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grace episcopal church
galena, illinois
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Fourth Sunday in Advent
Lessons & Carols
December 19, 2021 10:30 am
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December 19, 2021
The State of Illinois has officially issued a directive for masking at indoor gatherings for all who are two years old or older regardless of inoculation status. Out of concern for those who cannot yet be vaccinated or whose immune systems are compromised, we respectfully request that you comply and wear a mask indoors that covers your nose and mouth.
Our diocese has requested that each church regularly review the CDC map that has four stages of COVID risk and make decisions accordingly about safety precautions.
Jo Daviess County's risk factor (and that of the entire state of Illinois) is now in the highest category.
The only other precaution reinstated at this time is to suspend contact during the Peace.
Please be cautious and also be prepared for changes at any time.
Social hour is suspended.
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Ministers of the Service
Members & Guests, Celebrants
Elizabeth Ludescher, Presider
Carmen Ferguson, Acolyte
Charlotte Stryker, Greeter
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Robin French, Music Director
Nancy Cook, Erben Organist
Crystal Mason, Vestry Coordinator
Debbie Kallback & Charlotte Stryker,Alt.Guild
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Lectors: Molly Beadle, Quinn Wells, Susan Bookless, Thom Dennis, Susan Barg, Deb Pausz,
Teresa Burke & Charlotte Stryker
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HOW TO WATCH GRACE CHURCH ON YouTube:
If you plan to attend a Grace Sunday service online, it’s now available as a live-stream on YouTube. Click on either the red or the green link (buttons) at the top of this eBlast.
(You may have to wait a minute or two for your computer to open its browser and make the connection.)
The RED link gives you a choice of services. You will also see when the next scheduled live-stream will start.
The GREEN link only connects after the streaming has started at the church.
All you need to remember is Red link: go to anytime
Green link: go to when the service starts.
For “early birds” we’ll start the live-streaming at 10:25 am CST.
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MEMBER MOMENT
I have always had a love- hate relationship with driving. I know it represented freedom and adult hood, but in my little town, my driving was a thing of legend. It all began in my Drivers’ Education class. I do not remember the grievous errors I committed, but I do know that my best friend, the editor of the school paper, wrote an editorial titled “Driving with Cathie Palmer.” In it she lauded driver’s ed teachers and their patience in the face of serious danger... Now, I am sure that she elaborated and embellished the dangers I caused, but I did earn a D in Driver's Ed, so there was a truth somewhere. The only other D I earned was in typing…must have had something to do with manual dexterity and focus. My parents wouldn’t let me get a license when I was 16. Their story was that I was dating a kind of wild fella who was only 15, and they were afraid I would let him drive…that was their excuse anyway.
I did not get my license until I was 22, married and driving a little blue Volkswagen bug. I earned some notoriety then, or at least the stuff of story…I mis-aimed and ran into a bank deposit box…nothing was hurt, except my reputation. My daughter still tells the story. Then there was " the little old man I ran over!” Story…not true. We lived upstairs in a house which sat right on the long driveway, on the right side. On the left, was a small curb, and then a big drop off to the neighbor’s driveway…it was an accident waiting to happen. One morning after a snow storm where the plow had left snow on either side of the driveway, narrowing even tighter the path out of which I had to weave my way, I had this small indiscretion. In order to complete this delicate task, a driver had to check in front of the car and behind the car as you slowly moved, back and forth, front to back. As I was in the midst of checking the line up of my wheels in the front, I tapped a little old man who had stepped into the end of my driveway. Now, it was only a Tap, and he fell into a soft fluffy pile of snow. He was also protected from danger because he was very drunk at 7:15 in the morning. I did not receive a ticket, but my driving became legendary in one more community.
