Grace Episcopal Church

Seeking, Serving, Loving Together

123 W Washington Street, Lexington, VA

Parish News For the Week of Sunday, November 6, 2022

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday at midnight.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back!

All Saints' Day Readings

Dear friends,

This All Saints Day as we remember those beloved who have passed into the nearer presence of God this past year, we celebrate the baptism of Emily Brookfield and Rose Hein and welcome them into the household of God to confess the faith of Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection, and share with us in his eternal priesthood.

From the earliest days of the resurrection the Church has celebrated the communion of the living and the dead. The resurrection is the proclamation of the truth that in death life changes, it does not end. And those we love continue to celebrate with us on another shore and in a greater light.

Together with Emily and Rose, may you claim the hope of the resurrection and allow the power of the resurrection to inform and inspire the way you live each day seeking Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself, and striving for justice and peace among all people.

With gratitude,

Tuck Bowerfind, Rector, Grace Episcopal Lexington

Please note: the bracket for 2023 Lent Madness has been released. Let's work together to see Jonathan Daniels move as close to the Golden Halo as possible!

Worship Services

All Saints' Day | Sunday, November 6

Holy Eucharist | 8 am

In-Person & ZOOM

Christianity & Culture 9:15 am - No program this week, will resume next Sunday

Parish Hall & ZOOM

Baptism with Holy Eucharist | 10:30 am followed by 1st Sunday Lunch

In-Person & YouTube

Evening Prayer | 5 pm

In-person

Morning Prayer

Monday - Friday

8:30 am, Chancel

In-Person and ZOOM

We're on Twitter!

To stay in the loop with all things Grace Episcopal, give us a follow on our new Twitter! While you're at it, check out our other socials too.

Drum Circle | Nov 5, 4PM

Join us, rain or shine at Grace, for Drum Circle led by Cory Blake. Presently on the faculty at the University of Richmond, Cory has also taught guitar, world music, and improvisation at Virginia Commonwealth University. An experienced music therapist and Duke certified Integrative Health Coach working with veterans at McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond VA, he nurtures the community building power of music-making and finds great joy whenever he is called to facilitate drum circles. Drum circles are simple and playful music gatherings suitable for all ages and skill levels. All are welcome. Hands beat. Smiles shine. Joy ensues. Boom-shakalackalacka-boom.

First Sunday Lunch, November 6

Our First Sunday Lunch for November is Italian food! Bring your appetite and a friend! Susan Lawrence will be cooking us a fabulous meal and would love help on Sunday with prep and clean up. Free will offering accepted.

Bible Study

Join us for a Bible study on the Gospel of Matthew, moderated by Michelle Mackie and Anne Hansen. We will be using materials by NT Wright. Beginning Sunday, November 13, we will meet in the church library from 4–5PM on Sundays. All are welcome. Study books, if you would like to purchase one, are $10 and will be available at the first meeting.

Celebrating Song, Voice, and Community

Onome, a partner artist with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Institute and core member of the improvisation ensemble Moving Star, designs and leads experiential workshops for colleges, corporations, retreats, and cultural centers. Paul Vasile, a Washington D.C. based musician, consultant, composer, teacher, and is executive director of Music That Makes Community. Joy Truskowski, a singer-songwriter, looping artist, and founding member of Star City Circlesinging based in Roanoke, encourages people to use their voice as a means of empowerment, healing, and connection.

A Feast of Songs!

Thursday, Nov. 17, 7-8:30

Onome will share embodiment practices rooted in vocal improvisation designed to deepen your connection to your hearts, your vocal instruments, your songs, and each other. Paul Vasile will assist.

Vocal Tapestry: a Night of Song Sharing

Friday, Nov. 18, 7:00-8:30

Your voice is a valuable thread to the fabric of humanity. Join us at Vocal Tapestry and share the music that lives in you: a favorite song, chant, a poem, a story. Learn fun singing games to add to your own toolbox of creative expression! Circle Singing will be part of the experience. Led by Onome, with assistance from Paul Vasile and Joy Truskowski.

