Get Rooted and Grow at GSP!
We believe that a faith journey in the Christian tradition is a lifelong process of learning and experience in a community of all ages and all generations. We welcome and encourage everyone to participate in the wide range of opportunities to get rooted and grow at GSP!
Amy Cormode , Children, Youth & Family Ministry
Catherine Penn Williams , Adult Spiritual Formation Team
Programs for Children,Youth & Families
(& Everyone Else)
Coming in Early October!

Sunday, October 1
Blessing of the Animals at 5 pm on the Labyrinth

Monday, October 2
Blessing and Celebration of the Opening of Nile Star Beautiful Salon
4 pm at 2914 E 22nd St (just west of the Food City)
Daruka (mother of Apiew, Diing, Anyar and Agok) is opening her
own hair-braiding salon, Nile Star Beautiful Salon. Come join
the Garang family in giving thanks to God for
this new opportunity and enjoy refreshments.

Saturday, October 7
Youth Group Cookie and Donut Decorating Party
noon-4 pm in the church kitchen
Join Joe, Vicki and Elizabeth in decorating and packaging
our goodies for the next day's bake sale to benefit hurricane victims.

Sunday, October 8
Youth Group hosts coffee hour at 9:00 and 11:30


Stay connected!
Check out the new website
just for GSP Children, Youth
and Families here !
Calling All Grandparent Types!

Our preK-2nd team is good but we really need more nursery volunteers. Calling all grandparent types whose grandkids might live far away or are grown! Consider joining the nursery team once every six weeks for the chance to love our our tiniest members. We have several babies currently who would be grateful recipients of your loving care!

If you are feeling a pull to be involved, please get in touch with Amy Cormode .
Programs for Children & Youth
on Sunday Mornings

Nursery care and children and youth spiritual formation classes are all located in the Education Center, below the sanctuary.

Nursery care is available from 8:45 am to 12:45 pm for children ages 3 and under and is located in the Theresa of Avila Room.

At 10 am we are now offering two classes for children:
  • Preschool through 2nd grade meet in the Mary of Bethany room 
  • 3rd through 5th grade meet in the St. Nicholas room

Middle School/High School Youth Group will meet this semester each Sunday after the worship service from 11:45-1pm.

Sign up for Nourishing Spirits!
From the Rector...
Grace St Paul’s is a theological, pastoral, inspirational, worshipful, and social justice haven for so many of us. One of the challenges in a community our size however, is creating a way for us to also know each other as friends.  Nourishing Spirits is our pathway to do just that, giving each of us a chance to socialize with a small group of parishioners so that we can get to know one another better. It is also a chance to get out, meet people, and just have a rollicking, good time. If you are looking for an opportunity to break bread with some cool people, and laugh along the way, give it a try. Live a little! —Steve+
Nourishing Spirits Returns!
GSP’s Small Groups Program for 2017-2018

Whether you are a newcomer or old-timer, would you like to deepen your roots at GSP? Make new friends or create a support system? What feeds you spiritually? Do you have questions about living out your Christianity?

Belonging is a basic human need, as essential as our need for food and shelter. Yet, achieving a sense of belonging often requires intention and practice. The Nourishing Spirits small group program, returning after a successful start in 2016, is designed to help participants find a greater sense of belonging and to feel more rooted at GSP. As before, small groups will gather six times (approximately once a month) between October 2017 and May 2018 for shared dinner and discussion. Here’s how it works:
  • People sign up to be in a group that is coordinated by an identified host. Each group will stay together for the next six months. The size of each group will be limited and will close after the first meeting.
  • Each group will meet for the first time for dinner at the home of their coordinator/host sometime in the last two weeks of October or early November.
  • For the subsequent five meetings, group members will determine the dates, locations and how they wish to handle the meals.
  • Each group meeting will also include a discussion about a spiritual topic.

We’re now in the process of forming new groups. Please email us if you are interested in participating. Be sure to let us know how many people (single person, couple or family) and which night you would prefer for an initial meeting—Fri, Sat, Sun or Mon. Contact Catherine Williams here if you have any questions!

Special Events in October!
An All-Parish Potluck to Remember Those
We Love But See No More

A Dinner of Remembrance (An All Parish Potluck)
Friday, October 27 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm in McBride Hall, the Labyrinth and the Memorial Gardens

As we move into a season where the veil between worlds grows thin—Halloween, All Souls, Dia De Los Muertos, All Saints—we invite the parish family to come together for A Dinner of Remembrance  where we will break bread and remember those who have gone before us. Participants are encouraged to bring a dish to share that honors a loved one(s) and during the meal, we will take time to tell our stories of those we remember. In addition to the potluck, the Labyrinth will be lit for meditative walking and there will be an opportunity for a guided personal ritual of remembrance in the Memorial Garden and the Animal Memorial Garden.

