Life With Grace | January 16
- Grace Episcopal Church
- Jan 16
- 7 min read
Dear Friends,
Events in our national life, especially protests in places like Minneapolis, and the recurring threats of military intervention in places as disparate as Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, and various cities in our own country are raising questions and anxieties about our responsibilities as citizens and as Christians to stand for justice and peace.
Justice and peace often seem at odds with each other. But they are not. In Letter from a Birmingham Jail the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stresses the continuity of justice and peace and the imperative of carefully prepared, non-violent, direct action to restore justice and peace.
Dr King identifies three preparatory steps before direct action (boycotts, sit-ins, marches, etc). 1. Collect facts to determine whether an injustice exists; 2. negotiation; 3. self-purification. In his Letter King goes on to describe how the Southern Christian Leadership Conference had undertaken each of those preliminary steps.
I believe these are important things for communities, including congregations, to do together - determine the facts about whether injustice exists, prepare for spiritual, non-violent confrontation, attempt good faith negotiation, and then undertake direct action.
I also know that talking this way makes many people anxious. Which is why spiritual purification as King calls it is so important.
As Christians we are invited to pay attention to our hearts, and to care for one another as whole persons. For some of us the conflicts in Minneapolis and elsewhere seem distant and a little unsettling. For others they are deeply disturbing and even traumatic. We have to first understand our own hearts and take care of ourselves.
And we also have a duty of care for each other. Please be mindful of your own heart and try to care for each other, especially those with whom you may deeply disagree. All people are children of God and deserving of care and respect whether they give it or not. Prepare yourself to give that care and respect to yourself and others.
Dr. King modeled that respect. He never backed down from speaking the truth even to those who denied it and who denied his full dignity. And he also never gave in to hatred or violence, though he endured both.
We are blessed to have the example he set. Blessed even more if we can rise to follow his lead.
With Gratitude,
Tuck Bowerfind
Worship Services | The Second Sunday after the Epiphany | Sunday, January 18
Holy Eucharist Rt I | 8 a.m. | In-Person and on Zoom
Christianity and Culture | 9:15 a.m. | In-Person and on Zoom
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18th - The New Testament Re-Examined - Don Samdahl - Don will focus on examining Christ’s advent and the New Testament in light of God’s prophetic program and Paul’s apostleship. It will consider the messages of Peter and Paul, why Luke wrote Acts, and other related issues.
Upcoming Christianity and Culture Session
JANUARY 25th | Focus on Faust | Roger Crockett |
| Roger will speak about the Faust legend in German literature from the middle ages to the nineteenth century with most of the emphasis on Goethe's monumental two-part drama completed in 1831. Goethe uses a primarily Christian framework for the pact Faust makes with the devil, but the work transcends the boundaries of any one religion, or even religion at all. It’s surprising ending mixes the Christian reliance on God's love with humanistic ideals and a heavy dose of mysticism. |
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FEBRUARY 1st | Update on the Diocesan Convention | David Cox |
| David will share news from the convention and election of our new bishop. |
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FEBRUARY 8th | Churches of the Valley | Katharine Brown |
| The Church of England was extended to the Virginia colony in 1607 when Jamestown was settled and became the established church, with a parish church for each county (sometimes two,) and chapels of ease for convenience of worshippers, with a settled Anglican minister on a glebe farm. Most colonists were English and a part of this official church. This was NOT the case west of the Blue Ridge, when settlers began coming into the Great Valley of Virginia from Pennsylvania in the 1730s. Most of them were not Anglicans, as they did not come from England. They were dissenters. Their origins were in various German principalities where the Lutheran or Reformed churches were established, or Scotland where the Presbyterian Church was established, or were anabaptists or Quakers who dissented from any established church. The religious dynamics of the Valley differed sharply from the rest of Virginia and afforded an interesting study when the established church came on the scene. This session will look at how the established church functioned in the colonial Valley, the role the Valley played in the development of religious liberty and disestablishment of the Church in the Revolutionary era, and how the new Episcopal Church learned to be just one denomination in a pluralistic society in the years before the Civil War. |
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Holy Eucharist Rt II | 10:30 a.m. | In-Person and on YouTube
The nursery is available during our services.
Adults and older Youth trained in Safe Church are needed to assist in the nursery from 9-noon. We can pay $15/hour. Volunteers also welcome. Please contact James Keane for more information and to offer assistance.
A Collect for the Election of Our Bishop
Creator God, whose Church lives beyond the walls of buildings and the boundaries of cities, we ask that you guide our work as the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia moves together through a transition of leadership. We pray for patience in dialogue and wisdom in discernment for the person who will be elected as our next Bishop, and that the work of spreading God’s love in southwestern Virginia and beyond will grow and flourish in the years to come. In the name of your incarnate son we pray. Amen.
Morning Prayer | Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.
In-Person & Zoom
Paws to Connect
Paws to Connect will pause for the cold weather. We'll see you soon!
