Dear Friends,
Bishop Bourlakas will meet in the Parish Hall with the candidates for Baptism, Confirmation, and Reception and their presenters, sponsors (parents and godparents), and supporters at 9:15...
...this Sunday. The Bishop will focus his attention on the candidates and any questions they might have. So this will be a good opportunity to show support for the candidates and there may be time for other questions. Please feel invited and welcome to be present.
And remember, there will only be one morning service, 10:30 a.m., this Sunday.
The Candidate for Holy Baptism is Stella Crocker. The candidates for Confirmation are Melissa Sayre, Ava Crocker, Jules Grimes, Rose Hein, Connor Rothermel, Sarah Edgar, Harrison Edgar. The Candidates for Reception are John Arpin, Cece Arpin, Michael Perry and Patrick France.
Let us do all in our power to support these persons in their life in Christ.
With Gratitude,
Tuck Bowerfind (he/him/his)
Rector | Grace Episcopal Church
Worship Services | Second Sunday of Advent and Confirmation | Sunday, December 10
Holy Eucharist | 10:30 a.m.
In-Person and Youtube
Bible Study | 4 p.m.
The ladies’ discussion group will meet in the Welles Room (Library). Please join us!
Light in the Darkness Service
Grace Church is offering a special service on Sunday December 10th at 5:00 p.m.. The holiday season is not always a happy time for everyone. Many are going through emotional turmoil, difficult life transitions, maybe experiencing the pain of loss, and are in need of healing. This service is offered to help people who are dealing with these difficult issues. This service is open to all in our community. If you know of someone who might want to attend, please share this message with them, or better, invite them to come to the service with you.
If you are unable to join in person, join via Zoom at the link below.
Service of Lessons and Carols | 5 p.m. Sunday December 17
St. Nicholas Day Appeal 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,
Our 2023 St. Nicholas Day Appeal is now underway, and I invite and encourage our parishes to engage the promotional materials included below to promote this appeal in your bulletins and digital communications during the seasons of Advent and Epiphany. The conflict in Israel is on all of our hearts and minds as many innocent people on both sides are being injured and killed everyday. The some 7,000 Anglican Christians who make up The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem are praying and working for peace while assisting those in need of healing and hope. Archbishop Hosam has asked that we, Anglicans, support the various medical ministries of the diocese during this very difficult time. Therefore, your Executive Board and I have designated our St Nicholas Appeal to aid The Princess Basma Centre located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Through its Child Rehabilitation Centre, this mission of the Diocese of Jerusalem is able to provide treatment and rehabilitation for children with disabilities from Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, for the age group 0-15. You can learn more about the Center here www.basma-centre.org.
Please consider faithfully how you might support this effort, either by donating online at www.dioswva.org or by mailing a check payable to the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia with “St. Nicholas Day Appeal” marked in the memo to PO Box 2279, Roanoke, VA 24009.
Peace,
The Rt. Rev. Mark Allen Bourlakas
Morning Prayer | Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.
In-Person & Zoom
Rooted in Abundance
Thank you to everyone who has returned a pledge for the Rooted in Abundance pledge campaign to fund the 2024 operating budget of Grace Episcopal Church. Every pledge helps us with our planning for the year to come. We will list the names of those who have made a pledge every week, as well as the total pledged to date. Our goal is between 115-120 pledges totaling $480,000-520,000. To date we have received pledges from 107 households totaling $477,388.00.
