Step into Grace
Where strangers become friends
We are an Open and Affirming church. Every one of every age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental ability, or economic status is invited to join us as together we live out the Gospel message of love, forgiveness, service, and justice. No matter where you are in your spiritual journey- you are welcome here.
|
Seventh Sunday
of Easter
Morning Prayer
May 16, 2021
10:00 AM
Officiant and Preacher:
The Rev. Libby Wade
Lector...............Pennie Curry
Intercessor.......Sarah Sieber
Responder....... Steve White
Counter........... Rick Gore
|
ZOOM INVITATIONS
FOR GRACE CHURCH
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Morning Prayer
May 16, 2021
10:00 AM
For Zoom
or call 646 558 8656 US
(New York)
(Meeting ID): 177 160 858
(Password): 917937
Grace Sunday School
11:15 AM - 12:00 AM
This a recurring meeting.
To join this Zoom meeting
(Meeting ID): 859 9461 5863
(Password): 508436
Tuesday Bible Study
7:00 to 8:30 PM
New series begins April 27th.
or call 646-558-8656
(Meeting ID):
826 0996 0553
(Password): 446609
See article in this edition of Tuesday's Child for more info.
Centering Prayer
Thursdays 5:00 PM
This is a recurring meeting.
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 203 314 800
(Password): 578877
646 558 8656 US (New York)
Third Sunday Supper
Every Third Sunday
May 16, 2021
at 6:00 PM to 7PM
This is a recurring meeting.
To join this Zoom meeting
(Meeting ID): 778 608 743
(Password): 729107
646 558 8656 US (New York)
Books and Bread,
at 7:00 PM
Wednesday
May 12, 2021
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
or call 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Movies Night
at 6:30 PM
Thursday
June 3, 2021
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
or call 646 558 8656 US (New York)
|
|
John 17:6-19
Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
|
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name
- First Dallas Choir and Orchestra
|
For the most up to date information please visit the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative website,
They will post notice of appointment openings 6-12 hours in advance. You can find answers to your vaccination questions including information about the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine on their FAQ page.
|
|
|
|
|
Rev. Tina Rathbone
begins her ministry at Grace Church on August 1.
To read The Rev. Tina Rathbone's letter to the people of Grace Church,
To read more about
The Rev. Tina
|
|
|
 |
Grace Clergy Transition
O God, our heavenly Father, you raise up faithful servants to be pastors in your Church and to feed your flock. We give thanks for the Rev. Tina Rathbone, who has accepted the call to be rector of Grace Church and to serve the communities around us. Give abundantly to our new rector and to all pastors the gifts of your Holy Spirit, that they may minister as true servants of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
|
|
|
|
We supply this list so you may contact members of our congregation who are at home or in a nursing facility. Please hold in your prayers and reach out as you can.
Anne is recuperating at home.
ANDREWS, Anne
659 South Egremont Road
P.O. Box 714
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 528-2766
BLAKELY, Rosemarie
21 Crossway, #108
Lee MA 01238
413-243-0485
BOWENS, Marina
c/o Maryella Satinover
11908 Windward Ave.
Mar Vista, CA 90066
310-398-2484
(310) 749-9424 (cell)
BREASTED, John
Fairview Commons
151 Christian Hill Road
Great Barrington MA 01230
413-429-8123
Cell (413) 854-3977
BROOKS, Jane
165 George Street
Lee MA 01230
413-243-3367
|
|
FRYE, Vonnie
PineHill Assisted Living
at Kimball Farms
235 Walker St. Apt #32
Lenox, Ma. 01240
413-637-7432
GORE, Barbara
50 Stockbridge Road
Lee MA 01238
413-243-4261
HAIDER, Meredith
5 Fox Hollow Road
#409
Lenox, MA 01240
413-551-7319
(814)308-4865
KEENE, Sara
The Egremont Village Inn
17 Main Street
P. O. Box 275
South Egremont, MA 01258
413-528-4152
McCURDY, Deborah
Lees Landing Nursing Center
9807 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
413-507-2832
TURNER, Barbara
Fairview Commons
151 Christian Hill Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
|
|
|
A MESSAGE FROM LIBBY
When I began as your Interim Rector last August, you had already been worshipping virtually for almost five months. Since then, with the exception of our fall celebration of Gideon’s Garden Harvest, we’ve continued to gather on Zoom each Sunday. I’m pleased to announce that we intend to begin worshipping in-person soon! Our first in-person service will be under a tent outdoors at Crissy Farm at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 30. At present, this plan is contingent on several factors, so pay close attention to Tuesday’s Child next week for details. Outdoors allows us to include more people safely and being at Crissy Farm means restrooms, ample parking, and a level patio surface for chairs.
