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grace episcopal church
galena, illinois
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Last Sunday of Pentecost
November 21, 2021
Holy Eucharist, 10:30 am
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November 21, 2021
The State of Illinois has officially issued a directive for masking at indoor gatherings for all who are two years old or older regardless of inoculation status. Out of concern for those who cannot yet be vaccinated or whose immune systems are compromised, we respectfully request that you comply and wear a mask indoors that covers your nose and mouth.
Our diocese has requested that each church regularly review the CDC map that has
four stages of COVID risk and make decisions accordingly about safety precautions.
Jo Daviess County's risk factor (and that of the entire state of Illinois) is now in the highest category.
The only other precaution reinstated at this time is to suspend contact during the Peace.
Please be cautious and also be prepared for changes at any time.
Social hour is suspended.
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Ministers of the Service
Members & Guests, Celebrants
Rev. Thomas Scottl, Presider
Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon
Richard Luther, Lector
Deb Pausz, Intercessor
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Robin French, Music Director
Nancy Cook, Erben Organist
Phil Jackman, Vestry Coordinator
Debbie Kallback & Maren Coates, Altar Guild
Karen Serwich, Greeter
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(FAQ's)
Frequently Asked Questions
answered by Lynn Giles
1. Are there parish office hours?
Nancy, Parish Administrator, will be maintaining her schedule of office hours. Lynn Giles, Senior Warden, will be at the Parish House on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 am until 2 pm.
2. Whom do I contact in a pastoral emergency?
You should contact Lynn Giles, Senior Warden, or Bonnielynn Kreiser, Ministry of Care Coordinator.
3. What will Sunday morning be like?
On Sunday morning we will have either a Eucharist or a Morning Prayer Service.
We will have, as celebrant, Rev. Linda Packard and a variety of supply clergy. The eBlast, Grace Happenings, will include information about the upcoming Sunday services. The time will remain 10:30 am. The choir will sing for both Eucharist and Morning Prayer Services.
4. Is the ROTA still in place?
Yes. All the assignments will be basically the same whether the Sunday service is a Eucharist or a Morning Prayer.
5. What will Grace do for Thanksgiving?
While we will not have a service on Thanksgiving Day at the church, we will celebrate Thanksgiving as part of the Wednesday Morning Service and the United Churches will have a Thanksgiving service on Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm on the UCG Facebook page.
6. Will we have a Christmas Eve service?
Yes, we will celebrate Christmas Eve at 5:30 pm with Rev. Linda Packard.
7. Can we still attend a church service on our computer?
Yes, but our church services will be live-streamed on YouTube instead of using Zoom. The image and sound is better. The eBlast will give you a link to watch the service live or to watch it at a later time on Grace’s YouTube channel. You can download the bulletin from the eBlast.
8. How do I reach someone at the church if I have questions?
You can call the Parish Office at
(815) 777-2590 and leave a message at any time. The message log will be checked regularly. You may contact either Warden by phone, text or email. You may also email the Parish Office at:
gracesec@gracegalena.org. This is monitored frequently, as well.
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Events this Week:
Sunday 11/21
Holy Eucharist 10:30am online (YouTube)
and in-person
Social Hour is suspended at this time.
UCG Thanksgiving Service link on UCG
Facebook page 1:00pm
Paige Frank's Birthday
Monday 11/22
Poetry Group 2:00pm
Tuesday 11/23
Compline online 8:30pm
Wednesday 11/24
Midweek Worship online and in-person 7:30am
Morning Study Group on Zoom 10:00am
Thursday 11/25
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday 11/26
Centering Prayer online 9:00 am
Limited Office Hours/Holiday
Tom & Karlyn Van Gelder's Anniversary
Saturday 11/27
Choir Practice 10 am
Important Links:
Office Hours
9:00am-Noon, Tuesday through Friday
Sr. Warden Office Hours
The Sr. Warden will have office hours on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am until 2pm.
ROTA (11-7-21 to 4-24-22)
Website: includes a password protected members' portal where most recent Vestry minutes, financials, and Grace Church Directory are found.
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ANNUAL PLEDGE CAMPAIGN
Please bring the Perfect Gift -- your pledge--to church this Sunday, November 21st,
to be dedicated to God for the furtherance of ministry at Grace Church. Please use the materials you have received as you prayerfully discern your promise to the church.
This year, the first mailing included information for those who must receive Required Minimum Distributions from their IRAs and pension funds.
It is possible to direct your pledge from such a distribution, in which case the amount pledged will not be included in your taxable income.
