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grace episcopal church
galena, illinois
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Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost
August 15, 2021
Holy Eucharist, 10:30 am
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August 15, 2021
Due to the upsurge in COVID cases, and out of concern
for those who cannot yet be vaccinated or whose
immune systems are compromised,
we respectfully request that you wear a mask indoors,
regardless of your vaccination status.
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 rose from moderate to substantial yesterday, and today has reached high. The Vestry will discuss this at its meeting on Tuesday to determine whether further measures should be implemented.
Social hour is suspended.
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Ministers of the Service
Members & Guests, Celebrants
Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Presider
Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon
Greg Serwich, Lector
Elizabeth Ludescher, Intercessor
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Robin French, Music Director
Nancy Cook, Erben Organist
Charlotte Stryker,Vestry Coord.
Debbie Kallback/Maren Coates,
Altar Guild
Karen Serwich, Greeter
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VESTRY NEWS
RECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE TO BE COMMISSIONED
The Vestry, in a special meeting, selected the members of the search committee for Grace’s next rector. The seven individuals will be commissioned by the Senior and Junior Warden during the Sunday Eucharist this week, on August 15, 2021.
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CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF RUTH H. BEEGLE
On Thursday, September 2nd, at 3:00pm a memorial service will be held outdoors (under a tent) at the Beegle farm, 5490 West Beegle lane in Hanover.
The Rev. Linda Packard will officiate. Please RSVP by August 20 to
Ruth's daughter, Lucretia, at Lucretia@mypurefreedom. com or 512-423-4381.
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Rector's Ramblings
Do you ever have a day when you would like to participate in Morning Prayer or Holy Eucharist but you don't just want to read it from the Prayer Book? Did you know that both are at your fingertips any time of day or night?
We like to think that we communicate well and that everyone is fully informed. But now and again, we are reminded that it is not so. Even when information is in announced, in print or online, it may escape notice.
So, this is a reminder of what is available at Grace for your devotional needs that are in addition to our in-person services and programs.
Did you miss a Sunday service? Every Grace service is not only offered live on Zoom at the 10:30 am time and 7:30 am on Wednesday, it is recorded and retained in several places. Each service can be found indefinitely on our YouTube channel (just search YouTube for Grace Church Galena and you will find the list of services) or by going to our Facebook page @FullyGrace. You need not have your own subscription to Facebook.
If you want a short, spoken service of Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer, both can be found on the same sites. These Wednesday services are brief--30 to 40 minutes. Three weeks each month are Eucharists with one of our priests and deacon presiding. For one of the three, a parishioner presents the homily. On the fourth week, the parishioners take turns leading the service of Morning Prayer.
In addition to YouTube and Facebook recordings, the most recent ones appear in this e-Blast if you scroll to the bottom. They also are on the home page of our website for two to three weeks at gracegalena.org. The website also has some short videos of Compline and of a stroll through our Meditation Garden--complete with the sounds of the fountain. And there is a 15 minute introductory video of glimpses of life at Grace that you might enjoy. It can be found at the top of the homepage--click on "Glimpses."
Back to online services: Lynn Giles leads a service of Compline each Tuesday evening on Zoom at 8 pm. Centering Prayer is offered each Friday morning at 9 am on Zoom.
I hope you will avail yourselves of these resources--when you're out of town or indisposed. When the weather is bad. Or any time you need a devotional boost.
See you in church,
Gloria+
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Events this Week:
Sunday 8/15
Holy Eucharist 10:30 am online and in-person
*Social Hour suspended at this time.
Monday 8/16
Poetry Group 2:00pm
EfM in person in PH Conference Room 6:30pm
Tuesday 8/17
Compline online 8:30pm
Vestry Meeting 3:00pm PH Conference Room
Wednesday 8/18
Midweek Worship online and in-person 7:30 am
Taking a Break for the Summer:
Morning Study Group
Renee & Steve Dowe's Anniversary
Teresa & Dan Burke's Anniversary
Thursday 8/19
Friday 8/20
Centering Prayer online 9:00am
Saturday 8/21
Important Links:
Office Hours
9:00am-Noon, Tuesday through Friday
Rector Office Hours
10:30am-3:00pm Tuesday through Thursday
Mondays and other times by appointment
ROTA (6-6-21 to 10-31-21)
Website: includes a password protected members' portal where most recent Vestry minutes, financials, and Grace Church Directory are found.
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SOCIAL HOUR SUSPENDED
Coffee and conversation has been suspended due to COVID.
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CANAPES & CONVERSATION
Elsbrees will host on September 20th from 5:00 to 7:00pm.
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MORE NEWS FROM
THE DIOCESE OF CHICAGO
Bishop Chilton Knudsen called to be Assisting Bishop
The Standing Committee has announced that, with the support of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Bishop-elect Paula Clark, we have called Bishop Chilton Knudsen back to our diocese to serve as assisting bishop. During her ministry with us, which will begin in early October, she will visit congregations and provide support for the Standing Committee, the bishop’s staff, and other diocesan leadership bodies.
Bishop Chilton began her ordained ministry in the Diocese of Chicago. She graduated from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and was ordained a deacon by Bishop James Montgomery in 1980. In 1981, she was ordained a priest by Bishop Quintin Primo Jr. She served both St. Benedict’s, Bolingbrook and Church of Our Saviour, Elmhurst before joining Bishop Frank Griswold’s staff in 1987. In 1997, she was elected bishop of Maine, where she served from 1998-2008.
Since Bishop Chilton’s retirement, she has served as interim or assisting bishop in six additional dioceses, including the Diocese of Washington, where she worked closely with our bishop-elect. She will maintain her residence in Maryland while spending the majority of each month in Chicago. While she serves with us, the Standing Committee will remain the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese. She feels called to be with us as long as we need to have a successful transition, and the Standing Committee is grateful she has answered the call to serve as assisting bishop.
