Life With Grace | February 14
- Grace Episcopal Church
- Feb 14
- 8 min read
Dear friends,
This Sunday's lessons challenge our assumptions about who and what to trust for our well being both now and in the future. In fact they challenge our assumptions about how to assess our well being.
Jeremiah, preaching at a time when Babylonian armies are invading Jerusalem, disappoints everyone by delivering the message that God is behind the catastrophe. He tells us to abandon any hope for national sovereignty and to stop trusting in human institutions for salvation. The same God who is causing our destruction is the source of hope for present well being and future restoration.
Disappointing for sure. But true?
As we face ecological destruction caused by our "normal" way of life, and as we witness the dismantling of institutions like USAID, and the devastating effects on the poorest and sickest people in the world, we might wonder how the message of Jeremiah applies to us. Should we simply accept? Should we fight?
This past week I met with others from around our diocese to strategize about the best way to support Ecole Saint Marc in Cerca La Source Haiti. Things continue to worsen in many ways. For several months they have not been able to pay for wifi that is critical for some aspects of their curriculum. Last month they ran out of funds for cooking oil to provide hot lunches for their high school students. Due to changes in exchange rates and inflation the amount we send to pay teacher salaries is no longer sufficient.
We do not accept that God wants our friends in Haiti to suffer any more than Jesus accepts or desires the suffering of the people he heals and feeds and gathers to hear the good news of God's promises. But fighting would be a waste of our own resources. There is another way. We may not make our friends rich, but we can share out of our abundance and help provide, in a spirit of companionship, what they really need to continue in their educational mission.
One member of our group promised $1000 to make up this month's budget shortfall. Another provided $300 for six months of wifi service. I will provide the funds for cooking oil through the discretionary fund that you provide for my use. On March 4, through the Mardi Gras Spaghetti Supper and Bingo Night we will raise funds for another couple of weeks of teacher salaries.
Working together as the body of the risen Christ we continue the mission of God in Christ. Trusting and acting in accordance with the spirit of God alive in the people of God we can bear good fruit in all times and places.
With Gratitude, Tuck Bowerfind (he/him)
Rector | Grace Episcopal Church
Worship Services | Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany | Sunday, February 16
Holy Eucharist Rt I | 8 a.m. | In-Person and on Zoom
Christianity and Culture | 9:15 a.m. | In-Person and Zoom
February 16: Rachel Levit Ades, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Mudd Center for Ethics, Washington and Lee University Discusses disability accessibility; What does it take for everyone to participate in the world? Rachel is a philosopher who studies disability accessibility; she is really curious about what it takes for everyone to participate in the world. She tries to learn more about this, create opportunities for others to discuss this, and make the things she is passionate about accessible. Rachel came to this project after working in special education and deaf education. She teaches philosophy classes both for university students and in community settings for adults with disabilities; she also has some fun with creative accessibility projects. Rachel will finish her postdoc at W&L’s Mudd Center for Ethics this spring. Her future plans are open at the moment, though she will leave beautiful Lexington to be closer to family. In some form, she aims to continue to do work, which is interesting, creative, and hopefully helpful.
Upcoming Christianity and Culture Sessions
February 23: Saint John's Bible Art Joanne Robblee
Holy Eucharist Rt II | 10:30 a.m. | In-Person and on YouTube
Women's Bible Study | Welles Room/Library | 3:30 p.m.
The Parish Office will be closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
Morning Prayer | Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.
In-Person & Zoom
The Saint John's Bible
The Saint John's Bible has been traveling around the state the past two weeks. Fr. Tuck brought the bible to the 106th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia on January 24-26 in Roanake, VA. Liz Moss and Judy Schram were the docents who shared the bible with the attendees and Bishop Mark Bourlakas. Last week, the bible went on two home visits with docent Judy Schram, who shared the illumations with Harold & Shannon Tate in Waynesboro and Jack & Jean Glisson (who have been married for 73 years!) in Lexington. 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.
This week, we’re sharing the frontispiece of the Book of Psalms and the illumination that accompanies Psalm 1. The Saint John’s Bible design team decided that illuminations based on Biblical history would limit their connection to the Psalms, which scholars explain have served Jews and Christians alike for centuries as a prayerbook.
So instead of a specific event, the frontispiece represents the five volumes of the Book of Psalms, and Psalm 1 is accompanied by the open and enlarged version of the book’s first volume.
The gold ornamentation you will see traveling across the pages has its own backstory: As one scholar explains, the Benedictines – including the monks at Saint John’s Abbey in Minnesota – chant a number of Psalms every day, as part of the Divine Office, voicing all 150 Psalms in the course of a four-month cycle. The gold squares and bars, in one spot forming a cross, were created from the actual oscilloscopic voiceprints of the monks chanting in prayer!*
As The Saint John’s Bible resides with us, it is also traveling around our county and beyond; on Thursdays from 1 to 6 p.m., it will be in the Grace nave, where individuals and groups can come spend time with the volume – read, contemplate, share, or simply sit and meditate. A docent or docents will be available to assist visitors if needed.