For details contact Martha Burford at martha@graceepiscopallexington.org

Stewardship Update

We are pleased that 78 households have already pledged a total of $330,625 as of October 31. The members of the Stewardship Committee appreciate everyone’s prayerful consideration of a pledge to support the parish and its important missions through our relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

Community Youth Group

All youth grades 6-12 are invited to the meeting, 5:30pm to 7pm, Sunday November 13 at Trinity United Methodist Church. These meetings are open to all youth regardless of faith background or affiliation. Invite your friends.

Diocese of Southwest Virginia Fall Youth Event

Registration is now open for our annual Diocese of Southwest Virginia Fall Youth Event November 12-13! All middle and high school youth are invited to join us for an overnight at Camp Bethel that will include time for outdoor fun, fellowship, and worship. The theme for FYE22 is "Expect the Unexpected," and your Youth Mission Team has an exciting event planned with some surprises in store! You don't want to miss out on this one!

Journey to Bethlehem: No Room at the Inn

As a special holiday activity this year, we are hoping to have Grace members participate in a shared spiritual journey. Beginning on the first day of Advent, November 28, households can invite Mary and Joseph to spend the night at their home. The two will come with a special prayer to bless the home that offered hospitality. You can keep a copy of the prayer to read during Advent. We would love it if you would take a picture of yourselves with Mary and Joseph and send it to Martha Burford, who will post your pictures on Facebook. After Mary and Joseph have spent the night, you will need to make arrangements to pass them on to the next home on the list included in their box. Hopefully, by Christmas Eve, Mary and Joseph will have visited everyone on the list. The last host (Dec. 23rd) is asked to bring Mary and Joseph to the 5:00 pm Christmas Eve service where Baby Jesus will be waiting for them.

Sign-ups will begin on November 6, before and after the services.

Nativity Sets

Do you have a special nativity set that you would share with the Church for a few weeks? We will display Nativity sets in the windows of the Nave during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Please contact the parish office if you have a set to lend us.

Prayer List

Please pray for the wider Church and intercessions requested by our Congregants:

The Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, and our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Bourlakas; for the people of Emmanuel, Staunton.

Pray for Lynda DeMaria, Peter Fyfe, Lucy Moise, Mary Jane Hubbard, Glen Jones, Don Ellis, Alice Furgerson, Julie Jennings, Sally Capets, Mary & Scott Hudgins, Helen Head, Kaleb (grandson of Pat & Keith Gibson), Sue Ellen Booth and Lynn Morris Butler (cousins of Melanie Griffis), Elisabeth Dhillon, (daughter of Hugh and Ann Henderson), Elizabeth Shields, Samuel Pech, Sarah Cumming, Dot Fogo, Dee Lobe (friend of Judy Schram), Bev Wirtz, Walter Joly, Jeff Mason, Polly Lawrence, Sharon Meister (friend of Virginia Cooke), Bob Glidden, David Wade, Gloria June Perry, Ken Hershbell, Kathy Warn (sister-in-law of Margaret Haberman), David Passmore, Charles Plageman, Bill Kozak, Loren Smith, Mary Gay Brignall (cousin of Mary Price), Kim Camp, Laura Wieman (friend of the Hotchkiss family), Rob, Tom Strickland, Susan Cross, Robbie and Brendon (friends of the Brooke family), Michael Murphy, John Thomas,all those suffering the effects of Hurricane Ian.

Prayers of Thanksgiving for Rymma and Volodymyr, Davyd, Liliia and Oleksandr Odemchuk and for Olha, Andrii, Ivan, and Anastasiia Stryzhyboroda. For the baptism of Emily Brookfield and Rose Hein.

Pray for those who have died, especially Natalie Wellman and all the Saints.

Pray for an end to violence and for those fleeing Ukraine, and we also pray for Episcopal Relief & Development and other ecumenical agencies working to respond to the current crisis.

