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Entrusted Newsletter Launched!
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You are reading Grace's newest communication,
Entrusted
, the stewardship e-newsletter. The newsletter will be sent weekly during our annual pledge drive, which will run through November 13. The newsletter is titled
Entrusted, because that name captures the essence of true stewardship - that we are stewards for all that God has given to us. We have been "entrusted."
The newsletter will include features and news about and opportunities for stewardship at Grace Church. Stewardship is, of course, about more than just financial giving and pledges. We are stewards for all of our gifts, abilities, and resources, and there are many ways that we may be good stewards through our service and worship at Grace.
We hope that you will read and enjoy these issues of entrusted year-round and that you will give us your feedback.
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STEWARDSHIP MOMENT:
Wayne Smith
(pictured with his wife, Joyce)
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In the fall of 2008, we moved from El Paso, TX, to Chattanooga. After a search, we found our new home in the Belvoir neighborhood and our new parish in Grace. I expected to sit on Sundays for the service and let it go at that. As we got involved in Grace, I felt myself getting pulled in to more than Sunday services. I somehow got elected to the Vestry, only to get a resignation letter from our priest at the first meeting.
Then I got hooked. Our Deacon, Brad Weeks, and the Reverend Lou Parsons approached me about going along on the youth mission trip to New Orleans. Told them I would think about it, but wasn't really interested -- I just could not see myself rebuilding homes damaged by hurricane Katrina. I made the decision to go but kept telling myself that I would just sit and watch the kids do the work. Didn't turn out like that. The experience is one that I will never forget. We all worked together, doing things that none of us had ever done before. We worked hard on several houses, soaked with sweat and occasionally rain. We accomplished a great deal, and I was very proud of the youth group. For the first time I felt like I was truly a part of Grace, and that feeling has never left me.
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We'll use these updated graphics to keep you informed each week of our progress on the pledge drive.
2017 PLEDGE DRIVE TOTALS AS OF 10/19/16:
78 Pledging Units* (60% of 130 Pledging Unit Goal)
$211,497 (52.87% of $400,000 Goal)
* A pledging unit may be defined as one pledging family or household, including singles!
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PLEDGERS
(GOAL: 130 Pledging Units)
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Time, Talent... and the Rota
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At every liturgy, you'll encounter people carrying crosses and torches, people serving wine, people reading the lessons, people bringing the Elements up to the altar, people taking up the offering and helping people up the stairs to the Communion rail. It's easy to let these voices and actions become an unseen part of our liturgical lives, but the time and talent of those who serve during worship are part of what makes our services so beautiful and meaningful. And behind these people are others: choir members rehearsing and learning music, altar guild members ironing linens, lighting candles, polishing brass, marking places in books, moving flowers; Parish Life volunteers planning, cooking, carting tables and chairs, running dishwashers... Nothing happens in the church without many generosities of time and talent!
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Broadening Our Stewardship
Metropolitan Ministries
David Stanislawski
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Metropolitan Ministries is a local, independent ministry sponsored by the Episcopal Church that provides financial services that helps prevent homelessness by serving those living on the edge. Many clients are just a rent or utility payment away from losing the security of shelter. In the network of services provided by Chattanooga social service agencies, Metropolitan Ministries is known for offering a bridge to continuing self-sufficiency, especially to clients who have exhausted all other kinds of support. Grace Church makes monthly donations of food and/or various supplies with first Sunday collections. We also will hold special collections throughout the year for various holidays or when an emergency need arises in the community. Once or twice a year we provide breakfast to the clients along with a gift card to McDonald's. Our Deacon Brad Weeks provides legal advice on a regular basis. Several times our youth have stocked shelves or helped hand out food to clients.
If you would like to know more about Metropolitan Ministries, visit their web site: http://met-min.org/.
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Edith Snider, Chair
Skeeter Makepeace
Wayne Smith
Albert Howell
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