Life With Grace | April 25
- Grace Episcopal Church
- Apr 25
- 7 min read
Dear friends,
The Church always reads the account of the second and third resurrection appearances on the Second Sunday of Easter (John 20).
While many teachings of Jesus are metaphorical, I am the True Vine, the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the resurrection is presented and attested to in a strictly literal sense. He showed them his hands and his side.
The actual encounter with the risen Jesus brings Thomas transforms Thomas from doubt to recognize Jesus as Lord and God and transforms all the Apostles from fear to joy.
The Apostles are transformed through seeing Jesus to believing what cannot be seen - The Son and the Father are one.
Believing through the power of the Spirit is the final gift of God for the disciples and the gift that we share with them as members of the body of Christ. By final I don't mean the last gift, I mean the complete, full gift. The gift of believing through the Spirit opens us to not only "see" but share, as living and active members of Christ, in the production of God's real gifts of fellowship, healing, liberation, and abundance.
With Gratitude, Tuck Bowerfind (he/him)
Rector | Grace Episcopal Church
Worship Services | Second Sunday of Easter | Sunday, April 27
Holy Eucharist Rt I | 8 a.m. | In-Person and Zoom
Christianity and Culture | 9:15 a.m. | In-Person and Zoom
April 27, The Saint John's Bible with Joanne Robblee
Holy Eucharist Rt II | 10:30 a.m. | In-Person and on YouTube
May 4 | First Sunday Lunch
To celebrate the ministry of Michael McLaughlin who is getting married and leaving the Grace family, and our graduating college students from SVU: Julia Evans (graduated 2024), Susie Falconer, Daisy Grover, Eliza Stucki. W&L: Patrick France. VMI: Grant Martin, Harrison Williams.
Women's Bible Study
Women's Bible Study has changed its meeting place to the home of Susan Cross, 621 Marshall Street. The time is 3:30 p.m. on Sundays. All ladies welcome! We are discussing the lectionary readings for the following Sunday. No preparation is necessary.
Morning Prayer | Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.
In-Person & Zoom
Lanford Mission Emergency Fund Easter Appeal
The Lanford Mission Emergency Fund (MEF) was begun in this parish over 40 years ago to assist residents of Rockbridge County who request emergency financial help in meeting rent, utility, medical, or temporary housing expenses. The MEF primarily receives its funding from Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas offerings as well as a small number of pledges that are designated “Mission Emergency Fund”.
Requests for assistance are usually made because of sudden illness, loss of health insurance, unexpected job loss, or other unanticipated crisis situations. RARA (Rockbridge Area Relief Association) does the vetting to verify need, and then contacts Grace Episcopal along with Lexington Presbyterian and St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic churches to share costs with RARA.
As we approach Easter, we ask you to consider a donation to the Lanford Mission Emergency Fund. If you would like to make a gift in the form of a check, the check can be made out to Grace Episcopal Church with “Lanford MEF” noted on the memo line. A donation to the Lanford MEF can also be made on Grace’s Website at www.gracelexva.org.
The Christian Outreach Committee sincerely thanks you for your faithful and generous support of this long-time Grace Episcopal outreach ministry!
2025 National Day of Prayer (Interfaith Service)
Randolph Street United Methodist Church, 118 Randolph Street, Lexington, May 1, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
You are invited to an Interfaith Prayer Service where prayers will be offered from the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian faith traditions, for Unity and Peace for our Nation.
Helping Ukrainian Families please consider helping this humanitarian outreach. The group has engaged an immigration attorney to guide the Ukrainian families, that were helped by Hosting Ukrainian Families, through the rules and regulations that could provide a safeguard from deportation. Donate HERE.
The Saint John's Bible
If you have photos you would like to share of the St. John's Bible in our community and beyond, please send them to Lisa.
As the visiting volume of The Saint John’s Bible makes its home with us for three months, we also turn to other volumes to share with the congregation and visitors.
The Saint John's Bible Book of Revelation was lettered and illuminated entirely by master scribe and artist Donald Jackson. In the opening illuminations, Jackson draws on both the Old and the New Testaments, as John, in writing Revelation, drew on the prophets in his visión of the Son of Man.
The Committee on Illumination and Text encouraged Jackson to take the occasion of the vision of Revelation to unify
all that had preceded it and to evoke the richness of a cathedral interior. He chose the most brilliant color palette, which is seen in the Revelation Incipit, the accompanying Son of Man illumination, and the marginal quotation, "I am the Alpha and the Omega."
