Choral Evensong June 7

Choral Evensong will be sung Sunday, June 7, at 6:00 pm, followed by a reception in the church garden.  This service makes use of the ancient poetry of the Church set to beautiful music, some of it hundreds of years old.  This Sunday the choir will sing the Great Service in C Major by Charles Villiers Stanford.  Evensong offers the opportunity to gather, to meditate, and to spend time in prayer while listening and participating in music that is especially selected to bring us into deeper understanding of the mysteries of our faith.  (This service will be our last Choral Evensong directed by Steve Wiggin.  Please join us for this special event!)  

Season after Pentecost

Following Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, we enter that long period on our liturgical calendar that we call the Season after Pentecost--or "ordinary" time--which extends until the beginning of Advent.  "Ordinary" refers to order--the ordering of the weeks between the preparation for and celebration of the most major events in the life of Jesus.  During ordinary time we focus more on Jesus' life and teaching.  This is Year B in our three-year lectionary cycle, which means that our gospel readings come primarily from Mark during this time between seasons.  We have changed over to using Eucharistic Prayer C--as we have for the past few summers--and, since the congregation's responses are more extensive and less familiar in Prayer C, all the words are being printed in the service leaflet.  Welcome to summer!

"Dearly Beloved. . . A Tool-kit for the Study of Marriage"

The larger Episcopal Church has asked that individual churches create the opportunity for members to engage in conversations on the meaning of marriage.  "What does it mean to be married?  What does the church have to say about marriage?  What makes a marriage Christian?  What is the role of the church in marriage?  In a rapidly changing culture in the United States, what values does the church hold as indispensable to marriage?  How can the church continue to speak to people about relationships, faithfulness and life in Christ?  And how does marriage serve as an icon of the love of Christ not just to the couple but to their larger communities?"  Over the next few Sundays, we will devote the Adult Forum time to considering these questions and the material provided to us by the Task Force on the Study of Marriage which was established by General Convention 2012, culminating in a report to General Convention 2015 (meeting in Salt Lake City in late June and early July).  If this subject is of interest to you, join us this Sunday at 9:00 am.  

Mark Your Calendars for June 14

June 14 will be a busy day at Grace.  Bishop White will be here for his annual visitation and will be confirming and receiving new members into the Episcopal Church.  If you would like to be confirmed, please let the Rector or Assistant Rector know as soon as possible so that there will be an opportunity for the required preparation to be done.  The Bishop does not require extensive preparation of those who have been confirmed (or had the equivalent of confirmation) in another denomination. 

Also on June 14, we will be having our going-away festivities for Steve and Connie Wiggin.  They have been a vital part of Grace Church for 33 years, and it's difficult to imagine the church without them.  Please come and give them a good send-off! 

Cool Spots for Hot Tots

Last summer we scheduled three days close to the starting of school for preschoolers to come in for two hours and get a taste of what going to school at Grace would be like.  This year, we decided to schedule earlier in the summer and hopefully draw in some newcomers who are undecided about making the commitment to preschool.  The dates will be June 17, June 24, and July 1 (Wednesdays).  Please let Joyce Cornett know of your interest in helping. 

Directory Update

We will soon be doing an update to the parish directory.  If any of your information has changed or if you are aware of other information that needs to be updated, please pass it on to our Parish Administrator, Ruth Rock. Her email address is [email protected]. Thank you!

School of Ministry

The Diocesan School of Ministry is now accepting applications for a new cohort of participants who would like to begin this two-year program in September. This program is designed for the education and formation of those called to the diaconate or to intentional lay ministry in the Church. Much more information is available from the Rector.