Grace Episcopal Church  

In This Issue
Sunday Ministers
Birthdays
Sunday Services

Connect with Grace!

Sunday 
8:00 AM
Celebrant: The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold
Preacher:  The Rev. Noah H. Evans
LEM: June Pietrantoni  
Usher: Wesley Foote, Sr.
Altar Guild:  June Pietrantoni 

10:00 AM
 
Celebrant: The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold
Preacher:  The Rev. Noah H. Evans
Minister of Music:
Ruth Roper
LEM I: Dennis Hale 
LEM II: Louis Carson  
Lector I*: Esther Brownsmith   
  Lector II*: Butch Edgecomb 
Acolytes:  Elizabeth Pardy, Emily Pardy
Ushers:
  Vin Maganzini and Linda Foote
Altar Guild:  Adele Travisano and Marie Glynn 
Healing Ministers:  Mia Benjamin, Rev. Noah Evans, Margaret Smist and Sara Folta
Coffee Hour Hosts:
Vin Maganzini, coffee and Kateri Paul, food 
Counters:
Steve Duggan and Wes Foote 
Vestry Person of the Day:
Sean Kerans

5:00 PM
Celebrant:  The Rev. Cameron Partridge
Preacher:
Mia Benjamin, Live Together intern 
Musician: 
Cheryl Forest Morganson
Altar Guild: 
Mia Benjamin and Carolyn Rogers 
 
*click on link to prepare for this week's readings  

Birthdays

 

Joanna Zhou (2/22); Liam McCurdy and Zoe Nelson (2/23); Dennis Hale and John Zafiris, Jr. (2/24); Ariana Scroxton (2/25); Cynthia Nwachukwu (2/27); Matt Heaton (2/28).


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!

We celebrate the Eucharist at 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM.  The celebrant for the 8AM and 10AM services is The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold.  The preacher for the morning services is The Rev. Noah H. Evans.  The celebrant for the 5PM service is The Rev. Cameron Partridge.  Mia Benjamin, Life Together intern preaches at the 5PM service.  

 

There is no Sunday School on Sunday, February 22nd.  Rev. Maggie will offer a children's homily.  Children will exit to the parish hall following the Gospel reading and will return to the church at the Peace.    

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

Visions of Jesus

Lent Wednesday Night Series

Who is Jesus, really? Understanding the person, teachings and interpretations of Jesus is central to our faith - yet there are so many different traditions and strands of understanding him. During this series we will explore some of the many, many perspectives and understandings of Jesus, his teachings and what he accomplished through his ministry, death, resurrection and ascension.

 

Visions of Jesus

Wednesday, February 25th, 6:45PM

Led by The Reverend Noah H. Evans

What are some of the traditions and schools of thought to understand Jesus? How do the views of a historical view of Jesus and an evangelical one differ - and how do they change the understanding of our faith? Join with our Rector, Noah, as he explores the landscape of understandings about Jesus, using scripture, his own experiences of travel in the Holy Land and other academic understandings of Jesus.

 

Jesus in Islam 

Wednesday, March 4th, 6:45PM

Led by Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio, M. Div.

Jesus, peace be upon him, is described in the Qur'an as the Messiah, the Word of God, born of the Virgin Mary and aided by the Holy Spirit. In the spirit of cultivating inter-religious understanding, the Muslim Chaplain at Tufts University, Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio, will explore these and other similarities, as well as differences, between the depiction of Jesus in the Qur'an and Jesus in the New Testament.  

 

Jesus as Mother

Wednesday, March 11, 6:45PM

Led by The Reverend Dr. Maggie Arnold

We often pray to God using the name, "Father," following our Lord's example and instruction. But we can also use the image of mother in contemplating the work of Christ. Christ sacrifices His own body on the cross to give us new life, and feeds us from His body in the Eucharist, like a laboring and nursing mother. Come and explore this beautiful image from our tradition, as when St. Anselm of Canterbury prayed in the eleventh century, "Christ my Mother, you gather your chicks under your wings."

 

Jesus Angry, Anguished, and Annoyed

Wednesday, March 18

Led by Mia Benjamin

"In his anguish, he prayed..." (Luke 22:44) In some of the most dramatic scenes of the Gospels, we are given a glimpse into the emotional life of Jesus. Luke tells of us of Jesus's fear and pain in the garden of Gethsemane, Matthew captures his rage in the temple, and Mark describes an indignant and exasperated Jesus many times. So what does it mean for us that Jesus felt and was motivated by strong and unpleasant emotions? How can Jesus's impatience and irritation set an example for our own lives? Come get deep into the texts that challenge us to get deep into Jesus's heart-and our own-with our intern, Mia.

