December 4, 2022

The Second Sunday of Advent

Holy Eucharist

in person at

8 am, 9:15 am, and 11 am

Online at 11 am

  Vimeo link

Service Bulletin Here

Online service can be viewed on our live Vimeo feed.

Upcoming Service Times

In December and January,

we have many special service times. Mark your calendars!

Sunday, December 11th: Advent 3 & The Christmas Pageant (11 am)

• Service times: 8 am and 11 am only

Sunday, December 18th: Advent 4:

• Service times: 8 am, 9:15 am, and 11 am
• Lessons and Carols: 5 pm

Saturday, December 24th: Christmas Eve

• Service times: 4 pm and 10 pm
• Musical Prelude and Carols at 9:30 pm

Sunday, December 25th: Christmas Day

• Single service at 10 am

The following Sundays will have a single service at 10 am:

• December 25th
• January 1st
• January 8th (with Baptisms; Annual Parish Meeting afterward)

An Advent Offering --

Red Hook Initiative Library

Each Advent, Grace Church identifies a worthy organization to be the recipient of our parishioners’ generosity during this holy season of giving and gratitude. This year, Grace has chosen to support the renovation of the Red Hook Initiative Library with our Advent offerings.

This little library is a small but vitally important multipurpose space, particularly dedicated to being a "home for learning" for Red Hook youth.

Our Advent Christmas tree is now up in the back of the church, decorated with beautiful Grace Church ornaments! For a $20 offering to support the library renovation, you can take one home to decorate your own Christmas tree.

Our goal for this critical Advent Offering is to raise $6,600 toward furniture, freight, delivery, and installation for this modest but essential project. RHI has already received donations for the design services, paint, cork wall, and carpet elements of this redesigned library. Check out the display by the Advent tree to see what we’re planning to do.

You can also donate through Realm (select "Advent Giving") or by a check made out to Grace Church, indicating “Red Hook Library” in the memo line.

For more details about this project,

please contact Theresa Seabaugh at  taseabaugh@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Photo by Grant Whitty on Unsplash.

The Celebrate Grace Annual Giving Campaign

is off to a roaring start! 

We are thrilled to report that the launch of the Celebrate Grace Campaign has been a great success so far! So many of you have joyfully stepped up to show your support for Grace’s many programs, outreach, day-to-day operations, and clergy and staff. 100% of the Vestry have pledged, and we have already received many generous leadership gifts. 

At all three services in the coming weeks, you will hear from members of the congregation about “How I Celebrate Grace.” We look forward to a rich mix of voices and experiences as our members speak from the heart about what it means to them to be an active member of our faith community. 

If you’ve already pledged your support, THANK YOU! If you haven’t yet made your pledge, please do so today at https://onrealm.org/gracebrooklyn/AddPledge/2023pledge – or pick up a Pledge Card at the back of the church. When you’ve completed it, place it in the envelope provided and either drop it in the offering plate, give it directly to one of the ushers, or return it to the Parish Office. Thank you in advance!

Let’s Celebrate Grace together!

North Room Chat

For those who have been looking for a little something "extra" from church on Sunday, we invite you to join us the first Sunday of each month at 10:15 am in the North Room. No need to prepare in advance. Just be open to learning something new, sharing your own life experiences, and, most importantly, growing in the Christian faith.

Join us as we discuss spirituality and Christianity in bite-sized chunks. This Sunday, December 4, 2022,  the Reverend Dr. Allen F. Robinson discusses aspects of the recent Grace trip to the Holy Land.

Contact Brianna McCarty and/or Anne Silver with questions or if you'd like to lead a future chat!

Advent Organ Recitals

GRACE CHURCH BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

254 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, New York

Tuesdays in Advent  1:00 pm – 1:30 pm

6 December 2022

Patricia Magnuson, Soprano

Paul Richard Olson, Organ

13 December 2022

Craig Whitney

Grace Church

20 December 2022

Scott Bartucca, Oboe

Paul Richard Olson, Organ

Grace Church Christmas Pageant December 11th

IT'S CHRISTMAS PAGEANT TIME! The Pageant will take place on Sunday, December 11 at the 11 am service (the 9:15 service will not take place on December 11). This is the LAST CALL for participants ages 3-14 to portray angels, shepherds, sheep, and villagers; sign up here by Friday, December 2 for those roles.  For our participants, we have two remaining rehearsals: December 3, and a mandatory rehearsal with music on December 10; each begins promptly at 9 am and ends by 11 am. 

