Hello, Beautiful Beloveds!
First, I’d like to point out that there was an egregious omission from the list of Easter “thank yous” last week, and so with my apologies for tardiness… a hearty and heartfelt thank you goes to Roger Schwenke and the lay readers for all their dedication and hard work, especially during the Triduum when the readings were plentiful and long. There’s a crown for all y’all in heaven (and hugs here at church)!
Also, if you haven’t had a chance to listen to Bishop Wright’s podcast, come join the crowd during a two-parter celebrating the 100th episode!! This episode is sort of a highlight reel of some of the deepest faith conversations had over the course of the podcast’s existence. Take a listen here or subscribe (it’s free) to the show on your apple device.
Also, there’s more Good News from around the Diocese of Atlanta! In a podcast called ‘Good News’ parish members from churches around the diocese tell their stories of how Jesus is at work in their community. If you have good news you want to share about St. Gregory the Great, think about being a guest, and give me a holla! In the meantime, listen to the pilot episode with guests from All Saints Warner Robins and their good news how a food pantry expanded to serve the community of Warner Robins.
And in all your moments of this precious life, please remember that God loves you immeasurably, so much so that Divine goodness and mercy are with you all your days!
Blessings,
Mo. Nikki+
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We had a wonderful Sunday School time last week, with Jenifer Marquardt teaching and Jenifer Borg shepherding. We had 8 children join us, and we shared in a special meal together for snack time, where we learned about Jesus being experienced in the breaking of the bread in the Emmaus Road story. Parents, remind your K-5th grade students to join us each Sunday morning at 9:15. Ask your student to share with you the Sunday School sheet that we send home with them, containing: the “Episcopal Thread” in our lesson; a family prayer for the week; activities to put the lesson into practice; and much more.
Here are the lesson discussions for the rest of May:
May 8: Jew and Gentile: Peter Meets Cornelius (Acts 10)
May 15: Philip Baptizes an Ethiopian Man (Acts 8:26-40)
May 22: One Body, Lots of Parts (1 Cor. 12:4-7, 12-31; Ephesians 4:4-6)
May 29: Our Earth is God’s Earth: Care for the Land (Psalm 95:1-7)
Hope to see you in Sunday School soon!
Mr. Doug
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PEEPS!
The Peep dioramas have been moved to the Christian Education building. If you want to take yours home/save it, please pick it up before Monday morning. Thank you!
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Confirmation classes will begin this Sunday, May 8, immediately following the 10:30AM service. We will meet in the Parish Hall. If you’re interested in being confirmed, reaffirmed, received, or an adult wishing to be baptized, please come! We’ll meet for 8 weeks, although not all 8 will be consecutive. |
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Just what IS "Let's Chat"?
Let’s Chat! is an online group for women of the parish. We meet weekly on Zoom and our usual
format is to. just. chat. That’s it. All adult women are welcome, and we spend our time talking,
getting to know each other better, and sometimes working on solutions for those of us who
could use a little help (homebound and need an errand run? need a recipe for something
special? want to know where early voting is taking place? want to tell people about the really
neat movie you just saw?) The conversation varies from week to week, depending on people’s
needs and desires.
We vary the day and time of the meeting to give more women a chance to participate, but we
also know that nobody will always be able to make all of them (except Stacie Court, the
facilitator). If you can come only once in a while, that’s not a problem–we’ll be glad to see you
when you can make it. If you can’t come for the entire meeting (it lasts one hour), that’s okay:
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Please join us for a Spiritual Formation series on the intersection of faith and nature.
The series will have different presenters on an array of topics over 5 weeks on Sunday afternoons/evenings.
5/15 Celtic Traditions, Ellen Richardson (at their home)
5/29 Buddhism and Nature, Gene Ruffin
6/5 Faith in Action, Tyra Byers
6/12 Hildegard and Teilhard, the Green Mystics, Lee Ann Pingle
6/19 Creation Care, Jason Roberts
Each session will be about an hour (plus travel time if the session is not at the church) and will include a presentation, some meditative practice in nature, some group conversation/reflection on the program, and some communal liturgy.
The first session will be at Ellen and Mark Ricardson's and the meditative practice will be walking their outdoor labyrinth. We will meet at the church at 6:45 pm on Sunday evening, May 15th and carpool to their home.
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If you are planning on attending Jack's celebration of life, please let Martha Beach know, just so they can have a head-count! Please feel free to bring a finger food as well, but do not feel obligated at all! :)
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We will be honoring all of our 2022 graduates on Sunday, May 22! If you are a graduate or KNOW a graduate of high school, college, post grad, etc., please let the church office know before Friday, May 13! office@stgregoryathens.org
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Just In Case You Missed It Last Time |
Pastoral Care Corner: One of the ways we Beloveds can love each other ...