Thanks to our contributing households thus far:
Anonymous |
Lori Apgar |
John & Cecilia Arpin |
Doug Ayer |
Anne Blanken |
Laurent & Elizabeth Boetsch |
Peter Bowerfind |
Tucker & Delea Bowerfind |
Jane Brooke |
Alexandra Brown |
Martha Ann Burford |
Catharine Burns |
Bettie Cadden |
Betsy & Buddy Carter |
David & Marjorie Connolly |
Virginia Cooke |
R. David & Melissa Cox |
Ed & Marlys Craun |
Jay & Joan Crawford |
Roger Crockett |
Dennis & Susan Cross |
Susan Denson |
Lynn & Carol Dent |
Barton & Gail Dick |
John & Gail Dickerson |
Punky Dod |
Ed & Lu Dooley |
Don & Claudia Ellis |
Carole Elmore |
Jim & Kitty Farrar |
Dot Fogo |
Matthew Fogo & Kevin Manning |
Tim & Catharine Gaylard |
Keith & Pat Gibson |
Mary Stuart Gilliam |
Rene' Glidden |
Rose Gordon |
Tom & Carol Gosse |
Julianne Grimes |
Margaret Haberman |
Kristy Hamilton |
David & Anne Hansen |
Sandy & Catherine Harcus |
Elizabeth Harralson |
Diana Harris |
Winifred Hart |
Helen Head |
Jack & Anne Hershbell |
Drew & Megan Hess |
Harold & Kathryn Hill |
Kay Horner |
Judy Hotchkiss |
Pierson & Ellen Hotchkiss |
David & Chris Howison |
Benjamin & Laurie Huger |
Hank & Sharon Humphreys |
James & Darlene Keane |
Suzanne Keen |
Deborah & Bill Klein |
Helen Kostel |
Bill & Kathy Kozak |
Sharon & Frederick Kurtz |
Greg & Janet Lemmer |
Buster & Signe Lewis |
Bill & Barbara Luton |
William & Michelle Mackie |
Samson Mamour |
M.J. Mayerchak |
Donnie & Heather McBrayer |
Pat & Lisa McGuire |
Uncas McThenia |
Susan Mead |
John & Drusie Milford |
Rob & Susan Minor |
Helen Moore |
Liz Moss |
Grigg & Cindy Mullen |
Ann & Jerry Nay |
Elaine Nelson |
Mark Nelson |
Elizabeth & Bill Oliver |
David & Jeanne Passmore |
George & Eleanor Penn |
Michael Perry |
Shay Peters |
Henry Porter |
Tim & Mary Price |
Steve & Peggy Riethmiller |
Joanne & Paul Robblee |
Woody & Lori Sadler |
Bill Sayre & Melissa Gladwell-Sayre |
Heidi Schweizer |
Frank Settle, Jr. & Cecile West-Settle |
Marjorie Sherrill |
Sue & Steve Shultis |
Ham & AP Smith |
Jimbo & Ruth Smith |
Sarah Stockton |
Paul Strickland |
Lisa Tracy |
David Wade |
Kitty Wainwright |
Nancy Walker |
Harry & Marnie Wheeler |
Kent & Mary Wilson |
Michael & Beverly Wirtz |
Christina Young |
If you are new to pledging and would like guidance here are three basic guidelines -
1. Pledge something. You are a valuable member of the body of Christ. Most of your contribution to Christ's work is through the works of love you do for others every day in your work and personal life. You also share in the responsibility for maintaining and operating our facilities and ministries. Some members give $1/week, some give $400/week. Some give nothing. Whatever you commit and fulfill will be gratefully received and faithfully used for God's mission through Grace. Whether you give something or not, you are a beloved member of the parish and the body of Christ.
2. Consider pledging proportionally. As your income or net worth change, continue to give proportionally. For example - you can base your giving on a proportion of your gross annual income. Or if you have a positive net worth, you might consider basing your giving on a proportion of your net worth.
3. Consider tithing your income or net worth. Traditionally, tithing is ten percent of gross household income. Muslims have a different standard that you might consider. They give 2.4% of their gross positive net worth. If they have zero or negative net worth they are not expected to give anything except time and talent.
Prayers for Peace in the Holy Land
A Note from Tuck:
I am writing to ask for your prayers for a de-escalation of violence between Israeli and Palestinian people and for return to the challenging work of building a sustainable and lasting peace.
I have reached out to the current student director of Hillel House, the Chaplain at VMI, and the director of Student Services at W&L to express our support of Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim students.
I encourage you to reach out to your Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim friends in recognition that this crisis creates the conditions for increased anti-semitic and anti-muslim behavior, as well the strong likelihood that they or someone close to them has been impacted by this crisis.
Finally, please read the following statement by the Episcopal Church and the accompanying statement by Churches for Middle East Peace.
Pray for peace.
Paws to Connect
Join us for our final Paws to Connect for the semester! We'll bring our four legged friends!
Journey to Bethlehem
As a special holiday activity again this year, we are hoping to have our families at Grace participate in a shared spiritual journey. Beginning on the first day of Advent, December 3rd, a family can invite Mary and Joseph to spend the night at their house. The two will come with a special prayer for the family to say to bless the home that offered hospitality. You can keep a copy of the prayer to read during Advent. We would love it if you would take a picture of your family with Mary and Joseph and
send it to Martha Burford, who will post your pictures on Facebook. After Mary and Joseph have spent the night, you will need to make arrangements to pass them on to the next family on the list included in their box. Hopefully, by Christmas Eve, Mary and Joseph will have visited all the families on the list. The last family (Dec. 23rd) are asked to bring Mary and Joseph to the 5:00 pm Christmas Eve service where Baby Jesus will be waiting for them.
