The Season After Pentecost |
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In-Person Worship Changes |
Dear friends in Christ,
The Vestry and I spent much time at our last meeting discussing recent changes in CDC guidance, and how it relates to our worship life together at Grace. Please know that these decisions were not entered into lightly, but with consideration for our whole community. We held before us Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as we set about making our decisions.
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In-Person Worship Changes
Accessing the Online Services
Clergy Outdoor Office Hours
Food Pantry
Creation Care: Gardens & Grounds
Brainerd Market Seeks Manager
Garden Spirituality Zoom Gathering
Parish Prayer List
Community Care in Anxious Times
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Worship Changes (continued) |
We are pleased to announce that we will resume in-person worship in the Nave at 8am beginning this Sunday, June 6th, and we will continue offering in-person worship outdoors in the courtyard at 10am. You will find more details about each of these services below. We are no longer asking people who attend either in-person service to sign up in advance.
While we are happy to be taking some steps to moving back into the nave, we recognize that these are not perfect options for everyone. We understand that many of you are ready to get back to “normal,” and that these steps may seem as though they are not enough. We are doing the best that we can based on feedback from Grace community members and public health guidelines.
While guidance on the ways in which we gather has changed for some people, it has not yet changed for all of us. We are thrilled that case rates are going down in our area, but they are still higher than the national average. Vaccine rates in Hamilton County are significantly lower than the national average, and while it is falling slowly, the COVID-19 test positivity rates are still high enough indicate that community spread is still happening in our area.
You have a commitment from both the vestry and myself that we will keep taking steps toward a robust and familiar in-person worship life at Grace, and also that we will continue to keep apprised of developments related to the pandemic as they relate to our life together and adjust our offerings accordingly. We appreciate all of you, your patience during these difficult months, and your part in a community that seeks to care for the most vulnerable among us.
Holy Eucharist returning to the Nave at 8am (masks required)
The 8am Sunday Eucharist will be held in the Nave (main indoor worship space) beginning this Sunday, June 6th, and going forward, pending continued declining infection rates. As has been our practice during the pandemic, we will celebrate Holy Eucharist in one kind (bread only), and the priests will wear masks throughout the service, unless they are preaching or officiating. The windows will be open and fans will be blowing. All in attendance at the 8am service, vaccinated or not, are asked to wear masks for the following reasons:
· The CDC has not lifted the mask requirement for unvaccinated individuals. We have no way of knowing who is vaccinated and who is not short of checking vaccination cards at the door, which we don’t believe is a very hospitable gesture.
· We know that have individuals among us who, while vaccinated, are still vulnerable because of compromised immune systems.
Before entering the Nave, either from the courtyard, or from the front of the church, you’ll find a station hand sanitizer and extra masks.
Outdoor Holy Eucharist Continues in the courtyard at 10am
We will continue to hold outdoor worship at 10am in the courtyard at Grace. We felt it important to continue to worship outdoors to offer an option to families with young children, individuals who are not yet vaccinated, and others who are not yet ready to be worshipping inside.
Some mornings in the courtyard are hot, which is why we are continuing his service at 10am instead of at 10:45, when the heat tends to be worse. We are trying to keep these outdoor services relatively brief. The 10am time is a temporary accommodation, and we expect that we will eventually return to our pre-pandemic schedule.
We ask that those who are not vaccinated wear masks when in close proximity to others at outdoor worship. Priests will continue to wear masks when distributing communion. We also recommend wearing sunscreen and/or a sunhat for this service. We will always have some chairs available, but we ask that those who can bring their own chairs do so.
On Sundays when it rains (perhaps this very week), the rain plan is for those who are comfortable worshipping indoors to move into the nave (masks required), and those who wish to remain outdoors to gather under the pavilion for a brief reflection on the scriptures for the day and communion.
Online Sunday Services
We will continue to offer services online. This week, you’ll find the Liturgy of the Word online at 9am. We are working on ways to stream the outdoor service at 10am so that folks can join us online so please stay tuned for more information.
I know this has been a tremendously difficult year for all of us, in so many ways. As we begin to emerge from this pandemic, I expect that we will begin to realize the ways that it has shaped our lives in ways that occur to us suddenly, and also in ways that reveal themselves to us slowly, over time. Please be gentle with yourselves and with your neighbors. We are not the same people we were in January of 2020, but we are still loved, both by God and by this community that we call Grace. Hold fast to what is good.
With love, gratitude and brightest blessings,
April
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Access to Online Worship (Sunday and Daily)
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Online Service
You are invited to worship online if the in-person options are not an option with your pandemic protocols. Join us on our Facebook page at 9am and again at 10:45am. Bulletins for each week’s service will be sent along with the Grace Notes weekend issue, and will be posted on the website alongside the video for the service. If you miss the 9am or 10:45am video streams, you can always go back and watch later. You can access the bulletin for this Sunday HERE.
