E-Blast for October 16, 2020

Together again at last! Live Communion service!

Our first live, in-person communion worship service since the pandemic took hold will take place this Sunday, October 18 at 7:45 AM in the GSP parking lot! The service will include all parts of our regular liturgy with prayers, readings, Affirmation of Faith, Prayers of the People, Eucharistic Prayer and COMMUNION served in one kind, using a no touch system. There will be no music or singing at this service.

Attendees’ cars should be parked on the street or in the Medical Square lot across Norton Ave from GSP. Please arrive early enough to safely negotiate the inevitable logistical problems.

Chairs will be set up, but bring your own seating if you wish. Water bottles and hand sanitizer will be available. Restrooms at the north end of the cloister/breezeway will be open. All attendees will be required to wear a mask and stay six feet apart (we will have masks available). Family units may remain together. Children will gather on the labyrinth during the 7:45 AM service, socially distant of course. Regular Zoom Sunday School at 9:15.

Printed service bulletins will be available, but we ask that you consider downloading an electronic version in advance if possible.

No physical Offering plate will be passed. Offering plates will be placed in strategic locations to receive donations.

There will be no "coffee hour" after the service. We can and should greet each other with virtual hugs and waves as we quickly disperse after the service.

10 AM service

The in-person 7:45 service will NOT impact the live streaming of our 10 AM service. You can attend both! GSP will continue to live stream every Sunday and will do so for the foreseeable and not-so-foreseeable future.

Happy Creation Season, Steve +

GETTING OUT THE VOTE ... With some confusion in the news as to the most reliable way to vote this Fall (early, by mail, drop-off sites, in person???) -- Steve Kelsey could answer most questions about voting sites and options in Tucson this year

(email: [email protected]) ... or go online to the website of the Pima County Recorder's Office

https://www.recorder.pima.gov/EarlyVotingSites or call her office at 520-724-4330.

If you would like to volunteer to make calls and such to help Get-Out-The-Vote, be in touch with Steve Kelsey.

LIVESTREAMING CHURCH on SUNDAY

Children and Family Sunday School - Sunday 9:15 AM

Please click here for more information.

https://zoom.us/j/98113913984?pwd=SzFCK0FJY2ZJdDhPQXhSMjZid1Z5dz09

Meeting ID: 981 1391 3984

Passcode: 301134

for bulletins: GSPtucson.org/bulletins

livestream the Sunday 10:00 AM service: tinyurl.com/gspvirtual

High quality recorded Sunday Worship - Sunday about 7 PM

www.tinyurl.com/gspvids

New to GSP?

Have you recently discovered Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church? Would you like to know more about our beloved community?

Please fill out our Visitor Card at

www.tinyurl.com/gspvisitor

Live Stream Instructions - Please click here.
Altar Flowers - Please click here to find out how to request flowers.
Register for Sunday School for Kids - Please click here.
Sunday School Teachers Needed - Please click here.
GSP has a YouTube channel! - Please click here for more info.
How to Support Immigrants - Please click here.
Just Coffee - Please click here.

Dear families,

We all know that this pandemic will not be resolved as school begins. I do not know how and when school will start, but I understand this creates difficult decisions for you and you try to manage home, school, and work (and hopefully not lose jobs).

We want to plan for the fall to help you as much as we can; however, I am not in your shoes so I can only assume what you will need.

It will help if you could please email me ([email protected]) with any concerns you have and anything GSP can do that would help you. This will assist me in coming up with ideas for you during this unique circumstance. I can also try to connect you to helpful resources outside of GSP.

I wish you all well and I hope to hear from you.

Blessings, Jessica

Several parishioners have wondered about their pledge and gift checks not clearing as quickly as they used to.

Please be aware that the counting of offerings to GSP only occurs every two or three weeks during these times, so it may take as much as a month for a check you have written to clear your account.

On the other hand, electronic giving, through EasyTithe, is accounted for automatically. If your personal bookkeeping requires more rapid accounting, please consider giving through the EasyTithe link on the GSP home page.

Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Confirmation classes

begin Oct 18!

Please encourage Fiona, Erick, and Lilly as they continue their own spiritual journeys, and Fred, Betty, and Jessica as they guide and grow with these young people.

Outdoor drive-in movie night!

Friday, Oct 30 in the GSP parking lot.

You may start to arrive at 6:45pm and the movie will start at 7pm. We will be watching Disney-Pixar's "Coco". Jessica will be placing bags of candy at each space for all of the kids who are missing out on Halloween this year. Bring your own snacks! We will be using our FM transmitter to bring the movie's sound right into your vehicle and we'll have the big screen up so everyone can see! RSVP to Jessica: [email protected].

VIGIL FOR EVE OF ELECTION DAY.

NOVEMBER 2 AT 7PM

Many people are anxious/fearful about this year’s election. Some are wondering what’s the sacred spin to put on this monumental day? Does God-centeredness have something to do with this? How do we transcend partisanship? How do I frame

this so God and I are participating together, while walking the path of patience

and love?

Come join us for a vigil/Evening Prayer liturgy specifically designed for this Eve of Election Day. It will be a Zoom service, on Monday, November 2 at 7PM. The link to it is https://zoom.us/j/96095637723 Any questions can be directed to Rev. Chris, through the church office at 520-327-6857.

Prayer & Meditation in the Sanctuary

Prayer and Meditation Hours began in the Sanctuary Tuesday, 9:00 am - noon and

Thursday, 9:00 am - noon. Please note the Thursday time has changed.

