eGrace
Grace Episcopal Church
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
News for February 11, 2015
Brrr!

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Update

 

Beginning on Sunday, February 15, Ruth Rock, our Parish Administrator, will be helping with our Catechesis program for children on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am.  Ruth has more than twenty years of experience with the Catechesis and, since she came to Grace Church in late October, has been working with the children in Grace School during the week.  In the near future, she will also be offering some limited training for church members who would be willing to be "helpers" in the atrium (classroom).  We appreciate Ruth's expertise and her willingness to come on Sunday mornings and take another day off during the week--probably Thursdays.     

Mark Your Calendars!

 

We have planned a special Parish Evening for Sunday, February 15. Beginning at 6:00 pm, we will have our monthly Feed Your Spirit Service. If you haven't attended one of these services, here is your perfect opportunity. Come and experience our meditative worship--especially appropriate for a cold and dark winter evening.  Immediately following the service, we will have a pancake supper in All Saints (think Shrove Tuesday two days early!) and our Annual Parish Meeting.  Come and enjoy the community fellowship and conversation about plans for the year.    

Spiritual Direction

 

Spiritual direction is "help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship." (William A. Barry and William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction). Spiritual Direction is provided through regular conversation between the director and directee where the director helps the directee respond to God's invitation to a deeper relationship.  If you may be interested in participating in spiritual direction, contact Mark Richard for further information at 615.948.3769 or markarichard2@gmail.com.  Mark is a parishioner of Grace Church, a companion with The Society of Jesus Compassionate, and a recent graduate of The School of Theology in Sewanee, TN with a master's degree in theology.  

Lenten Observances

 

The Church invites all of us to the observance of a holy Lent.  Ash Wednesday is February 18, and on that date we will be offering three opportunities for attending an Ash Wednesday liturgy with Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes--7:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 6:00 pm.  On Friday, February 20, we will begin our Lenten Preaching Mission and Lenten lunches--a long tradition at Grace Church.  (See separate listing for the schedule.) All of our Sunday services during Lent will be Holy Eucharist Rite I--Penitential Order.  Hopefully we are all thinking about our personal observances of this most holy season.  What would be a meaningful way to prepare our hearts for the celebration of Easter 2015?

2015 Lenten Preaching Mission  

 

February 20                   

Rev. Anthony Barta

Presbyterian Church, USA (retired)

 

Artichoke chicken casserole and mixed greens with apples & walnuts,

prepared by Pam Vance and Sally Hail

 

February 27

Rev. Mitchell Fort

                            Virginia Street Baptist Church

 

Creamed chicken on cornbread and mixed green salad with fruit,

prepared by Roxane Thomas 


March 6                            
    Rev. Benjamin Hart    
Grace Episcopal Church

 

Hot chicken salad with frozen fruit salad,

prepared by Susan Ferguson and Emma Nanney

 

March 13              

Rev. Tom Steiner

                                       Disciples of Christ (retired)

 

Baked spaghetti and mixed greens,

prepared by Margaret Prim and Faye Mason

 

March 20              

Rev. Nathan Brown

                                         First Christian Church

 

Hot ham and cheese sandwiches with cold dill beans,

prepared by Lois White and Becky Wood

 

March 27              

The Rt. Rev. Terry Allen White                       Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky

 

Spinach lasagna and sunshine salad,

prepared by Ginny Lawson and Tweetie White

 

April 3                  

The Very Rev. Alice Nichols                                              Grace Episcopal Church

 

No lunch is served on Good Friday, a day of fasting. 

 

 

                              Services begin at noon in the nave

with a luncheon ($8 per person) following the service

in All Saints' Parish Hall.

Extra Blender Cluttering Up Your Home?

 

If you have a blender around your home that isn't being used, please consider donating it to GraceWorks.  One of our upcoming products involves the use of handmade paper, and we need a blender (or blenders) for use in the paper-making process.  Please let Benjamin Hart or Charlie Ross know if you would like to contribute in that way.  Thanks!

Missions Group

 

We are soliciting members for the Missions Group (formerly Outreach).  This Group was active under the leadership of Tom and Sally Brewer but has not met in several months.  Our next meeting will be Sunday, February 22, at 11:30 am in the Gaither Room.  Please join us!

Vestry Update


 
After considerable deliberation and after consulting the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of Grace Church, the Vestry has decided to reduce the number of members of the Vestry from twelve to nine.  At the time of incorporation in 1975, Grace was a much larger church and the tradition developed to have twelve members, even though the Articles state that any number between three and twenty is acceptable.  We have many members who provide considerable leadership and service to the church who simply do not want to attend regular monthly meetings.  To make the shift, one new member will be presented to the congregation at the Annual Meeting for approval for a three-year term and one new member will be presented for a one-year term--to replace the position held by Tom Brewer. Let's see how this goes for awhile.  We can always change back if there are reasons to do so.  

The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in a Changing World


 
All church leaders are invited to attend a seminar at Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville on February 27 and 28.  The presenter is The Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an expert on church revitalization and author of People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity and The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age.  The Adult Forum read People of the Way a year or so ago and found his thoughts useful and inspirational.  More information is available on the Diocese of Kentucky website or from the Rector.  

Prayer for the Church (BCP)

 

"Gracious God, we pray for your holy Catholic Church.  Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace.  Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it.  Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen."    

Dates to Remember

Wednesday, February 11--6:30 pm--Sacred Rhythms Group
Sunday, February 15--9:00 am--Adult Forum and Catechesis
Sunday, February 15--10:15 am--Holy Eucharist Rite II
Sunday, February 15--6:00 pm--Feed Your Spirit, Pancake Supper, Annual
        Meeting
Wednesday, February 18--4:30 pm--GraceWorks Group
Wednesday, February 18--7:00 am, 12:00 noon, 6:00 pm--Ash Wednesday
services with Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes
Friday, February 20--12:00 noon--Lenten Preaching Mission
Sunday, February 22--9:00 am--Adult Forum and Catechesis
Sunday, February 22--10:15 am--Holy Eucharist Rite I (Lent I)
Sunday, February 22--11:30 am--Missions Group
Sunday, February 22--4:00 pm--Hopkinsville Citizens Confronting Racism
Wednesday, February 25--12:10 pm--Holy Eucharist with healing prayers
Wednesday, February 25--5:30 pm--Vestry meeting
Friday, February 27--12:00 pm--Lenten Preaching Mission
Have you remembered Grace Church in your will?

We are working on starting a legacy society for Grace which will be called the George P. Giddinge Society--named for the first Rector at this church--as a step toward securing the future of our parish, especially our wonderful buildings and grounds.  All who include the church in their wills will automatically become members of this honorary group and names will be placed on a permanent plaque, probably in the narthex.  If you have already made this important decision and taken the steps necessary to insure that your wishes are carried out, please make our Treasurer, Bill Nichol, aware.  Thank you so much for your loving dedication to Grace Church, for all it has meant to so many people and for all that our ministry can continue to mean to the City of Hopkinsville.