The vestry in April authorized new equipment that will make it possible for us to livestream our in-person worship services so that ALL may continue to worship. The month of June will be a month of experimenting and learning what works best. To that end, a team (including myself and Grace’s new rector) will participate in two masterclasses on “Being a Top-Notch Hybrid Church” sponsored by Virginia Seminary in June.
Here’s how we hope to worship over the next seven weeks, always paying attention to our values of safety and inclusivity:
May 16 7th Sunday of Easter – Zoom Morning Prayer
May 23 The Day of Pentecost (WEAR RED) – Zoom Morning Prayer
May 30 Trinity Sunday – Outdoor Eucharist at Crissy Farm
June 6 2nd Sunday after Pentecost – Zoom Morning Prayer including
Video of Gideon’s Garden Blessing
June 13 3rd Sunday after Pentecost – Indoor Hybrid Eucharist at Crissy Farm
June 20 4th Sunday after Pentecost – Zoom Festival of Hymns
June 27 5th Sunday after Pentecost – Indoor Hybrid Eucharist at Crissy Farm
Ending of a Pastoral Relationship with Interim Rector
Alternating weeks in June between In-Person Hybrid and only Zoom will give your worship team space to integrate learning as we work toward being a top-notch hybrid church. What a joy it will be to worship together in person safely!
|
|
Grace Church Festival of Hymns
Sunday, June 20 at 10 AM
What's your favorite hymn?
Click on the line below to let us know.
Please give this some thought and send the submission form at the link above, or email your pick to Chris Clark ( [email protected]) or to Rev. Libby ( [email protected]). The deadline for nominations is Sunday, May 23. From the nominations, the music team will choose no more than 10 hymns to be included in our Festival of Hymns on Sunday, June 20. As part of that festival, we’d also like to include your reason for choosing the hymn (i.e., what makes it special for you) or a bit about the history of the hymn text or tune. We can supply the history, but are really most interested in your connection to the hymn. Please direct any questions to Chris or Libby and don’t be shy about participating! (Hymns not selected for June 20 will be worked into our future worship services as appropriate.)
|
|
This online retreat is co-sponsored by The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. Open to all at no cost.
Jesus calls us to fullness of life (John 10:10), yet many of us feel anything but fully alive – we may feel melancholy, distracted, anxious, or numb. In this morning retreat we will explore ways of prayer that make us available to the healing and enlivening power of the Spirit. The first part of the retreat will focus on our inner lives; the second part will focus on how our outer lives can create the conditions for experiencing what Joseph Campbell called “the rapture of being alive.” Our time together will include presentations and guided meditation, with options for solitary reflection and small group conversation. If possible, please bring a candle, Bible, and Book of Common Prayer.
The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas serves as Missioner for Creation Care in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts and Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ. Her latest book (co-edited) is Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis. Her collection of daily meditations for Advent and Christmas, Joy of Heaven, to Earth Come Down, calls us to a practice of prayer grounded in reverence for the earth and to intentional living in harmony with the natural world. Her Website: RevivingCreation.org.
|
|
In this time of quarantine and physical separation you are still being prayed for. If you would like to receive specific healing prayers please contact:
The Rev. Ted Cobden 413-528-2247
Pennie Curry 413-429-7093
Sue Gore 413-243-2273
|
|
PRAYERS REQUESTED
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 Rev. Libby Wade ([email protected] or 270-519-6934).
|
|
GRACE
CHURCH
Please include
in your daily prayers this week:
Members of the Parish Family:
The Rev. Libby Wade, Anne Andrews, Linda White, Pennie Curry, Mark Anderson, Stacey, Claire and Mark Thomas, Meredith Haider, Linda White, Rosemarie Blakely, Marina Bowens, John Breasted, Jane Brooks, Vonnie Frye, Barbara Gore, Sara Keene, Barbara Turner.
