Best Wishes, Debbie!

After serving as the Secretary at Grace for over four years, Debbie Motes has turned in her notice and will be leaving us on October 17.  She is planning to start her own business, and we wish her all the best.  She will be hard to replace!  We would like to take this opportunity to see if it would work for us to reduce our office coverage to four days per week--Tuesday through Friday--and depend more on our Voice Mail system for answering the phone, especially on Mondays.  If any of you know of anyone with excellent office and interpersonal skills who would like to work four six-hour days a week, please encourage her (or him) to submit a resume to the church.  Many thanks to Debbie for all her hard work and dedication in meeting our many diverse needs.  

GraceWorks Update

Since we have a little money in the bank, we were able to move ahead with acquiring some basic silk screen-printing equipment and supplies for producing special Christmas cards for sale to all would like to use them.  Our Assistant Rector has designed three beautiful choices that will be produced through the silk screening process.  A fourth card will feature the Grace stained glass window of "mother and child."  Getting our first products out is an important milestone along the road to developing an industry that can make a difference in the lives of many Hopkinsville residents who are living on the edge financially.  (Update of October 1:  The equipment has arrived and is being set up in the Red House.  Several church members will be attending the Thistle Farms National Convention in Nashville, October 12-14, in an effort to learn more about how that program works so that we can replicate aspects of what Thistle Farms has accomplished in our GraceWorks program.  GraceWorks Group meets again on October 15 at 4:00 pm and welcomes others to get involved.) 

News from Grace's Closet

Just a reminder that most of Grace's Closet business is done through appointments set up through Aaron McNeil.  But, in addition, we are free to give out clothing ourselves.  The only thing we are asked to do is to keep up with the number of people served.  If you happen to drive by at odd hours and see lights on in the Red House, don't be concerned.  More than likely it means that Grace Closet's lead volunteer is there working or perhaps even meeting with someone in need of clothing.

MUSIC at MIDDAY

The Music at Midday series returns on Thursday, October 23. These are short organ recitals on our historic Estey Pipe Organ each Thursday at noon through November 20.  Steve Wiggin will play on October 23 and November 20.  Wayne Eastham will play October 30. Rich Barnett on November 6, and  On November 14 Dan Wilkinson will play. 

The pipe organ at Grace Church was installed in 1906.  It was a gift of John C. Latham, Jr., in memory of his mother, Virginia, a long-time member of the Grace Church choir.  

The organ was totally rebuilt in 2009 by the Milnar Organ Company of Eagleville, Tennessee.  It consists of over 850 pipes, divided into 15 sets, playable from three keyboards, two played by hands and one by feet.  Pipes vary in size from the smallest, about the size of a pencil, to the largest, pipes made of wood that are about a foot square and close to ten feet tall.

All are invited to these programs.     

Kindergarten Fundraising

Grace School is now on the list of approved non-profit recipients of Kroger's generous gifts to the communities in which they do business.  All we need to do is to register our Kroger Plus cards on Kroger's website and all our purchases at Kroger, except for gas, will automatically mean a contribution to Grace School.  How easy is that?!  Tom Schmidt will also be glad to give you assistance, if needed, in getting your card registered.  

Grace School is also approved to receive funds through the Box Tops for Education program.  Start saving your Box Top coupons that come on many, many items--cereals, soups, paper products, etc.--and bringing them or sending them to the church. 

Thank you, Tom, for your tireless work for Grace School!