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Thursday, October 29, 2015
This is a Special "Thank You" Edition of eGraceNotes

As a church with hardly any paid staff, almost any success Grace Church is having is due to the efforts of folks who don't get paid.

We've decided to devote this issue of eGraceNotes to thanking them. 

One problem with thanking people in public like this is that we're sure to miss people.  If you know of people whom we've overlooked (including yourself), let us know at egracenotes@gracecollegehill.org and we'll make up for our oversight in the next issue.

We recognize that thank-you's are a sometime thing--there's little or no fairness in how they come. Some activities get a lot of recognition; some garner very little thanks; and some important things people do seem to get more criticism than thanks.  We will be the first to agree that this is certainly unfair--but it's an unfortunate reality.  Let's all of us try to remember to thank folks for their contributions, and let us all who are working remember that the contribution we're making is what's important and lasting, and that any thanks we get is frosting on the cake. 

Finally, we thank those who contributed their thank-you's for this issue of eGraceNotes. 
Thanks to Those Who Made the Uganda Fundraiser a Success

Wow!  The "Celebration of Ugandan Culture" fundraiser was wonderful.  So many people donated many hours and much money to make this event successful. Altogether we had a spectacular evening, and all that hard work paid off with $4200 being raised for our outreach ministries. (Not bad, given that we had hoped to raise about $2000.)

I especially want to thank David Mukasa and his family for planning and executing a successful dinner, complete with great food, Ugandan dancers and music.  Already he is talking about doing it again next year.  

Thank you to Wanda Miller, who reluctantly agreed to be in charge of the baskets and auction items, which went very well.  The set up was beautiful and we had many lovely gifts to auction, for which we heartily thank the donors.  

Thank you to Candace Moxley and J White, who helped with the planning and who jumped in and helped in so many ways to do whatever was necessary.  

Thanks to Mary McLain, who designed the invitations and hall decorations and to Grace Staples who made sure the invitations were addressed and mailed.  

Thanks to Jacquelyn McCray, who did the publicity.  

Thanks to my daughter, Rita Lyon, who designed the tickets.  

Thanks to all Mission Council members, who bought tickets for yourselves and for others who couldn't afford to come. 

Carol Lyon, Senior Warden

More Fundraiser Thanks
From J White:  Thanks to all who assisted in any way to make Saturday evening a PEARL to be REMEMBERED! A special thanks to all who believed that Saturday night was possible! And an even bigger thanks to Carol Lyon for keeping us dreamers on task!

From Wanda Miller:  This leader says thank you to all others.  All others say thank you to Carol who kept track of what we were or were not doing, herding us together to discuss what needed to be done, and taking an active part in the work itself! Maria and David Mukasa had been to a really up-scale fund raiser the week before and gave us new ideas and enthusiasm from their experience.

From Gwynne Gabbard:  What a great evening that was!!!!!    Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who worked so hard to make a great dinner, wonderful entertainment, lovely decorations,  and brought so many smiles to so many faces.   The Ugandan clothing was beautiful, too!!! I tried to get just two bites of each dish, and ended up with a plate piled high anyway. David, thanks for letting me help you.

You can see more pictures of the Uganda event here. 
More Thanks

Thanks to Wanda Miller and Jacquelyn McCray for bringing Eucharistic elements, vessels, etc. up the stairs to the Great Hall and back again every Sunday this summer so that we could worship in the air conditioned Great Hall.

Thanks to Anthony Canady who takes the snack donations and presents them so nicely each Sunday at Snack 'n Chat.

Thanks to Candace Moxley who has procured so many donations of goods and services for Grace Church. She also serves as an office and worship volunteer, on many committees, on community dinners and with the children on Sundays.

Thanks to Kristin Blackburn-Scanlon who, in addition to caring for her family, working two jobs and many volunteer roles at school and in the community, has stepped up to help print the bulletin and help prepare lunch for our Ohio State Parolee workdays.
Thanks to Ray Schweitzer who often helps to set up and to take on worship participant roles.

