Grace Episcopal Church

Walking the Way of Love

Parish News For the week of August 1, 2021

The next Parish News will be published on August 13, 2021

Worship Services

We are meeting In-Person in the Parish Hall. No registration is necessary. Please wear a mask if you are not fully vaccinated. Refer to the CDC's Choosing Safer Activities Guide if you have questions about mask wearing.


Our services will only be available on ZOOM for August 1 and 8. The 10:30 service will be recorded nd posted on Facebook.

 

10th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, August 1

Holy Eucharist Rite I

8 am

Bulletin

ZOOM


Holy Eucharist Rite II

10:30 am

Bulletin

ZOOM

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Visit Grace's Google Calendar for events and ZOOM link information!

Weekdays


Morning Prayer

(In person and Online)

Mondays - Friday, 8:30 am 

ZOOM


Men's Prayer Breakfast

will resume September 14

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Bulletin Insert - The Feast of the Transfiguration – August 1, 2021

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Faith Build

The Rockbridge Area Habitat for Humanity Faith Build continues until August 14. The Grace Episcopal team will meet at 39 Spencer Court, in Greenhouse Village, each Friday at 9:00 am. The shift is from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. Please come out and help our team.

The Pastor's Build will take place Friday August 6, 9:00 to 12:30. Come out and support (and help!) Fr. Tuck.

(If you need directions to the build put 30 Vallance Way in Google maps. You will see the building site from there.)

Anyone interested in participating can get in touch with Pat McGuire (401-662-6290). No building skills necessary, and all tools provided.


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August Watering Brigade

Thanks to the June and July water brigades, the new garden is thriving. Help is now needed for August and September. If you would like to participate and have approximately one hour a week in the morning or late afternoon, please email Elizabeth Boetsch at elizaboetsch@gmail.com or telephone or text (540)462-7841. I’ll be happy to meet with you to show you the procedure. It’s always refreshing to water during the dog days of summer!

S.T.E.P.S. Program

Purpose of STEPS Program: A significant percentage of parole-eligible candidates in Virginia are not approved for parole. In many cases, this is due to the lack of evidence to the Parole Board that the individual will have a support system upon release that would improve the likelihood of his successful re-entry to the community and reduce the risk of re-incarceration. Furthermore, due largely to structural racial inequities in our society, a disproportionate number of inmates are people of color. Our goal is to support a carefully-selected Returning Citizen through the parole and re-entry process, and engage in mutually meaningful relationships that benefit all participants and the community.

Grace STEPS Committee consists of David Gates, Susan Cross, Anna Crockett, Tuck Bowerfind, Steve Riethmiller, Lynn Dent, Pat McGuire, and David Connolly.


First S.T.E.P.S. (Supporting Transitions by Engaging in Parolee Sponsorship)

Returning Citizen for Grace Church Prison Ministry

Below is Information about the first accepted Candidate for our STEPS Prison Ministry

  • Name: Richard William Jones
  • Birth Date: 11/10/60 – Currently 60 Years old
  •  Arrives in Lexington: August 2, 2021
  • Work: Lee Hi Travel Plaza
  • Lodging: 15 ½ S. Jefferson Street, Apartment 3
  •  Incarceration at Lawrenceville Correctional Center – Incarceration Time: About 34 years
  •   Jobs During Incarceration: Plumbing, Dry Wall, Custodian, Construction, Roofing, Yard Worker
  • Richard Approved unanimously by STEPS Committee after extensive research and conference call. Both recommendations and prison records were considered.
  •  Mentors will be Steve Riethmiller and David Connolly
  • Will receive Medical Treatment from Rockbridge Area Health Center
  •  Richard has family living in Charlottesville and Waynesboro
  • Probation appointments will be held in Lexington with Probation officer coming from Fincastle Office

The STEPS program is largely financed by a grant from the Gadsden Trust.

L.A.M.P.S. (Loans and Advising for Money Planning Success)

Update, July 30, 2021 

We continue to make progress on identifying a framework for a possible payday loan alternative, now named LAMPS. (Loans and Advising for Money Planning Succes). 

At its most recent meeting, the LAMPS team agreed on the importance of starting this pilot ministry on a small scale, anticipating that much woud be learned along the way to guide fine-tuning and appropriate adjustments. Tentative agreement was reached on the following components:

  • Starting fund: $5000
  • Maximum loan per individual: $1000

 Referrals: from RARA and Project Horizon (these organizations will vet and inform clients of available resources for which they may be eligible) Financial Advising: identified as a key component of the program to ensure both short- and long-term planning by assisting the applicant in gaining critical knowledge and skills .that could potentially reduce the risk of future financial emergencies

  • Loan payments: made to the service provider (car repair, plumber, etc.) rather than to the client
  • Repayment: no interest; repayment amount, time period and method to be determined at a meeting with the financial advisor and applicant
  • Application, contract and accounting specifics: to be determined
  • Other: 

Create a preferred service provider list that would give our clients a discount based on receiving guaranteed payments up front and free publicity (e.g.published list of participating providers)

Initial clients would be active participants in this ministry, prioritized on the basis of need and ability to repay.

The next LAMPS team meeting is scheduled for 11:00 on August 11st. If you are interested in joining this team and perhaps taking a leadership role, we invite you to join us. Contact Anna Crockett at crockett@vmi.edu or 460-3254 for additional information.

A proposal to adopt the LAMPS ministry will be presented to the Christian Outreach Committee at its September 7th meeting. Meetings are open to all parishioners.

LAMPS Team: David Connolly, Marlys Craun, Anna Crockett, Libby Cumming, Al Hockaday, Mo Littlefield; Community Partners: Lindsey Perez (RARA), Marie Averill (Project Horizon) and Ellen Mayock (ESOL)

From the Minister of Music

"When in our music God is glorified," is an amazing hymn in the 1982 Hymnal. Grace will be experiencing this glory constellation in 2021-2022-2023! Stay tuned for recitals and choral programs, starting in November. New Faces and Familiar Ones!

Soli Deo Gloria.

Martha

New Hymnals!

The Memorial Gifts Committee has authorized the purchase of 30 new Wonder, Love and Praise Hymnals! The Memorial Gifts Committee invite parishioners to honor, memorialize, and celebrate the life of a beloved family member or friend through gifts to God's church. The committee also recommends the use of all unrestricted memorial gifts and in-honor-of gifts.

College Ministry

Host Families Needed! Would you like to be a host family for a VMI Rat—providing a home-away-from-home on Sunday afternoons or a lunch buddy for a WLU student?

For more information contact Sharon White, sharon@graceepiscopallexington.org

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Happy Birthday

Alexandra Brown (8/1), David Cox (8/1), Henry Porter (8/1), Joshua Henson (8/3), Rissie Murphy (8/5), Michele Hentz (8/6), Greg Lemmer (8/8), Carol Dent (8/8), Mimi Knight (8/11), Patrick Mayerchak (8/12), Susan Williams (8/14), Nick Murphy (8/14), Kathy Kozak (8/14), Kent Wilson (8/17), Marjorie Connolly (8/20), Mary Webster (8/27), David Howison (8/28), Barton Dick (8/30), Pat Gibson (8/31)

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