At 9:00, we'll meet for our second session on the prophets (in the multipurpose room downstairs). All are welcome--no previous experience or education is necessary.

We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00. 

After the service, we gather for a feast! 

It's been some months since we did a general cleaning inside the worship space. As we get ready to be an Art Squawk venue on June 2, it would be great to get the room sparkling. 

If you can help tomorrow morning (Saturday, May 18), please come to the church and pitch in! Some will be here as early as 8:00 . . .

 

The feast of Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit--the apostles found they could be understood in many languages and thus, they could preach the good news of Jesus and his Way all over. 

One way Grace has celebrated is with special foods after church. Consider a dish from your heritage, or one from a country you'd like to visit, or a culinary specialty of whatever sort you can come up with! We'll enjoy a taste of God's kingdom in the diversity of offerings. 

All are welcome to learn more about the prophets of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament, First Testament). Mary Louise B has procured a DVD and study guide featuring Walter Brueggemann, a premier scholar and teacher on the prophets, called Embracing the Prophets in Contemporary Culture: Confronting Today's Pharoahs. Click here for more information.

Each session includes a video presentation lasting 10-15 minutes followed by group conversation. We begin at 9:00. 

 

The series will run through the rest of May and June; after that, we'll evaluate this approach and the time slot, and we'll see what we'd like to learn about next and how best to go about it.

Ray H and Ellen R worked hard on Wednesday: they weeded and planted and did a general garden clean-up. Ray designed attractive arrangements for the sidewalk planters and brought the plants to make them beautiful! Ellen and Ray filled several yard-waste bags--there were many weeds. 

Keeping the outside of our building and garden tended is part of being a good neighbor, and it adds beauty and color for all to enjoy.

Director Patty McNamara and volunteer Jim Hausman share a laugh. Jim is a parishioner at St. John's Lutheran and has volunteered at our pantry for years.

A new effort is taking shape in downtown Allentown: a quarterly arts event called Art Squawk. Several galleries and other venues welcome residents and visitors to enjoy art in the downtown. At the last event (March 24), twelve groups participated, including the Allentown Art Museum, Palette and Pen, and the Antonio Salemme Foundation. 

Grace will join this group and welcome people to our worship space on Sunday, June 2, from 12:00 to 5:00. We'll host an art exhibit--Icons: A Brush with God. Iconographer Peter Pearson will display his work and give a talk about making icons. Read more about the artist and see some of his work here. 

Grace is already blessed with some of Pearson's work: he painted the cover of our tabernacle (or aumbry, the place where we reserve the Sacrament for administration to the sick and dying). He also made the Madonna and Child icon that we display at Christmas.

We'll fling wide the doors and invite our neighbors into our beautiful building. Weather permitting, we can have tables and chairs outside for resting and socializing.

The event is an opportunity for many hands to participate: to prepare our space (inside and out), work on a brochure, greet visitors, set up, and clean up. Contact Beth Reed for more information and to volunteer. There is a sign-up sheet in the hallway on the way to the gathering space.

To learn more, check the Allentown Art Squawk Facebook page. When you get there, check out the posting about Grace's participation, and feel free to add a welcoming comment!