The photograph above is from this past Saturday. It was taken just after the second snow storm of the week and – for me at least – the wintry scene makes it hard to believe that we are, in fact, inching our way into Spring.

So much of life is like this, I find. One thing seems indisputably real on the surface, even as another reality all together is shaping itself into being just underneath it, out of sight. It’s the same with faith, I think. Watching the news these days, we see only war and death – and the sight causes us to despair. But the opposite of war and death are present too, often as invisible as the shoots of new life under the snow.

Time and time again, Jesus insists that love, hope, dignity, and beauty remain, even in the heart of the horror. And if this is true, the question becomes: how can we get under the surface to increase and uphold them even a bit? There are as many answers to this question as there are people – but one thing is sure: if we are to become able to help at all, we need to remain open to seeing and hearing and feeling as much of the bitter reality on the surface as we can bear. We need, like Jesus, to keep both our hearts and our hands open.

Community in Faith 

Wednesday evening Lenten series

The Rev. Erik Karas and Rabbi Neil Hirsch will lead the book exploration of The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

through April 6^th at 7:00pm

For Zoom: Click Here

is taking a week off from its regular Zoom gathering and is going on a field trip on March 16^th at 6:00 PM to celebrate Purim with the folks at Hevreh of South Berkshire at 270 State Road in Great Barrington. 

From A New Garden Ethic by Benjamin Vogt.

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A pair of moccasins and a wampum pouch that have been in the Berkshire Museum’s collection for nearly 65 years are on their way home to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians in Wisconsin. Read about the reparation in the Berkshire Eagle HERE.

James Weldon Johnson, pictured here outside his writing cabin in Alford, MA, and author of "Lift Every Voice and Sing", began working with the NAACP on a federal anti-lynching law a little over 100 years ago. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act was passed by the U.S House of Representatives on February 28, 2022, and U.S. Senate on March 7, 2022, and now awaits the president's signature. Click here for a recent editorial in the Berkshire Eagle.

Visit the Clinton Church Restoration website here.

Read about the plans for a statue of W.E.B. DuBois at the Mason Library here

( Lee Cheek)

Samuel Barber, the American composer (1910-1981)

wrote a cycle of ten songs for voice and piano in 1953 called The Hermit Songs, which take as its basis a collection of anonymous poems written by Irish monks from the 8th to the 13th centuries. In this season of Lent, we read about Jesus’ retreat into the wilderness. We are also reading about the origins of monasticism, the desire for some of the faithful to retreat from the busy world to spend their time contemplating God. In response to this aspect of Christianity, we listened to the tenth song, “The Desire for Hermitage.” We settled on the line in the middle as the place to start our theological reflection, “that will be an end to evil when I am alone.” The songs were premiered by Leontyne Price (in the picture) with the composer at the piano. Here is a recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAsBNUjiI5

24 March 2022 at 11:00 am

To register, please click on the link: click here

Lich Gate Concerts adds a third, mid-winter concert to its season 2022 series, on Sunday, March 20 at 2pm. We are pleased to announce this addition to our concert series, which will feature music written for Piano Trio (violin, cello and piano), and will be held in the beautiful sanctuary of Old Parish Church

Artistic Director and violinist Jorge Ávila has invited our beloved cellist, Sarah Hewitt-Roth, and the brilliant pianist, Adrienne Kim, to play works of Beethoven, Saint-Saëns, Turina, and one of Felix Mendelssohn's greatest chamber music pieces,

For everyone's safety, attendees must be masked

 and seating is limited to 100 people.

The Bishop established a Compline community in 2020 that continues in faithfulness. Lent is the perfect time to expand to five nights a week and create a new recurring Zoom link. In addition to The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith and the Very Rev. Jim Munroe, Licensed Lay Worship Leaders will be added for Thursday and Friday evenings. The NEW Zoom info will be available on Ash Wednesday HERE.

A Lenten Quiet Day on March 19, 9:30 a.m.-noon via Zoom, sponsored by both Massachusetts Episcopal dioceses, open to all and led by Margaret Bullitt-Jonas. Through brief presentations and conversation, as well as silent prayer and guided meditation, this retreat time will give space for participants to explore and pray about the places in their lives where God may be inviting them to let go burdens of resentment, guilt or shame.

To join this Zoom meeting,

Click Here

(Meeting ID): 370 191 823

(Password): 385337

RIVER of DOUBT

(Meeting ID): 370 191 823

(Password): 385337

or call 646 558 8656 US (New York)

For Zoom: Click Here

or call 646 558 8656: US (New York). (Meeting ID): 177 160 858 (Password): 917937

On Sunday, February 27 we had the first meeting of the new 2022 Vestry. Even our new junior warden, Pennie Curry, was able to join via Zoom. We also welcomed two new vestry members, Laura Jordahl and Andrea White. New to this year is a feature of the meeting Tina has introduced. Each month two members of the vestry will describe their Spiritual Autobiography. In this way we will learn from one another how God in Jesus has shown up in our lives and brought us to this point at Grace and in the vestry. In the business section of the meeting, we continue to monitor the technology used on Sundays, the budget, and hear about all the many, many things our rector, Tina, is involved in. Laura has volunteered to be the liaison from the Vestry to the Community Engagement Team and John will serve as liaison to the Worship Committee. We thank them for this! Our next regular vestry meeting is on March 27 at noon and is always open to members of the parish. Additionally, the vestry will meet with Canon Rich Simpson on March 20 for a Mutual Ministry Review.

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 

[email protected] or by phone 413-644-0022.

for signing up for this year’s

You can reach the church office by email: [email protected] 

Senior Warden ........Kathy Clausen

Junior Warden ........Pennie Curry

Treasurer ..................Sue Gore

Clerk ...........................Mary Anne Grammer

Class of 2023..........Dindy Anderson, Holly Murray, John Cheek

Class of 2024..........Anne Andrews, Dutch Pinkston

Class of 2025..........Cathy Haywood, Andrea White, Laura Jordahl