Life With Grace | August 21
- Grace Episcopal Church
- 14 hours ago
- 9 min read
Dear Friends,
This Sunday Simon identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God and Jesus renames Simon "Kephas", the Rock, anglicized as Peter and tells him the keys of the kingdom belong to him. It's one thing to be the Rock, quite another to be the architect and the builder.
The keys assigned to Peter are not to the gates of heaven as joked about in cartoons. Jesus is the door. And anyone the Father gives him will come through him. These keys are symbolic of teaching and judicial authority. In this particular text the authority is given to the Rock. Two chapters later in 18:18 the same authority is conferred on the entire community of the church working together to teach and judge.
If the Rock did have special authority, it was quickly broadened, reflecting the importance of every rock joined into the church by the chief architect and builder who is Jesus.
The Episcopal Church takes this authority with utmost seriousness and exercises it through democratic processes that give each confirmed member a voice and vote. Those voices and votes are reflected in the conventions of the Diocese and the national convention, even in our elections of bishops who embody the apostolic authority given to Peter.
By this authority we declare God's blessing, seek God's will, and trust in God's presence with us to the end of the age.
We can question and debate what God is calling us to do as members of the church. But we can't deny the wonderful audacity attested by Matthew to the eternal life and sacred mystery of the Church that Christ continues to build around, in and through us by the power of the Spirit.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Ephesians 3:20–21
With Gratitude,
Tuck Bowerfind (he/him)
Rector | Grace Episcopal Church
Please note that this will be my last weekly message to you until November 8.
Many thanks to Wardens Sharon Kurtz and Melissa Cox for accepting authority for any decisions to be made in my absence. If you have any questions about Sunday programming, please ask Sharon Kurtz first. If you have any questions about Monday through Saturday, ask Melissa Cox.
I am grateful to Lisa McGuire for accepting all the responsibility for day to day operations, and to David Cox and Anne Grizzle for taking responsibility for priestly duties - mainly celebrating and preaching.
And I am thankful to you. The overwhelming majority of the ministry of the church is performed through your regular daily living, the things you do as a member of Grace, and the many more things you do as a member of Christ. I see you bearing the love, grace, and mercy of Christ in and with you into everything you say and do. What happens at 123 W Washington is important, but it is the tip of the iceberg. I pray that you have joy in your daily life and ministry, especially in times of confusion and struggle and suffering, joy in the knowledge that Christ is with you, working through you to bring new growth.
Some have asked what I am doing over the next two months. Over half the time I will be at home, enjoying weekends with Delea, doing some little projects that have been on hold. I want to complete Edith Stein's autobiography and a couple of other books. We will also have a few excursions - 10 days on Cape Cod thanks to Matt Fogo and Kevin Manning, a weekend with cousins at Virginia Beach for the celebration of my Aunt Julia's well-lived life, my 50th high school reunion in Cleveland. I will be around town. Maybe even on my bike. On occasion perhaps at Grace in person or via Zoom for a speaker or a service. And if you want to know more, ask Peter. 😁
Worship Services | Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost | August 23
Holy Eucharist Rt I | 8 a.m. | Zoom and In-Person
Christianity and Culture | 9:15 a.m. | Zoom and In-Person
August 23: We will welcome our newest VMI Keydets for a ‘get-to-know-you’ session beginning at approximately 9:45 a.m.. Please bring your cell phones to share so they can call home after their first week as Rats. We hope you will consider being a family that adopts students for their first semester. We will sent out a request for food at the beginning of this week.
Upcoming Christianity and Culture Classes
August 30: Jonathan Daniels Day – Adopt-a-Rat Breakfast & Calling Home
September 6: Renewing Grace Transition Plan — Wardens
September 13: Marc Nikkel & CATE (Children Aspiring to Education) Susan Mead & MJ Mayerchek – Celebrating the passion embodied by Marc Nikkel for educating South Sudanese youth, this session will highlight parishioners' efforts to carry on his legacy, particularly at Hope House International and the Kelly Academy of Hope.
Holy Eucharist Rt II | 10:30 a.m. | YouTube and In-Person
The nursery is available during our services.
