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The Gospel
According to Matthew 24:36-44

Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”




Sunday Worship

Grace Church Family,

Our Sunday Worship can be viewed at 10:00 AM on
Face Book (link sent).
"The Good Shepherd Shares God's Blessings"           Psalms 24:1

November 6, 2022

Dear Grace Church Family,

The stewardship committee develops a theme for the coming year based on the events happening during the previous months of the year. At the end of every service in 2022 Father Adolfo asked us to put down our bulletins and open our hearts for our personal prayer time. On Sunday August 21st he said" Every Sunday we have the opportunity to receive a blessing from God". We receive a blessing from the good shepherd. What do we do after we receive it? How does this affect the time, talent and fortune we pledge?

In Psalm 24:1 we are told that the earth is the Lords. So all that we have belongs to the Lord. God blesses us with abundance and we have the responsibility to handle what God has given us. We must then be accountable for how we steward what he provides.

There are many ways that each of us can share the blessings that we have received from the Lord. But first we have to manage what has been given to us. Please read the parable of the talents (Matthew 25: 14-30 ). Then we can share our blessings by being hospitable (soup kitchen, welcome committee, Bar B Q, etc), by sharing our wealth (pledge, organ fund, music fund, etc), engaging in prayer (bible study, home prayer, praying by phone or internet etc) and/or giving service ( vestry, acolytes, welcome committee, ushers, choir member, etc). In turn God will reward us for being a good shepherd.

Your vestry realizes that Grace La Gracia has been blessed in 2022 with the appointment of Father Adolfo as our Priest In Charge. The vestry has developed a budget which has lowered expenses by: decreasing the amount paid for staff salaries, office supplies, Con Ed, and music. Your vestry has been very responsible and is acting as a good steward.

Pledge Sunday is on Sunday, November 6th. We encourage each member of Grace La Gracia to pledge on this date. The front of the form asks for the amount of money that you will pledge weekly, monthly, bi monthly, or yearly. On the back of the pledge form please check the committees that you wish to join and the service you wish to donate. Please consider joining the vestry as your service. Let us remember that we have received the Lord's blessing and we are now giving back to God what is His. We encourage everyone who is able to increase their pledge for 2023.

On Pledge Sunday, November 6th please place your pledge form on the plate at collection time. If you are not able to come to church please download the pledge form from our website or the bulletin. If you have a question please contact Charlotte Roberson, Chairperson (crobers8975@gmail.com or 917-842-4548 or Cynthia S. Brown Co-chairperson (CyndySbrown@gmail.com. Please remember that we have to work together to make Grace La Gracia one church with a bright future.
 
Sincerely yours,
 
Charlotte Roberson, Stewardship Chairperson
Cynthia S. Brown, Stewardship Co-Chairperson

 


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How to Pledge to Grace/La Gracia

The church is flexible in receiving your generosity. Blessings.
 
Option 1: The standard way of staying current with your pledge still applies.
Feel free to put a check in the mail and send it to the address below (Attention: Office Administrator). Bundling for a few weeks is fine.
Grace/La Gracia Episcopal Church
33 Church Street - 2nd Floor
White Plains NY 10601
 
Option 2: There is a secure drop box on the red door at the front of Grace. The box will be checked regularly for financial contributions, including cash (which will be recorded). Kindly put our pledge in an envelope with your contact info written clearly.
 
Option 3: Visit us on the web at: www.gracewhiteplains.org  
Look for the “Pledging” tab across the top and click on it. Then, you’ll see a yellow "Donate" button; clicking on that will take you to another site for electronic giving (either by using a credit card or with a PayPal account). For more details on PayPal, feel free to visit: (www.paypal.com).

Please note – PayPal charges a fee to the church for these transactions (which is why a check in the drop box or sent by mail is preferable.)

Thank you for contributing!!

Pledge Forms 2023
Please click on the words below to access the pledge forms


Pledge Form English


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Church Pledge Envelopes

Parishioners, please note pledge envelopes are located in the back of our church. Please feel free to take some. Thank you.

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New Stewardship Email Address
 
The Stewardship Committee is pleased to let
everyone know that we now have a dedicated email address. Any communications related to pledges should be sent to: stewardship@gracechurchwhiteplains.org


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Ushers Needed - Grace Episcopal Church

Good morning church family,
I am Camille Worrell, Head Usher. I am reaching out because I have been having significant difficulties with the schedule. I currently have a very small number of available ushers and this group is being overworked. If you are available to be an usher, please reach out. It is not a difficult job. It only entails taking a count of those present and ensuring that people sign in, the passing of the offertory baskets (we now use socially distant baskets on long poles), ringing the bells at the correct times, and guiding fellow parishioners to communion. All of this can be done while keeping safe distances from each other.  If you are able to be put on the schedule, please reach out to me Camille_worrell@hotmail.com. I'm hoping to return to the four team rotation, and I am hoping that each team will have at least 3 members. Thank you so much for considering this.


Altar Guild Needs Volunteers
The Altar guild is responsible for preparing for all worship services, all sacramental rites and of course the Sunday Eucharist. Other responsibilities of the Altar guild include cleaning vessels, laundering linen, scrubbing, polishing, decorating, setting the table and any special preparation for all celebrations in the Church.