 

Who do you say that I am?  

Our own image of Jesus

Wednesday, March 26, 6:45PM

The Reverend Noah H. Evans

Jesus asks Peter and his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" When they answer that question for themselves it is deeply transformative. We will be exploring that question for ourselves in light of the presentations from this series, and answering it for ourselves, as we approach Holy Week and Easter.

Outreach Corner 

The next opportunity to help at St. Luke's Community Dining is  February 28.

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 items for February 22 are coffee or tea.  The item for March 1 is canned soup. 

 

Help needed! 

Our Church helps two food pantries in Medford and we are looking for help. We need people to help shuttle the food to the pantry. It is light work and it is fun. See Beverly Convery, Sara Folta or Vin Maganzini if you want to help feed the hungry.  It helps and it is very much appreciated.

Shouting Alleluia into our box before we "locked" them away for Lent.
Kid's Corner

Friday night youth event 

Grace Church is hosting an evening of games and fun for youth, grades 6-12, on Friday, February 27 from 6-10pm. Parent chaperones are Jane Hamel and Lisa Piper Carson. Dinner is not provided, but kids can bring a favorite board game to share.
Other Announcements
 

Medford Rehab and Outreach Ministry

 We will be celebrating our monthly Eucharist with the residents on Wednesday, February 25th. Contact Mia mia@gracemedford.org if you would like to attend or participate.

  

Join us in Lent 

The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold designed a Lenten calendar to guide us on our journey.  Pick one up when you are at church.  Also, please pick up a Lent brochure to find out what is happening at Grace this season.

 

 

 

 

 Lent Madness is back.  Pick up your bracket at Grace Church and follow online

 

 

Mental Health First Aid Training Course

The 8 hour course will provide participants with a 5 step intervention plan as well as a variety of wellness tools that can be easily incorporated and shared with others to promote self-care strategies that promote health. The course meets re-certification requirements for Mental Health First Aid. The free full course will be held Saturday, February 21st from 9:00am-6:00pm, with lunch provided. The course is open to the community. Register for the event at  www.surveymonkey.com/s/GraceMHFA. 

 

Rescheduled -- Branwen Smith-King to be awarded the Frederick Douglass Isaacs Awards for Outstanding Lay Leadership by U.B.E.:  Sunday February 22

-Absalom Jones Day Festival Eucharist at 4:00pm.Join St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Cambridge and the Massachusetts Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians in celebrating the legacy of Absalom Jones, the first black priest in the Episcopal Church. The Rt. Rev. Alan McIntosh Gates, 16th Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, will be preaching and presiding, and an informal dinner reception will follow. The feast day celebration also features the presentation of the Frederick Douglass Isaacs Awards for Outstanding Lay Leadership. Come join the celebration!

 

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.

February 22 - Our Worship Life

(Presentation: The Rev. Noah Evans)

Why do we do what we do on Sunday mornings? How does our worship shape our lives? What does participating in worship have to do with living a life of faith?

March 1 - Exploring the Prayer Book

(Presentation: The Rev. Margaret Arnold)

Explore the Prayerbook, what it is, how we use it, and how you can use it to support your prayer at home or with your family.

 

Dr. Who service, 

Sunday, March 1 at 5pm

Step into Grace Church and discover that it's bigger on the inside! Join us to lighten the winter darkness with some spiritual insights from around the universe. We'll reflect on themes of resurrection/regeneration, protecting and nurturing life in all its different forms, and why meanness and destruction just sometimes make the Doctor really, really mad. Wear your scarves and bowties (because they're cool). We might just have fish sticks and custard for dinner afterwards...

Bishop Gates Visit Official Visitation  

SAVE THE DATE

Bishop Alan Gates will make his official visitation to Grace Church on Sunday, March 8th during the 10AM service.

 

Grace Medford LGBTQ Coalition Luncheon

The LGBTQ presence has been growing at Grace Episcopal Medford for years,  yet we have never met formally as a group.   Please join us Sunday, March 15 at Salvatore's Italian Restaurant in Medford Center, for an informal gathering of our community.  While this will be mostly a social gathering, we will also be discussing our role at Grace, outreach and how we build a better sense of inclusion. 

 

Lunch will be "Dutch treat".  Please RSVP to Patrick Hardy no later than Wednesday, March 11 if you plan to attend.

 
St. Francis in the snow. 

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.