This event will be family-friendly, with activities for all ages. Please join us for what promises to be a moving and meaningful evening of congregational fellowship and connection with those we see no more. Contact Catherine Penn Williams here if you have any questions.

The Diocese of Arizona presents a new ministry
for the second half of life!

Spirituality for the Second Half of Life
Saturday, October 28 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
in McBride Hall (lunch served at 11:30 am)

We all embark on a new phase of our lives in our 50s as we begin to contemplate retirement and a whole new way of living. But this exploration of new ways continues into our 90s and beyond – seemingly ever changing. Linda Williams PhD, CSD and The Rev Ann Johnson , coordinators of the new Spirituality for the Second Half of Life Ministry for the Diocese of Arizona, will spend the morning with participants to consider what we want this second half of our lives to look like – and how God desires to enter into both the adventure and the challenges – and how we, as a community of faith, can share the journey together – perhaps deciding together on a variety of stage- and age-related activities and gatherings. Please join us to explore ideas for the Grace St. Paul’s “family of sages.” We will take two hours for thinking and planning together, followed by lunch together at 11:30.

Everyone is welcome and there is no fee. RSVP by calling the church office at 520-327-6857 or email to Adult Spiritual Formation at GSP here.

Douglass Truth's critically acclaimed solo show,
An Intimate Evening with Death, Herself will make its return
to Tucson with two performances at GSP!
An Intimate Evening with Death, Herself
2 Saturdays, October 28 & November 4 at 7:00 pm in McBride Hall
Donation of $10 suggested • A reception will follow the performance

An Intimate Evening with Death, Herself is a one-woman show about Dorothy, a middle-aged waitress who meets Death in a bar, and 49 days later, replaces him. After a bad day on the cafeteria line, Dorothy goes into a bar where she meets Tod, who turns out to be the Grim Reaper. In the course of an understated, unpretentious, poignant and tender, droll and massively ambitious performance, Dorothy helps her audience relate to death without flinching and with abundant amusement. Douglass has been called "the love-child of Garrison Keillor and Spalding Gray" and this work has been described as "funny, engrossing, heretical, beautiful." One audience member noted, "So glad I was able to witness this amazingly hilarious, poignant, insightful performance. Who knew that Death Herself would turn out to be so life-affirming?"

This production, appropriate for all ages, has played to audiences nationwide with notable performances in California (winner of 2017 Best of Nugget Fringe Festival), New York City, Arizona, Colorado, and Massachusetts. Warning: everyone who sees this show will someday die.

Check out the trailer for the show below. Contact Catherine Penn Williams here if you have any questions.
Contemplative Worship @ GSP
Sundays for Adults at 9:00 am
Have an idea for a class or group? Would you like to present a class
for Adult Spiritual Formation at GSP? Please email us here .
We welcome all suggestions!
Care of Creation—Care of the Poor
Sunday, October 1 at 9:00 am
in the Bloom Room

In the recent papal encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis noted that “a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates about the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” Join us for a thoughtful conversation about these important issues. 

Angel Wang is a co-leader of the Green Church ministry at GSP and a member of the Pima County Interfaith Council Green Action Team. Rev Chris Ledyard is a Deacon at Grace St. Paul's and co-facilitator of the Animals and Spirituality Ministry.

Exploring Today’s Lectionary
Sunday, October 8 at 9:00 am
in the Bloom Room

One Sunday a month we provide an opportunity to discuss the Bible readings for that day in more depth in a small group setting. Come join us for a thoughtful and always lively conversation about scripture.

Vicki Stefani is a member of the Adult Spiritual Formation team and a frequent presenter at GSP.

Undoing Erasure Missiology
Sunday, October 15 at 9:00 am
in the Bloom Room

Christendom has a history of erasing cultures, societies, and identities. This forum will look at alternative ways of going about mission in our communities that emboldens a diversity of identities to proclaim god's love in people's lives instead of expecting them to change their identities to conform to longstanding expectations of Christian Culture. It will be based on an article published in the Spring 2017 ATR by the same name.

The Rev'd Ben Garren is the Episcopal Chaplain to the University of Arizona.
Luther, the Reformation, and Pastoral Care
Sunday, October 22 at 9:00 am
in the Bloom Room

We often hear about the theological changes that Martin Luther initiated. For example, he insisted that trusting in God (or not) really was a big deal. On the other hand, when was the last time we heard why Luther launched his changes? The reasons were pastoral. Come find out what some of those pastoral changes were.

The Rev Thomas Morrison is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Before retiring, he worked for his bishop in congregations that were changing from one pastor to a new one, has served as clinical therapist for people with severe psychiatric issues, and taught biological statistics.

Sundays for Adults at 11:45 am
Hymns Through the Ages
(with actual singing by those attending the classes!)
2 Sundays, October 8 & 15 at 11:45 am
in the Bloom Room

Part 1: The Beginnings of Christianity
What is a hymn? What is an authorized hymn? What is the New Testament authority for singing hymns in church? What is a canticle? What are our earliest hymns? Who are the most influential hymn writers in the early church?