Please contact Brianna McCarty with any questions!

Reminder, don’t delay! Last day to sign up for the Gingerbuild is Sunday, December 4th. Unfortunately signups cannot be accommodated after the 4th. Click on the flyer below to register!

A Festive Service of Lessons and Carols

Please join us for a beautiful service of lessons and carols on December 18th, 2022 at 5pm. Come and hear the mellifluous voices of our gifted choir led by our Choirmaster extraordinaire, and our wonderful readers, as we celebrate the coming of Christ.

A reception will follow with cookies and champagne punch. If you would like to bake or bring cookies for the reception, please drop them off on Saturday, December 17th between 9 am-2 pm, or on the morning of December 18th.

Your contributions are very much appreciated. Thank you!

Heights and Hills Thanksgiving Dinner

Heights and Hills and volunteers worked tirelessly on Wednesday, November 23rd and on Thanksgiving prepping and delivering Thanksgiving meals to seniors in Brooklyn. Grace Church is proud to partner with them each year for this worthwhile event. Thank you to everyone at Grace who donated pies or otherwise helped out!

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

The Greening of the Church

Every year at this time, we decorate the Church with Greens and Poinsettias to celebrate the season. We will be placing our swags, wreaths, greens, and boughs on Saturday, December 17th beginning at 10 am.

Please contact Marilyn Grant if you are able to volunteer to join the decorating team. We look forward to seeing you!

Remembering at Christmas

Members and friends of Grace Church are invited to memorialize or give thanks for a friend or family member by making a donation for our Christmas flowers and greens.

The deadline for submission of your donation is December 20. Please follow the instructions on this form. The names of those memorialized will be listed in our Christmas worship bulletins. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Kelly, Parish Administrator, at parishoffice@gracebrooklyn.org or (718) 624-1850 ext. 10.

Seeking Nominations to the Vestry for 2023

New Vestry members are voted in at the Annual Parish Meeting each year. This year the meeting will be held on Sunday, January 8, 2023 in the Sanctuary, directly following the 10 am service. The Vestry Nominating Committee consists of the Rector, the Wardens, and the outgoing Vestry member, Sheila O’Neill. 

The criteria for nomination are regular and faithful attendance at Grace Church worship services; active participation in the life of Grace; and making an annual pledge to support the financial life of the church. Vestry members should be able to attend regular Vestry meetings (held on the first Monday of each month except in July and August, either in person or by Zoom); should be willing to take a leadership role in Church programs; and should be both open and welcoming.

If you or someone you know might be interested in Vestry service, please make those names known to the Rector at arobinson@gracebrooklyn.org, or to the Wardens Marilyn Grant at marilyn.prycegrant@icloud.com or Barbara Becker at bejbecker@gmail.com. We will be receiving names for consideration until 5 pm on Friday, December 16th. Please know that persons you suggest will be taken into consideration, but are not automatically selected for a position on the Vestry.

And please mark your calendars for one service only at 10 am on January 8th, with the Annual Meeting to follow!

East Brooklyn Congregations is an interfaith, multi-racial, non-partisan grassroots organization of committed individuals, religious congregations and voluntary organizations who believe in making Brooklyn a better place to live, work, and raise a family. Grace Church is a member congregation and looking to build our parishioner base in EBC. If you’re curious about EBC or interested in addressing the most pressing needs facing New Yorkers, you’re invited to a conversation online, Thursday, December 15th from 7-8 pm. To RSVP please email Mark McIntyre at markmcint@gmail.com. Registered attendees will receive the Zoom information at a later date.

Social Justice and Reconciliation Fall Reading Group

You’re invited to join the Social Justice and Reconciliation reading group. Our text is Tony Messenger’s Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice and is available for purchase here. You’re invited to read the text at your leisure throughout the fall. On December 11th, following the 11 am service, we’ll gather in the North Room for discussion and conversation. For more information, please email the Rev. Leandra Lambert at llambert@gracebrooklyn.org.