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Gloria's last photo in Galena... |
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and
welcome home to Chicago!
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Rector Search Committee Members
Steve Coates,
Pete Stryker,
Co-chairs
Greg Anderson
Teresa Burke
Elizabeth Ludescher
Dave Mikelson
Joy Von Wolffersdorff
Their contact information is available in the church directory on our website at this link: directory
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SEARCH COMMITTEE --
Small Groups Continue
If you have ever said – “Well, no one asked me”, be assured the Search Committee is asking you for your thoughts on the direction of Grace and the skills needed in our next rector.
Our second Small Groups Sunday is 11/21 at 12:30. The sign-up posters are in the parish house. The session lasts about 90 minutes max. We need your voices.
A Search Committee member will be available before and after church with the sign-up sheets in the parish hall to answer any questions. If more convenient, feel free to call or email
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QUIET TIME AT GRACE
Lori Erickson, one of America’s top travel writers specializing in spiritual journeys, is the author of The Soul of the Family Tree, Near the Exit, and Holy Rover. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous publications, She created the website Spiritual Travels featuring spiritual sites around the world. Lori lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
Lori will lead the Advent Quiet Time at Grace Episcopal Church on Saturday,
December 4th from noon until 4 pm. A quiet day is a time of discussion and reflection that resembles a mini-retreat. Lori will lead us in a discussion and reflection of matters of ancestry. How do we reconcile those uncomfortable parts of our heritage, whether bloodthirsty Vikings, proponents of the Doctrine of Discovery or slave-owning institutions, with our contemporary sensibilities?
The suggested donation is $10. Register by leaving a message at (815) 777-2590 or texting (815)757-2011. Registration deadline: Wednesday, December 1.
Choir will practice from 9:30 to 11:00am that day.
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POINSETTIA ORDERS
There are sign-up sheets in the Parish Hall entry and in the Narthex for Poinsettia Orders for Christmas. The plants are $15.00 each. Any questions, please call or email Ann Berry.
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NEW STREAMING EQUIPMENT
The new streaming equipment has been installed at Grace. The console with all the controls and a monitor is located at the back of the church. Please feel free to stop and look at the screen and the preset buttons before or after our church services.
Our first broadcast was on Sunday, November 7th. We learned the system requires more fine-tuning. On the positive side, with the preset positions for the cameras and a marked script of the service, operating the system is a fairly straight-forward activity.
We’re almost ready to have a team of techies. Lynn Giles will set up a training session soon for everyone who expressed an interest and anyone else who interested.
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UNITED CHURCHES OF GALENA
Thanksgiving Service
A Thanksgiving service will be posted on the UCG Facebook page at 1:00pm on Sunday, November 21st for the UCG Churches.
R.I.P. Medical Debt
Several of our UCG Churches will participate in raising funds for this not-for-profit called R.I.P.Medical Debt that buys debt to assist families overwhelmed and crippled by medical bills for serious diseases. In the seven years since its inception, more than $5 billion in debt has been forgiven. To learn how this works, please see the article that Jim McCrae has written for his congregation. R.I.P. Info
As an Advent project, moneys will be raised by our churches to donate to R.I.P. We already have one $5,000 gift from a member of 1st Presbyterian Church that will turn into $500,000 of debt forgiveness. This may seem too good to be true, but the evidence is clear and compelling.
Our Grace Outreach Ministries have committed to a donation; I (Gloria) will be giving personally as well as from the Rector's Discretionary Fund. If you wish to join me, a tax deductible contribution can be made to Grace with "R.I.P. Medical Debt" in the memo line.
HELP NEEDED!
The Board of the United Churches of Galena is made up of clergy and lay representatives of all churches that wish to participate in this ecumenical group. You may know UCG best from its Food Pantry--by far its largest project! Or from its annual Hunger Luncheon and Christmas Concert that are fund raisers for the Food Pantry--both of which have not taken place during this pandemic.
Grace Church is in need of a representative--at least during this transitional time between rectors. Grace has been a member since the beginning. The meetings of the Board are on the first Thursdays of each month at from 10:30 - 11:30 am from September through June. The location is rotated amongst the churches. If you might be interested in serving in either a temporary or longer term capacity, please contact one of the Wardens
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OUTREACH MINISTRY NEWS
GLORY PARISH ALTAR CLOTH BLESSING
On November 7, the altar cloth created by Steve Dowe for the new Glory Parish church building was blessed and is on its way to the Diocese of Renk in South Sudan. Jackie Kraus, our Diocesan
representative for the Chicago/Renk diocesan partners joined us on the 7th for worship.
