The Rev. Elsa Worth
Rector 
The Rev. Nancy Gage
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Thought for the week
-courtesy of St. Michael's Parish, Litchfield
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Musical Interlude
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If you would like to have music when reading The Glow (or for whatever else you might be doing!), just click on the keyboard image to listen (or download) music performed by Dave during our services.
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Happenings- |
To see what's been going on in, and around, Grace, click on each of these links:
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We are the CEREAL church!
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For a long time, Grace
Church has been delivering canned goods and other food donations down to the St. Luke's/St. Paul's Food Pantry in Bridgeport. They urgently need donations of all kinds of groceries, but one of the items that they seem to run out of and need a lot of is cereal.
If all of us could remember to pick up a box of cereal (or two or more!) each time we shop, we'll be able to make a wonderful and much needed contribution for the food pantry each week. There is a collection basket at the main entrance of the church, and also one in lower Lewis Hall. |
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"The Glow" Archives:
To view previous issues of "The Glow", click here. |
  | | If you wish to subscribe to the Episcopal Diocese of CT weekly eNewsletters, please click HERE. |
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Click HERE to read this week's wellness message from Living Compass |
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| Dear friend,
"Ask and it will be given to you"
Luke 11:9
Maybe you've had this experience: you ask for something and you get turned down. Maybe you've had that experience so often you don't dare ask for stuff anymore. Maybe you've even had that experience with God - praying for something that you never got. So how can Jesus tell his followers that for everyone who knocks the door will be opened? He seems to trust that God always answers when you knock and that a good answer will be given to anyone that asks. Have you ever received an answer that was different than what you thought you'd asked for, but was a good answer nonetheless? What kind of trust does it take to keep asking and knocking even when things don't seem to be adding up?
Here at Grace Church we are dancing with life's big questions. If you're searching for a community of faith to belong to, we invite you to come to explore, come to connect and come to believe among us here at Grace Church. We'd enjoy both your company and your participation as we follow in the way of Jesus and learn and grow in discipleship together. |
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Peace,
The Rev. Elsa Worth
Grace Episcopal Church |
Grace-full Conversations
-This Sunday, July 28th, after coffee hour
Please participate in the Grace-Full Conversations any Wednesday evening at 7:30 or any Sunday after coffee hour. At these 1 ¼ hour long gatherings, we "dwell in the word," reading a short Bible passage together, move into discussions about what it means to be a church together and what we, as a church, are being called into, and then we conclude with prayer. As we move forward into a time of transition at Grace Church, we need to remember what is at the foundation of our lives together - and we need to do it together! Come to as many sessions as you can - we need to hear everyone's voice in the conversation. We meet in the chapel unless it is too hot and we seek refuge over in the office. A sign will be in the chapel if we're meeting in the office
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Vestry Meeting
-Wednesday, July 31st, 7:30 PM
The next scheduled vestry meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 31st at 7:30 pm. This meeting will begin with the Grace-full Conversation Bible study in the Chapel, then move into the Vestry meeting.
Remember, the vestry meeting is open to all and you are encouraged to attend and participate.
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Coming to Grace this Fall - The Story
Have you ever read the entire Bible? Maybe, like a lot of people, you started it once or twice but never managed to get through the whole thing. The Bible is a long and often confusing book, complicated by the fact that it is not written chronologically, includes many different styles of writing and tends to jump around and repeat itself quite a bit. Yet many people - even if they don't attend church - express an interest in learning what the Bible is about in a way that invites intelligent questions and exploration. In the coming church year, we'll all get the chance to read the entire Bible, in narrative form and in chronological order, by reading "The Story" together. This version of the Bible covers the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation, but is made more readable by its narrative format. While every detail of Scripture is not included, all the major stories and movements of the Biblical texts are, in 31 readable chapters. For those of you who've always wanted to really understand what's in the Bible better, this will be a great way to get a full overview and to find ways to connect God's story to your own life's story. You might know people outside of Grace Church who might also enjoy this special Book Study that you could invite. The Story meetings will take place, beginning this fall, on Sundays or Wednesdays (whichever is better for you) just as we have for GraceFull Conversations. Everyone can have the opportunity to take part in this enriching community experience because The Story is available in versions for adults, teens, kids and even toddlers. So let's get ready to be on the same page with each other through reading The Story together as a church. Be watching for further info coming soon.
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Wednesday Morning Meditation
Our morning meditation group is growing! If you're an early riser, this is a wonderful way to start and center your day. Wednesday morning from 7-7:25 in the chapel. Wednesday meditation continues through the summer.
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Saturday Morning Discovery Group
-every Saturday morning
Each Saturday from 9-10, the Discovery Group gathers at Panera bread in the Trumbull Mall. We are currently using the Sermon on the Mount to seek the overlap between the way of Jesus and 12 step spirituality. You need not be in a 12 step group to attend. It's a great bible study! The Discovery Group will continue through the summer.
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Holding Down the Fort
For many of us, summer is a time of going away and having all kinds of fun outings. Sometimes that mean missing more Sunday mornings at church than usual. But while we're away on vacation - or at church on a church swap day over with Christ Church, our bills don't take a vacation and keep coming in to the Grace Church office all summer long. If you have made a pledge to Grace, we hope you will keep it current despite vacation, and to this end, the vestry asks you to consider setting up an automatic payment from your bank account to Grace for the remainder of the year so that you don't even have to think about it! If you don't want to pay on line, consider offering your pledge in advance when you know you're going to be away so that we don't have cash flow problems over the summer. Our church depends on the weekly pledges you have made to support our budget even when you're not here, so please keep your pledging current this summer and fall.
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Used Clothing Shed
 Certainly you've noticed the used clothing shed in our back parking lot. Please spread the word about this new outreach project -laminated posters and small flyers are available to post and share. Clothes donated into the shed are picked up by St. Pauly's, who distributes them all to people in need across the globe through their connection with larger agencies. All of the usable clothing that gets donated makes its way to people in need, saving landfill space. Items accepted include clothing, shoes, sneakers, belts, linens, pillow cases, blankets, curtains and stuffed animals. (Please do not put rags, fabric scraps, pillows, toys, household goods or electronics in the shed.) Grace church receives 4 cents per pound on all items collected in exchange for hosting the shed. For further info on this project, there is information about St. Pauly's available in coffee hour, or click on this link: St. Pauly's. |
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This Week's Announcements
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Sunday, July 28th:
Eucharistic Service: 9:30 AM
Grace-full Conversations in the chapel after coffee hour
Wednesday, July 31st:
Guided Meditation - 7:00-7:25 AM
Vestry Meeting - 7:30 PM
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Sunday, August 4th:
Eucharistic Service - 9:30 AM
Grace-full Conversations in the chapel after coffee hour
Wednesday, August 7th:
Guided Meditation - 7:00-7:25 AM
Grace-full Conversations in the chapel - 7:30 PM
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