Grace: It's Our Way of Life
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As Episcopal Christians we
Worship at home daily and together weekly;
Study the scriptures, our tradition, and what it means to be a disciple today;
Serve our families, our parish, and our world in the name of Christ. Everything we do is done with an ethic of
Welcome because we are only here by Grace.
Where have you welcomed, worshiped, studied or served?
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Services next week
- no Wednesday Eucharist Dec. 27
Sat., Dec. 30 5pm
Service of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist
Sun., Dec. 31 8am
Morning Prayer (NO Eucharist)
Sun., Dec. 31, 10am
Service of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist
Holiday Closures next week
Mon., Dec. 25
Office, Food Pantry, Jubilee House CLOSED
Tues., Dec. 26
Office CLOSED
Jubilee House OPEN
Mon., Jan. 1
Office, Food Pantry, Jubilee House CLOSED
Candidates for Election at Annual Meeting 2018
The slate of candidates for elections at the 2018 Annual Meeting has been assembled. In anticipation of the
January 21, 2018 Annual Meeting, parishioners can find biographies of each candidate posted on the website,
click here to download the document from our website.
A special election email with the candidate information will be sent next week, or you can pick up a paper copy in the commons.
The candidates are:
Vestry: Elizabeth Black, Barb Dancer, Kelly Ignace, Glen MacPherson
Delegates to the Convention: Elizabeth Blondia, Greg Hagan, Mike Hanson, Tony Nelson, George Prewitt
Nominating Committee: Jill Polmateer, Rick Taylor
Absentee ballots are available in the office.
Thank you to all the people from the pews that have volunteered to help with the "business" of the parish in the coming year or term of the vestry.
Snow Policy 2017-2018
With the coming forecasts predicting snow storms of significant means, Grace Church parishioners should be aware of the following:
- Worship services - will not be cancelled. The proximity of The Rev. Kathryn Costas ' home (next door to the church) makes it possible for her to open the building for worship
- Office hours - The staff will follow the closing/delay schedule of the local college (NMC); when the college delays or closes during business hours, so will the Grace Church office. As soon as possible, a recorded phone message will indicate the situation
- Food Pantry - If the office closes on a Monday or Friday morning and therefore pantry appointments can't be taken, then the Food Pantry is closed as well.
- Jubilee House - Will be open. Contact Glenda Andrews to confirm or indicate your absence as a volunteer scheduled for the day.
- Friday Lunch - contact the leader of your lunch team to confirm or indicate your absence as a volunteer scheduled for the day.
- Events/ministry meetings/other gatherings - contact the leader of the group to find out if the event or meeting is occurring; be sure to make a note of the leader's contact information.
Group leaders - Now is a good time to forward contact information to the participants of your group.
Know that your sense of personal safety is paramount when making a decision to travel to church (or not).
Conserving paper resources
You'll notice that the Grace Life insert is not included in your service bulletin. Please pick up your copy from the table in the Commons. We are also printing fewer service bulletins, and ask that if you attend services with others that you share a bulletin, instead of each individual receiving one. Thank you!
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Annual Reports Due - Please submit now
As we close in on the end of 2017, it's time to reflect and write annual reports. If you are the leader/participant of a ministry that wishes to be included in this compilation, reports should be submitted to the office, [email protected]. Electronic submissions are preferred. The annual report will be ready for distribution on or before the 151st Annual Meeting scheduled for January 21, 2018. Pertinent materials for the elections or discussions to be held at the annual meeting will be distributed prior to the meeting. The value of these reports became significantly important as the members of the 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee worked these past few months. Members sifted through all the reports we had from past decades to search for details, events and dates that informed us of our story as a congregation. With this in mind we recommend the following guidelines as you write your annual report:
- Include full names of participants, names of officers/leaders
- Tell stories/give descriptions of events, especially if an effort was new or special
- State dates of occasions or events or ministry work that should be known
- Add statistics, if important
- Describe any particular gift (monetary or tangible) to the church
Writing this kind of summary will help tell the story of your ministry.
Use your IRA assets for charitable gifts before the year ends
The IRA charitable rollover law was made permanent in 2015. Under this legislation, if you are 70 ½ or older, you are allowed to make certain charitable contributions directly from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to an eligible charity, and the transferred assets will not be recognized as income for tax purposes. Talk with your tax adviser! The charitable IRA rollover, or qualified charitable distribution, makes it easier for you to use your IRA assets to make charitable gifts. It is a special provision that allows individuals age 70 ½ or older to exclude from taxable income - and count toward their required minimum distribution - transfers of IRA assets, up to a total of $100,000, that are made directly to public charities, such as your parish or favorite Episcopal charity. To take advantage for 2017, donors need to arrange for a direct transfer from their IRA to an eligible charity to take place by December 31, 2017.