Compline and Morning Prayer (Online)
Grace offers Compline services at 8pm each evening; you can join
& the password is: compline
Morning Prayer continues every day (except Sundays) via Zoom, beginning at 9:00 a.m.; click the link below or paste the URL into your browser.
For Morning Prayer, click here:
or paste this URL into your browser:
Meeting ID: 746 8859 6599
Passcode: amprayer
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Clergy Outdoor Office Hours
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The Rev. April Berends will be in the courtyard on Tuesday, June 8, from 10am-noon. The Rev. David Burman will be in there on Saturday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to noon. As ever, our priests would be happy to connect with you, either by phone or video call or socially-distanced in person.
As always, our priests would be happy to connect with you, either by phone or video call or socially-distanced in person. Feel free to call, text, or email April (aberends@saygrace.net) and David (dburman@saygrace.net) to make arrangements.
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The Food Pantry opened the new month with 15 visitors, who braved the damp and drizzle to get supplies for themselves and their families. Our stalwart volunteers sent them off with food for 39 -- 27 adults and 12 children.
In order to adequately supply the next group of visitors, we need to fill a few holes on the shelves; the items below will take care of that nicely:
* 16-oz. packages of spaghetti (we've got plenty of larger ones for big families but are short of smaller ones)
* canned beef stew
* canned chicken
* canned pinto beans
* beanie weenies
Blessings on all in the parish and in the Belvoir neighborhood who so generously keep us stocked and able to provide help! And on our volunteers who handle collection and transportation of food, packing bags, greeting visitors and hauling tables and chairs. You all put the grace in Grace Church!
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Creation Care: Gardens and Grounds
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1. HALLELUJAH, the rain! Thank God for this 2-3 inch rainfall, after a shocking 4 weeks without a drop. This was a quite early and unexpected for a dry spell, and caused great consternation and enormous work as the Gardens & Grounds volunteers mobilized to support our newest trees through this mini- drought. We usually don't have to do this until mid- summer, so we pray for more steady and average rain.
2. The Daffodil Fields will FINALLY be cut down mid June. We left them up extra long this year since the lack of traffic at church allowed us to leave their tops longer to thoroughly replenish the bulbs for next year.
3. After long consideration, the chairs of the Gardens & Grounds Committee (Lisa, Kristina, and Tom) have decided to curtail the Lenten roses everywhere except under the Martin Oak across from the Nave. They will remain in that section. The other sections of this slow spreading, Asian ground cover we'll gradually eliminate, beginning THIS JULY. These are tough plants, so this will take some time to eradicate. In order to better support our native insect and bird populations, we plan to replace them with more North American native-based plantings over time.
IF YOU WANT SOME OF THESE FOR YOUR OWN YARD, YOU ARE WELCOME TO COORDINATE WITH LISA AND KRISTINA to dig them up and take them home throughout the month of June. They are easy to transplant. They require shade, especially in the afternoon. They can take extremely dry shade. You will need a shovel and a will, to dig a 360 degree circle around any given clump to dig up it's thatch of tough, fibrous roots. Or, you may scoop up the small seedlings around any given clump. This is slower, but also easier.
Please do not dig any up without contacting Lisa Lemza (lemzala@aol.com) or Kristina Shaneyfelt (423.322-4476.)
4. We will begin building the kiosk for the Arboretum Map after mid June: stay tuned! We have requested 'ballpark' type estimates for various complimentary projects, including walkways on the north (Brainerd Rd ) side of the church. We shall see. AIN't THIS FUN???
Lisa Lemza
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Brainerd Farmers' Market Seeks Manager
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The Brainerd Market is in the market for a manager for it's Saturday morning sessions. See below for specs about the job and how to apply:
- Be at the market from 8:30-12:30
- Set up the market before vendors arrive and help vendors set up as needed
- Direct vendors to assigned spaces
- Run the credit/debit card machine during market hours (10-12)
- Collect any applications for new vendors
- Document market for Facebook as time permits
- Close down market and help bookkeeper collect market fees
- Be the shining, happy face of the market for both customers and vendors
The market manager receives $60 per week by check and will be expected to serve out the remainder of the 2020-2021 season, which will end mid-December.
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Garden Spirituality Zoom Gathering
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Gardeners and other creation-adorers, see below for a Zoom opportunity that may be of interest. You do have to sign up ahead of time, but there seems to be no fee for participation.
Good News Gardens June Gathering - Garden Spirituality
Tuesday, June 15th at 7:00 ET | 6:00 CT | 5:00 MT | 4:00 PT
In this month's Good News Gardens Gathering Jeannie Marcucci will present on "Garden Elements: Aspects to Garden Spirituality."
