The Rev. Elsa Worth
Rector 
The Rev. Nancy Gage
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Thought for the week
-courtesy of Living Compass
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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,
"Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."
Luke 12:33
There is nothing on earth that doesn't wear out eventually. Even things that last for a very long time, like mountains and continents, wear down, shift and change over time. Jesus suggest we invest our lives spiritually in a way that transcends the discomfort of inevitable change. He's not talking about investing in some distant heaven that we'll get to some day if we're good, but about investing our lives in kingdom living right here and now. Being in relationship with God and living the life of the Spirit can give us a whole new perspective every day, and give us a firm foundation in love, compassion and peace. What kind of purses do you invest the most time making in life? Do you take daily time to invest in things like prayer, silence, faith study and service? How can you make time to invite more kingdom living?
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 |
Moving Forward in Mission
-the big questions
- In order to be the church we're called to be into the future, what kind of staffing and property do we really need?
Of course, underlying that questions is an ever deeper one:
- What kind of church are we being called to be?
This is in no way an abstract question for us right now, because when the time arrives that we need to describe and define a part time rector position and perhaps seek a new rector, we will need to be very clear on exactly what kind of leadership we most want and need. Let us put our trust in the powerful grace that has always been at work among us.
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Matthew 6:5-18 is the part of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. Repeatedly, Jesus tells his disciples that a relationship with God is not about making a good show or saying the right things. It has nothing to do with formulas, programs, or techniques. It's about simply showing up. The life of faith - and the life of a church is the same - it's not about getting the formula right or planning the perfect program or grabbing at the latest techniques. It's about showing up and listening to what God's doing and finding ways to join in.
A group of us read this particular passage together last Sunday and talked about how we at Grace Church are being called into a very prayerful time in our life together. We have no formulas or flashy programs or techniques to solve our financial problems. We just know we're being called forward in mission and we need to discern what that means for us as a church. Showing up and being present to God is more important for us than ever - both individually and as a community. These meetings are a meaningful way to personally make time to listen to God through Scripture, conversation and prayer, as well being a helpful time for us all to set our sails for the future. Please join us - all are welcome whether you've come before or not. Grace-Full conversations take place every Wednesday evening in the chapel at 7:30 and every Sunday during coffee hour.
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The Story - time to order the books
Grace Church will be reading the entire Bible together from Genesis through Revelation, beginning this September. We will be using a book called, "The Story" which is a narrative version of the Bible that tells the entire Biblical story in 31 readable chapters. One chapter will be used each week in our bi-weekly Grace-Full conversations, and the same chapter will also be the focus of the sermon each week (except for during the four weeks of Advent). To get the most out of this journey through the Bible, it would be best to have your own copy of The Story so that you can read along.
Some of you have perhaps already read the Bible cover to cover, but chances are, most of you have always thought you'd like to read it, but have never actually done it. Maybe some of you have started reading the Bible only to get discouraged by how long and complicated it is. The Bible is certainly a very complex book - it is not chronological and it is compiled from a wide range of diverse writings from many different sources. A narrative in 31 chapters will obviously not include every detail of the complete Bible, but The Story does a commendable job of covering all the major themes of the Biblical story in a chronological way, making it easier to read and to absorb. Once you've read The Story, you will have gained a new level of understanding of the Bible overall and will find it much easier to dive more deeply into scriptural prayer and Bible study in the future.
The best part of this project is that everyone at Grace can take part in it together. Also available are: The Story for Teens, The Story for Kids (older elementary), The Story for Children (younger elementary), and The Story for Little Ones (babies and toddlers). Families can all be learning The Story together, and parents will enjoy sharing The Story with their children at the same time that they are reading it themselves. All of these books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble online - and are even available in price-friendly Kindle and Nook editions. All the books are available on line right now but might be harder to come by as the fall approaches.
Knowing that some people in our church do not order on line, we'd like to order a case of The Story (for adults) through the publisher. With a case of 16 books, the price is half-off the cover price, or $9.99 each. If you would like to order your book through the church, please leave a message for Maryann in the office no later than August 26. If we get 16 interested people, we'll order a case. (32 and we'll order 2!)
Finally, you are invited to let others outside our church know that this book group is forming at Grace. You may know people who have always wanted to read what the Bible says themselves and don't know how to get started. This will be a wonderful overview for anyone wanting to understand better what's actually in the Bible.
Samples of all books will be on display on Sundays. If you have any questions, please speak with Elsa. Meanwhile, she hopes everyone will get their books to be ready to begin our journey together with The Story on September 22
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Welcome to Christ Church!
We welcome members of Christ Church, Tashua for the next three Sundays, who will be worshiping with us while their priest is on vacation. It's good to be together again. |
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, August 11th:
Eucharistic Service: 9:30 AM
Grace-full Conversations during coffee hour
Wednesday, August 14th:
Guided Meditation - 7:00-7:25 AM
Grace-full Conversations in the chapel - 7:30 PM
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Sunday, August 18th:
Eucharistic Service - 9:30 AM
Grace-full Conversations during coffee hour
Wednesday, August 21st:
Guided Meditation - 7:00-7:25 AM
Grace-full Conversations in the chapel - 7:30 PM
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