Our Altar Guild needs volunteers both women and men that would like to be part of this important ministry. Volunteers for this ministry work in teams of two individuals. We have four teams that are responsible for preparing the Church for Sunday Service one weekend per month.

If you are interested please contact Brinda Bradley at brinbradley@optonline.net or our Parish Administrator, Suzan Ortega – Collado at sortega@gracechurchwhiteplains.or or (914) 949 – 2874 option 1.  


Down Town Music

Dedicate a Downtown Music Concert or Make a Memorial Donation
Would you like to honor the memory of a loved one while supporting our community’s premier venue for free, live music? Downtown Music at Grace offers the transformative experience of great music, free of charge, most Wednesdays at noon. Whether you sponsor a concert or make a memorial donation, your contribution makes a difference. We will proudly record your generosity and your words of dedication in our printed programs, our weekly e-newsletter, and on our website. Visit https://www.dtmusic.org/volunteer/#donate and scroll down for donation formation. Example: This concert is made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Mary Jane Smith in memory of John Brown. "Forever in our hearts.


The Spring United Thank Offering (UTO) collection at the church was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 31. However, since we will not be able to convene at that date we ask that those who are able to contribute do so by check. You may count the coins in your box and write check for that amount. Please mail the check to the church, made out to Grace Church and be sure to put UTO in the memo section of your check. If you are unable to contribute now, or prefer to turn in your UTO box of coins, please make you contribution at the Fall UTO collection on November 1st. Please do not send UTO boxes of coins to the church.

Whether you give now or in the fall, please continue your ministry of daily thankfulness for Gods's blessings and continue to place coins your box. We still have so much to be thankful for every day, even in this challenging time. What better time than now to thank God for the blessing we receive everyday! Perhaps you were blessed with the ability to take a walk today, give thanks and put a coin in your box.
Consider listening to the webinar, The Theology of Gratitude : Human Expressions While Living in a Complex world. The live conference is April 24th, it is online and free. Sections of it will also be rebroadcast in case you miss it. Here is a link to information and registration for the conference. You have to register to get a login code for the conference. View this email in your browser

The UTO is a ministry which promotes individual, daily recognition of our blessings from God - small and large. In recognition of these blessings, we put coins into our UTO boxes. These coins are then used to fund grants for projects that enrich the lives of people in the United States and abroad. Many of these people are our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, whose needs do not take a pause because of the Corona virus pandemic. In fact needs among this population will most certainly increase when this is over. Let us keep them in our prayers and do what we can. Thank you, Melanie Jackson
 Mission Mondays!
 
Altar'd State in the Westchester Mall is donating 10% of in-store purchases on Mondays
now through January 23rd to
Lifting Up Westchester!
 
Whether you're shopping for yourself or for someone else, you can make a difference with your purchase!
 
*Valid for in-store purchases on Mondays only
La Bocca Ristorante 
8 Church Street
White Plains

Grace/La Gracia Parishioners-Order a meal to enjoy at home!
Please give a thought to our local businesses. Tony Spiritoso has been an angel to Grace since he opened his restaurant in 1997. La Bocca is open for take-out. Enjoy a great meal at home. Thank you, Michael Heffner
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
Join a Committee or become Greeter or Office Volunteer

Grace La Gracia is always looking for more volunteers to serve on our various committees. We rely on our parishioners to help keep our parish going. For more information or to join, contact the parish office or just stop by one of our meetings! 
If any of these roles interest you, please contact the parish office.
Acolytes



The Grace La Gracia Acolyte Ministry is always in search of new members to aid and assist the Clergy and Congregation in prayer, praise and worship. We welcome adults and youth aged 7 and up. Please contact Lauren Reid at Lrrmink@gmail.com if you would like to join this vital ministry.
Pastoral Care


We are inviting members who have a passion for serving others to join our Pastoral Care team. This ministry means so much to our members and it just might change your life. Please contact Fr. Adolfo Moronta at amoronta@gracechurchwhiteplains.org or adolfomoronta@hotmail.com for more information.
Interested in volunteering with our Sunday School?
We have a vacant Assistant Teacher position in the up coming school year. If you are interested in committing a few Sundays a month to our youth, pray about it & feel free to talk to one of our Priest-In-Charge Fr. Adolfo Moronta, amoronta@gracechurchwhiteplains.org. Thank you.

Altar Flowers  Signup sheet is on the bulletin board near the library. Remember those you love by signing up for flowers to adore the altar. Contribution: $100.00

Lectors Are Needed
Volunteers are needed for all services including the Family service, every third Sunday of the month. If you are available for one or both of these services, please provide your contact information to: sortega@gracechurchwhiteplains.org

Volunteer to be an Usher
Ushers are needed for all services. Please contact Camille Worrell at: camille_worrell@hotmail.com if you would like to join.

Names on Prayer List
If you have a family member or loved one on our prayer list, please provide our office with emergency contact information.

Mother Teresa once said to “Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.”
 Any person or group of parishioners interested in underwriting a worship service at Grace Church for more information.

Click on the link below or on the Bible to the right.

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/bible_study/bible-study-advent-1-a-november-27-2022/













DONATE LINK TO GRACE CHURCH
Click the line above to the donation page on the Grace La Gracia website. Please note that the donate button can be used for weekly pledging.
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