Part 2: Medieval and Modern Christianity
What are the significant early Irish hymns? How did Luther recover congregational singing and how did Calvin restrict it? What were the early modern English hymns like and who is the most influential hymn writer of this period? How did English hymns evolve and who is the most influential hymn writer making this change? What are gospel songs? What was a missionary hymn like? What is the philosophy behind our current hymnal? What are our most popular hymns?

Presented by Chuck Dickson , accompanied by pianist Jane Click . Chuck is a member of the Adult Spiritual Formation team.

Sermons on Tap
Sunday, October 22 at 11:45 am
in the Bloom Room

Ever leave worship on Sunday and wish you could talk about the sermon with others? Why not join like-minded folks for an open discussion of the day's sermon over beer and sandwiches? This group is for anyone with a desire to connect more deeply with others and a willingness to explore their own questions about how we live into the "good news" as preached at GSP. The setting will be informal and relaxed. No need to register, come anytime. All are welcome! Beer, iced tea, and snacks will be available. Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of lunch.

Facilitated by Brian Arthur , a member of the Adult Spiritual Formation team.
Dream Group: Discovering
God's Forgotten Language
Dream Group: Discovering God’s Forgotten Language
1st Sat of every month, Oct 7 from
10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the Bloom Room

In this monthly group, we’ll support each other in understanding our dreams through the lens of the work of psychologist Carl Jung and his understanding of the human psyche. We’ll look for the ways in which our dreams form a bridge between our conscious waking self and the Self that is present in the deepest part of ourselves, a collaboration that can guide us on the path of individuation. While we are part of and sometimes use the language of a Christian community, we do not impose any doctrine or dogma on members of our group. Recommended reading: Natural Spirituality by Joyce Rockwood Hudson (revised edition) and Inner Work by Robert Johnson. All are welcome. No registration is necessary. Please email here if you have questions!

Catherine Penn Williams has been a student of her own dreams for nearly 30 years. A longtime member of GSP, she is a Jungian psychotherapist in private practice and an experienced group leader.
Readers Group and Fall Film Series
GSP Readers Group:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Friday, October 13 at 9:30 am
in the Bloom Room

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing, when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.

For more information, please contact Vicki Stefani at 520-743-3978.
 
Third Friday Fall Film Series: Stories of Reconciliation, Redemption & Hope

Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate (2011)
Friday, October 20 at 6:30 pm
in the Bloom Room

"If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive." –Mother Teresa

Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate provides an intimate look into the spontaneous outpouring of forgiveness: from the Amish families for the 2006 shooting of their children in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; to the struggle of '60s radicals to cope with the serious consequences of their violent acts of protest; to the shattering of a family after the mother abandons them, only to return seeking forgiveness; to the penitential journey of a modern-day Germany, confronting the horrific acts of the Holocaust; and more.

Once a uniquely religious word, forgiveness now is changing and there is no consensus about what it is and what it is becoming. This film asks important questions about why forgiveness is in the air today and what that says about us and the times we live in.

Hosts Jim Franks, Steve Williams and Catherine Penn Williams are all film buffs.
Understanding Scripture
For Everyone: Coffee, Bagels
and Bible Stuff
Every Thursday through October from 7:30-8:30 am in the Weeks Room

Join a diverse group in a discussion of the Bible. In this, our third year, many are attending their first bible study and are enjoying the attempt to put the weekly readings into historical prospective while finding current application. All materials are provided.  Drop-ins are welcome, and we start and end on time.

Note: This group will have its final meeting on Thurs, Oct 26.

Facilitated by Bill Moore , GSP Junior Warden.
Bible Women
2 Fridays, October 5 & 19 from 10:30-11:30 am in the Weeks Room

What do the voices of women in scripture have to say to us about our own lives, regardless of our gender? This class studies the Bible through the words of women in the Old and New Testaments. The focus is on actual scripture and its contexts; an optional text, Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter by Lindsay Hardin Freeman is available through Amazon.

The group meets twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Friday. All are welcome.

For more information contact Vicki Stefani at 520-743-3978.
Weekly Small Group Discussions
Sharing Our Spiritual Journeys
Every Monday from 10:00 am to
12:00 pm in the Bloom Rm

In this small discussion group, we focus on the many intersections between spirituality, religion, and culture. Each session stands alone and all are welcome. No registration is necessary.

Co-facilitated by Brian Arthur , Jim Franks and Catherine Penn Williams .
Saturday Java Jive:
Coffee & Conversation
Every Saturday from 8:30-11:00 am
at Epic Cafe (745 N 4th Ave, at University Blvd)

Want to meet and get to know folks in a relaxed and friendly environment? All are welcome to join this long-running motley crew that meets every Saturday morning for coffee and conversation. We never know who will show up, the topic is always up for grabs, and hilarity often ensues.