Step into Grace
Where strangers become friends
We are an Open and Affirming church. Every one of every age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental ability, or economic status is invited to join us as together we live out the Gospel message of love, forgiveness, service, and justice. No matter where you are in your spiritual journey- you are welcome here.
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Twenty First Sunday
after Pentecost
Holy Eucharist
October 17, 10:00 AM
Sunday services
will be at Crissey Farm, both
in-person and live-streamed.
Please visit our website:
for up-to-date information and a link to the digital service booklet.
Officiant/Preacher
The Rev. Tina Rathbone
Welcome Team......Rick and Sue Gore
Lector.................. ..Dindy Anderson
Intercessor.............Robert Forman
Altar Guild.............Kirchoff/Haywood
Coffee Hour...........Anderson/Doelman
Counters................Rick Gore/ M. Layton
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ZOOM INVITATIONS
FOR GRACE CHURCH
Twenty First Sunday
after Pentecost
Holy Eucharist
October 17, at 10:00 AM
Now in person and on Zoom.
For Zoom
or call 646 558 8656
US (New York)
(Meeting ID): 177 160 858
(Password): 917937
Tuesday with the Word
October 12,
7:00 to 8:30 PM
To join the Zoom meeting
For more information please see the article below.
Centering Prayer
Thursdays, at 5:00 PM
Now in person and on ZOOM
To join the Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 203 314 800
(Password): 578877
646 558 8656 US (New York)
Grace Church Men's Group
Future dates to be announced here.
Movie Nite
Thursday
October 12, at 6:30 PM
More information in the
article below.
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
or call 646 558 8656 US
(New York)
Books and Bread,
Wednesday, October 13
Now in person at 6:30 PM
and on Zoom at 7:15 PM
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
or call 646 558 8656
US (New York)
Third Sunday Supper
(Every Third Sunday)
October 17
Location to be announced.
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Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost |
Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
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"All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine" |
For the most up to date information:
please visit the
Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative website,
They will post notice of appointment openings 6-12 hours in advance. You can find answers to your vaccination questions including information about the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine on their FAQ page.
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Covid-19 vaccination
booster shots
are now available for those with certain big-risk medical conditions at Walgreens and Fairview Hospital on a walk-in basis. If you think you might have a qualifying condition, we urge you to go to one of these locations for a booster shot.
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SAVE THE DATE !
Sunday, October 24th
We will be joined by St. Paul’s and Christ Trinity
and there will be a luncheon afterwards.
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‘Since time immemorial, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians have built vibrant and diverse cultures — safeguarding land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition across the generations. On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.”
So begins President Biden’s Proclamation on Indigenous People’s Day which he shared with the nation this past Friday. They are strong and powerful words, long in coming and important for the President to say and for the rest of us to hear. At the Bandstand on Monday a crowd of more than 150 people gathered to help celebrate the day. Speakers reminded us of the myriad ways our country has threatened Indigenous people, and highlighted the deep resilience with which those attempts have been met and overcome. The gathering was incredibly moving and felt to me like nothing so much as a prayer. The photo above is of one of the speakers who serves as a Native American Chaplain to inmates in the Connecticut criminal justice system. Beneath him are some of the gathered community, praying through a ceremony which was loving laid out, thoroughly explained, and generously offered to the rest of us by our Mohican and Navaho hosts. For almost an hour I watched as families, young people, children and elders approached the simple altar on the ground on their knees, took a pinch of tobacco from one bowl, placed it in another along with their hopes and fears, and then wafted a little smoke from the incense bowl over themselves before making room for the next person. It was, truly, sacred. I am so grateful to have been able to be there.
Here is a little prayer of a different kind – a simple word prayer - that Lee Cheek found, and Kathy Clausen prayed on all of our behalf last Sunday. Perhaps one way to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day is to pray it regularly for a while, and then see what difference it makes in our hearts first, and then in our lives, step by step…
Creator, you made all people of every land. It is our responsibility to give thanks and respect to those who first occupied this land we are upon. We give thanks to The Mohican Nation, the first people of this land. We offer our respect to those ancestors who may be interred in this land. We are also thankful for the gifts of the People of the land. Creator let us be of Good Mind to reconcile the mistreatment of this land and to those who have been displaced. With thankful and respectful hearts we pray in Your name, Your son the Peacemaker and the Sacred Spirit.
