The Season After Pentecost
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Greetings, people of Grace!
In this week’s reading from the book of Jonah, we hear how divine intentions shifted as God considered how the people of Nineveh had changed. These stories of God changing God’s own mind have always fascinated me. Most often, God’s mind is changed because the nature of God’s relationship with the people changes. Jonah is upset about this, that God’s mercy is so great that it extends even to Nineveh, and to people who are enemies of Israel. Because God knows the people, their hearts and their circumstances, God makes decisions that are gracious and loving.
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A Word from the Rector
Weeks Adult Forum
Grace EYC Lunches with April (1-21)
Chattanooga Women's March
Evening Book Study to Begin (1-25)
Episcopal Church 101 Begins (2-11)
Lenten Weekday Book Study (2-14)
Help Wanted: Ushers for 10:45 Service
Church Doors and Safety
Altar Flowers for 2018
Meetings This Week
Serving on Sunday
Lectionary
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A Word from the Rector (continued)
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As your new rector, nothing is more important to me than forming relationships with people in our community. I want to learn about the circumstances in which you find yourselves. I want to learn what is on your hearts—your hopes, your fears, your dreams and what makes your hearts sing. I look forward to hearing your stories, and to discovering the ways that the wideness of God’s mercy is present in your lives.
Vestry leadership update
I had my first official meeting with the Grace Vestry last week. The vestry elected wardens, and I am pleased to announce that Adam Bryan will be continuing his service to this community as Junior Warden and Tom Makepeace will be serving as Senior Warden. I am looking forward to the coming year with this thoughtful, capable group of vestry members. I am impressed by the various ways that they represent and care for the concerns and gifts of this community.
Welcome to our new Seminarian
This week, we will be welcoming a new Seminarian, Hannah Pommersheim, at Grace. You’ll see Hannah preaching and participating in the liturgy, and she also plans to spend the next few weeks meeting some of the groups that gather on Sundays at Grace as she discerns her learning goals for her time at Grace.
Hannah is a second-year seminary at Sewanee from the Diocese of Texas. Prior to entering seminary, she served as the Program Coordinator for the Episcopal Student Center at the University of Texas in Austin. She has also worked as a case manager for people experiencing homelessness and as a fellow in the Episcopal Service Corps. Hannah grew up in South Dakota, and graduated from Davidson College. Hannah lives in Sewanee with her husband, Kyle, and their dog, Hugo.
Brightest blessings,
April
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The Weeks Adult Forum continues to meet on Sunday morning in the Barth Room at 9:30 a.m. Discussions focus on the lectionary readings for the week. Please plan to join us for stimulating, wide-ranging discussions.
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Grace EYC Youth this Sunday: Lunch with April
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All youth grades 6 - 12 will gather at the Mongolian Grill on Brainerd Road at 12:30pm this Sunday for lunch with our new Rector, the Rev. April Berends. We will carpool from Grace after the 10:45 service. Join us as we get to know April together!
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Chattanooga Women's March
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The Chattanooga Women's March is tomorrow, Saturday, January 20 at 11:30. A contingent from Grace will be marching together for those interested. We will gather next to the Carousel in Coolidge park beginning at 11am. Look for Fr. Zack in his collar. Dress warmly and feel free to bring friends, signs, and Episcopal church paraphernalia!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1531901463593817
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New Evening Book Study Begins January 25
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Michael Curry has identified three areas of focus during his term as our Presiding Bishop: evangelism, racial reconciliation, and the environment. How do we begin racial reconciliation without attempting to understand how Blacks think and act? To this end, beginning Thursday, January 25 and continuing February 1 and 8, David Stanislawski will facilitate a book study on
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching
. As usual we will begin with a pot-luck dinner at 6:00 followed by the book study at 6:45. We should finish by 8:00.
Amazon describes the book as follows
: How do you learn to be a black man in America? For young black men today, it means coming of age during the presidency of Barack Obama. It means witnessing the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Akai Gurley, and too many more. It means celebrating powerful moments of black self-determination for LeBron James, Dave Chappelle, and Frank Ocean. In
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching
, Mychal Denzel Smith chronicles his own personal and political education during these tumultuous years, describing his efforts to come into his own in a world that denied his humanity. Smith unapologetically upends reigning assumptions about black masculinity, rewriting the script for black manhood so that depression and anxiety aren't considered taboo, and feminism and LGBTQ rights become part of the fight. The questions Smith asks in this book are urgent -- for him, for the martyrs and the tokens, and for the Trayvons that could have been and are still waiting.
