Grace Episcopal Church  
In This Issue
Sunday Ministers
Birthdays

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Sunday Services
8:00 AM
Celebrant: 
The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold
Preacher: 
The Rev. Noah H. Evans  
Lector: Branwen Smith-King
Usher: John Schlesinger  
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:
Margaret Smist  
LEM II: Mia Benjamin 
 Lector I*:
Ellery Klein   
  Lector II*: Julia Lisella
Acolytes: Chioma Opara, Nzube Opara and Melanie Edgecomb
Ushers:
Linda Foote and Dennis Hale  
Altar Guild
Olivia Bracken 
Vestry Person of the Day:
Kathy Mumma   
Coffee Hour Hosts:  
Tom Hamel, coffee and
food host needed. 
Counters:
Jane Scherban and Naida Gavrelis

5:00 PM
Celebrant and Preacher:  The Rev. Noah H. Evans
Altar Guild:  Mia Benjamin and Carolyn Rogers 
 
  
*click on link to prepare for this week's readings  
Birthdays
 
Elizabeth Woodbury and Catherine Woodbury (9/21); Nancy Egger and Jordan Williams (9/22); Gabriel Cuba, Ayla Jensen, Deborah Jennings and Kate Woodward (9/23); Wes Foote, Sr. and Carl Kleifgen (9/24); James Klasen, Tina Riedel and Nikolas Sullivan (9/25); Edie Auner and Andrew Zafiris (9/26).
 
If we do not have your birthday, please contact the church office at 781-396-7215 or office@gracemedford.org  

 
Mayor McGlynn and Congresswoman Clark at the Grace Church booth at Medford Community Day
Welcome.
Please join us at 
Grace Church!
We celebrate the Holy Eucharist on Sunday at 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM.  The Rev. Noah H. Evans is the preacher at all services on Sunday and the celebrant at the 5PM service.  The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold will celebrate at the 8AM service and at the 10AM service.  Sunday School begins promptly at 9:45 AM.

   Read about the the organ restoration at the "Restoring Grace" blog.   

 

For the first time since its installation, the organ was completely dismantled piece-by-piece and sent to David E. Wallace and Co. organ builders in Gorham, Maine for a complete restoration. We anticipate the return of a fully restored organ back at Grace Church by Christmas

 The organ restoration project is the final project to be paid for by the 2011 Grace Church Capital Campaign along with additional fundraising being done to help support this effort. Please consider a contribution to help us reach our fundraising goal. 
Outreach Corner 

The next opportunity to help at St. Luke's Community Dining is September 26. It is not just cooking. There are several other duties that go along with community dining, such as, serving food to people seated, clean up, washing dishes, cutting up vegetables, filling the plates with food before serving and so much more.  Please contact Lisa Carson with any questions or to volunteer to help on September 26!
 
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 September 20 are coffee or tea.  The items for September 27 are tuna or cereal.

Semi-Annual Clothing Pantry
This fall our pantry will be held on Saturday, October 24 from 9:00 AM to noon.
We need volunteers to help with sorting and set-up, during pantry hours and to help clean up. Whatever time you have available to help, even if it is just an hour, would be greatly appreciated. Adults only are needed on Saturday during the clothing pantry.
 
Wednesday, October 21, help is needed getting clothing from storage area above the office.
Thursday, October 22, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM we sort clothing in the church.  Friday, October 23, we work from 6:00 until set up is done.  Families are welcome to help with sorting and folding!
Kid's Corner  
 
Register for Fall youth education programs
Please register now for our September Sunday School and Wednesdays at Grace programs.  Click here for the online registration form.
 
Sunday School at Grace Church starts on September 20:
We offer a Nursery. Children from preschool to 7th grade can participate in Sunday School classes, learning Bible Stories and community activism using the Shine Curriculum or engaging theology and ethics with the Re:form video series.
Classes begin at 9:45. The children join the 10AM service for the Peace and the Eucharist.
 
Find your classroom:
"Seedlings" (pre-readers in preschool and kindergarten) blue toddler classroom
"Fishers" (young readers in grades K-2) Pre-K classroom
"Sowers" (grades 3-4): Common Room
"Disciples" (grades 5-7 youth-group) downstairs kitchen
 
Wednesdays @ Grace begins again on 9/23! 
Come for dinner, education, fellowship, and family fun! See below for class times and adult education topics. 

Our children will be learning Bible stories using the Montessori-based Godly Play curriculum. Response activities include art materials, yoga, dramatic play, and tending our parish garden. The children will also participate in preparing and serving our community dinner. 

All are welcome! We hope to see you there!

Dates to remember:
There will be no Sunday School on October 11, Nov. 29, and Dec. 27. Children's homilies will be offered on those Sundays.