The Son of Man illumination alludes to the illuminations of the visions of Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel: the flaming lamps recall Isaiah, while the prominent circular pattern evokes the wheel of God's fiery chariot in Ezekiel and Daniel. The pattern, however, also reminds the viewer of the intention in The Saint John's Bible to include spiritual art from diverse cultures and religions; it recalls the Islamic arabesques and the mandala of the Book of Matthew frontispiece, and the sketches of native American basket patterns in the "Loaves and Fishes" -- all circular patterns that evoke the unending oneness of divinity.
The illumination also alludes to the Tree of Life, as the small random points of light in the central circle were seen in earlier Tree of Life images.
The fish reappear here as well, perhaps to remind us of multiple accounts of Jesus feeding the hungry multitudes. This brings us to Revelation's central message of hope in times of chaos: as the Ancient One, the God of Israel, rode to deliver his people in Isaiah, so the Son of Man comes to fulfill the prophecies of divine deliverance, to sustain his people in times of trial, and to establish his Kingdom come.
The marginal quotation, finally, is the consummate introduction to this final book of The Saint John's Bible, as it simply and clearly enunciates Jesus' often spoken reminder to his people: I Am.
Trex Challenge Met Again
As we celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day this week, the Creation Care Committee is very pleased to announce that Grace Church has once again met the goal of 1,000 pounds of plastic film collected and recycled. Thanks to your steadfast support we have been able to reduce the amount of plastic film in this world by the equivalent of 50,000 plastic bags. For our efforts we will also receive a new Trex bench.
Going forward we will continue to collect plastic film to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment. Thanks so much for all your help with this project.
Bakers Wanted for the Community Table
Please contact Virginia Cooke at 348-5367 if interested!
Clothes Closet at Christ Episcopal
The Clothes Closet at Christ Church, Buena Vista, continues to need girls' clothing sizes 10-18, only. They are not accepting any other items at this time as they are chock full! The Clothes Closet is open every first and third Saturday of the month from 9 am until noon. You may drop your items off then. Alternately, you can bring your items to the Grace Church office and Lisa will ensure your items are conveyed to the Clothes Closet. Thank you for your support of this valuable asset to our community.
Community Appreciation Celebration
For Major General Cedric T. Wins | Superintendent, Virginia Military Institute
Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church
Prayer List
Please pray for the wider Church and intercessions requested by our Congregants: Pray for Presiding Bishop The Most Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe. Pray for the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, and our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Bourlakas. Pray today for the Retired Clergy of The Diocese of Southwestern Virginia and their Chaplains, The Rev. Dr. Bob Copenhaver and The Rev. Dr. James Hubbard.
Pray for the healing of Pope Francis. Pray for Brendon, Timmy, John Perry, Laura Stearns, Lynda deMaria, Polly Lawrence, Betty Cadden, Jeff Mason, Joe Irby, Kent Wilson, Diana Kenney, Jerry & Ann Nay, Paula Cooper, Ned Henneman, Sharon Humphreys, Nancy Mastin, Elizabeth Klein, Mary Etta Randolph, Carl & Rachel Pattison, Grace, Mercedes Aravena-Echaurren, Justin, Rodrigo, Wes O’Dell and family, Virginia Poston (sister of Betsy), Dot Fogo, Roger Baroody, Michelle & John Evola (cousins of Darlene Keane), David Austin (friend of the Keanes), Ellen Fure, Buddy Atkins, George Collier, Rosemary Phillips (sister of Paul Robblee), Patricia Williams, Emily & Luke Child, Rebecca Robblee (daughter-in-law of Joanne & Paul), Kathy Kricensky (Abby Moles mom), Andy Wolfe, Oneatha Shinnick, Mike, Margy & Aaron Haire (Susan Cross’ brother and family), Stan Driver, Charles Capito (brother of Kitty Farrar), and those we name aloud or in our hearts. Pray for the people of Israel, Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Ukraine, and pray for cessation of violence, and for reconciliation, and peace. Pray for those who have died.
In Thanksgiving for April and May Birthdays
4/25 Genelle Gertz
4/26 Chuck Smith
4/27 Clara Pickett
4/28 Sharon Humphreys, Clark Simcoe, Abby Moles, Madison Brown
4/29 David Hansen
5/2 Elizabeth Harralson, Ruth Smith
5/6 Peter Bowerfind
5/8 Kate Holston
5/12 Anne Hershbell
5/13 Caroline Russell
5/15 Jenny Mastin
5/16 Ren Price, Elaine Price
5/17 John Dickerson, Cynthia Robertson
5/20 Joan Crawford, Foster Pickett
5/22 Garrett Frascati
5/26 Raeanna Simcoe
5/30 Lyle McClung
5/31 Anne Tyler McCabe, Ellie Mastin
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