eGrace

Grace Episcopal Church

Hopkinsville, Kentucky

News for June 27, 2014

Somebody's having a birthday!

On June 30, Virginia Price Nelson will be celebrating her 98th birthday! She is currently our oldest member, and, after our Sunday morning service on June 29, we will be celebrating with her at our refreshment time in All Saints. Wouldn't it be fun to shower her with birthday cards?! If you get a chance, either bring one on Sunday morning or mail one to her. Thanks!

All-Day Kindergarten Fundraiser June 28--Tomorrow!

We are trying to raise enough money to cover any and all scholarships that are granted to families with children in Grace Kindergarten and Pre-School for the 2014-2015 school year. To that end, we are having an all-day fundraiser on Saturday, June 28. Our Rummage Sale runs from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. We've got some great stuff!

Phillip is doing a barbecue with lunches, dinners, and take-homes for sale. Special orders, e.g., Boston Butt roasts, should be placed ahead of time. Food for lunch will be ready by 11:00 am. Musical entertainment begins at 4:00 pm with the "Geezers"--followed by Jennifer Stokes at 5:00 pm and the Grace Notes at 6:00 pm. Come and join us for any part of this fun day!

Membership Group Report to the Parish

Dear Fellow Parishioners;

I am writing this as a new regular part of the eGrace newsletter so as to keep all of our members up to date on the activities of the Membership Group and to hopefully get suggestions and contributions from each church member. During the past one and a half years the Membership Group has been made up of Susan Ferguson, Joe and Pam Vance, Eva Akpom, Leesie Carter, Lannie and Charlie Ross, Liz Isele and me. Of course, Alice is heavily involved with this Group and attends all meetings. During our first year, we concentrated on many of our fellow parishioners who we felt had, for a variety of reasons, not participated in church and church activities consistent with their prior levels. Also, of course, we pursued aggressively all prospective members and made personal, mail and e-mail contacts in order to keep Grace Church and its outreach and activities before them. Personal invitations to events and church services was found to be the clear and unequivocal "best practice" for achieving increased participation. During that period we were able to acquire several new members and re-involve some existing members, although there were disappointments along the way as well. We invited prospective members to come to a Via Media presentation over 4 or 5 weeks to understand what it means to be an Episcopalian. The classes were well received and participation was great. Several participants were confirmed after that program, and we plan to offer it again this fall. We are encouraging all members to assist us through giving us names and telephone #'s or addresses of those individuals or families that might be interested in having more information about Grace Church. You may use the Visitors Cards placed in each pew and place them in the Alms Basin or hand them to any of us at the service. As well, as we have experienced, people really appreciate being invited to attend an activity or service. Therefore, we ask each of you to invite friends, co-workers, family and all you can think of to attend church services with us and to come with you to church activities. We feel that we have exhausted our attempts to rejuvenate the interest of some of our members who have left, but we haven't given up. We do need each of you to personally help us by providing at least one name over the coming few weeks of a person that we might contact and invite. We want to spread the blessing of participation and membership at Grace Church. Thank you, Carson Stone.

Fifth Sunday Outreach to Aaron McNeil House

The month of June has five Sundays this year, making June 29 a traditional day for a food drive for Aaron McNeil House. However, in consulting with AMH, their current greatest need is for personal hygiene products, including toothpaste, tooth brushes, bath soap, toilet paper (4 or 6 pack), deodorant, diapers (all sizes), wipes, shampoo and conditioner, razors (male and female), and feminine products. Let's see how many of these items we can get together for those served through AMH! You can leave your contributions in the Gaither Room.

Reception for Benjamin

Benjamin Hart's first day at Grace Church will be July 1, and his first Sunday with us will be July 6. Even though it is a holiday weekend, we hope that everyone will attempt to be here to welcome him. There will be a reception following the worship service on July 6. His coming to join us is a real venture in faith for the church. Please keep him and Grace Church in your prayers.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Update

We have had a great school year with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program--both on Sunday mornings and with all the children in our Kindergarten and Pre-School. This program relies heavily on the use of trained "catechists" to facilitate the work of the children, and we very much need volunteers to assist with this effort. We are fortunate to have a training program at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville that welcomes us to participate with them. Beginning in September, they will be offering a monthly session on Sunday mornings for people who are interested in being assistants in the Atrium (Catechesis classroom) and are unable to make the commitment to more extensive training. Also, they will be offering the full training program for Level II catechists--those interested in working with children between the ages of six and nine. These sessions will be on Tuesdays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm in Nashville, beginning September 16 and going until Thanksgiving, picking back up in January and going until Easter. Please consider the possibility that God could be nudging you to participate in this valuable ministry. For more information, talk with Tom Price, Sally Brewer, Amanda McClure, Polly Stokes, or Alice Nichols.

Adult Forum Update

Adult Forum is continuing to meet at 9:00 am on Sunday mornings. We completed the Saving Jesus Redux series of videos and have now started another program created by the same group--Living the Questions. This series is entitled Living the Questions 2.0. It has been described as an introduction to "Progressive Christianity." Each Sunday's video stands on its own and lasts about twenty minutes, leaving plenty of time for discussion. This format works especially well for those who cannot commit to be present every week. All are welcome.

Church News "Flashes"

If you have any personal or family news that you would like to share with our church community--e.g., graduations, anniversaries, etc.--please send the info to "[email protected]" for inclusion in an upcoming edition of this "eGrace" newsletter. Don't be shy!

Dates to Remember

Saturday, June 28--All day--Fund-raising event for Kindergarten--see blurb above

Sunday, June 29--9:00 am--Adult Forum

Sunday, June 29--10:15 am--Holy Eucharist Rite I

Wednesday, July 1--12:10 pm--Holy Eucharist Rite II

Wednesday, July 2--4:00 pm--Spiritual Formation Group

Sunday, July 6--9:00 am--Adult Forum

Sunday, July 6--10:15 am--Holy Eucharist Rite II

Sunday, July 6--11:15 am--Reception for Benjamin Hart

Wednesday, July 9--12:10 pm--Holy Eucharist Rite II

Sunday, July 13--4:00 pm--Hopkinsville Citizens Confronting Racism

Sunday, July 20--6:00 pm--Celtic Eucharist