Adults and older youth trained in Safe Church are needed to assist in the nursery from 9 a.m.–noon. We can pay $15/hour. Volunteers are also welcome. Please contact James Keane for more information and to offer assistance.
Tech Support Needed at 8 a.m. Service
We are looking for someone to start the Zoom and let people into the service at our 8 a.m. service . We have one person who can do it, but they are not there for every service. We are searching for a couple more folks who would be willing and we can schedule them monthly.
Thank you for your help! Training is available!
Morning Prayer | Monday – Friday | 8:30 a.m.
Zoom and In-Person
The Mission and Outreach Committee of the Gadsden Trust
Third quarter grant requests must be received by noon on September 1, 2026. The online Gadsden Trust Grant Application can be completed by going to the Grace Episcopal Church website at www.gracelexva.org. Once on the Grace website, click on the “Grants” tab and then the Gadsden Grants tab. The completed application will automatically be sent to the Gadsden Committee.
Gadsden Committee meetings are open to members of the parish.
Wine Tasting Fundraiser for C.A.T.E.
Join your Grace friends for a Wine Tasting & Silent Auction to benefit Children Aspiring to Education (CATE), Grace's ministry to children in Haiti and South Sudan. Saturday, September 19, 5–7 p.m. in the Grace Church undercroft. Main Street Purveyors will offer the wine tasting. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.
$25.00 per person: pay at the door. Sign up to reserve your place.
Education for Ministry (EfM) Update
For the 2025-2026 academic year, Grace trialed a new one-year EfM program. It included study of the Old Testament, New Testament, church history and limited discussion of ethics and morality. It was a successful year with plans to offer an updated version beginning this September. Unfortunately, the updates needed to refresh the course were not available.
In place of offering the same content again, an alternate has been developed that will start on Tuesday, September 22nd from 1–3 p.m.. Content will include discussion of the Old Testament, New Testament, a comparison of theological beliefs of the Episcopal Church/Anglican Communion to other Christian denominations, and ethics and morality. New books have been identified with discussion of assigned readings as part of the program. Because registration with Sewanee will not be offered, the standard cost of $350 will not be charged. Participants will be responsible for purchasing the books needed. Breaks for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter will be made. The class will conclude in late April 2027.
If you're interested in participating or need additional information, please contact James Keane (jrklexva@msn.com).
Trumpet Recital at Grace
Sammy Eastwood will be performing a trumpet recital on Wednesday, August 26 at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary of Grace Church. We hope that you will be able to join Sammy and his family and friends for this very special event.
Sammy is the son of Jon Eastwood and Maria Nava and is the trumpet student of Peter Del Vecchio, having studyied privately with him for the past 3 1/2 years. Piano accompanist for the recital is Lisa Knudson of Buena Vista.
The pieces that Sammy will perform are the Haydn Trumpet Concerto (2nd movement), a fun and exhilarating arrangement of the William Tell Overture (featuring Sammy's band as accompanists), a beautiful and complex French étude, a fun selection by Sammy and his band, and two works by Del Vecchio (a duet for two trumpets, and a sonatina for trumpet and piano).
The recital is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served after. For more information about the recital, please contact Peter Del Vecchio at 540-460-2440, or at PHDelVecchio@aol.com
ESOL Snack Request
The English as a Second Language (ESOL) program at Rockbridge County High School needs individually wrapped snacks for ESOL students such as granola bars, protein bars, cheese crackers, peanut butter crackers, beef jerky. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. You may leave them in the Parish Office. Thank you!
Rockbridge NAACP Event
Rockbridge NAACP members welcome Kentucky Poet Laureate & 2014 NAACP Image Award Recipient, Frank X. Walker to the Freedom Fund 2026 Fundraiser "A Peaceful Struggle for Justice" (Medgar Evers, 1963) - Honoring Tammy Dunn. Saturday, August 22, 1:30 p.m. at the Virginia Horse Center, 487 Maury River Road, Lexington. Donations can be made by check and mailed to: Rockbridge NAACP, P.O. Box 1065, Lexington, VA 24450. For more information, email Susan Mead at susanvirginiamead@gmail.com. To donate online, go to RockbridgeNAACP.com
Music in the Garden at Boxerwood
Join us in the Boxerwood field on select Fridays from May through September for this family-friendly concert series. For more than ten years, neighbors have gathered at Boxerwood on warm summer evenings to enjoy great local music in a relaxing atmosphere. The concerts are kid- and pet-friendly, affordable, easily accessible, and welcoming to all.