We can only hope that reconciliation becomes more possible if we look at ourselves as honestly and critically as Mychal Danzel Smith does. Please plan to join us for this important discussion.
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Episcopal 101 Classes Begin February 11
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Our spring "Episcopal 101" course begins February 11, with classes at 9:30am every Sunday for about eight weeks. Under the leadership of our Lay Instructor Sean McEwen, this course covers the basics of Christianity from an Episcopal perspective, exploring the sacraments, liturgy, church history, Bible, theology, doctrine, social teachings. This class is intended for those considering baptism or membership in the Episcopal church, as well as anyone just interested in learning more. To register visit
saygrace.net/episcopal101
For more information or questions contact Sean McEwen (
seanjmcewen@yahoo.com
)
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Lenten Weekday Book Study Begins February 14
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Starting Ash Wednesday after the noon service, Vivian Dodds will lead a discussion on the book
A Season for the Spirit
by Martin Smith, which is a book of forty daily meditations. Paperback of this book is available through Barnes and Noble for under nine dollars and can be ordered on line.
After Ash Wednesday, we will meet after the 11:30 Healing service. Please bring a brown bag lunch. Hot water for tea and lemonade will be provided.
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Help Wanted: Lead Ushers for 10:45 a.m. Service
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Looking for a way to get involved and to meet more of your fellow parishioners? We're looking for a few good women and men to serve as lead ushers at the 10:45 service. Time commitment is only 5-6 Sundays per year. Training and instructions provided (though tasks are pretty simple). If interested or for more information, call or email Bill Pickering at
(423) 618-2758
or
wpickering@chamblisslaw.com
.
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Last week we beseeched you to be gentle to the building and refrain from applying all your bodily force to trying to rip locked doors off their hinges. This week, we must add to that to
avoid propping doors open
and then vanishing into the viscera of the building (Wednesday nights are a particular sore spot for this, so choir and handbell folks, please be aware!) .
There are many reasons for keeping doors shut – keeping out the artic blast while keeping in the heat is one – but the main reason is safety. Not only do we have a day care center on the second floor, but we also have a tenant in the apartment, and the potential for having strangers wander in unseen puts these folks at unnecessary risk.
Those of you who are active in groups that include members outside the Grace community can help by communicating these directives to your fellows and by devising sensible ways to deal with late or early arrivals. Come at the times when the doors have electronically unlocked or wait until that time to come in; trade cell phone numbers with meeting-group friends so you can call someone inside if the door is locked. Help keep the building and its occupants safe!
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Each week, our liturgies are enhanced by flowers on the altar, which provide a tangible reminder of the loveliness of God's creation. If you’d like to dedicate an arrangement in honor, memory or thanksgiving for a loved one or life-event, please contact the office at 243-3257 or
office@saygrace.net
.
Donors need not fuss with any details; the church has a standing order with a local florist who knows the specs for each season, so all you have to do is write a check. Cost is currently $58 per arrangement (there are some rumblings about a price increase, but so far no change has been made).
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Outreach Committee (Merritt Room) -- Tuesday, January 23, 6:00 p.m.
Poluck/Book Study (Merritt Room) -- Thursday, January 25, 6:00 p.m.
Centering Prayer (Barth Room) -- Friday, 1:00 p.m.
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At the 8:00 a.m. service:
Lectors, Katie Walters, Nan Fortiner; Intercessor, Dick McGee; Chalice, Lyn Martin; Acolyte, Thomas Lane; Ushers, Mike Revenig, Rick Jones; Greeter, Jean Williams
At the 10:45 a.m. service:
Lectors, Rebecca Williams, Joyce Ivey; Intercessor, Skeeter Makepeace; Chalice, Justin Bolinger, Edith Snider; Oblations, Sandra Reed, George Reed, III; Acolytes, Sean McEwen, Jim Oakes, Jeff Bertrand; Lead Usher, Tom Makepeace; Greeters, Will Pinson, Kevin Boles; Webcast, Richard Lanham, Bill Boren
Lectionary Readings
Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:6-14; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20
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You may contact the church office at 423-243-3250
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