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We supply this list so you may contact members of our congregation who are at home or in a nursing facility. Please hold in your prayers and reach out as you can.
ANDREWS, Anne
659 South Egremont Road
P.O. Box 714
Great Barrington, MA 01230
BLAKELY, Rosemarie
21 Crossway, #108
Lee MA 01238
BOWENS, Marina
c/o Maryella Satinover
11908 Windward Ave.
Mar Vista, CA 90066
BREASTED, John
Fairview Commons
151 Christian Hill Road
Great Barrington MA 01230
BROOKS, Jane
165 George Street
Lee MA 01230
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FRYE, Vonnie
PineHill Assisted Living
at Kimball Farms
235 Walker St. Apt #32
Lenox, Ma. 01240
GORE, Barbara
50 Stockbridge Road
Lee MA 01238
HAIDER, Meredith
5 Fox Hollow Road
#409
Lenox, MA 01240
KEENE, Sara
The Egremont Village Inn
17 Main Street
P. O. Box 275
South Egremont, MA 01258
McCURDY, Deborah
Skilled Nursing Center
Loomis Lakeside at Reed's Landing
807 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
TURNER, Barbara
Fairview Commons
151 Christian Hill Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
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Help needed for a fun and exciting ministry
Another great year of Church School is starting this fall and we are looking for a fourth person to assist with this wonderful ministry! No experience needed except for an enjoyment of children. It would involve participating in Church School during the first part of the service (rejoining the service at the peace) for two Sundays a month. If you want to try it once we would love to have you join us. Please let Dindy, Andrea, or Margaret know if you might be interested. Their contact information is in the Grace directory. Thank you.
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Sign up for
FLOWER DEDICATIONS !
There will be a sign up form
at Sunday service.
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Healing Prayers
If you would like to receive healing prayers from
The Rev. Ted Cobden, Pennie Curry, or Sue Gore,
please refer to your directory for their contact
information, or contact the Grace office.
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PRAYERS REQUESTED
Praying for each other and for the needs of the world is a vital mission of Grace Church. To add a prayer request to this list, please contact the Church Office
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GRACE
CHURCH
Please include
in your daily prayers this week:
Members of the Parish Family:
Sue Gore, Doreen Hutchinson, Anne Andrews, Pennie Curry, Mark Anderson, Stacey, Claire and Mark Thomas, Meredith Haider, Linda White, Rosemarie Blakely, Marina Bowens, John Breasted, Jane Brooks, Vonnie Frye, Barbara Gore, Sara Keene, Barbara Turner.
Others we love: Larry Cheek, John's brother; Karen La Rocque friend of Sue Gore; Rosalind Haywood, Sue Gore's mother; Deborah McCurdy.
Those who have died:
Bernadette McCarroll, beloved family member of Jainee, John & Ellis;
Thomas J. Fisher, father of The
Rt. Rev. Douglas Fisher; Alan Sparks, brother of Debbie Holmes; Ruth Crawford; Emily Trespas, friend of Jainee McCarroll and John Ericson; John Grammer, husband of Mary Anne; Neil Brandt, brother of Linda White; John Turner, husband of Barbara Turner; Leslie Albert, friend of Margaret Layton and Sarah Sieber.
Our world: For the people of Afghanistan, and of Haiti, who have struggled for so long under burdens seemingly too great to bear.
For all victims of violence, and for those who inflict violence on others. For people who suffer from the COVID-19 virus, those who have died and those who mourn; caregivers and those who have been affected through loss of work, income, and housing.
For all who are alone or afraid or despairing. For prisoners, unhoused people, newly arrived immigrants and all our neighbors, near and far.
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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 and the Rev. Jane Tillman; Christ Trinity, Sheffield and the Rev. Erik Karas; our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher; and the Mampong Babies' Home in Ghana; Good Shepherd Episcopal; Grace Lutheran, West Springfield; The Episcopal Chaplaincy of Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center; Daily Bread Food Pantry, Milford;Gideon's Garden, Great Barrington.
The Church's wider mission:
The Church of the Province of the West Indies
And we offer thanks: for all those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries this week:
Barbara Turner
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Join us for
Centering Prayer
now in person and on ZOOM
every Thursday
5:00 - 6:00
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.
To join the Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 203 314 800
Password: 578877
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
To find your local number:
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WHAT ARE YOU
GRATEFUL FOR?