The gate opens at 5:30 p.m. so that early arrivers can meet up with friends to picnic, socialize, or get a bite to eat. Musicians take the stage at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 8:00 p.m. as the sun goes down. A food truck is on site at each show. Admission to Music in the Garden is free for kids and current Boxerwood members and $5 per adult for non-members. There's no charge for parking. We have handicapped parking and the terrain is suitable for wheelchairs.
To view the bands and plan your visit, check out our Calendar.
Food for Pets of RARA Clients
We are collecting 8- or 10-pound bags of dry food or packages of wet dog, puppy, cat, and kitten food for pets of RARA clients.
Any brand is welcome, but please choose regular diets.
Donations may be delivered inside the RARA Neighborhood Market at 350 Spotswood Drive, Lexington, during the following drop-off times:
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
If these times are not convenient, donations may also be dropped off at the parish office.
For questions, please email Susan Cross.
Clothes Closet at Christ Episcopal
The Clothes Closet at Christ Church, Buena Vista, needs new men's briefs and boxer shorts and women's underwear - all sizes, men's collarless tee shirts in all sizes, men's shorts, jeans, pants sizes 30 to 36, and new or gently used men's socks. 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 a.m. until noon. You may drop your items off then. Alternately, you can bring your items to the Grace Episcopal 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.
Prayer List
Please pray for the wider Church and intercessions requested by our Congregants: Pray for Presiding Bishop the Most Rev. Sean Rowe. Pray today for the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia and our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Karin MacPhail. Pray today for the people of Grace, Radford and their priest-in-charge, the Very Rev. William Yagel. Pray for God’s blessing on the peacemaking labor of Anthony Poggo, former bishop of the South Sudanese diocese of Kajo-Keji and now serving as Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, and Ezekiel Kondo, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, and Justin Badi Arama, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. Pray for Brendon, Timmy, Laura Stearns, Lynda deMaria, Kent Wilson, Jerry & Ann Nay, Paula Cooper, Sharon Humphreys, Elizabeth Klein, Dot Fogo, Buddy Atkins, Dennis Coughlin, Gerry Locher, Mo Littlefield, Tena Clark, Shay Peters, Meg Moss, Steve Lawrence, Patricia Williams, Peggy Matheson, Sid, Allison Williams, Biddy & Chuck Watson, Sue Denson, Michelle Mackie, Gary Steinmiller (cousin of Darlene Keane), Virginia Cooke, Melissa Cox, Melanie Griffis, Mike and Sue Ellen Jent, Jeff Mason, Lizzie Scott, Carole Elmore, Katherine Greene, Melissa Wooding, and those we name aloud or in our hearts.
Pray for the people living in war, pray for cessation of violence, and for reconciliation and peace.
Pray for those who have died.
In Thanksgiving for August and September Birthdays
8/21 Lena Simcoe
8/26 Elaine Nelson
8/28 David Howison
8/29 Pierson Hotchkiss
8/31 Pat Gibson
9/1 Trudie Kirkland, Mark Gallagher
9/2 Harrison Branner
9/3 Buster Lewis, Ella Sayre, Estella Crocker
9/4 Gail Dick
9/7 Susan Cross
9/8 Delea Bowerfind, Cecilia Arpin
9/9 Marlys Craun
9/10 Frederick Kurtz, Ted Judt
9/11 Ham Smith, Mary Etta Randolph
9/16 Tucker Bowerfind
9/18 Judy Hotchkiss, Carolyn Kuper
9/19 Julia Littlefield, Nanalou Sauder, Frank Settle
9/20 Keith Gibson, Spencer Tucker, Drew Sorber, Phyllis Hugg
9/21 Chris Howison, Barbara Luton, Austra Burr
9/22 Ann Nay, Elizabeth Oliver
9/24 Graham Centorino
9/25 Darlene Keane
9/26 Page Donkle
9/28 Winifred Hart
9/29 John Maasch (Susan Mead’s client)
9/30 Mo Littlefield, Lynda DeMaria
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