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Beautiful Beloveds,
I hope your holiday was lovely, filled with loving family and friends. For those who are involuntarily alone, your church family, the communion of saints, and the presence of Christ surround you, even when it can’t be felt or seen. For those who grieve and had a missing place at the table, God weeps with you.
As for me, as I remember our St. Gregory the Great church family, Philippians 1:3-6, still holds:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
And just in case you don’t know what to pray in this season of giving thanks, there’s a WHOLE SECTION of ‘thank you’ prayers to God in the Book of Common Prayer, pages 836-841. Ain’t it great to be an Episcopalian? Thank you, God!
So much love and gratitude to each and every one of you,
Mo. Nikki+
A Litany of Thanksgiving. (BCP, pg. 837)
Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so
freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and
sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.
For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women,
revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and
our friends,
We thank you, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering
and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.
For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and
promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the
Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
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Band of Believers
Band of Believers! Mark your calendars. We start practicing for the Christmas pageant on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 9:45-10:30AM in the Children's Chapel. We accept all folks who have ever played an instrument. All means all! If you want to play with the Band of Believers let me know at vtavernier@aol.com . We're excited to start up again! Let the baby be born! Vicky and Mark Tavernier
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Appleton Episcopal Ministries
Serving the middle Georgia convocation of the Diocese of Atlanta, Appleton Episcopal Ministries works to share God’s love by promoting the health, safety, education, and well-being of children, especially children in need. Their many ministries include free lunches for children under 18, free tutoring programs, a diaper ministry, a youth choir, a community garden, and many more vital and enriching activities.
Appleton Ministries is not directly funded by the diocese. Instead, the diocese has requested that loose-plate offerings given on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend (November 26th this year) be donated to Appleton Ministries to fund their life-changing work with children of impoverished communities.
If you give online and are not accustomed to making an offering at Sunday Eucharists, please consider bringing money or a check on November 26th so that our parish can contribute generously to Appleton’s mission of love.
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Flower Guild: Greening the Church
The flower guild will be meeting to green the church for Advent on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 10AM. All are invited to join us and to bring evergreen branches!
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Brown Bag Lecture Series
Conversations on Grieving: While many Gregorians experience the holidays with joy, others find the holidays a time of challenge, struggle, and sadness. Come join us as we learn more about the grieving process and ways to respond to it in ourselves and others, with Mother Nikki, Gina Defalco, and Rhonda Packer facilitating. This session will also be interpreted for the deaf. Sunday, Dec. 3 from 12:30-2:30PM.
If you need childcare, please let the office know no later than Friday, Dec. 1 at 12 noon.
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We continue to collect estimate of giving pledge cards for 2024. You may put your completed card in the collection plate on Sunday, mail your card to the church office, bring your completed card to the church office, or enter your pledge online here. | |
Call to St. Gregory's Artists!
The Card Ministry needs new art for 2024 cards. The ministry sends cards for children and youth up to 18 years old, seniors 70 and over, get well and encouragement, and bereavement.
If you have questions or would like to submit a work of art for a card please contact Jenifer Borg. Please send pictures in jpeg format. A wide range of art is welcome. Images should not be specific to gender or race.
Thank you,
Card Ministry
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COUNTER NEEDED
Counters work together in pairs to tally a week’s worth of contributions to St. Gregory the Great. When the tally is completed, either counter takes the contributions to deposit at Truist Bank on Gaines School Road. Counting takes about 30 minutes, the visit to the bank takes about 10 minutes, and counters work just once a month. Counting pairs determine a mutually convenient time during their counting week to meet in the copy room in the Parish Hall to tally checks and cash donated during the week. Lifetime commitment to counting isn’t required or expected. Counting is an easy task and an opportunity to serve at St. Gregory the Great.
Currently, counters include Lois Alworth (wilo59@charter.net), Stacie Court (stacie.court@gmail.com), Gail Eilers (eilersgail@gmail.com), Angela Greene (angelagreene23@gmail.com), Katie Hein (khein@uga.edu), Jane Hudson (janeghudson@gmail.com),Alice Mohor (alicemohor@windstream.com), Katie Reinberger (kreinbe@gmail.com), and Maggie Reinberger (mmreinberger@gmail.com), any of whom are happy to answer your questions about counting.
Contact Jane Hudson at janeghudson@gmail.com to volunteer to count.
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Alys Willman, from ARA, sent along some more information for those interested in being involved with Athens Reparations Action. Their website is here. On the homepage, at the very bottom, there is a link to join the monthly-ish email newsletter. Or people can simply email Alys and she will add them.
ARA's monthly gatherings are at Athentic Brewery, at 180 Park Avenue, from 7-9pm. We get all kinds of folks, from different faith communities (and none), all ages and interests. This month our meeting was Wednesday November 15, and Commissioner Russell Edwards talked about the gratuities clause in the GA constitution, and how it limits what the city can do for reparations. After that, we have one more gathering this year, on Wednesday Dec. 13. We'd love to see some of y'all there.
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Adult Formation
Advent Program
On December 3rd, 10th, and 17th, from 2pm-5pm, the Adult Spiritual Formation committee will be hosting a Bibliodrama class, much like the one that we hosted during VBS 2022. Matt Rodgers will be returning to lead us as we use collaborative storytelling techniques and improvisation to explore Advent relevant themes found in Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. Though reading the book is not required, it is strongly encouraged for any who plan on participating. We will provide more details in the coming weeks for this program.
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Youth EYC event
On December 17th, at 7pm, our youth program will be hosting a "DnD Night!" If you already enjoy playing DnD, or if you have never played before, you should feel free to join us! Contact Wade if you plan on attending.