Others we Love: Jason Till, nephew of Libby Wade; Karen LaRocque friend of Sue Gore; Rosalind Haywood, Sue Gore's mother;Deborah McCurdy.
Those who have died: Janet Nail, friend of Libby & Jim Wade;
Alan Sparks, brother of Debbie Holmes; Charlotte Douglas Mott, mother of the Rev. Pam Mott; Patricia Mary Turk, mother of the Rev. Michael Tuck; Ruth Crawford; Emily Trespas, friend of Jainee McCarroll and John Ericson; John Grammer, husband of Mary Anne; Rollie Tillman, father of the Rev. Jane Tillman; Bill Alford, brother of Dick Alford; Elinor Hamill; Neil Brandt, brother of Linda White; John Turner, husband of Barbara Turner; Leslie Albert, friend of Margaret Layton and Sarah Sieber; Andrew S. Artz, brother-in-law of the Rev. Janet Zimmerman; Kathy Happ, sister of Doug and Gary Happ; Fred Bunce, father of Mary Booton; Marion Chapin Andrews; Chuck De Melker, husband of Evie Cobden De Melker; Locke Larkin, brother-in-law of Maureen Terry; Charles Olegar; Marianne Felch, friend of Janet Zimmerman; Pat Edelstein; Anthony Aiuvalasit, friend of Janet Zimmerman.
Our world: For all victims of violence; for those who suffer from the COVID-19 virus; for those who have died from this virus and those who mourn; for those who provide care and comfort in this pandemic; for all who suffer from the loss of jobs and income in this time; for all who are anxious about their future and our world; for all who offer time and treasure to support those who need to know love; for all who are alone and all who reach out to care.
|
|
The many ministries of our local community and the Diocese of Western Massachusetts:
especially for our partners at St. Paul's, Stockbridge and the Rev. Sam Smith and the Rev. Jane Tillman; Christ Trinity, Sheffield and the Rev. Erik Karas; our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher; and the Mampong Babies' Home in Ghana; St. Andrew's, Longmeadow; Beament Waterfield Educational Grant Committee; National Episcopal Health Ministries; Episcopal Parish Services.
The Church's wider mission:
Seventh Sunday of Easter;
Thy Kingdom Come; The Anglican Church of Korea.
And we offer thanks: for all those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries this week: Nancy Fishell
|
Join us for
Centering Prayer ONLINE
every Thursday
5:00 - 6:00
Encouraging a practice of silence and stillness we focus on practices of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina using scripture, art and music. All are welcome.
To join this Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 203 314 800
Password: 578877
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
|
|
|
The new Forward Day by Day booklets are now available. If you would like a copy to be mailed to you please email Gretchen, [email protected], or leave a voicemail at the office, 413-644-0022.
|
|
Diocesan Compline
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday @ 8:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 824 5008 6637
Passcode: 501604
Dial by phone
+1 929 205 6099
|
|
WHAT ARE YOU
GRATEFUL FOR?
In this time of fear and anxiety, it can be easy to miss the daily blessings that are right in front of us. Being grateful is not just for good times. Being grateful is even more important when fear sets a place at your table and heartbreak seems to be in your every breath. Because by being grateful we become aware of all the ways God is working in us. Being grateful is a part of our healing and our deliverance. Being grateful is where our best selves reside.
|
|
|
|
|
Not one of us can do this alone. Gideon’s Garden relies on help from our community. Here is Sue at Taft farms in the midst of her jungle of plants. Amelia, the carpenter, came to help Annalise put together the paneled greenhouse so Sue can have most of her space back. We will fill this house with plants by next week! The Blessing of the Garden June 5th will be a joyous planting event. I look forward to meeting everyone out in the Garden. |
|
|
SAVE THE DATE!
Join is on Sunday, June 13th, at 5pm on our Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJD7BKJb6wQn6HrEapX2vg to learn about BIC, celebrate immigrants, and listen to talented musicians and poets! To donate to our One World Celebration please send a check to "Berkshire Immigrant Center" at 67 East Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Thank you for your support. |
Appalachian Trail Mini-Mission Day Trips
Take One Day this Summer
Bring Four Volunteers to Sheffield
Sit 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
We have all the supplies, we’ll guide the set up and clean up, we’ll even bring most of the day’s food. You simply pick a day, bring four people and a $50 Big Y gift card, sit in the shade, and create a corner of kindness in the world. It’s the easiest, most rewarding, least expensive, most volunteer inclusive mini-mission trip you’ll ever do!
