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Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 18, 2013

   

 

                  Sunday's readings here.

Elsa 20120325
The Rev. Elsa Worth
Rector
Email Elsa:
 [email protected]

Click HERE to read Elsa's blog 

Nancy 20120325
The Rev. Nancy Gage
Deacon
Email Nancy:
[email protected]

 Dave 2
David McWilliams

Minister of Music
Email Dave: [email protected] 
 

Grace Church Office Hours:

Mon-Fri: 1-5 pm
203-268-2809
Email: 
[email protected]
Thought for the week
-courtesy of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Pray study etc

Light a Candle
Musical Interlude
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.

Happenings-
We are the CEREAL church!
Cereal
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.
"The Glow" Archives:
To view previous issues of "The Glow", click here.
Episcopal Crest Episcopal loga
If you wish to subscribe to the Episcopal Diocese of CT weekly eNewsletters, please click HERE.


Living Compass
Click HERE to read this week's wellness message from Living Compass





Dear friend,  
Runner on Beach

   

"let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,"

Hebrews 12:1

 

When you wake up in the morning, there is always a new day in front of you. Is it always the day you would choose if you'd had the choice? Maybe not. You might not choose to have a day with aches and pains or challenging tasks you need to attend to. You might not choose to have the headaches that are waiting for you at work, the conflicts that will arise at home, or the many problems of all sorts we frequently have to deal with.   Nonetheless, that's the day you're going to have. It's the race set before you to run. It's the next day of life you've been given to live. How are you going to approach it? With resentment? In denial? Are you going to plod through it focussed on the negative? Or are you going to run the race with perseverance, seeking the joy and peace God puts within every day? How can you lean on God's strength and follow in Jesus' steps to run the race set before you with perseverance and joy?


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.
Peace,
 
Elsa Signature

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.  
There are a lot of ways to give.  You can give out of a sense of obligation or duty, or in return for something done for you, or out of guilt.  You can give begrudgingly or resentfully or you can give unreservedly.  Sometimes you give without even thinking twice, or even give someone a great gift you never even knew you were giving.  But what does it look like to give with all your heart?  What does it look like to give because you truly want to - yearn to, even - with joy and love?  In Matthew 6:21 it says: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Jesus teaches that our hearts will inevitably be aligned with what our brains most treasure.  Do you find treasure in Grace Church?  Do you treasure it enough to give some of your time to take part in our ongoing discernment together?  The Grace-Full conversation 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 in setting our sails for the future.  Please join us - 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.

 


Youth News:

Painting:

Tentatively, on Friday, August 30th from 5pm-8pm the Grace Church/Christ Church Ancestors group will gather at Grace for a Labor Day weekend BBQ and painting party. Parents and members of both communities are invited to join in on the festivities. As always, friends are welcome. Please wear or bring painting clothes and a dish to share (things like burgers/hot dogs/veggie burgers, potato salad, water melon, drinks, etc. are great).  Please note that this is a tentative date, stay tuned to eNews for updates or contact Sarah via email

Ancestors:
The Grace Church/Christ Church Ancestors group will continue this year with an exploration of the New Testament family. Throughout the year we'll ask: What does it mean to be a disciple? Classes will meet roughly every other week from 12-1:30pm at either Grace or Christ Church and students in middle school and high school are invited to attend. Also, if any member of the community is feeling called to the ministry of Christian Education, please contact Sarah at 717-575-7137, or at the above email link.. No experience is required other than a love of children and the call to follow. Our first meeting will take place on September 15th at Grace Church where we'll begin with an introduction of discipleship. We start with lunch (provided by a parent) and the lesson and activities will last about an hour.

The Story 3
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

Welcome to Christ Church!
We welcome members of Christ Church, Tashua for the next two 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.  


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.

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.

Used Clothing Shed
Maryann clothes bin

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.  


This Week's Announcements
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 
Following Week
Sunday, August 25th:

Eucharistic Service - 9:30 AM 

Grace-full Conversations during coffee hour   

 

Wednesday, August 28th:                       

Guided Meditation - 7:00-7:25 AM

Grace-full Conversations in the chapel - 7:30 PM 

 
Church Hall


Church Hall available for community functions



For additional information and Church Hall availability, click
.