Bible Study
Tuesdays with the Word
will be back on
the last week of August.
We are studying the Acts of the Apostles.
Call the office for more information.
413-644-0022
Grace Church Office
67 State Rd., Great Barrington
|
GRACE CHURCH
Please Include In Your Daily Prayers This Week
Members of the Parish Family: The Rev. Ted Cobden, Linda White, John Breasted, Vonnie Frye, Edna Leavenworth, George Raymond, Ed Hutchinson, Elinor Hamill, Pam & Bill Drumm, Dick Gore, Mimi and Dick Alford, Doreen Hutchinson, Barbara Turner, Rick Gore, Pennie Curry, Frank Vogel - Polizzi, Mark Anderson, Marion Andrews, Elizabeth Holland, Janet Zimmerman, Stacey, Claire and Mark Thomas, Richard and Pat Edelstein, Connie Garber, Ruth Crawford, Marcia Doelman, Dindy Anderson, Tom Murray, Paula Doyle, John Grammer, Aidan, Andrea, and the Rev. Steve White.
Others we love: Wendy Reeve, sister of Cathy Haywood, Keiron Lee, daughter of Doone Marshall; Andrew Artz, brother-in-law of the Rev. Janet Zimmerman; The Rev. Peter Elvin, Anne Peters, Leslie Albert,Debbie Losaw, daughter of Rosemarie Blakely, Ashley Gangell, Zeke Hills, brother of The Rev. Francie Hills, Joy Saville, Charles Olegar, Jane Williams, John Belizzi, Carole Chapple, Christy Yeo, Kathy O'Brien, Cooper O'Brien, Rosalind Haywood, Colonel John Tryon, nephew of Anne Andrews and all who serve our country.
Those who have died: Stephanie Engel, friend of Steve White; Valerie Smith, Mary Dalton, mother of Dindy Anderson; Scott Crawford, son of Ruth Crawford; Dorothy Cole Hooff, sister of Marcia Doelman; Kenneth Frye
; Sey Zimmerman;
Sarah Renfro, great niece of Annie Macheski; Bishop George Councell; Lillian Forrest; Arthur J. Gangel, Sr., grandfather of Kyle Gangel; Holly Raymond, sister-in-law of George Raymond.
Our world: For those vulnerable to the changing winds of politics, warfare, natural disasters, and human retribution.
The many ministries of our local community and the Diocese of Western Massachusetts: especially for our partners at St. Paul's, Stockbridge and the Rev. Sam Smith; Christ Trinity, Sheffield and the Rev. Erik Karas; and our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Fisher; the Mampong Babies' Home in Ghana;
St. Mark's, Leominster; Commission on Ministry
The Church's wider mission: Faith Alive; The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS)
And we offer thanks: for all those celebrating a Birthday this week.
|
Please hold in your prayers
D
indy Anderson and her family.
The family of Valerie Smith.
Zeke Hills
, brother of Frances Hills, whose wife Barbara died.
Pat and Richard Edelstein
would love to receive "Thinking of You" cards. Please send cards to them: Kimball Farms, Pine Hill
Assisted Living, 235 Walker Street, Lenox, MA 01240.
Vonnie Frye,
has moved to this address:
Devonshire Estates
329 Pittsfield Road
Apt #216
Lenox MA 01240
413.881.4055
She would appreciate cards and visits.
Janet Zimmerman and her family; Elinor Hamill who is at Fairview Commons; Meredith Haider who is healing at home; and Barbara Turner who is healing at home.
Prayers for Charles Olegar and Jane Williams.
Charles, organist and music director at St. James for eight years, and his wife, Jane Williams would appreciate your prayers. You can send your love to them through card and notes at 131 Belleview, Troy NY 12180.
|
|
Holy Eucharist and Healing
Wednesdays at 12pm,
Grace Church Office
67 State Road,
Great Barrington
|
Centering Prayer Gathering
every Thursday
5:00 - 6:00
Join us at Grace Church Chapel.
Encouraging a practice of silence and stillness we focus on practices of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina using scripture, art and music. All are welcome.
Grace Church Office and Chapel
|
Click here for the 
Grace Church calendar
|
|
ROTA
|
August 18
|
|
Welcome Team
|
Marcia Doelman
Maureen Henry
|
|
Acolyte
|
Peter Kirchoff
|
|
Lector
|
Robert Foreman
Anne Andrews
|
|
Intercessor
|
Tom Doyle
|
|
Chalice
|
Dutch Pinkston
Lynn Walker
|
|
Healing Team
|
Peter Feltman-Mahan
Pennie Curry
|
|
Flowers
|
Holmes
|
|
Altar Guild
|
Deborah Holmes,
Monique Kirchoff
|
|
Coffee Hour
|
Holmes/Doyle
|
|
Counters
|
Rick Gore/Tom Doyle
|
|
COME SING WITH US!
Are You A Choral S
inger?
Why Join the Choir?
It's good for your health
Studies have shown how
choir can improve your health - it's fantastic brain food. Brain game exercises are all over the place with the Nintedo 3DS or sudoku. Well why not start keeping your mind healthy by making music?