Our famous Christmas Pageant will be on Saturday, Dec. 19th, at 5pm, with a community dinner to follow. Rehearsals are Saturdays, Dec. 12th and 19th, at 11am.
Wednesdays @ Grace begins again on 9/23! 
Godly Play 1-Preschool-Kindergarten, 5:30-6:15
Godly Play 2-Grades 1-2, 5:30-6:15
Dinner, 6-6:45
Godly Play 3-children up to and including 4th grade, 6:45-8
Rite 13 youth group (grades 5-7), 6:45-8
J2A youth group (grades 8-9), 6:45-8
Adult Education classes, 6:45-8

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
September 23, 30 and October 7 at 6:45PM
The Reverend Noah H. Evans
Embedded in Matthew's Gospel, the "Sermon on the Mount" contains some of the most radical teaching of Jesus which are meant to dramatically re-shape the world view of way of life of Jesus' followers.   Gandhi was said to meditate on Matthew 5-7 each day and called it a handbook on non-violent living. St. Francis saw this section of scripture as his "rule of life." Come and explore with our Rector, the Reverend Noah H. Evans, these amazing teaching of Jesus, and how they can shape our living for peace and justice in our lives and world today.
 
September 23: The Sermon on the Mount: Exploring the Teaching of Jesus
 
September 30: Saints, Martyrs and Prophets: Lives Shaped by Jesus' Teaching
 
October 7: The Sermon on the Mount and our Non-Violent Lives

Journeys of the Heart: Four Medford Victorians and a Passion for Education
Wednesday, October 14 at 6:45PM
Dee Morris, local historian
Four highly-motivated residents of our town embraced the concept that education is essential to the well-being of a community. Timothy Cotting (1793-1872), a baker with a sense of civic responsibility, worked zealously on the early development of Tufts University. His bequest of 20 acres of land helped the institution to establish an important local presence. Ship builder James O. Curtis (1804-1890) used his business acumen to guide the fledgling college through the financial perils of its first years. Keenly aware of the needs of her deaf daughter, Mrs. Louise Brooks (1831-1892), founded the Sarah Fuller School for Little Deaf Children in West Medford while her contemporary, Anna C. Davis Hallowell (1838- 1913), not only served on the executive board but also went on to champion women's rights and literary gatherings such as the Medford Shakespeare Club. These diverse men and women left us a brilliant legacy. The talk is also part of CACHE's Arts Across Medford program.

Wednesday Night Compline
Wednesdays at 8PM
September 23 & 30, October 7 & 14
For four weeks we will be doing an experiment closing Wednesday at Grace with sung or said compline. Compline is in our Book of Common Prayer and is a short and beautiful nighttime prayer service. We will do it as a sung or said service depending on the musical gifts of those gathered any given evening. Stay for compline at the end of Wednesdays at Grace, or come for just the service! After this four week experiment, we will decide how and if to continue this regular service.
Other Announcements
 
Book Club
The Women's Book Club meets every third Thursday (except in August) at 7 pm. There is no meeting in August. On September 17th the book is The Given Day by Dennis LeHane The meeting in October is a bit early, October 15. We're reading A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind. For more information, see Genita at the 10 am church service or email her at  
pawleyslegacy@verizon.net. 
 
Grace "Love" Parade Float Sept 27
March with the parade float on in the Medford 385th Anniversary Parade on Sunday, September 27th! We'll be celebrating "Love wins!" and our "Love God. Love your neighbor. Change the world." mission. Wear pink or red in support. If you're not up to walking, plan on gathering with us on the Grace Church lawn to watch the parade go by together! The parade will start at 2:00pm.
 
"Sisters in Song" proudly present "A Beautiful Pair 4: What About Love"
October 2, 2015 at 7:30 PM at
Grace Church
The performance benefits the Ellie Fund which assists breast cancer patients while they undergo treatment. Tickets are $20 and are available at the door or at https://eventbrite.com. For more information visit the website at www.elliefund.org.

Diocesan Resource Day
Saturday, Oct. 3, 9:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.,
at Bentley University in Waltham
Resource Day is designed to give congregations a variety of hands-on tools, practical helps and networking support for joining God's mission in the world. Gather a team and get ready for this day of workshops in areas including youth ministry and leadership, communications strategy and social media, financial stewardship, mission, parish life and more. For registration and information visit www.diomass.org. Maggie and Noah are both going, let either of them know if you would like to join us!

"The Virtue of Penelope: A Chinese Odyssey"
October 16-17, 7:30 PM
This multicultural and whimsical play adapts Homer's epic poems, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," into a Chinese theatrical translation including authentic Chinese
dance, kung-fu, and gorgeous costuming.  Premiering at Grace Church, this new play written by Laura Duggan takes you along for the adventures and journey of Odysseus as he tries to return to his virtuous wife, Penelope.  Tickets $16; available at Extreme Ninja Martial Arts & Fitness Center, 45 Riverside Avenue, Medford, and from Laura Duggan.  For more information, contact Laura.  Presented by Grace Episcopal Church and Remarkable Women Reenacted.

Women's Retreat
Grace Church Women: we are offering a Women's Retreat, October 9-11, at Rolling Ridge retreat center in North Andover. Join us for fellowship, beautiful fall scenery, and activities including tai chi, yoga, and meditation workshops, crafting & art classes, and Bible study. Staying for one or both nights (or just joining us for a day) is fine, so costs will vary. See Maria Fenn, fennways@verizon.net 
or Cheryl Woodbury to sign up.  Please sign up ASAP.