When we moved to Galena, I was older and more competent, of course. I could take on a new persona… But, no. I made the Gazette with my first ticket. I was caught speeding as I left Galena on Stagecoach. I said to the policeman, “I am 68 years old and I have never had a ticket!” I assumed friendly laughter and a” tut, tut lady, slow down." But, no. He said,” Well, you have one now.” I said, “This is frustrating, I drive so slowly. I never drive over 40 because I am afraid I will hit a deer.” He said, “Well, ma’am, that is ok, but this is a 25 mile speed zone.” And then there was the time my locked car, which was turned off, but not in park, rolled down the hill at the library, turned a corner, went through a yard, ripping up bushes and ending up hanging over route 20, stopped only by the strong black railing lining the drop off. I made the paper with that one, too…with a picture. By the way, Al finally lets me drive these days, and he has given up clutching the bar above the door on his side. He now sits, a little glazed over, but breathing regularly.
So, it is any wonder that at 76, I have let my license expire? I discovered I not only have to drive, I must take the written test…I have not studied for a test forever. I have until Dec. 31 to get it renewed, over a year late. As I sit here and wait for my name to be called, filled with terror, I look around. No one is watching. I surreptitiously gulp and cross myself…and then I remember watching high school basketball games on TV with my mom. Every time a kid would cross himself before he shot a free throw, Mom would throw up her hands and say, “Do they really think God cares if they make a basket?” I wonder as I walk to the window, does God care about passing a driver’s test?
Cathie Elsbree
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Events this Week:
Sunday 12/19
Lessons & Carols 10:30am online (YouTube)
and in-person
Social Hour is suspended at this time.
Melody Hendricks's Birthday
Monday 12/20
Poetry Group 2:00pm
Carl Davis's Birthday
Tuesday 12/21
Compline online 8:30pm
Wednesday 12/22
Midweek Worship online and in-person 7:30am
Morning Study Group on Zoom 10:00am
Longest Night Service 5:30pm
Thursday 12/23
Friday 12/24
Centering Prayer online 9:00 am
Christmas Eve Service 5:30pm
Saturday 12/25
CHRISTMAS
Important Links:
Office Hours
9:00am-Noon, Tuesday through Friday
Closed 12/24
Closed 12/25
Sr. Warden Office Hours
The Sr. Warden will have office hours on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am until 2pm.
ROTA (11-7-21 to 4-24-22)
Website: includes a password protected members' portal where most recent Vestry minutes, financials, and Grace Church Directory are found.
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A Service Honoring the Life of Andrew McLean
Saturday, December 18
A memorial service for Andrew McLean, husband of Bishop-elect Paula Clark, will be held Saturday, December 18 at 11 am Eastern (10 am Central) at Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. The service will be livestreamed on Grace Episcopal Church's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Cards may be sent to the bishop-elect at 65 E. Huron, Chicago, IL60611. May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
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MINISTRY OF CARE
Because of the many volunteers willing to help out with calls, rides, errands, meals, etc., the Ministry of Care won’t miss a beat while our search for a new rector is ongoing.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Bonnielynn Kreiser at 815-777-1468 or 815-291-9005 if you are in need. Also know that our clergy are available to meet your spiritual needs as well.
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POINSETTIA ORDERS
There are sign-up sheets in the Parish Hall entry and in the Narthex for Poinsettia Orders for Christmas. The plants are $15.00 each. Any questions, please call or email Ann Berry.
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UNITED CHURCHES OF GALENA
R.I.P. Medical Debt
Several of our UCG Churches will participate in raising funds for this not-for-profit called R.I.P.Medical Debt that buys debt to assist families overwhelmed and crippled by medical bills for serious diseases. In the seven years since its inception, more than $5 billion in debt has been forgiven. To learn how this works, please see the article that Jim McCrae has written for his congregation. R.I.P. Info
As an Advent project, moneys will be raised by our churches to donate to R.I.P. We already have one $5,000 gift from a member of 1st Presbyterian Church that will turn into $500,000 of debt forgiveness. This may seem too good to be true, but the evidence is clear and compelling.