--Grace Staples
Even More Thanks

  • Thanks to Ken Lyon for making Grace Notes sooooooo good.   And for reminding me that I haven't thanked you all for a while.
  • Thank you to Wanda Miller for talking over ideas for chair repair with me.
  • Thank you to Judy Handy for always knowing what I am supposed to do next.
  • Thank you to Hawley Todd, Bob Laake, and the church staff for making the Wednesday night Rhythm for Wellness always and all ways a wonderful healing night. Thank you to the drummers and healers who give and give and give.
  • Thank you to Anthony Canady for always greeting me with a hug and a smile.
  • Thank you to J White for being and for being J.
  • Thank you to a bunch of you for doing the behind the scenes work that does not spotlight you. 
  • Thank you to the yard workers who make Grace look pretty darned good.  With all the rain things have had a wonderful chance to be weedy.
  • Thank you to the cooking enthusiasts who make food for lots of folks to enjoy.
  • Thank you to John Thayer for the lovely handbell music. 
  • Thank you to the musicians who play piano and let us sing with them.
God Bless You, Every One.

--Gwynne Gabbard
And More Thanks!
 
So many Grace leaders need thank you's.

I am especially thankful for Candace Moxley and her can-do sattitude filled with love for helping with set up in the kitchen on Sundays, Wednesday community dinners, organizing the office, helping with the childcare activities on Sunday mornings and helping me with our home visits and Eucharistic visits. I think she spends all her spare time here.

Also J White needs our thanks for her organizational expertise in getting our share groups here, also spending many hours of volunteer time making sure the facilities are managed, and especially for her prayers on Sunday mornings. She has a true gift from God in her prayers she prays.

Also the Lyon family, both Ken and Carol Lyon for all the work they do in keeping the church updated in e-notes and hours of preparation for numerous church activities.

I also wish to express thanks to Grace Staples, Judy Handy and Rhonda Sharp for maintaining the office and the details in the weekly program.

I also want to thank Ruth Bertram for her tireless work in keeping the financial books updated.

I thank Anthony Canady for ensuring we have delicious food at our Snack 'n Chats and Community Dinners.

The list keeps growing!

I am thankful for Wanda Miller and the devotion she shares in the maintenance of the church grounds. I love Maria and David Mukasa and their unwavering devotion to raising of their offspring as Episcopalians and for maintaining the liturgy and grounds and offering the Uganda fund raiser.

I am thankful for our new music minister, Jonathan Tan, and his uplifting music.
I am thankful for Hawley Todd and whimsical approach to theology and healing practices.
Soooo many thanks left unsaid and I think you must realize no one will read all my diatribes. The Grace community is filled with love and work and dedication to uplifting all people and meeting them where they are. Thanks be to God!

--Laurie LeClaire
The Thank You's Keep Coming

J White, Mary McLain, Grace Staples, Wanda Miller, Judy Handy and Carol and Ken Lyon are the people who I work with the most, but I definitely don't want to slight those others I didn't mention. All of these folks have always been available to help and guide me in anything I've needed. The amount of personal time they have given to many different functions/needs at Grace seems to go unappreciated. Your dedication is very valuable and important to me, as well as the rest of the church! I'm very thankful for all of you and glad to call you my church family!

--Kristin Blackburn-Scanlon
Thanks to the Vision Committee

Thanks to the Vision Committee, who has been at work since last spring on a vision and plan for Grace Church's future:  Hawley Todd, Jacquelyn McCray, Ken Lyon, Maria Mukasa, Mary McLain and Anne Warrington-Wilson, with help from consultants Michael Davis and David Bailey. They expect to be sharing their work in the next few months, for feedback and further improvement.  
Thanks to the Audit Committee

Thanks to the Audit Committee, who have completed a detailed yearly audit of our 2014 finances: Malcolm Dunn (from Christ Church Cathedral), Jacquelyn McCray, Tammy Robertson and Chris Scanlon.

--Carol Lyon
Who Did We Forget to Thank?

Send your thank-you's to eGraceNotes@gracecollegehill.org, and we'll include them in a future issue.  

Thanks!
From the Editor...
 
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Ken Lyon, Editor