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Save the Dates
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Diocesan Convention:
October 4-5,
Cathedral Church of the Nativity
Book Group:
Sunday, October 6,
at Topher G's,
6:00
Grace at Noon:
Monday through Friday,
12:00 pm,
beginning October 7
Vestry Meeting:
Sunday, October 13,
after church
Grace Talent Auction:
Saturday, November 9
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Grace at Noon begins on Monday!
Our new offering of daily prayer and time for lunch begins next week. Five days a week, there will be a brief service (reading, silent meditation, prayers) in the church at noon. All are welcome to bring a lunch and eat together afterward in the gathering space.
We hope to provide a quiet, welcoming place of calm and respite for neighbors and coworkers in downtown--really, for anybody at all who wants to come! Several people at Grace have also felt the need for regular quiet prayer in the company of others, as a way to allow our healing work in the city and our solidarity with each other and our neighbors to be deeply grounded in God.
Come and see . . . and rest in God.
Photo credit: Joe C.
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Sunday, October 6, at Grace
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Eucharist, refreshments
We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00.
The second reading comes from Paul's second letter to Timothy. He reminds Timothy (and us): "God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline." What would our personal and corporate lives be like if we remembered more often the spirit we've been given?
Reading the Sunday scriptures and meditating on them before hearing them at church can help us encounter them more deeply--click on "Sunday Scripture texts"--above left--to find the texts of the week.
After the Eucharist, we will enjoy refreshments and conversation.
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Grace's Talent Auction
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Plan on Nov. 9, and bring a friend!
Mike A and Tony V are taking the lead on a new fundraising event for Grace--a Talent Auction.
Parishioners and others will donate their talents or skills, or examples of these, such as artwork, and participants will bid on them. Some items will be in a silent auction, and others in a live auction. There will be food and drink and a festive atmosphere. Volunteers are beginning to call all active members at Grace to see what they are able to donate. Please be ready, when you get that call, with talents or items you can donate.
Sample donations: two hours of child care, a home cooked dinner, Christmas present wrapping service, art you or an artist have created, the use of a vacation property, the use of a vehicle, etc. If you have any questions, check with Mike and Tony! (Hint: They are not looking for yard-sale items!)
As you consider what you can donate, please also consider who you can bring to the event. Friends, family, coworkers? Bringing folks to a church-related event that is not a Sunday service is a great way to welcome people to explore the life of Grace. It's also a way to invite others to support financially the important work that happens from this place.
Grace is a small congregation with a large mission in the city, and raising funds will help keep our missions thriving.
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Art Squawk
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It was a beautiful day
Last Sunday afternoon was festive in our neighborhood: the festival in the Arts Park, Kelly D-B's talk at Grace about her pilgrimage in Spain, and an Animal Blessing in front of Studio 606 on Hamilton Street.
Many thanks to Kelly for sharing images and messages and insights she found along the Camino. Visitors to Grace enjoyed the presentation, as did several parishioners. There was ample hospitality afterward, as people stayed and chatted until after 5:00. Thanks also to those who brought refreshments, provided a presence in the church during the afternoon, and cleaned up: Kathy Y, Jeff R, Lisa F, Mae P, Jean M, Joan R, Chris D, and others; and thanks to Chuck M and Nathan R, who helped with tech issues. Jean M made the sandwich board sign for the sidewalk, which helped direct people to our event, and the Brosses hung festive red banners outside the front doors.
Here are some Grace people after lunch in the Arts Park:
And here's a goat we blessed on Hamilton Street!
Some of the animals were from Gress Mountain Ranch in Orefield, and their people invited the Rev. Beth Reed to bless all the animals there on Sunday, October 20, at 3:00, at their "Open Gate" event. All are welcome; click here for more info. |
Adult Faith Formation
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This Sunday night we're at a new house
The book group is something of a film group this fall, as we are using some videos and films to help us look at racism and immigration issues. This Sunday we are watching and discussing the second part of Cracking the Codes (see website).
In the next two sessions we'll learn more about immigration and consider Grace's possible roles and responses, given our location in a neighborhood with about 50% people of color, many of whom are recent immigrants.
This Sunday (October 6) we'll meet at Topher G's house near the Allentown Fairgrounds, at 6:00--consult the parish directory for the exact address or call the church. The other fall meetings are November 3 and November 24, both at Jack and Jean M's home in Macungie.  | This shows about half of the folks who gathered on September 22 for the first part of Cracking the Codes.
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