Our 2021 Appalachian Trail Ministry will run from June 21 – August 14. Guest Mission Days will occur on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays during the season.
For more information, or to register for a 2021 one-day Mini-Mission Trip please contact Rev. Jill Graham at [email protected]
|
|
Welcome to the Bloomin' 4 Good Program!
A Brand New Program to Benefit Lee Food Pantry
Let's Fight Hunger Together. One Bouquet at a Time.
We are thrilled to announce the Bloomin' 4 Good Program, a brand new program from Stop & Shop that works to fight hunger in our local communities. In this program, every $9.99 Bloomin' 4 Good Bouquet sold sends a $1 donation to a hunger organization local to the store in which it was purchased.
For the month of June 2021, Lee Food Pantry has been selected to receive a $1 donation for every $9.99 Bloomin' 4 Good Bouquet with the red circle sticker (pictured on the left) sold at the store located at 1 Dan Fox Drive, Pittsfield MA.
|
SHINE YOUR LIGHT
In this unpredictable time, your church continues to give thanks for and need your support. If you are capable of sending in your pledge, thank you. If you are unable to give at this time, we understand. If you are capable of giving a bit more so we can respond to the needs of our community, we are very grateful. If you are in need, please contact a member of the Vestry listed at the top of the newsletter. Since we are not gathering in person in community, we ask that you send your gifts via mail to Grace Church, P.O. Box 114, Great Barrington, MA 01230. We are truly all in this life together. We pray, trusting that God will see us through this season and beyond.
Thank you for giving generously to support the ministry of Grace.
|
|
|
|
It costs about $1500 a year to support a baby. The Diocese's goal is for one congregation
to support one child for a year.
To donate to support babies at the Mampong Babies Home in Ghana please send a check to Grace Church, PO Box 114, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
|
|
|
Becoming Beloved Community
|
|
The Mahaiwe Theater presents
Heartbeat Opera’s Breathing Free
Streamed virtually
Saturday
May 15, 7:00 pm
A song cycle, brought to life in vivid music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio with Negro Spirituals and songs by Black composers and lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, equity… and breathing free.
Featuring excerpts from Beethoven’s Fidelio, Negro Spirituals, and songs by Harry T. Burleigh, Florence Price, Langston Hughes, Anthony Davis, and Thulani Davis.
|
|
In Minnesota service, Presiding Bishop calls verdicts in George Floyd’s death steps in ‘long walk’ to justice
|
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preached an impassioned and at times personal sermon during an April 20 virtual Compline service organized by the Episcopal Church in Minnesota and held hours after a jury convicted a former police officer in the killing of George Floyd. [Bishop Curry's sermon begins at 7:30.]
|
Curry spoke for 16 minutes from his home in North Carolina, during the evening service that was livestreamed on the Episcopal Church in Minnesota’s Facebook page. “We must continue until no human child of God is treated less than a child of God, until everybody is treated as God’s somebody, until this world and our communities are beloved communities, where there’s plenty good room for all of God’s children,” he said. “This is our work. This is our task. This is our struggle.” |
|
Education for Ministry Reflection
This year's EfM group includes people studying the Old Testament and people studying the New Testament. Both areas are touched on in this week's "reflection."
Scholars believe that Paul did not write all the letters attributed to him and similarly that some of the other letters in the New Testament were not authored by the person whose name they carry. Study of this problem is called 'pseudepigraphy.' It raises issues of authenticity and credibility and informs the ways in which the nascent Christian movement was being shaped in the early decades after Jesus' death and resurrection and what we have received today.