*For more information, see The Art of the Saint John’s Bible by Susan Sink, found in the Welles Room library.
Beer and Hymns | Sky Bar | Thursday, February 27, 6 p.m.
Join us for an evening of music, fellowship, and fun at Sky Bar on Thursday, February 27th, at 6 PM. Hosted by Grace Episcopal Church, this event will feature lively hymns led by emcees Martha Burford, David Mayersky, and Michael McLaughlin. Bring your friends and your singing voice as we come together to share in community and song. Stay tuned for more details soon! Save the date, and we hope to see you there!
Mardi Gras Spaghetti and Bingo Night
Sign up now for an evening of good food and good fun on March 4 to support our ministries to children in Haiti and South Sudan! The evening features drinks and hors d'oeuvres, a spaghetti dinner, bingo and fun together as we raise funds for St. Marc's School in Haiti and Kelly Academy of Hope in South Sudan. The cost is $50 per person and the sign up sheet will displayed during church coffee hours and located in the church vestibule during the week.
Celebrity Bartender
"Celebrity Bartender" Thursdays is a February-only event series in which Lexington Golf and Country Club is looking to engage more with the community nonprofits and open its doors to non-members. Attendance is free, and all tips (CASH ONLY!) given to Valerie that evening will go directly to RARA! Valerie will easily charm and delight all guests while generating more RARA name recognition, a cash donation for our February books, and hopefully a few more names on our donor list by the end of the year.
2025 Backyard Compost Challenge
Join Boxerwood in this year's Backyard Composting Challenge!
Bakers Wanted for the Community Table
Please contact Virginia Cooke at 348-5367 if interested!
Finance Committee Seeking New Members
The Finance Committee is looking for members of the Parish to join us in monitoring the finances of the church. Time involved: about 1 ½ hours per month. We meet on the third Tuesday of the month at 4:00 p.m. somewhere in the Parish Hall. Be willing to serve your church to the best of your ability. Benefits: Joy and Gladness in helping the church spend pledges and donations wisely.
If interested, please contact Margaret Haberman on her cell phone at 703-608-8695, or her home phone at 540-463-0950.
Clothes Closet at Christ Episcopal
The Clothes Closet at Christ Church, Buena Vista, continues to need girls' winter coats, girls' clothing size 10-18, and silverware. 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.
Greeter Team and Usher Team at Grace
Greeters take turns welcoming worshipers as they enter the churchyard to attend the service. They identify visiting guests, visitors, new members and extend a warm greeting. Greeter schedules are flexible to work with your availability. A great way to meet others at Grace. Contact Cecile West-Settle at West-SettleC@wlu.edu, 540-570-3256.
Ushers help the service run smoothly by welcoming worshipers to the service and assisting them as needed. They distribute the service bulletin and help with the offering collection, communion and more. Schedules are flexible to work with your availability. Email or call Lisa McGuire at 540-463-4981.
Training provided, many benefits! Join TODAY
Paws to Connect
Paws to Connect will be back soon!
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 Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, and our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Bourlakas. Pray for the people of Trinity, Rocky Mount. Pray for Brendon, Timmy, John Perry, Glen Jones, Laura Stearns, Lynda deMaria, Polly Lawrence, Betty Cadden, Jeff Mason, Joe Irby, Kent Wilson, Diana Kenney, Jerry & Ann Nay, Paula Cooper, Ned Henneman, Barbara Bova, Sharon Humphreys, Nancy Mastin, Elizabeth Klein, Cullen Bahr (friend of Drusie Milford), Mary Etta Randolph, Carl & Rachel Pattison, Grace, Palmer Stickley and his family, Mercedes Aravena-Echaurren, Patricia Williams, Justin, Rodrigo, Wes O’Dell and family, Peggy DePasquale, Danny Anson friend of Pat & Keith Gibson), Bill Cannon, Tom Strickland, Virginia Poston (sister of Betsy Carter), Dot Fogo, Roger Baroody, Buster Lewis, Joe Moles, Michelle & John Evola (cousins of Darlene Keane), Kelly Strickland (brother of Paul), For the family of Doug, Shelley and Jennifer in their loss of their gifted son, Tyler (friends of the Passmores), David Austin (friend of the Keanes), 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 February Birthdays
2/19 Rose Hein
2/20 Sammy Eastwood
2/21 Steve Riethmiller
2/23 Beverly Tucker, Graham Hess, Becky Hall
2/24 Holt Merchant
2/25 Jeanne Passmore
2/27 Joseph Henson
2/28 Caitie Carrington, Erin Carrington
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.
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