A Host will be present to guide you to a prayer location and insure safety guidelines are closely followed.
Mask and social distance are required.
Please enter and leave through the automatic front door of the church. Please sign up for a time in the office at 327-6857 (M-F, 9a-noon). There will be only four people in the sanctuary during each hour.

If you would like to be one of a team of hosts or have any other concerns, please contact Deacon Nancy Meister at 906-4203.

COVID-19 Crisis for Immigrants in Detention Centers

The La Palma Detention Center in Eloy, AZ, has reported 385 cases of COVID 19, more than any other of the 95 detention centers for immigrants in the nation. The Eloy Detention Center now has 252 cases. The Florence Detention Center has 67 cases. This totals 704 cases of COVID 19 in Arizona Detention Centers. The organizers of Trans Queer Pueblo ask that we all support the detained migrants by spreading the word in media outlets and to public officials.

Please click here for more information.

Children Seeking Asylum

#SaveAsylum March

Join us as we gather on October 21 at 8:00 am to stand with children asylum seekers and their families who will march in protest of the inhumane and unlawful dismantling of the U.S. asylum system and the subsequent consequences it has had on children. The event will begin with children migrants and their families marching from downtown Nogales, Sonora to the port of entry for a moment of prayer and then to the border wall where supporters on the U.S. side of the wall will receive them and hear the children’s testimonies.

Please click here for more information.

You may remember participating in the Crop Walk in the past--well, this year it's going virtual and they still need your help!

Please click here for more information.

FOOD FACTS

Church World Service:

In Myanmar, Ramona and her family were struggling till CROP Hunger Walkers like you provided her with 2 piglets. She invested her time and energy raising those piglets and now has a thriving pig farm and community grocery. She has income from selling pigs, can pay school fees for their children. Others in the village started raising pigs too. Once learning new skills, they can improve their income, and further with CWS’ help, learn how to build sanitary latrines, improving their health. They don’t want money, but want to learn skills and work hard to improve their family’s life.

Tucson: Brian Flagg- Casa Maria Free Kitchen/Tucson:

The Coronavirus has made our work difficult: only a few people can work at a time (social distancing). Some churches that regularly brought sandwiches and food stopped, though others are continuing. We still have several hundred people a day- needing soup in the morning, sandwiches at lunch. and food bags for families, so food is always needed!

For several months, the city provided hotel rooms/food for homeless people (stop Covid). What he hears now is that people with no jobs can’t pay rent, utilities, and he expects on November 1, many people’s lives may fall apart: utilities need payments, credit cards do too/or interest increases, Gov.Ducey has protected renters til Dec.31,2020, but owners of rentals have to pay mortgages. Brian is worried about what will happen in November.

VIRTUAL ADULT EDUCATION

We have missed having our regular 9 a.m. adult spiritual formation classes, so

Dr. Chuck Dickson, a retired college history teacher who facilitated many of them,

has prepared several short virtual classes.

Please click here to access the classes:

http://gsptucson.org/parish/virtualAdultEd.php

Grace Saint Paul's Healing Touch practitioners will meet online Mondays at 7 pm to offer virtual distance healing. If you would like to request healing energy for yourself or a friend or family member, please send the person's first name and a brief description of the need to [email protected] or

[email protected].

If you don't have email, you can call Miriam at 326-5754 or Pat at 5796433.

Do you need a handyman? Our church member, Saed Rishmawi, has been laid off because of the pandemic. Saed would appreciate hearing from you. And he would be more than happy to help you with your needs around the house. Please click here for Saed's contact information.

Songs of Hope

An upcoming virtual concert by Reveille and THEM, Tucson's gay men's and LGBTQ youth choruses. It's a FREE concert and those interested just need to click on the link and register for a free code. This concert premieres Friday, October 23 at 7:00 PM and is available to stream through the weekend until Sunday at 11:00 PM.

Reveille connects with their neighbors, The Florence Project and The Dunbar Pavilion in this special virtual presentation. Come & see what all the fuss is about. Witness love in action as we break down walls!

Passing Over: A Eucharistic Theology of Migration

with Fr. Dan Groody, University of Notre Dame

Thursday, October 22 at 4pm

Email [email protected] to RSVP

Please click here for more information.

Arizona Interfaith Power

and Light Faith Climate

Justice Voter Campaign

With the crucial 2020 election approaching, our big campaign between now and November is the Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign.

We are asking people to pledge to do two things: 1) vote, and 2) vote with climate justice in mind.

Here are easy and important ways to become engaged:

Sign our Faith Climate Justice Voter pledge:

https://www.azipl.org/pledge-to-be-a-faith-climate-voter/.

Register to vote!
We just released a Faith Values Voter Guide. You can download it here:

http://fpl.actionkit.com/sign/2020_voterguide_dl?source=ipl. This Guide

invites people to think about issues like income inequality, prison reform, immigration,

racism and democracy from a faith-based, values-based perspective.

Rev. Doug Bland Ellie Hutchison

Executive Director FCJV Campaign Lead

Arizona Interfaith Power & Light Arizona Interfaith Power & Light

Below is an up-to-date list of all services and classes being offered. Just click on the Zoom link at the appropriate time to join any worship or class. Please note descriptions of each service or class are available. Just click on the red here under each title.

Worship or Meeting

Date and Time

web address

Outdoor In-person Worship Begins October 18th!

Sunday 7:45 AM in the Parking Lot

* Time Subject to change

Children and Family Sunday School

Sunday 9:15 AM

Please click here for more information.

https://zoom.us/j/98113913984?pwd=SzFCK0FJY2ZJdDhPQXhSMjZid1Z5dz09

Meeting ID: 981 1391 3984

Passcode: 301134