All Saints' Day: The Saints Among the All!

 

Contrary to the opinion of some, we are born into this world as saints, created in the image and likeness of God. More than one of the great ones has suggested that looking into the face of an infant is the closest we get to looking into the face of God. And when we baptize someone, as we will on Sunday (Cora and Riley), we confirm and affirm that they are children of God as well as the children of their parents and now of us all. Those children are saints, not in the making, not in the future; they are saints right now. And can continue to be.

 

Every time we baptize, we should try to get it into our thickish skulls that this is the state to which we are all called: Sainthood. And it is not unattainable, not unrealistic, not the stuff of super stars only. It is all of us. We ARE some of the Saints among the All.

 

"They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still, the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus' will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes or at sea, in church, or in trains or in shops or at tea, for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too." Episcopal Hymnal #293

-Shawn

On Monday, October 27, our parking lot was re-striped in an effort to maximize the number of available parking spaces.

Effective immediately, parking is no longer permitted on the lane immediately west of the church.  Instead, use the new angled parking spaces.  Additionally, the old spaces have been re-striped at an angle.  Finally, the spaces at the north end of the lot have been reconfigured, and the fence has been moved farther west.

A reminder that the Grace parking lot is for those actually onsite at Grace.

Thank you!

Join use on Halloween at 7:00 p.m. for a screening of the incredible science-fiction film Metropolis accompanied by Theatre Organist Virtuoso David Rhodes! Admission (pay at the door only) is $20, or $10 if you come in costume. Popcorn and beverages will be available.

 

Join Shawn in greeting Trick-or-Treaters from 6-7 pm (donations accepted).

 

More information is available on our website, at this link.

Yes, it's that time of year again. Watch your mail in the next day or two for a letter outlining the Campaign for 2015. In it are an invitation to breakfast this coming Sunday following both morning services, and your pledge card.

 

You will notice on the Legacy of Grace part of the card two opportunities to pledge. We will talk more about that at the gatherings this Sunday.  

 

Information about Stewardship is also on our website, in case you want to review before Sunday. Please join us and bring your questions. There will be brief presentations on various ministries at Grace that are supported by your pledges.

 

Hope to see you Sunday. 

Please join us at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2, 2014, for an Evensong commemorating the feast of All Souls including the choir's praying of the Fauré Requiem.  

More information is on our website, at this link. 

Rector's Forum: Holy Conversations

 

I am pleased to say that the Forum will be on December 7, after both morning services. I have invited Jim Steen, trained in the CAT (Congregational Assessment Tool), to join in our conversation about the report for the priests and other general questions we might have for him.

 

-Shawn 

Looking for ways to share your gifts? Consider these ministry ideas as a way to give thanks for all that God has given you:

 

Sunday, November 23: Potluck Thanksgiving Meal. Organize the setup and cleanup for our time together.

 

EMCEE/MC: Be a leader in getting us all prepared for worship on Sunday mornings. Email Barbara Larsen.

 

Craft Fair: Cliff Hint has been busy making his stunning baskets. Can you help us line up other vendors to showcase for a before-Christmas sale? A portion of the proceeds come to Grace. There are many ways to bring us all together for fellowship and help us all get ready for Christmas. Check out what St. Nicholas in Elk Grove Village is doing.

 

Assistant to a Catechist: Volunteer to assist Jo Wojack with the Level II Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program/Sunday School. They meet twice a month. Email Nick Currie. 

 

These are just a few of the ways we bring God's love to this community. 

The reason we have such good lighting at Grace Church is because a volunteer team completely renovated and restored the 34 fixtures in the nave. The project took four years and an estimated 18.3 work weeks or 735 total hours. Savings to the church were from $18,000 to $20,000 for the project.

 

Led by parishioner Clifford Hunt, the team began in the spring of 2005 when he and Stan Kaderbek were removing a fixture as part of the cleaning and tuck pointing in the church interior. They noticed crumbling insulation on one of the wires and decided the fixtures should be rewired since they were a potential fire hazard.

 

"That problem has been eliminated, there is better lighting, and we will save a lot of money on electric power," Hunt said. "Before, there were 192 60-watt bulbs making a total of over 14,000 watts and these have been changed to 100-watt compact fluorescent types, with total wattage of less than 3,500."