In-Person Bereavement Group 

January 2023 at Grace Church

PLEASE NOTE:

Places in the group are being reserved for Grace parishioners first and will then be opened up to other churches on Thursday, 12/10, if we are not full.

Please contact the Rev. Erika Meyer, emeyer@gracebrooklyn.org to reserve a place.

Have you lost someone you love and are feeling alone and unsure about the future? Grace Church will be offering an in-person bereavement group on Tuesdays beginning January 10th, which will run for six consecutive weeks. In this group we will focus both on paying tribute to those we have lost, and building strength to turn towards the future and 'new normal.'

This small group, capped at 8 participants, will meet from 6-7:30 pm at Grace. The group has been designed and will be led by Matilda Garrido, MS, CT. Matilda has a Master’s degree in Thanatology (the study of death, dying, and bereavement), is a David Kessler Certified Grief Educator, and has extensive experience working with the dying and bereaved. If interested, please reach out to the Rev. Erika Meyer at emeyer@gracebrooklyn.org.

Assistance for Asylum Seekers

**The most urgent needs are for men’s winter coats, socks and shoes**

With the massive influx of our migrant brothers and sisters arriving in NYC from the southern border, Grace Church has an opportunity to provide care by donating new packaged items to meet their immediate needs. You may also donate through Realm, selecting Migrant Assistance Relief. Once items are ready, please contact our Associate Rector for Social Justice & Reconciliation, the Rev. Leandra Lambert at llambert@gracebrooklyn.org for drop-off instructions.

5 Tickets Left to See the Biblical Play “David"

Live on Stage!

Before the busyness of the holiday season, join us in a caravan to Sight & Sound Theatres, in Lancaster PA, on Saturday, December 10th, to attend the 11 am show. 

Since we are taking our own vehicles, the cost is cheaper than previously announced: $84.50 for adults (13+) and $39.00 for children (3-12). Scholarships are available so anyone who wants to can attend.

Please e-mail Abagail Nelson, Abagail.nelson@gmail.com or Allison Robinson, A.robinson2@verizon.net to reserve your ticket. 

Little Lights Sing Along at Grace Church

Grace Church Brooklyn Heights invites all Brooklyn parents with children under age 4 to come make friends while learning classic spiritual tunes like This Little Light of Mine, He's got the Whole World in His Hands, and more (including some Christmas music in December)! Jess Smith, Grace’s Youth Ministry Intern and worship music enthusiast, will lead us on guitar while parents and babies and toddlers will sing, dance, wiggle, and shake to the music. Afterwards, parents and kids are welcome to stay and chat while the kids have a small snack. We look forward to seeing you there and getting to know you!

Where:  Grace Church Brooklyn Heights in our historic

1847 Gothic Revival-style sanctuary

(Enter through the Grace Court doors)

Who: Babies and Toddlers (under age 4) and their Parents --

tell your friends and community members! 

When: Fridays, October 21st through December 16th at 10:30 am

Why: We aim to have fun, make friends, and build a community.

And, of course, sing and play with our babies and toddlers! 

Sign up here!  (While sign up isn't required, it is helpful to let us know you're coming)

Questions? Contact Brianna McCarty at mccarty.brianna@gmail.com or Jess Smith at jsmith@gracebrooklyn.org. 

Sunday School 

Children in grades K-5 are invited to participate in Sunday School. Classes meet immediately following the 9:15 am service in the Poplar Room (classroom 2 downstairs at the bottom of the stairs). Trained volunteers lead children in 45 minute sessions focusing on the week’s Bible readings, using the Storymakers curriculum. Please email Jess Smith, Intern for Youth Education, with any questions.

Please note that the last 2 Sunday school classes of the year will be held Sunday, December 4th and Sunday, December 18th at 10:15 am.

Upcoming Baptism Dates

The next baptism date at Grace Church is Sunday, January 8th at the 10 am service. Please contact Melissa Kelly, Parish Administrator, for more information or to sign up.

2023 Baptism Dates

January 8th

April 16th

May 28th

September 17th

November 5th

Winterfair 2023 --

Save the Date

Please save the date for our next Winterfair, which will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2023. We can't wait to welcome back this annual event to Grace Church! Further details will be shared in the near future. 

Rector's Bible Study

The Rector’s Bible Study meets on Tuesdays from 10:00-11:30 am in the McKittrick Choir Room. All are welcome to join Bible Study. We will be discussing The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr, available for purchase here. 