Jeannie Marcucci is a candidate to the Diaconate in the Diocese of New Jersey, with a September ordination planned. Jeannie has a master’s degree in landscape design from Columbia University and has practiced landscape design in the Delaware Valley for over twenty years with a focus on residential and small-scale commercial projects. Jeannie also trains DIY homeowner gardeners with in-home garden consultations and guest-speaking events with local farmers markets and community-supported venues. “Good Morning in the Garden,” a weekly blog/newsletter, is the main writing vehicle for Jeannie as “the garden evangelist.”
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Please remember: Joseph, our President; the Senate, the House of Representatives, and our Courts of Justice; together with all elected officials, and the other leaders of our country and the nations of the world.
We pray for Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury; Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Brian, our Bishop; for April, our priest; for David, our Curate; for Sarah and Caroline, our seminarians; for our missionaries, and all other bishops and ministers.
We pray for the unemployed and underemployed, especially those in our congregation and community. We pray for the homeless and the hungry, and for those in special need of prayer, especially
Neil Robinson, Ash Gunlock, Bill Strang, Sally Cauthen, Mary Lou Walden,
Gerry Jones, Jennifer Thompson, June McEwen, Al Manning, Amy, Deborah,
Jim Hinkle, Andrea, Ann Ludwig, the Hale family (Austin, Amanda, and Autumn); Patty Maroney, the Brown family, Reba, Niysah, Daniel Parker,
Valorie Lephart, Terrie, Alex, Steve Slack, Angela, Barbara Dooley,
Dwight McMillan, Doris, Rebecca Williams, J.R. Hicks, Charlotte Dorris,
Libby Workman,Jean Williams, Barbara Reed, Elizabeth Harrison, Joyce Smith,
Jim May, and Ann Swint;
We pray for Wil Mabry, Jake Dorris, Kevin Kelley, Tripp Mouron, Mike Mabry, Alexander Ross, Russel Webb, Logan Roberts, Jim Makepeace, Sean Benson,
Evan Watkins and all of our Armed Forces, here and abroad;
We pray for Jessica Pannell, Alice Revenig Clark and Ali, who are with child.
We pray for this community: For our local leaders; for our schools and marketplaces; for our neighborhoods and workplaces, for protesters and for police. Help us to honor your image in one another. Give us courage to strive for justice and peace among all people, beginning here at home.
We pray for all whose homes are in peril or uprooted because of climate change, for all displaced because of hurricanes, fires or other disasters.
We pray for all who are developing programs and policies to deal with the current public health threat; for those who are treating the sick, stocking shelves, transporting supplies, suffering from illness, coping with new life-patterns and finding ways to keep anxiety at bay for themselves and others.
We pray for those who have died, that your will for them may be fulfilled, and that they may share with all your saints in the full revelation of your eternal glory.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Church of the Province of
Myanmar (Burma). The Anglican Communion has adopted a cycle of prayer called "From Aba to Zululand," praying its way alphabetically through its members on a daily basis between January 1, 2021 and September 2023. The newsletter and, in the future, the printed bulletin, will include the prayers for Sunday; if you would like to see the daily prayer requests, you can find them HERE.
In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: Pray for Church of the Ascension, Knoxville; Emmanuel Church, Rapid City, SD; and St. Matthew’s, Rapid City, SD.
Those in need of continued prayer:
Jeanette Cureton, Wanda Kirkpatrick, Emma Andrews, Jim Strickland,
Trevor Laymance, Michael Conner, Bo and Mary Minor Brown,
Helen Williams, Peggy Fugate, William Simpson, Timothy Penny,
Donald Jones, Cooper Jones, Charles Smith, Steven Mosman,
John Woodham, Elaine Harrison, Marcia Magers, Major McCollough,
John Cox, Gayanne Silver, Heather Nelson, Robert Clark,
Dexter and Helen Williams, Cheryl McCurry, Ethel Rutledge, Lanie Lundgrin,
Terri Harvey, Sue Sears, Anne Getz, Michael Roberts,
Jeannie and Andy Williams, Jaime Cooper, Teresa Noel, Tina Knowles,
Joyce and Greg Snyder, Martha Killeffer, Robert Durham, Michelle Maroney,
Jessica Ricketts
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Community Care in Anxious Times
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Our Grace check-in team leaders are continuing to contact parishioners via phone, text and/ or email. Please take a moment to pick up or write back to let them know if you’re okay and/or if you need help, pastorally or physically. The leaders of these groups will be in close communication with our priests and our network of volunteers. If you are a new member of Grace and we do not have your information in the directory, please fill out the New Member form here and let us know if you would like to be added to a check-in group. If you have an urgent pastoral need, please call the parish office at (423)243-3250 and leave a message on the main line.. We will be checking these messages regularly even if we aren’t in the office.
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