 

The project involved removing the 34 fixtures, the larger ones as big as 6 feet long, from the ceiling and sides of the church. These were disassembled and washed to remove the 80+ years of candle smoke and grime. Then they were painted in gold with blue and red trim. Partial assembly and rewiring came next and then final assembly and testing before remounting in the church. The process was so gradual most parishioners only noticed there seemed be more light.

 

"The quality of these fixtures is remarkable; I can't imagine the cost of replacing them, Hunt said. "They are solid brass and beautifully designed, and with this cleaning and rewiring they should be good for another 80 years or so."

 

The following parishioners worked at the following tasks:

 

Cliff Hunt, Stan Kaderbek and Silvano Brugioni, Hunt's technical assistant, Joe Krebasch, Norb Teclaw, Jeff Fillian, Paul O'Kelly, and Dennis Northway all helped with take-down, disassembly, re-wiring, reassembly and rehanging. This took a total of 345 hours and wiring alone took about half of that time.

 

Kimberly McCord washed all of the fixtures before they could be painted and this took about 40 hours using strong cleaners and water.

 

Then the parts were taken to Sue Wells's studio and she painted every piece in gold with red and blue decoration, about 350 hours. Some had cracked or broken art glass and these were replaced.

 

Wiring the partially-assembled fixtures was particularly difficult because each had small tubing that had two right angle turns that ran from the main part of the fixture to the bulb socket, according to Hunt.

 

"The tall fixtures that hang from the hammer beams could have been a problem also, but the electricians who installed the fire alarms had a scissor lift and we were able to use it to let all six of them down. Then we had two weeks to strip, clean and paint them, rewire and assemble them, and reinstall them because the electricians would be finished with their job and take away the lift. Because we finished in time, we did not need to rent another lift," he said.  

Our next discussion is Wednesday, November 5, at 7:30 PM, at the home of Bets Howland and Dennis Zavac.

 

We will finish the book, Exploring Reality, and discuss the final chapters 7 - 10 (51 pages).

 

Following the November gathering, our next book discussion will be on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 7:30 PM. We will be reading The Hidden Gospel, by Neil Douglas-Klotz. Kindly click below to order so that Grace will receive a portion of the revenue. 

If you shop at Amazon, please use the link below to access Amazon.com.  Grace will then get a percentage of any purchases made.  It's a painless way to help Grace and costs you nothing.  FYI, we never see who buys what. We've already raised over $130 thanks to all those who have participated thus far.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday Morning Eucharist	7:00 AM
SLAA/SAA Meeting	9:00 AM
Schola Rehearsal	3:30 PM
PADS overnight shelter	7:30 PM
Thursday, October 30, 2014
SLAA/SAA Meeting	9:00 AM
Staff Meeting	11:30 AM
Evensong	6:00 PM
SAA 12-Step Group	7:00 PM
Sight Reading Club	7:00 PM
Adult Choir Rehearsal	7:30 PM
Friday, October 31, 2014
Rector's Day Off
SLAA/SAA 12-Step Workshop	9:05 AM
Halloween Screening of Metropolis	7:00 PM
Saturday, November 01, 2014
SLAA 12-Step Group	9:30 AM
Sunday, November 02, 2014
The Rite Place - A service for the child in us all	9:00 AM
Stewardship Breakfast	9:30 AM
Lectionary Discussion Group	9:45 AM
Sung Choral Eucharist	10:30 AM
Stewardship Breakfast	11:45 AM
Madrigal Rehearsal	1:30 PM
All Souls' Evensong featuring the Faure Requiem with chamber orchestra	4:00 PM
SLAA 12-Step Group	7:00 PM
AA 12-Step Group	8:30 PM
Monday, November 03, 2014
SLAA/SAA Meeting	9:00 AM
EfM (Education for Ministry)	7:00 PM
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
SLAA/SAA Meeting	9:00 AM
St. Giles Catechesis	4:00 PM
Property Committee Meeting	7:00 PM
SLAA 12-Step Group	7:00 PM
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Wednesday Morning Eucharist	7:00 AM
SLAA/SAA Meeting	9:00 AM
Schola Rehearsal	3:30 PM
Handel Week Chorus Rehearsal	6:00 PM
St. Giles Catechesis	6:00 PM
Book Study Group	7:30 PM
PADS overnight shelter	7:30 PM