Support a Family in Gaza
To learn more about supporting a family in Gaza, please join Oishani, Meghan, Charlie, and Tinni in the church library after the 10:30am service on February 1.
Members of the Lexington community—Oishani Basuchoudhary, Meghan Ferguson, Charlie Mayock-Bradley, and Tinni Sen—invite all church members to hear about a family in Gaza: Rawan and her husband, Ahmed, are displaced parents to their one-year-old son, Aboud, who is frequently ill due to malnutrition and scarcity of basic necessities. Despite exhibiting extraordinary resilience, the family continues to face terrible hardships every day. They move from place to place and struggle daily to secure food, diapers, and nutritional supplements essential to Aboud’s survival and health. Oishani has been in close contact with this family since spring of 2024, since before Aboud was born, communicating via Whatsapp phone calls and regular photographic updates. She is eager to introduce them to her friends & neighbors in Lexington and Rockbridge County. Their presentation will be in the church library on February 1st after the 10:30 am service. They hope to see you there.
Lanford Mission Emergency Fund (LMEF)
Thank You, Thank You!! The Christian Outreach Committee on behalf of the Lanford Mission Emergency Fund (LMEF) expresses its grateful appreciation for parishioners’ generous Christmas 2025 offerings. Your gifts have already enabled the LMEF to assist with 12 rent requests in January to keep Rockbridge County residents safe and warm in their homes.
Thank you again for your generosity and continued support of this vital Grace outreach ministry in Rockbridge County!
Spaghetti Dinner With Bingo and Silent Auction!
To benefit CATE - Children Aspiring To Education, Our ministries In Haiti and South Sudan
Join your friends for a great evening in the parish hall
February 17, Shrove Tuesday
5:00 cocktails and silent auction
6:00 dinner with bingo to follow
Suggested donation, $50 per person
Tickets available: sign up in the narthex or by email with Anne Hansen.
Connections Plus
Connections Plus is now offering three 6-session educational groups in which the participants learn about and organize important documents; such as medical, property, finances, final wishes, and executor information, in order to make things easier for those who must settle our affairs after we are gone.
Cost: $30.00 for materials. Space is limited.
Class #1: 9:30-11:00 am, Thursdays at Sunnyside House at Kendal, 160 Kendal Drive, Lexington
March 12 & 26; April 16 & 30; May 14 & 28.
Class #2: 5:30-7:00 pm, Tuesdays at Manly Memorial Baptist Church, 202 S. Main St., Lexington
March 17; April 7 & 21; May 5 & 19; June 2
Class #3: 9:30 - 11:00 am, Wednesdays at Maury River Senior Center (VPAS) 2137 Magnolia Avenue, Buena Vista
March 18; April 8 & 22; May 6 & 20; June 3
For more information or to register, please contact Connections Plus at 540-463-1848 or info@connectionsplus.care
MLK Jr. Worship Service
Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Worship Service, Sunday, January 18, 4:00 p.m. at The First Baptist Church, 103 N. Main Street, Lexington.
MLK Day Parade
2026 CARE Rockbridge Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Parade, 10:30 a.m., January 19. Parade starts at the Randolph Street United Methodist Church.
Prayer List
Please pray for the wider Church and intercessions requested by our Congregants: Pray for Presiding Bishop The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe. Pray for Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. Pray for the candidates for bishop: The Rev. Paul Canady, The Rev. Karin MacPhail, The Very Rev. Becky McDaniel, The Very Rev. Grant Stokes. Pray today for the people of Christ Church, Pocahontas. Pray for Brendon, Timmy, Laura Stearns, Lynda deMaria, Betty Cadden, Jeff Mason, Joe Irby, Kent Wilson, Jerry & Ann Nay, Paula Cooper, Ned Henneman, Sharon Humphreys, Nancy Mastin, Elizabeth Klein, Carl Pattison, Virginia Poston (sister of Betsy Carter), Dot Fogo, David Austin (friend of the Keanes), Buddy Atkins, Stan Driver, Chris Clayton Syrrist (cousin of David Sorrells), Glen Jones, Charlotte & Mike Murphy, Jean & Mike Walsh, Cullen Bahr, Lane Hewett, Susan Martin, Carolyn, Nancy Hellwig, Dennis Coughlin, Mike Haire, Chuck & Biddy Watson, Rob Fleming, Patricia Williams, Patty Irving Sensabaugh, Richard Partlett, Oakley Clements, 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.
In Thanksgiving for January Birthdays
1/16 Gabrielle Frascati
1/18 Lee Sayre, Laurie Huger
1/19 Elizabeth Boetsch
1/20 Paul Strickland
1/21 Sarah Edgar
1/23 Virginia Cooke
1/26 Maille Carrington
1/27 Sean Carrington, Joseph Moles
1/29 Jane Brooke, Nan Partlett
1/30 Melissa Gladwell-Sayre, Cary Edgar
1/31 Tom Gosse, Don Robey, Stephanie Sandberg
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