As a member of the Pastoral Care team at St. Gregory’s, and more specifically, as a recent recipient of lots of love from my fellow Gregorians, I would like to tell you about one aspect of care we can offer each other. Often, we find ourselves needing transportation assistance. For various reasons, we might find ourselves temporarily unable to drive to church, to doctor appointments, even shopping errands to the grocery or pharmacy. Last year, when I went through chemotherapy for cancer, I was receiving meds that prohibited me from driving. The wonderful Beloveds of St. Gregory’s blessed me by providing trips to and from University Cancer Center all the way across town on many occasions over a period of several months. As one who knows the importance of being able to rely on help from others, I would like to offer you an opportunity to be a volunteer driver on occasion. The plan is to create a list of driver’s names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers so when the Pastoral Care team becomes aware of a need, we can match a volunteer who lives nearby the person who needs a ride.
This is just one of the ways Gregorians show love to each other. I would like to hear from you. Please let me know if you are willing to help. You can call me at 706-255-2145 or email mmassey@uga.edu.
Peace,
Marge Massey
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Adult Spiritual Formation |
Adult Spiritual Formation meets this Sunday, May 8, to continue our exploration of the Gospel of Luke with Chapter 6. All are welcome in the Parish Hall from 9:15 to 10:15 with no need to have attended earlier sessions. Bibles will be available but feel free to bring your own favorite.
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MONTHLY PARISH MOVIE NIGHT!
Join us as we bring back the monthly parish movie night! Movie nights will be held on the third Friday of each month in Parish Hall and begin at 7pm. Our first movie night will be May 20th and we will be showing the 1985 classic, Back to the Future!
BLINDSPOT MOVIE NIGHT
Calling all those in our Blindspot (20s and 30s)! Join us at University 16 cinemas to see Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness on Friday, May 27! (time TBD)
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GAME NIGHT
All youth (6th-12th grade) are invited to a monthly game night in the youth room at 6pm on the first Saturday of each month, beginning on June 4th. Come, bring your friends and a favorite snack!
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POETRY + 2
Please join us for a poetry reading from our new books! Rebecca Baggett’s The Woman Who Lives Without Money (Regal House Publishing) and Sarah Gordon’s The Lost Thing (Mercer University Press) both appeared in March of 2022, and we are eager to share our work with the St. Gregory community. The joint reading will be held in the Parish Hall at 7:00 on May 7, and it’s free and open to the public. Hey, even if you think you don’t like poetry, we’ll convert you! Note that we are not allowed to sell our books at the reading, but they are both available in local bookstores, on bookshop.org, and Amazon. PLEASE DO WEAR YOUR MASKS!
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Coffee Hour!
Due to the lack of volunteers, there may or may not be coffee hour on any given Sunday. If you are able to host or bring a baked item for a future coffee hour, contact Melissa or Catrina to sign up. A sign up sheet will also be posted at the event.
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Now that we are back to worshiping in person (yay!), Saint Gregory's is in need of volunteers to serve as ushers during our 10:30AM service. Additionally, we need a kind soul to serve as a coordinator for the ushers. If you would like to volunteer, and/or coordinate, please contact Anna Hiers, vestry liaison to the Worship Committee, via email or @ 706-340-9799. Training will be provided.
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easter season
here in the south
a thing remote
but in the north
an easter coat
is needed for
early spring days
before earth’s tilt
to summer rays
all while we shed
our winter clothes
then seek out verse
instead of prose
to glory in
life born anew
inside our hearts
and in our view
alice mohor
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Blindspot Group Chat
Send your name and phone number to Wade McGlamery at 770-624-4837 to be added to the group chat for our 20s and 30s group! Make sure you have downloaded WhatsApp.
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Instructions for Live Streaming
- Just go to the St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church
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Near the time for service, underneath our channel logo, you will see our video for that day, with the word ‘live’ on it. The page will look like this:
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If you don’t immediately see the video that says ‘live’, (for instance, if you opened YouTube before the service begins) keep refreshing it. To ‘refresh’ go up to the top of your screen and on the left or right of the web address you will see this image (little curvy arrow to the right -->). Click on it to ‘refresh.’
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When you see the video square that says ‘live’, click on it.
Welcome to worship!
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Meeting Opportunities
Parish community offerings via Zoom or in person:
*Spring Hatha Yoga Class (Jan 10 – May 30, 2022) in person Mondays, 6:00-7:00 PM, Parish Hall or Zoom Passcode: 509230
The class is free, donations to the church are welcome
*Please bring a yoga mat*
Stacie Court hosts "Let's Chat!" for women of the parish. The days and time vary, and not everyone can join every time, but everyone is welcome to join whenever they can! Email Stacie!
Book Club first Friday of the month @ 7PM ongoing for the foreseeable future. Email Lois Alworth if you are interested in participating.
Lectionary Discussion Group via Zoom, every Thursday at 6:00pm. Email Ken Taylor if you are interested in participating.
*Threads of Prayer is back in person, 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month @1PM! We'll meet outside if the weather is good and inside the Christian Ed building if the weather is bad. Email Annette Bates if you are interested in participating. All knitters and crocheters welcome!
* group(s) now meeting in person
Other groups have been meeting via Zoom as well, so if you've got a group already meeting in Zoom rooms, and want to widen your circle, let Kendall know so we can get the word out there!
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See what's happening on our social sites: |
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