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RICHARD BABCOCK MEMORIAL YARN MINISTRY BLESSING |
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The bins across the front of the church last Sunday morning held the work of the members of the Richard Babcock Memorial Yarn Ministry.
The hats, mittens, scarves and blankets were blessed at Grace, then are distributed to the Galena Food Pantry, Shelter Care Ministries in Rockford, Riverview Center in Galena, Dubuque Rescue Mission and Opening Doors in Dubuque.
Well done, everyone! Thanks for your contributions to this ministry!
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FELLOWSHIP NEWS
SOCIAL HOUR SUSPENDED
Coffee and conversation has been suspended due to COVID.
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TRAIN ON DISPLAY
Phil & Terri Jackman's N-scale train layout is on display at Crossroads Community Church starting Nov 26 from 1-5pm on weekends through December 19th.
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FORMATION NEWS
We are a group that studies spiritual subjects, including the Bible. All are welcome to join us to enhance their knowledge of spirituality and explore how to apply it to their lives. Lately we’ve been studying the Gospel of Luke. Anyone needing a Zoom invitation can contact Greg Serwich (gserwich@gmail.com).
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COMPLINE on Zoom 8:30pm on Tuesdays
On Tuesday evenings, at 8:30 pm, Lynn Giles leads a service of Compline. She has been participating in the service that has previously been offered to the Diocese of Chicago by St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn. This service of the Daily Office in our Book of Common Prayer is a brief, contemplative service that is ideal for prayerful letting go of the cares of the day and preparing for a restful night. Find the link button above.
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MEDITATIVE PRAYER 9:00am on Fridays
Looking for a way to improve your prayer life, to open your heart, mind and soul to the Holy Spirit? Consider joining the Centering Prayer Group Friday mornings for about forty minutes of meditative prayer: twenty minutes of Centering Prayer followed by Lectio Divina.
Contact Greg Serwich (gserwich@gmail.com) for a Zoom invitation which includes a description of these types of prayer.
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WORSHIP: LAST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
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ZOOM POETRY GROUP 2:00pm on Mondays
A Zoom Poetry meeting from Grace Church has been organized and meets Mondays at 2:00pm. This is not specifically a Grace ministry, but a number of Grace members and friends are part of it If you are interested, write Carol Poston at poston@sxu.edu or call her at 815-777-0220.
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An Episcopal Wednesday service of Morning Prayer 10/27/21: Eric Kallback, Officiant; Debbie Kallback, Homilist & Intercessor.
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An Episcopal service of Holy Eucharist 10/31/21: The Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Presider; The Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon; Richard Luther, Intercessor; Greg Serwich, Lector; Bill Foltz, Thurifer; Robin French, Music Director; Nancy Cook, Erben Organist; Melanie Hoffman, Trumpet. |
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An Episcopal Service of Holy Eucharist 11/7/21, The Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Presider; The Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon; Donna Davis, Intercessor; Carmen Ferguson, Lector; Robin French, Music Director; Lynn Giles, Tech Coordinator |
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Hybrid worship has resumed for both in-person and Zoom congregations in line with Diocesan guidelines and Phase 5 of the State of Illinois COVID recovery.
For those present in the Church:
Please put your smartphone or other device in airplane mode so that our
internet capacity is reserved for our online streaming.
Don't forget to wear your mask if you intend to sing!
For those on Zoom:
Please mute yourselves before the Prelude begins and immediately after the Peace. This prevents other participants on Zoom from being distracted by conversation
and background noise.
Those who will join us on Zoom will receive the usual e-mail invitation with a link to the day's bulletin.
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Vestry:
Lynn Giles, Senior Warden
Richard Luther, Jr. Warden
Jim Berry, Treasurer
Crystal Mason, Clerk
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Staff:
The Rev. Linda Packard, Priest Associate
The Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon
Nancy Kenney, Parish Administrator
Robin French, Music Director
Nancy Cook, Erben Organist
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Charlotte Stryker: Worship
Elizabeth Ludescher: Communications
Nancy Cook: Outreach
Eric Kallback: Building & Grounds
Crystal Mason: Pastoral Care
Phil Jackman: Fellowship/Parish Life
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The Rev Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Rector
Cell Phone: 773-988-3497
Grace Episcopal Church Office:
107 S. Prospect Street
Galena, IL 61036
815-777-2590
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