margaret Smist 
Ushers: Linda Foote and Don and Jill Capuccio
Altar Guild:  Margaret Smist 
 
Sunday 12.28
10:00 AM 
Celebrant:
The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold 
Minister of Music:  Ruth Roper
LEM I:
LEM II:     
Acolytes:
Genita Johnson, Brianna Nwachukwu and Solomon Nwachukwu, Jr. 
Ushers: 
Dennis Hale and Vin Maganzini   
Altar Guild
Margaret Smist 
Coffee Hour Hosts:
Steve Duggan, coffee and David and Hallie Lee, food 
Counters:
Tom Hamel and Dennis Hale  
Vestry Person of the Day:
Hallie Stephenson Lee


*click on link to prepare for this week's readings  

Birthdays

 

James Kossuth and Marthe Lysius (12/29); Jonathan Hunt (12/31); Bo Andreasen, Roman Garcia, Michael Kenyon and Jessica Kenyon (1/1); Maureen Edgecomb (1/2) and Bill Honeycutt (1/3).


If we do not have your birthday, please contact the church office at 781-396-7215 or office@gracemedford.org  

Welcome
Please join us at Grace Church!

 

Christmas Eve Services

December 24, 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Grace Church will gather for our celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve, December 24th with services at 4:00 PM (service for Children and Families -- children may bring an ornament to decorate the Grace Church Christmas tree) and 7:00 PM (Candlelight with Choir).

 

THERE WILL BE NO 8:00 AM SERVICE AND NO 5:00 PM SERVICE ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28thth

 

Christmas Lessons and Carols with Holy Eucharist Sunday, December 28th, 10:00 AM

Celebrate the season with this special service of music, reading of scripture and singing our favorite Christmas hymns.  The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold will Celebrate the Eucharist.
There is still time to pledge to Grace Church's 2015 Stewardship campaign!
Please turn in your pledge as soon as possible if you haven't already done so.  
To make your 2015 Stewardship Pledge to Grace Church online click here.

To view the 2015 Stewardship Packet on the website,click here.

Please Pay 2014 Annual Pledge Balances by December 31st

Please pay 2014 pledge balances off, and make any Capital Campaign contributions you would like to show on your 2014 statement, by December 31th, 2014. If you need to know either of your pledge balances, or you have questions, please call the parish office at 781-396-7215 or send an email to office@gracemedford.org, or contact our Parish Treasurer, Tom Hamel.

Kid's Corner

 

Please remember that children may bring an ornament to the 4:00 PM service on Christmas Eve to decorate the Grace Church Christmas tree.   

Bishop Alan Gates will join us for our first Wednesdays at Grace of the new year, on January 7th. Rite 13 and J2A students should make sure to be there at 5:30, for some special time to chat with Bishop Gates.

 

There will be no Sunday School on January 18, so come for a children's sermon instead.

 

On January 25th, after the 10am service, parents of the Rite 13 class are invited to a meeting to go over the events planned for the rest of the year. Come and learn about retreat opportunities, fundraisers, and more! Get involved and help enrich the program offerings for our youth.

Outreach Corner  

The next opportunity to help at St. Luke's Community Dining is December 27.

Lisa Carson is the coordinator of Grace Church's work with the St. Luke's Community Dining ministry. Please contact her with any questions.

 

Food is needed for the food pantries that Grace Episcopal Church supports. Food items may be placed in the baskets just outside the main entrance to the sanctuary (an usher can help you

locate them). The item for December 28 is rice. The item for Sunday, January 4 is coffee.

Wednesdays at Grace

5:30: younger children's Godly Play classes

6:00: Community Dinner

6:45: older children's classes

Adult Education- 6:45-8:00PM

 

"Chalking the Door" led by  

The Rt. Rev. Alan Gates

Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 6:00 PM

We will spend the evening considering the story of The Epiphany and its characters - biblical and legendary - and Epiphany traditions of illumination and transition.  Come learn to calculate the formula "20+C+M+B+15." Bishop Alan Gates will also have time with our Confirmation Class and be with us for dinner. Come meet our new Bishop!

 

Mary Magdalene in the Christian Tradition

Wednesday, January 14, 21, 28, 6:45pm

Led by the Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold

Would you like to know more about this mysterious figure at the heart of the Gospels? She was the friend of Jesus and the first witness of the resurrection, yet she has also often been identified as a prostitute. Learn who started that rumor, and about the history of how Christians have talked about this woman as sinner, saint, preacher, mystic, and even as Jesus' wife.

Other Announcements     

 

Medford Rehab and Nursing Center

Anyone interested in getting in involved in our developing outreach ministry to the residents in Medford Rehab and Nursing Center is invited to attend an open meeting on January 4th after the 10:00am service. We will celebrate our next Eucharist with the residents on Wednesday, January 28th at 3:00pm. 

 

Grace Women's Lunch

The next Grace Women's Lunch will be on Monday January 5. All women, regardless of your age, are welcome to attend. Please let Cindy Scott know if you will be able to attend by January 3rd.

 

20 and 30's Fellowship

The 20/30s Fellowship group will be meeting at 6:00pm in the Parish Hall on Sunday, January 11. You are also invited to attend the 5pm service beforehand. To sign up to bring broth, bread, or soup ingredients email Mia at  mia@gracemedford.org 

or friend her on Facebook to get added to our Facebook group!

 

Rachael Pettengill-Rasure's Ordination

Rachael will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, January 10th at 10:30AM at Trinity Church in Boston. ALL ARE INVITED!

 

We would like to get Rachael a white Chasuble (it's a vestment) for her ordination on January 10th.  If you would like to contribute to the gift, please give checks and contributions to the Reverend Noah Evans, who is coordinating this gift.

 

Would you like to visit Rachael for Sunday service?? Rachael Pettengill-Rasure is being ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, January 10th. Would anyone like to help her celebrate her first Sunday as a priest??   I will be attending her first Eucharist on January 11th and would like to have people join me. Please let me know if you are interested in accompanying me - we will leave the Grace Church parking lot at 9 am as the service begins at 10 am.   If more than 5 of us are going to Milton for the service, we will need to organize more cars!!   I can be reached at margaret.smist@gracemedford.org.

 

Book Club

On January 15 we're reading

By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham. For more information, see Genita at the 10 am church service or email her at  pawleyslegacy@verizon.net.

 

Grace Episcopal Church Annual Meeting

The Grace Episcopal Church Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, February 8 immediately following the 10AM service.  Annual Reports are due to the office on January 14th. 

 

Senior Men's Lunch

The next Senior Men's Lunch will be Wednesday, January 21 at noon at John Brewers Tavern in Malden.

 

Episcopal Church Classes. 

Rev. Noah and Rev. Maggie will be leading classes about the Episcopal Church on Sundays from January 25 through March 22 from 11:30 -12:30.  For all the topics see the January Newsletter.  January 25 - The Episcopal Vision

(Presentation: The Rev. Noah H. Evans)

Learn about the theology and practices which shape the beliefs of the Episcopal Church. We will explore the basics of Episcopal theology, the leadership and ministry of the Episcopal Church and explore the Episcopal Church's stance on some current moral issues.


Snow Policy

10 AM services will not be cancelled except for extreme circumstances.  If the 8AM service or the 10AM service is to be cancelled, an announcement will be recorded on the church answering machine by 7:30 AM Sunday.  If the 5 PM is canceled, there will be an announcement by 3:30 PM.