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FORMATION AND SPIRITUALITY MINISTRY NEWS
REGISTRATION FOR EfM 2021-2022
The next year of EfM at Grace Church will begin the week of October 17, 2021. There is room for a few more students.
Registration will begin soon. Please let Lynn Giles know if you plan to join the group so she can send you a registration link.
Her email is lynngiles@lynngilesphotography, phone/text is
815-757-2011 or simply talk with her at church.
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Compline on Zoom
On Tuesday evenings, at 8:30 pm, Lynn Giles will lead 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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ADULT INQUIRER'S CLASS
An Adult Inquirers Class will be offered sometime this summer (dates will be determined by the
schedules of those interested in attending). We will be talking about our identity as Episcopalians, the Book of Common Prayer, a brief history of the Anglican/Episcopal church, our creeds, prayer, Baptism,
Eucharist, the Trinity (don’t come looking for an explanation!), and the Jesus Movement as described by
Presiding Bishop Curry. Attending qualifies you to being received or confirmed in the Episcopal Church, if you choose.
This is open to anyone in the church or community. Those considering reception will be given priority
(this is an in-person class). The time commitment is about eight hours. If you are interested in this or
would like more information, please contact Rev. Diane Luther at dm20luther@gmail.com, or
call (815) 281-2301.
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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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The Study Group is taking a break for the summer and will reconvene in September.
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WORSHIP:
TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proverbs 9:1-6: Wisdom has built her house and she invites all who lack wisdom to come to her table, eat her food and drink her wine, abandon their foolishness and find understanding.
Psalm 34:9-14: Those who honour God lack nothing, and God is honoured by those who do not speak evil or lies, who do good and seek peace.
Ephesians 5:15-20: Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to live wisely and in the power of God’s Spirit that fills them, and to encourage one another through songs and through worship and thanksgiving to God.
John 6:51-58: Jesus continues proclaiming that he is the Bread of Life, inviting the people to eat his flesh and drink his blood as true food and drink. Those who do this will live, he promises, unlike those who died even after eating the bread in the wilderness.
The word for this week is wisdom. Sometimes we view wisdom as akin to intelligence, as an intellectual capacity, but the readings this week move us into a whole different experience of wisdom as something that is gained through intimate union with God in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and that is lived in simple but practical ways in our daily lives.
If the Lectionary is to be believed this week, wisdom is found by uniting ourselves with Christ, by “eating his flesh and drinking his blood”, by taking his presence and purpose into ourselves, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. This requires two movements in our daily living. Firstly, we need to recapture the discipline of daily spiritual practice – prayer, Scripture reading and Christlike action Secondly, we need to allow our union with Christ to overflow into lives of gracious, generous, gentle, and humble living. It is when we commit to union with God and to living from God’s wisdom, that we are able to bring the life of Christ into our homes, our churches, our neighbourhoods and our communities. This means rejecting many of the values of our society – instant gratification and consumerism, accumulation and rampant individualism, protectionism and the avoidance of diversity. It also means learning to live in the same self-giving way that Jesus did, for when we all learn to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others, we discover the wisdom and life that we all are able to enjoy together. The quest for wisdom, then, is not just about how we think, but about how we live, and it is only in union with God and in the strength of God’s Spirit that we can hope to embrace this life.
thumbnails and commentary from sacredise.com
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HELP WANTED!:
An apprentice to work with Zoom at Grace Church.
This is an important part of our Worship Ministry, and more people are needed to keep our live online services coming! It may seem very complicated, but those of us who have been handling it for nearly a year now all had to start from very basic computer skills and learn "on the job." If we have a small team, the responsibilities can be rotated, making it easier for all of us--and making it possible to explore better ways to assure the best audio and visual experience for those worshiping in person and those online.
Please contact Lynn Giles if interested and for more information.
lynngiles@lynngilesphotography.com
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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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A Wednesday Episcopal spoken service of Holy Eucharist 8/11/21: The Rev. Linda Packard, Presider; Joe Maffit, Lector and Homilist; Lynn Giles, Zoom Host.
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An Episcopal service of Holy Eucharist 8/1/21: The Rev. Linda Packard, Presider; The Rev. Deacon Diane Luther, Preacher; Richard Luther, Intercessor; Terri Jackman, Lector; Robin French, Music Director; Nancy Cook, Erben Organist; Lynn Giles, Zoom Host. |
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An Episcopal Service of Holy Eucharist 8/8/21, Mass in the Grass: Our annual summer Eucharist at the beautiful LinMar Gardens: The Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Presider; The Rev. Diane Luther, Deacon; Steve Coates, Lector; Deb Pausz, Intercessor; Robin French, Music Director; Lynn Giles, Zoom Host. |
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Hybrid worship has resumed for both in-person and Zoom congregations in line with Diocesan guidelines and Phase 5 of the State of Illinois COVID recovery.
For those present in the Church:
Please put your smartphone or other device in airplane mode so that our
internet capacity is reserved for our online streaming.
Don't forget to wear your mask if you intend to sing!
For those on Zoom:
Please mute yourselves before the Prelude begins and immediately after the Peace. This prevents other participants on Zoom from being distracted by conversation
and background noise.
Those who will join us on Zoom will receive the usual e-mail invitation with a link to the day's bulletin.
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Vestry:
Lynn Giles, Senior Warden
Richard Luther, Jr. Warden
Jim Berry, Treasurer
Crystal Mason, Clerk
The Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Rector
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Staff:
The Rev. Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Rector
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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The Rev Dr. Gloria Hopewell, Rector
Cell Phone: 773-988-3497
Grace Episcopal Church Office:
107 S. Prospect Street
Galena, IL 61036
815-777-2590
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