GRACE NOTES
Grace Episcopal Church September 2021
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WHAT WILL YOU PLANT FOR THE FUTURE?
Lately, I have been coming back over and over again to the image of a daffodil bulb. Since it's about time to put bulbs in the ground I am reminded that with this simple act of gardening comes a whole lot of faith.
We plant an unassuming brown mass of paper thin layers and gangly roots into cool soil and we wait. We wait through the falling leaves. We wait through the winter snow and ice. We wait through the mud and soggy ground of early spring. Day after day hoping that we will be rewarded with that first emergence of green as the bulb begins to push through the dark earth and reach out into the light of the sun.
If anything, bulbs are forward thinking. They are't focused on the present...at least not in an obvious way. Their glory comes after months of preparation and planning, sight unseen, to no accolades or awards. And, if we dug a daffodil bulb up in the coldest of winter days, we might be disappointed that nothing was going on at all.
Yet we all know that the bulb is quietly doing its best to prepare for the future, a future of beauty and grace and glory. A future fulfilling exactly what God intended for that once humble little bulb.
Maybe we all feel a lot like a daffodil bulb right now, paper thin and gangly. We are worn out, ready for spring to arrive so that life can spring forth in a familiar kind of way. (Or, in less metaphorical language...we just want life to get back to normal!) It's times like these that I am reminded that God is still at work, cultivating our hearts for a future we cannot see just yet.
We are going to be talking a lot over the next few months about what this time of growth might look like for each of us. What are we nurturing in our lives, in our church, and in our community? What are we planting for the future?
I want to encourage you to keep your faith strong and your hearts open in the months ahead. Spring will come and, in the meantime, we will keep nurturing the ground beneath us so that it will be strong and ready to support the plans God has in store.
Grace and Peace,
Emily
P.S. As a way to mark our hope moving forward, we will replant the daffodil bulbs along the front walk to the church. Stay tuned for a gardening date later this fall. Everyone is invited to help! What a glorious day it will be next Spring when we will welcome the future we so carefully planted in the fall.
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Sunday Service Schedule
8:00 am Facebook Live (sermon and readings only)
9:00 am Worship (mask required at this time)
10:00 am Coffee Hour (mask required at this time)
11:00 am Worship with Choir (mask required at this time)
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To help us reconnect, reengage, and recommit as a community of faith, Emily and Brian will be hosting two adult discernment options this fall. It's been hard getting back into the swing of things. Sometimes we just need a little encouragement to get back in a routine. So...it's time to pick ourselves up, dust off the COVID blues, and get involved in a small group at Grace! Let's dive into discernment together as we faithfully listen for how God is working in our lives.
What is a discernment?
Simply stated it is a decision making process whereby a person can make a discovery that could lead to a future action. Sound complicated? It is not. It is taking time to be intentional and reflective and prayerful in where God may be calling you forth to live as Christ taught. From some, that may mean serving in a new way at church, for others it may mean studying scripture, helping with community outreach, or learning a new prayer practice. A commitment to discerning God's voice in your life will change how you see yourself and how you live out your faith.
When will we meet?
We have two ways for you to embark upon this journey:
1) A 3-part series at 10am on Sundays - September 26th, October 17th, November 17th
2) A 6-part series at 10am on Thursdays - October 7, 14, 21, 28 & November 4, 11
***Both opportunities will have an option to join in by Zoom.
What will it cover?
We will consider guiding questions such as:
- What does it mean to give our hearts to God?
- What does our baptism teach us about God's love and our response to that love?
- What's the difference between God's will and God's voice?
- What new possibility is God up to in your life?
- What gets in your way of living out what God desires for you?
- What can we learn from Jesus' own process of discernment?
Who can participate?
Everyone! That means you!! Please email Emily to sign up and indicate which series you would like to attend (Sundays or Thursdays) and if you will join in person or via Zoom.
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It has been a privilege, an honor, and a joy to be with you as your deacon at Grace Episcopal Church since July 1. As I look at the Church and its ministry in this new century where quite obviously a paradigmatic shift seems to be occurring – and not just in the Church but also in politics, economics, technology, education, environmental conditions, cultural norms, and global relationships – I think about our role together as ministers. So much is changing all around us! What are you and I going to do?
And yet, that ancient icon from the Song of Songs, where, figuratively, the Church is the beloved bride and God is the loving bridegroom, still shines with power and truth and beauty. The Bride declares
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I am my beloved’s
and his desire is for me.
Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the fields,
and lodge in the villages …
(7.10-11)
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Love – selfless, sacrificial love – is the life of the Church in relation to God. And love is the beginning and the end of our ministry together, a servant ministry in the Servant Church.
In Christian Ethics: An Essential Guide, Robin W Lovin orients the sacrificial love in servant ministry to the ethical center of community:
Love is the orientation of individual life toward a center outside of itself, recognizing that my own value is not absolute, but derives from relationship to God. Love, likewise, values other people and things as they are related to God and not as they are useful or important to oneself. Love as a virtue, as a habit of choice and action, consistently does those things that enable others to flourish as persons with their own dignity and their own relationship to God. (p.77)
Because love is oriented “toward a center outside of itself,” it aims at a good beyond the self, greater than the self. Thomas Merton echoes this insight in his essay, “Love and Need: Is Love a Package or a Message?” He writes, “Love is our true destiny….We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with one another….The meaning of our life is a secret that has to be revealed to us in love, by the one we love.” (p. 27)
Love is at the heart of our ministry together as lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons. We are all servants of God who is love. Let us go forth each Sunday from Grace “into the fields” and “the villages” and serve one another with love.
Brian
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We continue to stay creative during this unique time with how we can serve. If you are looking for ways to safely connect, here are a few suggestions...
Grace Church Memorial Garden Weeding and Pruning
Reader on Sundays
Stock the fridge for Winter with soups and meals for our most vulnerable
Email Cindy at gracechurch2955@gmail.com if you would like more ideas on how you can serve our ministry and enliven Christ's love for others.
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Discernment Series
Sunday Option
September 26, October 17 and November 17
10:00 am in the Parish Hall or on Zoom
Thursday Option
October 7, 14, 21, 28 & November 4, 11
10:00 am in Parish Hall or on Zoom
Blessings of the Animals
Sunday, October 3
11:00 am Outdoor Service
A traditional Rite II service will be held in the sanctuary at 9am.
Blessing of the Hounds with Deep Run Hunt Club
Saturday, October 30
10:00 am at Full Stream Farm
What Will You Plant Commitment Sunday
Sunday, November 7
Advent Begins
Sunday, November 28
For a copy of the full calendar including times,
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Grace Episcopal Church
2955 River Road West
Goochland VA 23063
804-556-3051
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