All Saints Day

Necrology

David Burford, Bob Crewdson, Bob DeMaria, John Dinkel, Virginia Dowell, Henry Eichelberger, Donald Fleming, Mary Miller Froehlich, Jim Sam Gillespie, Peter Hatcher, Raymond Hawthorne, Cornelia Pendleton Huger, Derby Huger, George Johnson, Larry Lamont, Ruta Lamuku, Blase McCarthy, Maura McNamara, Donald Preston Moore, Janet Lynn North, Olivia Patton, Kathy Protogyrou, Bartlet Rainey, Kevin Reidel, Margaret Sayre, Mary West Tyree Schambach, Dennis Shaw, Chuck Silva, Melissa Hays-Smith, Sue Stockett, Jim Stone, Virginia Bell Trice, Michael Viener, Clara Belle Weatherman, Louis Weil, Natalie Wellman.

Church Calendar

Vestry Minutes

Lexington Community Thanksgiving Service

Monday, November 21st at 6PM | Grace Episcopal Church

Join us for the Lexington Community Thanksgiving Service. All are welcome!

Upcoming | O Holy Night

Wednesday, 12/14, 7 pm

A service of remembrance, reflection, & renewal. Recognizing that Advent and Christmastime can be a particular challenge to those suffering from grief, loss, anxiety, and loneliness, we are offering a service of choral music, candlelight, and prayer to make space for those seeking God's healing as we look forward to his coming to restore all things.

Tuesday Men's Breakfast Group

7AM Tuesdays, members of Grace and neighbors from throughout the local community. Fantastic breakfast, great discussion of Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest."

Cake Walk

On Saturday, November 5, The Arc of Rockbridge will be hosting a cake walk at Grace Episcopal benefiting The Arc of Rockbridge Summer Camp Program. Baked good donations are needed!

Contact thearcofrockbridge@yahoo.com or 540-461-0074 for more information.

Paws to Connect

Craving some puppy lovin'? Join us every Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:30AM–1:30PM in front of the church!

Have a four-legged friend at home? Bring them by!

Campus Ministry Updates

Imagine singing, hearing the word, and breaking bread together with friends new and old.

On Nov. 13, we will worship God in our Taize service at 5pm, then have a potluck dinner after!

W&L’21 Grace Music Scholar, Levi Lebsack will lead the music for the Taize service along with current students, fellowship and food after!”

Bringing Life to Death Series

Join us on Monday, Nov. 7 and 14 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. for a two-week, online workshop about the preparations and practicalities that can help us (and our loved ones) prepare for the inevitable end of our earthly lives. We are a people who celebrate the Resurrection of the body each Sunday, and yet, we rarely consider our own mortality or how to orient our lives to prepare for what is a natural transition between this life and the next. The presenters are The Rev. Marisa Sifontes, Associate Rector at St. John's, Roanoke who is a trained End of Life doula and Shelby Kirillin, founder and president of A Peaceful Passing, LLC. Shelby is a former ICU nurse for over 20 years, and is now a end of life coach/doula.

Veterans Day Ceremony

Join us at the Veterans Memorial on South Main Street November 11 at 10AM for a Veteran's Day Ceremony honoring our veterans and their supporters.

Everyone is welcome.

Black Law Student Association Holiday Donation Drive

In conjunction with Project Horizon and RARA, help BLSA gather much needed donations for the holiday season. Click below to see the list of needed items. The donation bin is located outside the Parish Office during the week and in the Narthex on Sundays.

BLSA Holiday Donation Drive

Angel Tree is Coming!

Since 2007 the parish Outreach Committee has partnered with Prison Fellowship Angel Tree Christmas ministry. Angel Tree seeks to restore those affected by crime and incarceration by introducing prisoners, victims, and their families to a new hope available through Jesus Christ.

This year our church will receive the names of 50 children to serve in this important ministry. Children being served virtually reside in areas where there is not sufficient local support and we need your help.

Beginning in mid-November you will be provided with a unique code for Grace Church, enabling you to access the virtual Angel Tree site. Each tag corresponds to one child and the sponsorship amount for each is $25.

Thank you for joining with Angel Tree to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they seek to restore relationships between children and their incarcerated parents.