In this time of fear and anxiety, it can be easy to miss the daily blessings that are right in front of us. Being grateful is not just for good times. Being grateful is even more important when fear sets a place at your table and heartbreak seems to be in your every breath. Because by being grateful we become aware of all the ways God is working in us. Being grateful is a part of our healing and our deliverance. Being grateful is where our best selves reside.
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CELEBRATION OF ST. FRANCIS & GIDEON'S GARDEN
In honor of St. Francis and the bounty of harvest, Sunday service was a joyous celebration! The community of Grace plus friends and animals came together in love to give thanks for creation. Fisher Riiska gave the opening welcome to the gathered congregation, and Annalise Clausen gave the sermon. Juan Diego brought the newest bunny to be blessed and sold gourds to benefit the rescue animals at Taft Farms. Koa and Vivi Hutchison sang a song to open the service honoring our connection to creation. We were blessed with a beautiful overcast sky, comfortable temperatures and a sneaking peak of sun as well. There was a bicycle marathon that rode by the service we got to bless as they pedaled past!
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Fall at Gideon's
We are cleaning up the field from the growing season, taking stock of what grew well and where. We still have tomatoes to clean up along with all the others crops that are still producing. We have butternut squash, sweet peppers, jalapeños and beans to harvest. And our final crop of bush and pole beans are flowering and producing small beans.
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Thank you all for coming to attend in person at Gideon's Garden this very special Sunday. I received loving and supportive feedback from many people. I am so grateful for the young people who came to serve in the garden this year, especially Mathew Bilotta and Fisher Riiska who offered so much of their time to make this garden thrive this year.
Stay tuned for a final report on the garden as we close our harvest season within the next few weeks.
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Mission Matters
News from the
Episcopal Diocese
of Western Massachusetts
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Help New Orleans through the Episcopal
Relief and Development's Hurricane Fund
Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday, August 29 — on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina — as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph.
Episcopal Relief & Development’s US Disaster Program team was in touch with partners over the weekend and began holding daily coordination calls with impacted dioceses on Monday morning.
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Support the Resettlement of Refugees
Episcopal Migration Ministries, the refugee resettlement and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church, is currently working in partnership with the U.S. government to assist Afghan SIVs and other arrivals with resettlement and direct services through a network of 12 affiliates across the U.S.
DFMS-Protestant Episcopal Church US
P.O. Box 958983
St. Louis, MO 63195-8983
(Include Episcopal Migration Ministries and Afghan SIV’s in the memo line.)
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Interfaith Vigil to Mourn Increase in Gun Deaths POSTPONED until Spring 2022
To: Ending Gun Violence, Social Justice, Parochial Clergy, Non-Parochial Clergy, Parish Admins, Wardens
From: The Social Justice Commission
Re: Witness of Prayer at Smith and Wesson, Inc.
Date: October 7, 2021
Bishop Fisher has decided to postpone the public vigil at Smith and Wesson until the Spring of 2022. In consultation with communications directors in both dioceses, and Canticle Communications, it has been determined that the action may be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the both the press and furloughed employees of the corporation.
While the alarming rise of gun deaths during the pandemic needs our attention and action, current events locally have shifted our perspective on the timing. Bishop Fisher and the Social Justice Commission will continue efforts to draw attention to the epidemic of gun violence. The movement to #EndGunViolence will not stop until our communities are safe again.
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SHINE YOUR LIGHT
Thank you for giving generously to support the ministry of Grace. You may continue to mail your contributions to Grace Church, P.O. Box 114, Great Barrington, MA 01230. As we begin to gather in person, you may bring your contribution to our services on Sunday, once again.
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It costs about $1500 a year to support a baby. The Diocese's goal is for one congregation
to support one child for a year.
To donate to support babies at the Mampong Babies Home in Ghana please send a check to Grace Church, PO Box 114, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
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TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
October 12, at 7:00 PM on Zoom
in collaboration with Christ Trinity, Sheffield & St Paul’s
One of the good things to come out of this past year was our three congregations coming together for a time of study and support each week. Something well worth continuing, pandemic or not! So after a summer off, it is good to be back!
Join us beginning September 28th at 7 p.m. via Zoom as we look at Gregory Boyle S.J.’s best selling book, Tattoos on the Heart.
For twenty years, Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.