Our Grace Outreach Ministries have committed to a donation; Gloria has given personally as well as from the Rector's Discretionary Fund. If you wish to donate, a tax-deductible contribution can be made to Grace with "R.I.P. Medical Debt" in the memo line.
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HEIFER PROJECT
Did you know that 821 million people go to bed hungry every night? That is around 1 of every 9 people in the world, and 45% of children under age 5 die each year due to malnutrition. There’s a saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for one day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Heifer International provides healthy animals and teaches people how to care for them.
One of the most important aspects of the Heifer Program is the “Passing of the Gift.” Each person who receives an animal or pair of animals promises to breed the animal and give the first offspring to another family in their village. In this way, an entire village can become self-sufficient food wise by people sharing the gift of what they received.
And Heifer International knows no boundaries, providing animals to people all over the world, including the USA. What better way to give a gift of an animal - and a better life for people - than to give it as a gift to someone who has “everything”! When you think about the abundance in your life, please prayerfully consider making a donation to Heifer International this Christmas.
Please make your check out to Grace Church and put the notation "Heifer” at the bottom.
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FELLOWSHIP NEWS
SOCIAL HOUR SUSPENDED
Coffee and conversation has been suspended due to COVID.
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TRAIN ON DISPLAY
Phil & Terri Jackman's N-scale train layout is on display now at Crossroads Community Church, 900 Galena Square Dr., from 4pm to 7pm on Thursdays & Fridays and from
1-5pm on weekends through December 19th.
Canned food donations will be accepted and given to local food pantries.
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FORMATION NEWS
We are a group that studies spiritual subjects, including the Bible. All are welcome to join us to enhance their knowledge of spirituality and explore how to apply it to their lives. Lately we’ve been studying the Gospel of Luke. Anyone needing a Zoom invitation can contact Greg Serwich (gserwich@gmail.com).
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COMPLINE on Zoom 8:30pm on Tuesdays
On Tuesday evenings, at 8:30 pm, Lynn Giles leads a service of Compline. She has been participating in the service that has previously been offered to the Diocese of Chicago by St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn. This service of the Daily Office in our Book of Common Prayer is a brief, contemplative service that is ideal for prayerful letting go of the cares of the day and preparing for a restful night. Find the link button above.
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MEDITATIVE PRAYER 9:00am on Fridays
Looking for a way to improve your prayer life, to open your heart, mind and soul to the Holy Spirit? Consider joining the Centering Prayer Group Friday mornings for about forty minutes of meditative prayer: twenty minutes of Centering Prayer followed by Lectio Divina.
Contact Greg Serwich (gserwich@gmail.com) for a Zoom invitation which includes a description of these types of prayer.
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LESSONS & CAROLS: FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
Genesis 3:1-15 Baruch 4:46-5:9
Isaiah 40:1-11 Micah 5:2-5a
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Zephaniah 3:14-18
Isaiah 35:1-10 Luke 1:26-38
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ZOOM POETRY GROUP 2:00pm on Mondays
A Zoom Poetry meeting from Grace Church has been organized and meets Mondays at 2:00pm. This is not specifically a Grace ministry, but a number of Grace members and friends are part of it If you are interested, write Carol Poston at poston@sxu.edu or call her at 815-777-0220.
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Vestry:
Lynn Giles, Senior Warden
Richard Luther, Jr. Warden
Jim Berry, Treasurer
Crystal Mason, Clerk
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Staff:
The Rev. Linda Packard, Priest Associate
The Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon
Nancy Kenney, Parish Administrator
Robin French, Music Director
Nancy Cook, Erben Organist
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Charlotte Stryker: Worship
Elizabeth Ludescher: Communications
Nancy Cook: Outreach
Eric Kallback: Building & Grounds
Crystal Mason: Pastoral Care
Phil Jackman: Fellowship/Parish Life
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Grace Episcopal Church Office
107 S. Prospect Street
Galena, IL 61036
815-777-2590
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