We also discussed 1 and 2 Kings, which begins with the death of David and covers the reign of Solomon, David's son, the building of the first temple, and many successor kings until the end of the exile. These kings faced many challenges and had to make many decisions, most of which were reckoned as wrong by the Lord. Our group reflected on the attached picture of a man with his fingers crossed facing the choice of two different roads. We wrote the following Collect: Blessed are you, O Lord God who gives us free will to choose our path. You stand beside us at the crossroads, and you give us courage and perseverance on our journey. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
|
|
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE SAFE CHURCH OFFICER |
|
Register Now For Next Training
Safe Church Volunteer Workshop:
Saturday, May 15th, 9:00 a.m. to Noon
This workshop will presented via Zoom. Please watch your email for confirmation containing Zoom link for this event.
|
|
|
|
The Rev. Tanya Wallace
Safe Church Officer
Episcopal Diocese of W. MA
|
|
|
TO FIND MORE DETAILS AND REGISTER ONLINE
|
|
It's Earth Day. Take Action.
On March 23, 2021, the bishops of the Episcopal dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts declared a climate emergency. From their declaration:
“We believe that God is calling us all to embrace brave and difficult change. Everything we do as faithful individuals and as a church must reckon with the unprecedented emergency in which humanity now finds itself.
“We strongly urge congregations across Massachusetts to pray, learn, act, and advocate as we build a bold and faith-filled response to the greatest moral challenge of our time.”
In May, the Creation Care Justice Network of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas will host four webinars on the climate emergency and how to respond to it: Pray, Learn, Act and Advocate.
These will be held on Wednesdays, May 5, 12, 19 and 26 at 7 p.m.
The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts | 413-737-4786 |diocesewma.org
Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts | 37 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA 01103
|
|
Children and Teens Please Join Us! |
|
|
|
GRACE SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sundays, at 11:15 AM to 12:00 AM
The Beatitudes
Grace Sunday School
This is a recurring meeting
To join this Zoom meeting
(Meeting ID): 859 9461 5863 (Passcode): 508436
To read Nobody Goes Alone, A Silly Story written by our Sunday School students
|
|
Tuesday Bible Study – New Series
April 27 – May 17,
7:00 – 8:00 PM
“A Portrait of Love” – The Letters of John
Throughout this Easter Season, our first scripture reading each Sunday is from the First Letter of John. This four-week Bible Study Series led by the Rev. Libby Wade will explore all three Letters of John. No book to purchase and no advance preparation necessary, but be sure to have a Bible with you each week as we gather on Zoom for discussion and Compline.
or call in: 646-558-8656
Meeting ID: 826 0996 0553
Passcode: 446609
|
|
MOVIE NIGHT
Join us for a discussion of
The Guernsey
Literary and Potato
Peel Pie Society
on May 6th, at 6:30 PM
A correspondence begins between Juliet Ashton (Lily James) and members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, with them sharing their experiences of Nazi-occupied Guernsey Island. When an idea for a book catches Juliet, she goes to visit the island, making life-long friends and taking life changing steps along the way.
Watch at your leisure then join us the first Thursday of the month.
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
|
|
|
JOIN the DISCUSSION
on Rules of Civility
by Amor Towles
Wednesday, on Zoom
May 12, 2021 at 7:00PM
Mark Anderson will lead our discussion.
Meeting will end at about 8PM
To join this Zoom meeting,
(Meeting ID): 370 191 823
(Password): 385337
or call 646 558 8656 US (New York)
|
|
|
Rev. Libby Wade,
Interim Rector
|
|
GRACE CHURCH
An Episcopal Community in the Southern Berkshires
Mailing:
P.O. Box 114
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Gretchen Fairfield
Office Assistant
|
|
Ms. Annalise Clausen, Director of Farming for Gideon's Garden
413-644-6572
|
|
In an effort to care for each other, our church office will be closed until further notice. You can reach the church office by email:
|
|
VESTRY CONTACT INFORMATION |
|
Kathy Clausen 413-329-1724
Rick Gore, Jr. 413-441-7036
Sue Gore 413-243-2273
Mary Anne Grammer 413-258-4212
John Cheek 413-446-8863
Dindy Anderson 413-274-3854
Anne Andrews 413-528-2766
Dutch Pinkston 413-274-6566
Cathy Haywood 413-464-6664
Holly Murray 860-977-9198
|
|
The Rev. Libby Wade is available for pastoral emergencies at 270-519-6934 or [email protected].
|
|
Tuesday's Child Editor Monique Kirchoff
Associate Editor Kathy Clausen
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