For our second meeting, please read chapter two and three. For each of the three following weeks we’ll discuss two chapters per week. This zoom link will be good for all four remaining weeks of this series.
October 12, at 7:00 PM
For Zoom,
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Kids of all ages: Please join us for Sunday school on September 12, 2021. We will meet during the first part of the service and then re-join the service at the Peace. |
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Becoming Beloved Community
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Learn about the Doctrine of Discovery. In 2009, the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church repudiates and renounces the Doctrine of Discovery as “fundamentally opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and our understanding of the inherent rights that individuals and peoples have received from God.” The resolution calls for the church to examine and eliminate its policies, programs and structures that contribute to the continuing colonization of Indigenous peoples and directs the Office of Government Relations to advocate for the U.S. to sign the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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In the new documentary “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen paint a picture of an unsung trailblazer who remains relatively unknown despite her lasting influence on American society. Episcopalians know her as the first African American woman to be ordained a priest and as a pioneer in the struggles for racial and gender equality.
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Grace Church worships and gardens on the traditional land of the Mohican people. |
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The Old Testament books of the Chronicles are a cleaned-up “cliff notes” version of the story of Israel. They, along with Ezra and Nehemiah are products of the ‘intertestamental period’, the roughly 400 years between the return from exile of the Jews and the advent of Christ. Just as these are later writings of the story of Israel, so too the New Testament readings for this week, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon are later writings in the Pauline corpus.
Our reflection jumped off from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 a song of David expressing his praise to God and gratitude at the generosity of the people who gave of their treasure to build the temple.
Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father
From of old and forever
To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might,
The glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor; Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth;
The kingdom all yours! You've raised yourself high over all.
Riches and glory come from you,
You're ruler over all;
You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand
To build up and strengthen all.
And here we are O God, our God, giving thanks to you,
Praising your splendid Name.
who gave of their treasure to build the temple.
We likened this song to a giant cornucopia and, at the end of our reflection, wrote the following:
Dear God, you are the source of all bounty and abundance
You fill our cornucopia.
We thank you for the gift of being able to praise.
We pray that we will share joyfully your ever-flowing love
So that we can feed ourselves and others from your generosity.
AMEN.
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Attend our Men's Group
Next meeting date to be announced here.
For more information
contact George Raymond
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MOVIE NITE
Join us for a discussion of
ABOUT SCHMIDT
A 66-year-old (Jack Nicholson) retires, deals with his wife's sudden death and tries to stop his daughter (Hope Davis) from marrying a salesman (Dermot Mulroney).
on November 4, at 6:30 PM
Watch at your leisure then join us on Zoom
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823 (Password): 385337
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BOOKS AND BREAD
Join us on Wednesday, October 13,
in person
at 6:30 PM for appetizers
on Zoom at 7:15 PM
for fellowship,and a lively book discussion.
All are welcome!
The Stranger in the Woods
by Michael Finkel
George Raymond will lead our discussion
To join this Zoom meeting at 7:15 PM
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
or call 646 558 8656 US (New York)
- Participants should contact the Hosts (the Kirchoff's) if they plan to attend but have not signed up at Grace Church (Crissey Farm Welcome Desk)
- If you are a "regular" and are not planning to attend, please let the Host know.
- Discussion begins at 7:00 pm regardless of whether it's a Dinner gathering or an A&D gathering.
- 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.
- Please sign up to bring appetizers or dessert items.
Meeting is over promptly at 8:30 PM. For more information email Peter.
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THIRD SUNDAY SUPPER
Join us for lively conversation
and fellowship on
Sunday, October 17
when we will meet at 6 PM
Location to be announced here.
Separate checks/All are welcome
For more information contact
George Raymond. His contact information is in the Grace directory.
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GRACE CHURCH
An Episcopal Community in the Southern Berkshires
67 State Road/P.O. Box 114, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Parish Administrator: Ms. Jean Chapin
and by phone 413-644-0022.
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The Rev. Tina Rathbone
Rector
413-644-0022
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Ms. Annalise Clausen, Director of Farming for Gideon's Garden
413-644-0022
gideonsgarden at graceberkshires.org
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Mr. Ryan LaBoy,
Grace Church Music Director
413-644-0022
RLaboy at graceberkshires.org
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Tuesday's Child Editor Monique Kirchoff
Associate Editor Kathy Clausen
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