Do you have a special nativity set that you would share with the Church for a few weeks? We will display Nativity sets in the windows of the Nave during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Please bring your set to the Nave and place in a window by Friday, December 1.
Poinsettias for Christmas
In celebration of the nativity of our Lord, we make our church festive with poinsettias and greenery. To purchase a poinsettia ($12.00), make your check payable to Grace Episcopal Church, memo “Flower Fund,” and drop it in the offering plate or mail it to the Parish Office. To list a memorial or thanksgiving in the Christmas bulletins, call the Parish Office or email lisa@gracelexva.org by Monday, December 18.
Main Street Lexington Church Open House
December 15, 4–6:00 p.m. If you would like to volunteer to greet visitors to our church please contact Lisa..
Advent Meditations
This Advent season, you're invited to Advent Meditations, a three-week online series offered these Monday nights in Advent from 7:30 - 8:00 p.m. Join us for this half-hour each week to slow down and take time for silence and contemplation as we experience this special season.
Sounder Community Circle
"It was cold, but there were a few people standing or sitting along the wall in front of the courthouse. Winter or summer, there were always people there. The boy wondered if they knew it was Christmas." from Sounder by William Howard Armstrong
SOUNDER COMMUNITY CIRCLE CHRISTMAS EVENT | Monday, December 11 7:30 p.m. | Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall 123 W. Washington Street
This program will illuminate how images of old Lexington, and JamesBarkley's original painting of the jail, set the scene for the crucial Christmas passage in William HowardArmstrong's Newbery Award-winning book Sounder
Every Sounder Community Circle event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Susan Virginia Mead.
Boys Home of Virginia Wish List
Please help us support the Boys Home of Virginia by supplying any of items on their wishlist. There is a basket on the stair landing to the Parish Office for the Boys Home donations. Please drop off at church. Thank you!
Mission and Outreach Committee of the Gadsden Trust
The mission of the Gadsden Committee “is to disburse funds (from the Gadsden Trust) to enable the spread of the Christian Gospel and to alleviate human suffering.” The Gadsden Committee’s fourth Quarter 2023 meeting will be held December 12, 2023, at 4 pm in the Parish Hall. Committee members (Gail Dickerson, Carol Gosse, William McCorkle, Cindy Mullen, Paul Robblee, Ruth Smith, and Woody Sadler) will review fourth quarter grant requests and distribute available funds in the following areas: local needs and concerns-community and Grace; seminarians and continuing education of Diocesan clergy and ministers of our parish; third world needs; and Diocesan projects or programs.
Fourth quarter grant requests can be sent to Gail Dickerson, Chair, and must be received by December 1, 2023. The Gadsden Trust grant request application can be found here.
Upcoming Outreach Opportunities
Rockbridge Connect and Nourish (CAN) -formerly the Portable Community Table
From RATS (Rockbridge Areas Transportation Services): “We are working to build community by bringing together diverse people to share free, professionally catered dinners, by linking people to other community resources, and by providing free transportation to meals.”
Starting in 2024 the schedule will be 3 dinners a month at 6 locations. Each location will have an assigned month and week.
Join fellow community members at dinner: Rockbridge Connect and Nourish (CAN) - 2024 Community Dinner schedule Volunteer to serve at a dinner: Rockbridge CAN Community Dinner sign-up
Community Health and Wellbeing Survey
Please take 10-15 minutes to complete the 2023 survey. Conducted every three years, survey responses are used to identify health priorities in our community. Agencies use these priorities in making programming and funding decisions, many of which have already had a significant positive impact in our area. Carilion Health Assessment Survey 2023
A Plea for Haiti
Our neighbors in Haiti are struggling through a period of political violence and chaos. With the government disabled, many Haitians rely on church schools to educate their children. Grace, as part of the Virginia Haiti Collaborative, supports one such school in Haiti, St. Marc’s in Cerca-la-Source. Every month the Collaborative sends $5000 to Haiti to pay the salaries of the 30-some teachers at St. Marc’s who teach the 350 students in grades K-12. That $5000/month pays the full salaries of 30 adults and provides education for 350 students. The Collaborative is the school’s only source of funding.
This season, we are also raising money so that the students can have computers at school. They will need some degree of computer literacy to take their graduation exams and to serve them as they seek jobs after graduation. If you can help provide schooling for these children, please put Virginia Haiti Collaborative on the memo line and send your check to Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St, Staunton, VA 24401. Trinity provides bookkeeping for the collaborative. For more information, please contact Anne Hansen or Tuck.