Year-end contributions
There are several ways to make contributions to Grace Church to complete your pledge and, take advantage of tax deductions (if appropriate) by December 31:
- Submit contributions to any service in December
- Mail your contribution with a December 31 postmark
- Drop off contributions in the office before December 29 when staff is present
- Use our DONATE button on the website www.gracetc.org until 11:59pm 12/31/17
Altar Flower donation schedule for 2018
A new schedule for Altar Flower donations is on the sign-up board at the East End of the Parish Hall. All flower arrangements for the Altar will be done by our florist. Sign-up is on a first-come first-served basis. Include your name and phone number in the appropriate boxes. If more than one family desires the same date, we can provide flowers in front of the Altar as well. Or if two families wish to share a date, that can be accommodated, as well. There will be no Altar flowers in observance of Lent and during Advent. Christmas and Easter flowers are by special donations with an insert in the bulletin listing donors and their message. During Advent, greens are added the four weeks before Christmas. You can donate to sponsor the greens during this time. We ask for a donation of $45.00 or more to cover the florist and delivery costs. Please have your message for the bulletin in to the office the Monday before your selected date. If you need assistance please call Pat Freeman at 932-9851. Thank you!
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Jubilee House Memorial Service
Sun., Dec. 31 at Central United Methodist
Central United Methodist will be holding a service on Sunday December 31 at 9:00am and 11:00am where those who were friends of Jubilee House and or the community that experienced homelessness or were vulnerable housed that died this year. Each name will be named with a ringing of a bell or chime and the lighting of a candle in their memory. A flower will be in a vase on the altar for each person, the Jubilee Cross will be on Central's altar as well.
Each name is on the Jubilee Cross with a memorial held at either at Grace or Central. We had 13 die this year with a median age of 53 years.
Those persons are:
Thomas Baird, Slade Hess, Gayle Hyvari, Thomas Lamie, Patrick Ferraro, Richard Monaghan, Robert Sells, Yvonne Simms, David Fredrickson, Patricia Wilkes, Willie Jones, Cathleen Bellanger, David Skinkle, and Wendy Sprague. Please remember them in your prayers.
Celebrate Epiphany Sat., Jan. 6 at 5pm
Epiphany Service with Magi play, followed by potluck and game night. We need intergenerational players - please volunteer by calling Penny at 946-1224.
Bring your favorite food and games and there will be a festive Epiphany cake!
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Regular Weekly Worship Schedule
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Monday
Christmas Day Eucharist 10 am
Tuesday
Morning Prayer 8:15 am
Wednesday
Men's Prayer Group 7:30 am
No Eucharist Dec. 27
Centering Prayer 11 am
Thursday
Evening Prayer 6 pm
Saturday
Holy Eucharist 5 pm
Sunday
Morning Prayer 8 am
Holy Eucharist 10 am
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Lectionary Readings
& Daily Prayer
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This Weekend's Readings
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38
Canticle 15
Next Weekend's Readings
Service of Lessons and Carols
Genesis 3:1-15
Isaiah 7:10-15
Luke 1:5-25
Luke 1: 26-58
Luke 1:57-80
Luke 2:1-20
Luke 2: 21-36
John 1:1-18
The Daily Office
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Birthdays
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Courtney Ignace
Archer Vanderbush
John Harding
Rick Taylor
Lucy Crandell
Ben Howard
Brenda Quick
Annie Goldkuhle
Mike Hanson
Olivia Kroupa
Nancy Mistele
John Lien
Ann Nordeen
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Prayer Lists
Did you know Grace has 2 prayer lists?
* To be added to the prayer list found in the bulletin contact
** If you would like to be added to the Daughters of the King (DOK) prayer list and be prayed for daily,contact Penny Campo-Pierce at 231-946-1224 or [email protected]
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Contact Us
341 Washington St.,
Traverse City, MI 49684
Phone 947-2330;
Fax 947-3011
Website
www.gracetc.org
For Pastoral Emergencies
Call the church office 231-947-2330
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Staff Contact Information
Clergy:
Office:
Parish Administrator:
Administrative Assistant & Outreach Coordinator:
Music:
Music & Worship Director:
Children's Ministry:
Director of Children and Youth Formation:
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What's Happening at Grace?
What's Happening in our Diocese?
Turn in your Oleson's receipts to benefit the Grace Food Pantry!
Oleson's Community Share Program
Here's how it works:
- You shop at Oleson's for groceries (liquor sales do not qualify for points)
- Turn in your receipts to the church. Look for the envelope on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall, and place your receipts inside it.
- We submit receipts back to Oleson's
- We are granted cash rewards for the food pantry ($1 spent on groceries = 1 cent in Community Share points)
For every $5000 in receipts we submit, we receive $50 in cash for our food pantry. Every little bit helps!
Thank you for participating!
Click here to learn more...
Buy from Amazon?
Help Grace Church!
Did you know Grace Church is part of the Amazon Smile program? We ask you to consider supporting Grace Church through this program. It doesn't take more than a minute to register, then eligible purchases will benefit Grace Church.
Follow this link to learn more...
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