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Save the Dates
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Stewardship Conversations,
Sunday, October 27,
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 third 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 are coming for the calm and respite, and the office and volunteers are coordinating further publicity.
If you are out and about at midday, consider incorporating this time of prayer into your day. Come and see . . . and rest in God.
Photo credit: Joe C.
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Sunday, October 27, at Grace
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Eucharist, refreshments, and conversations 
We celebrate the Eucharist at 10:00. For the gospel, we hear about two people at prayer: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee was praying by the rules he had learned, and the tax collector had a heartfelt prayer with none of the expected externals. How do these images resonate in you? Because the parish meeting last Sunday ran longer than expected, this Sunday after the service vestry members will convene parishioners to invite reflection, in small groups, on the topic of generosity. Read more below. As we know from summer conversations, such meetings are rich when as many of us as possible participate, so please stay if at all possible, and bring finger food if you can!
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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 (again!) 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 conversations after church on Sunday.
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Grace's Talent Auction
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Plan on November 9, and bring a friend!
Items are coming in, and they look interesting and fun! French dinner for four, anyone? A vacation in the Caribbean? Smaller items abound as well--yard and car and household items, for example, including handmade pottery and baby blankets. When perusing the auction, keep gift-giving in mind.
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. There are flyers in the church hallway that can be used as invitations--please take as many as you think you can use.
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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Grace Community Foundation
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Lately in the pantry, volunteers, staff, and clients have had the opportunity to join in prayer before food distribution begins, led by The Rev. Beth Reed. Here is what we pray:
Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of life today. We thank you that we are here, and that we are neighbors. We pray for everybody in need-- in need of food, in need of a job, in need of child care, in need of health, in need of friends. Help us to care for each other, and help our country make choices that will benefit all her people. Bless this food and bless our time and bless our city and bless our families. In your holy name, we say: Amen. Dios misericordioso, te damos gracias por el don de la vida de hoy. Le agradecemos que estamos aquí, y que somos vecinos. Oramos por todas las personas necesitadas-- en necesidad de alimentos, en la necesidad de un trabajo, con necesidad de cuidado de los niños, en la necesidad de atencion de la salud, en la necesidad de amigos. Ayúdanos a cuidar de los demás, y ayudar a nuestro país a tomar decisiones que beneficien a toda su gente. Bendecir esta comida y bendecir a nuestro tiempo y bendecir a nuestra ciudad y bendicir a nuestras familias. En tu santo nombre, decimos: Amen.
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Grace Montessori School
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Lower elementary students enjoy chapel time 
The students in grades 1-3 (our lower elementary class) have chapel time each week. One recent activity has invited the children to explore prayers from various religious traditions by perusing books and copying prayers that attract them. Their spirits are being nourished . . .
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Adult Faith Formation
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Next dates are November 3 and 24
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. |
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