Angel Tree is Coming!
Angel Tree is virtual this year! Grace Episcopal Church has chosen to sponsor 50 children. Will you help connect children with their incarcerated parents and show them the love of Christ? It starts with a simple Christmas gift.
Fellow parishioners have already sponsored more than ten children.
Before December 13, go to our Grace Angel Tree site and select the child/children you would like to sponsor.
A Wal-Mart gift card in the amount of $30.00 will be sent to each individual child.
You may choose one child or multiple children.
You will also be given the option to sponsor the caregiver and have a gift card sent to them. This is not required.
You may pay by credit and ACH.
Note: In addition to showing the love of Jesus, your gift is tax deductible this year! You will receive a donation receipt upon virtual checkout.
Questions? Contact Melissa Cox at 540-319-1986 (text or call)
Thank you for sharing in this important and loving ministry.
Wanted: Sunday School Teachers
Grace is looking for youth, college students and adults willing to help provide Sunday School for a few children each Sunday from about 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. We are willing to pay a stipend. Please contact Tuck to find out more.
Prayer List
Prayer for the election of the next Presiding Bishop: Almighty God, source of all wisdom and understanding: Look graciously on your church, and so guide the hearts and minds of those who will choose our next presiding bishop, that we may receive a faithful pastor who will care for all of your people, equip us for our ministries, and proclaim your word to us and to the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Please pray for the wider Church and intercessions requested by our Congregants: Pray for the continued healing of The Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. The Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, and our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Bourlakas. Pray for the people of St. Mark’s, Fincastle and their rector, the Rev. Willis Logan. Pray for Brendon, Michael Murphy, Timmy, Rick Alexander, Bradley Fairchild and Karen Junkin, Gloria June Perry, Glen Jones, Patricia Brown Boyer, Dolly Shumate, Carolyn Glenn, Jack Hershbell, Laura Stearns, Worth & Katie Burnes & Family, Amelia Dull, Barb Ostrander, Stephen deMaria, Polly Lawrence, Betty Cadden, Jeff Mason, Joe Irby, Kent Wilson, Rosemary Phillips, Don Ellis, Diana Kenney, Patrick Bowes, Ann Nay, Paula Cooper, Penny & Ned Henneman, Barbara Bova, Daniel Diener, Shelby, Anne Stenhouse, Clay Sadler, Lynn Butler, Sharon Humphreys, Eloise Adams, Nancy Mastin, Elizabeth Klein (daughter of Deb & Bill Klein), Linda Lanford and Erik Figueroa (family of Tim & Mary Price), Patrick Keeley, Matthew (SVU student), Dorothy & Bill Rodman (Lori Sadler’s family), Cullen Bahr (friend of Drusie Milford), and those we name aloud or in our hearts. Pray for those who have died, especially Robert Glidden and Sarah Cumming. Pray for the people of Israel, Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Ukraine, and pray for cessation of violence, reconciliation, and peace.
In Thanksgiving for December Birthdays
12/9 John Knapp
12/10 Sis Warner, Lynn Dent, Nolan Zunk
12/12 M.J. Mayerchak
12/13 Anne Lamont
12/16 James R. Keane, Kay Glore
12/18 Robert Hull
12/19 Roger Crockett, Merce Brooke
12/23 Carol Gosse, Julianne Grimes, Betsy Carter
12/25 Harrison Edgar
12/27 Joy Harris
12/30 Maggie Lawrence, Willow Moles, Buddy Carter
12/31 Grace Frascati
We're so glad you're here! If you or someone you know is new to Grace and would like more information about Parish life, follow the link below.
Christmas Basket packing
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at the Virginia Horse Center’s Anderson Coliseum. 8 a.m. to noon. No sign ups—just show up! First time packing with R,CB? Welcome! Tips: Dress in layers (with one being a Christmas sweater, perhaps) and wear comfy shoes. If you are interested in helping delivering, please contact Tammy Reid at tammyr@spencerhomecenter.com
Be a Santa to a Senior 2023
It's time to kick off the 2023 Be a Santa to a Senior program! Please share with your friends, family, and co-workers. All of the older adults on this list are economically-challenged, disabled, or socially isolated. Help make the holidays brighter by adopting a wish list.
Donations for Lisa's House – Project Horizon
Items we currently need: · High efficiency laundry detergent · Toilet paper, paper towels · Lysol disinfectant spray · Dish soap · Coffee · $10 gas cards At this time, we are only able to accept items on this list. Thank you for thinking of us!
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