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Save the Dates
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Parish Meeting,
Sunday, October 20,
after church
Grace at Noon:
Monday through Friday,
12:00 pm
Feast of All Saints:
Sunday, November 3
Grace Talent Auction:
Saturday, November 9
Stewardship Ingathering:
Sunday, November 17
Vestry Meeting,
Sunday, November 24,
after church
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Grace at Noon has begun . . .
Our new offering of daily prayer and time for lunch is in its second week. Each day at noon, there is a brief service (reading, silent meditation, prayers) in the church. All are welcome to bring a lunch and eat together afterward in the gathering space.
Parishioners and visitors have come for the calm and respite, and the office and volunteers are coordinating further publicity.
Come and see . . . and rest in God.
Photo credit: Joe C.
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Sunday, October 20, at Grace
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Eucharist and parish meeting
We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00.
Immediately after the service, members of the vestry will lead a parish meeting. The vestry will offer some updates on parish life, and they will invite reflection, in small groups, on the topic of generosity. These conversations are the beginning of the fall stewardship effort.
As we know from summer conversations, such meetings are rich when as many of us as possible participate, so please don't make this the Sunday to run out early! Please bring finger food to share.
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Fall Stewardship Reflections
| |  Nurturing Grace in the City
Lisa F and Jeff R are leading the fall stewardship effort. This week they suggest we reflect on generosity: How has God been generous with you? How have other people been generous with you? What is it like to receive such generosity?
And consider the other side, too: what it is like when you have been generous--to children, parents, strangers, friends? How have you been generous toward God? What does that look like, feel like?
Such questions help us establish a spiritual foundation for our monetary giving; they can help put our giving in a bigger context. Our stewardship is more than making sure the church budget balances; where did what we have come from, and what are we doing with it, and why?
Bring your ponderings, reflections, and questions in these areas to the parish meeting after church on Sunday.
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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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Adult Faith Formation
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Next dates are November 3 and 24
More than a dozen people gathered at Topher G's house in the West End on October 6--we learned about how racism is present in structures and institutions, and we discussed our experiences relative to institutional racism.
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. Both meetings will be at Jack and Jean M's home in Macungie, starting at 6:00. |
Grace in the Neighborhood
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Neighbors work and connect
in the pantry
Our pantry serves about 325 households each month in the 18102 zip code--we're familiar with that fact. People around Grace rely on us for food.
Food is not the only thing shared at the pantry; however.
- Several folks from the neighborhood who are not Sunday church-goers at Grace have been regular volunteers for years. Volunteering in our pantry is one way they connect meaningfully with the larger community.
- Men from the Community Corrections Center on Hamilton Street, transitioning from prison back to community life, are regular volunteers: they find an environment that welcomes them and treats them with dignity and friendship.
- Some volunteers at the pantry are also clients; they have received emergency food, and they have offered their time and energy to others.
- Parishioners at Church of the Mediator regularly collect and donate food and assist on the pantry board; these Allentown neighbors have put their faith in action alongside Grace Church and all the other volunteers.
The pantry is surely a place of Grace in the city!
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