If you would like to attend via Zoom, please use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7186241850

The Rector's Discretionary Fund

As the Grace Church community continues to deal with the after-effects and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would like to ask parish members to consider making an offering to the Rector's Discretionary Fund.

With this fund, the Rector is able to help those in our community when they need it most.

If you would like to contribute to this important fund, you can do so by check or via our online payment system, Realm. If you prefer to make a donation by check, it should be made out to Grace Church with "Rector's Discretionary Fund" in the memo.

Evening Prayer

Grace Church offers Evening Worship every Tuesday - Friday at 5pm online.*

To attend Evening Prayer online, please use the following Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7186241850 .

Parish Prayer Concerns & Thanksgivings

That God will heal divisions among people and wounds within nature, so that his plan for the earth may flower and all may benefit from the blessings of creation. That the Spirit of God will strengthen the prophets in our day, those who call us to face the truth, live the truth, and speak the truth to one another; may we hear their words and be transformed. That we may live boldly as disciples, and be instruments of transformation for the world. That the people of Grace Church may bear witness to God’s reign by living in harmony with one another, and being filled with joy and peace in believing. That Joe, our president; Kathy, our governor; Eric, our mayor, and all elected officials will govern righteously, with wisdom and equity, defending the needy, lifting up the poor, and remembering the forgotten. That God’s Spirit will bring an end to racism, bias, and discrimination, transforming hearts to recognize each person’s dignity, and disrupting the plans of those who hate others, and seek to hurt them, prey upon them, or deprive them of their ability to fulfill their God-given potential. That God will strengthen and sustain all doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers who are overwhelmed with caring for the many children and others who are seriously ill with RSV, flu, COVID, and other infectious diseases.  For all who suffer from the power of nature and the cold of winter; for the hungry and the homeless; for those who suffer with mental or emotional illness, that they may find hope and courage in the power of God’s spirit. For those who have been commended to our prayers, especially, Margaret; Alex; Isabel; Michele; Samantha & family; Demetrios; Vivian H.; Patti & Steve; Lenore; Tom C.; Irma; Amanda; Judith & Sandra; Pam; Jane P., Barbara; Jim; Carrie; Hezekiah; Stephanie; Cecilia; Lois; Helen; Joanne T.; Debbi; Lauren; Monica & Harry; Corla; Willie; Francisquinha; Katia; Alexandre; Susan; Jane; and Stuart. For those who care for sick or aging loved ones. For those whose names and needs are known only to God. For those who have died, especially Betsey Doyle, grandmother of James Newton; and Daniela Rozgon, friend of Anne Phelan. For Dino DelGaudio, grandfather of Amy Rowland, on the first anniversary of his death. And for God’s consolation for all who mourn.  Come, Holy One, Come and save us.

Sunday Services

Grace Church holds in-person services at 8 am, 9:15 am, and 11 am each Sunday unless otherwise noted. All are welcome. Masks are no longer required to attend Sunday services. We have child care available for those who need it during the 9:15 am and 11 am services. 

Join us for coffee hour! Please join us for coffee and snacks after each service. 

The 11 am service will be live-streamed for anyone unable to attend in person.

If you have any questions about our worship schedule, please contact Melissa Kelly, Parish Administrator, at parishoffice@gracebrooklyn.org or (718) 624-1850 x 10.

Giving to Grace

We are happy to let you know that you can make a pledge or general offering donations by text! 

Please send a text to 73256 with the message "GraceBrooklyn". The first time, you will be prompted to provide your name and address, including your card number. If you save that information for future use, the second offering by text will be immediate. You can also make one-time pledge payments and general offering donations online here.

If you would like to set up a recurring pledge payment on Realm, please contact Melissa Kelly, parish administrator, for an invitation to join. 

In Remembrance or Gratitude...

Altar flowers are a wonderful way to express gratitude for life's blessings or to memorialize a loved one.

If you would like to contribute Altar flowers, please contact Marilyn Grant. An acknowledgment will be included in the service bulletin.

Weekday Visits to Grace

When you visit, please use the Clergy Door, which is the first door on your right in the Hicks Street courtyard. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. 

The church office will be closed on Monday, October 10th.