Here are a few things you'll see improve with choir
- Multi-tasking - you've got to watch the conductor, keep an eye on the music and know when to come in
- Memory - you've got to sing by heart sometimes
- Focus - concentrating for an hour on a performance
- Math - Yes, you've got to count!
Contact Chris Clark, Music Director, or Lee Cheek, chorister
|
Birthdays and
Anniversaries Celebrated on Sundays
Following the
announcements we invite up all celebrating birthdays and anniversaries so we can share in your accomplishment and joy.
|
John Breasted is at Fairview Commons
and would enjoy having visitors. You can call at
(413) 528-4560.
Fairview Commons
151 Christian Hill Rd, Great Barrington
|
Sunday Liturgy on yo
ur iPad or tablet!
S
wap your worship bulletin for the liturgy on your iPads or tablets?
Using a tablet allows you to adjust the size and contrast of the print.
It also can help us be more responsible by saving paper.
If you would like to receive the emailed worship bulletin that goes out on Friday by noon, please email Janet or Maria at
graceberkshiresma@gmail.com.
|
Tutors needed for The Literacy Network of South Berkshire
.
No prior teaching experience is necessary.
All you need are curiosity, patience, and a willingness to help your neighbors!
Training and support for tutors is provided.
Please contact Executive Director Jennifer Hermanski at 413-243-0471 or jhermanski@litnetsb.org.
You can also visit us at www.litnetsb.org.
|
We need:
Acolytes, choir members, lectors, hospitality leaders, healing ministers, Eucharistic visitors
Prayerfully consider ways you can support the work of this church community. Each of us have something to give that the world desperately needs.
|
The Welcome Project Mat by
Thistle Farms
Thistle Farms in Nashville, TN. has come together with women refugees in Ritsonia, Greece to provide an economic platform for women and their families to escape the refugee camps. Lee and John Cheek have brought us a mat woven from materials the women took on their journey to Greece.
The mat on our altar is a symbol that love is the greatest force for change in the world.
Every Purchase Helps a Woman Survivor Heal. Shop Now!
|
Support Ascentria Care Alliance
Donate or call to learn about volunteering
A
scentria Care Alliance provides resettlement resources for refugees who have received extreme vetting by the U.S., are sponsored by the United Nations, and have been invited to live in our country.
Ascentria partners with the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a host of other volunteer organizations to do God's work in caring for the most vulnerable in our world.
Donate on-line at
http://www.ascentria.org/donate-today
or call them at (413)-787-0725 to learn about volunteering.
|
What are you grateful for?
T
he priest invites the congregation to take a few moments to think of one thing during the past week for which they are grateful.
After some time the priest invites anyone to share their gratitude with the congregation by coming to the microphone.
|
|
Interested in helping with the 2020 Census?
With the 2020 census just a year away,
are you available to help educate local residents and insure the Berkshires has a
complete count?
The Berkshires Regional Planning Commission invites you to reach out to hard-to-reach populations throughout Berkshire County.
If you are interested please contact Mark Maloy, 413-442-1521
.
|
|
|
Gospel for the Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
Luke 12:49-56
Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"
|
|
|
| Holy God, We Praise Your Name |
|
|
GIDEON'S GARDEN UPDATE
|
A beautiful thing happened this week...
Fisher and Jen worked hard to catch some butterflies and clean up the house. As soon as we did, we had some unexpected guests from Extra Special Teas who came just to see our butterfly house!
On the same day, we were also joined by Berkshire Meadows School (for children with disabilities) who visited to release the butterflies they had raised.
We did pretty good!
|
We had some helping
hands this week!
Max and Zach are visitors from New York who come every summer for a few days. These guys helped us with lots of weeding and harvesting!
Bradley is not much of a helping hand, however...
he took a nap in the tomatoes while Jen worked hard tying up tomato plants.
And the chickens always keep us entertained! These are the little batch of chicks.
What handsome little devils!
And boy, do they have personalities too!
|
|
Dear Parishioners:
The Berkshire Immigrant Center has sent us a report on what our donations have made possible. For the Beneficiary Report from the Berkshire Immigrant Center,
dated July 2019, please click on the text below:
|
|
Third Sunday Supper
Cork and Hearth at 6pm on
Sunday, August 18
635 Laurel Street, Lee, MA
Join us! On the third Sunday of almost every month
we gather for good food, great conversation, laughter
and blessings in one of our local restaurants.
All are enthusiastically welcomed!
For more information contact George Raymond
|
|
Blessing of Teachers and Students Sunday, August 25
.
As teachers and students prepare for a new year of learning and growth, we will offer prayers. Please join us to bless these people and this time as supplies, energy, and hope are gathered.
Please donate gift cards to young students returning to school.
Gift cards from Staples or other stores in the amounts of #15, to $25 will help students purchase school supplies.
Please include a note of support with your card.
The cards will be distributed through counselors at Monument Mountain, Lee, and Mount Everett High School.