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Multi-Generational Opportunity
Dec. 1 & 2
Guest instructor Matt Rodgers will be hosting a workshop that anyone aged 11-100 should join us for. Together we will explore building sacred space as we construct our very own pocket altars. "Pocket altars are an old tradition that goes back hundreds of years- maybe thousands. Together we'll explore what it means to be a builder of sacred space and what it means to carry with you wherever you go. What's in your pocket?" This event will be hosted from 6:30pm-8:30pm on Friday, December 1st and will continue from 2pm-4pm on Saturday, December 2nd.
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Meridian Women's Chorus presents their annual Tapestry Holiday Concert Saturday, December 2 at 3:00 pm at Holy Cross Lutheran Church on West Lake Drive. This free concert includes performances by Meridian as well as three other local ensembles. A reception and Holiday Market follow the concert. For more information contact Director Stacie Court.
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When: Sunday, December 3, 2023, 12-3PM
Where: Covenant Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 1065 Gaines School Road, Athens, GA 30605
What is the Holiday Benevolence Market?
This is the 29th year of this symbolic gift-giving opportunity and First Presbyterian Church and Covenant Presbyterian Church are partnering to host the market on the East Side of Athens. Our hope is to flood the Market with families from all the Athens congregations to join us in supporting our local non-profits! There will be more than 30 local Athens non-profit organizations sharing about their service to our community...to give them a chance to share about how they serve our neighbors most in need, to connect with new possible volunteers and to collect donations for their work.
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Confirmation Classes
Confirmation classes will begin Sunday, December 3, immediately following the 10:30AM service, in the Parish Hall. If you’re interested in being confirmed, reaffirmed, received, an adult wishing to be baptized, or you'd just like to learn more about the Episcopal Church, please come! We’ll meet on the following dates, leading up to confirmation during the Bishop's visit in February: Dec. 3, 10, 17 and Jan. 7, 14, 21, and 28.
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Community Christmas of Oglethorpe County is gearing up for their annual toy and clothing drive! But in addition to and prior to that, they are in need of funds in November to help qualifying families pay their bills in December so hopefully they have a bit left over for Christmas! Thanks to neighbors like you, in 2022 they provided Christmas gifts and assistance plus emergency funds throughout the year totaling $93,552 to 412 children from 175 Oglethorpe County families. The amount of aid needed was up 16% from 2021, and the number served increased by 94 children. Financial donations can be made online at their website, www.CommunityChristmasOglethorpe.org, dropped off at The Commercial Bank in Crawford, or mailed to 143 Bowen Farm Road, Crawford, GA 30630. There are many more details on the webpage.
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The Athens Area Emergency Food Bank needs dried goods like pasta/rice, mac-and-cheese, snacks (sweet & salty), and saltines! Please help us fill the Little Red Wagon!
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thankful
gathering ‘round
our table set
we remember
lest we forget
all those who grew
the food now here
neighbors and friends
both far and near
we ask relief
for all the least
before we share
our tasty feast
and for the will
to also give
so that we all
will better live
alice mohor
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Adult Sunday School
Adult Discussion Group: (Parish Hall) The Adult Spiritual Formation Sunday morning Bible Study group meets at 9:15AM and is currently on a journey through The Gospel of John. Please join us!
Lectionary Class: (Library) The lectionary class meets in the Library at 9:15AM. We study the assigned readings for each Sunday. Please contact Les House at 478-733-2939 or via email if you have any questions.
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Instructions for Live Streaming
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Near the time for service, underneath our channel logo, you will see our video for that day, with the word ‘live’ on it. The page will look like this:
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If you don’t immediately see the video that says ‘live’, (for instance, if you opened YouTube before the service begins) keep refreshing it.
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When you see the video square that says ‘live’, click on it.
Welcome to worship!
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Meeting Opportunities
Parish community offerings via Zoom or in person:
* Fall Community Yoga The fourth class of every month will be chair yoga. ALL are welcome! The class is free, but I am again accepting donations that will go toward purchasing more class props, and a carpet sweeper. Please bring your own yoga mat.
Schedule: September 4th – November 27th, MONDAY nights at 5:30
Contact Anna Hiers for information, or if you would like to have the Zoom link. Feel free to share this information with your friends.
* Holy Eucharist and Healing Service Please join us on Wednesday evenings at 6PM in the sanctuary for eucharist and prayers for healing.
* Blindspot Group Our 20s and 30s group meets on the last Thursday of each month at 6:30PM for dinner and a small group study (usually off-site of the church). We also meet at least once a month for game nights, dinner and drinks, movie nights, and more. Newcomers are always welcome! Contact Wade McGlamery, 770-624-4837 for more information.
Hebrew Reading meets via Zoom on Wednesdays from 1-3PM. If you're interested, email Joel Hunt for more info!
Stacie Court hosts "Let's Chat!" for women of the parish. The days and time vary, and not everyone can join every time, but everyone is welcome to join whenever they can! Email Stacie!
* St. Gregory's Book Club meets the first Friday of the month in the library @ 7PM ongoing for the foreseeable future. Email Lois Alworth if you are interested in participating.
*Threads of Prayer meets on the 1st Tuesdays of the month @1PM! We'll meet outside if the weather is good and inside the Christian Ed building if the weather is bad. Email Annette Bates if you are interested in participating. All knitters and crocheters welcome!
*Men's Group: 9AM on Saturdays. 1st & 3rd Saturdays at St. Gregory's library and 2nd & 4th & 5th Saturdays at the Somerville's house ! Email Peter Rice
* group(s) meeting in person
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