The deadline is August 25th. Please give the cards to Doreen Hutchinson, Sue Gore, or Pennie Curry.
|
|
The National Park Service and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invite churches to ring their bells to commemorate and honor the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first unfree Africans on these shores.
In the latter part of August 1619, the first ship carrying the captured 20 and odd enslaved Africans to the Virginia arrived at Point Comfort (today's Fort Monroe) in Hampton, Virginia. From that perilous voyage, their presence has had a profound impact on the cultural manifest of America's past and still impacts the social, economic and political families of color today.
Here is a link to more about the nationwide event.
|
|
Men's Group Annual BBQ
Wednesday
,
August 28 at 6:00 PM
at Tom Doyle's home.
All men of Grace Church and their friends
are invited for an evening of fellowship.
For more information, please contact George Raymond or Tom Doyle.
|
|
Join us!
Wednesday, September 11, at 7:00 PM
BOOKS and BREAD
The book we will share is
Join us at Doone Marshall's house for dinner
Dindy Anderson will lead our discussion.
|
-
Dinner-Appetizers, wine, soft drinks, main dish, side dishes, dessert, decaf and tea. One main dish serves 8 people.
- The Host is responsible for planning the meal. Participants are encouraged to make offerings in consultation with the Host.
- Participants should call the Host if they plan to attend but have not signed up at Grace Church.
- If you are a "regular" and are not planning to attend, please let the Host know.
- Please sign up to bring appetizers or dessert items. All are welcome! For future books, please see the website http://graceberkshires.org/who-we-are/ministries/
- Discussion begins at 7:45 pm regardless of whether it's a Dinner gathering or an A&D gathering.
Meeting is over promptly at 9:00 pm
For our October 9th meeting we will be reading Snakebit by Sey Zimmerman. If you need a copy of this book, please contact Janet Zimmerman. Happy Reading!! For more information email Peter at PetetheK@yahoo.com
|
SAVE THE DATE
Women's Overnight Retreat 2019
Friday, September 13-Saturday, September 14
at Wisdom House and Retreat Center
229 E. Litchfield Rd. Litchfield CT.
Please join us! http://wisdomhouse.org
|
|
Loving the Questions 2019
What is your next step?
Does it involve a life or career change, or going deeper in your current vocation or
ministry? In this program, led by the Rev. Jenny Gregg, you are helped to answer the question of where God is calling you at this particular place in your life. If you are interested please talk with Rev. Janet Zimmerman.
The program begins with a retreat on Saturday, September 14.
|
The Rev. Jenny Gregg
|
|
|
Bishop Douglas Fisher
to visit on Sunday,
September 22.
Mark your calendars.
|
|
|
Food pantry item for the week of
August 18:
PAPER TOWELS
Although we usually have an "Item of the Week",
any appropriate food items are always welcome!
Thank you, Sue & Rick Gore, and George Raymond for the Lee Pantry and the People's Pantry.
|
|
Read the new
report sent to us by Sheryl Lechner, Development Coordinator
Support the Berkshire Immigrant Center. You can donate on-line at www.berkshireic.org.
Please consider donating $25, $50, or $100 or more to support BIC's work with our local immigrants and refugees.
|
"CHANGE THE BABIES"
Please put your loose change in the jar that will be at the Welcome Table.
This money that is insignificant in our day-to- day life is life-giving for these babies and those who care for them.
It costs about $1500 a year to support a baby and the Diocese's goal is for one congregation to support one child for those years.
Everything you give will go to support babies at the Mampong Babies Home in Ghana.
|
|
Appalachian Trail Ministry
in August
Every Wednesday and Saturday
from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
We have been invited to participate in a "small corner of kindness" in providing hospitality to hikers on the Appalachian Trail. In July and August, a tent is set up with homebaked treats, hot dogs, hamburgers, and water to greet and offer a way station for those hiking.
Contact the Rev. Erik Karas at pastorkaras@gmail.com or the Rev. Jill Graham at grahamj@firstuccsheffield.org for more information or to arrange to be a part of this ministry.
|
|
Worship Schedule
|
Eucharist & Healing Prayers
Sunday at 10:00 am
at Crissey Farm
Children's Sunday School during the service and a special prayer for them at the end of the service.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Eucharist and Healing Prayers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can now donate to Grace Church through PayPal.
|
For Janet's sermons click
here
.
On occasional weeks there will be a reflection by Janet. Click
here.
|
|
|
Vestry Minutes are posted on our
website
|
OFFICERS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Class of 2019
|
|
|
Junior
Warden
|
|
Class of 2020
|
John Cheek
Dindy Anderson |
|
Treasurer
|
Sue Gore
|
Class of 2021
|
Anne Andrews
Dutch Pinkston
|
|
Clerk
|
|
Class of 2022
|
Cathy Haywood
|
|
GRACE CHURCH
An Episcopal Community in the Southern B
erkshires
The Rev. Dr. Janet Zimmerman,
Rector
The Rev. Jen Bloesch
Gideon's Garden Program Director
Mailing:
P.O. Box 114
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Maria Mayorga
Office Assistant
Office and Chapel:
67 State Rd.,
Great Barrington
|
|
|
