News for January 31-February 6
Annual Meeting & Vestry Election
Our Annual Parish Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 10 at 7:00 PM on Zoom. A link will be posted online and made available in the newsletter.
Also, don’t forget that the parish will elect four new vestry members from a slate of eight. The following parishioners have been nominated and certified as qualified to serve Grace Church in accordance with the by-laws: Barbara Batog, Daniel Grizzle, Vance Holifield, Sonja McLendon, Beth Neidenbach, Gale Smith, Stephanie Wells, and Alison Zavodny.
Ballots were mailed last week to every home on record in our database, along with information about the nominees. Please let us know if you have not yet received your mailing. Confirmed parishioners age 16 and older are eligible to vote. Completed ballots must be received in the parish office no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, February 9 in order to be counted before the Annual Meeting. You can mail them to 422 Brenau Avenue, Gainesville, GA 30501 but we recommend they be delivered in person and put in the bin outside the red doors of The Grace Center facing Brenau Avenu. If traveling is a hardship for you, please let us know – members of our Pastoral Care and Compassion team may be available to come and gather your ballot.
The election of the vestry is a pivotal moment in the life of a parish community. The people you choose as your vestry take their place in partnership with the rector and staff to provide for the life of the entire community. Please spend some time reading the bios and praying for all nominees before completing your ballot.
COG Registration for 2021-2022
Registration for the 2021-2022 academic year at COG opened to the general public on Thursday, January 28. In an effort to streamline our processes and prioritize ease for families, you are now able to submit the registration application and pay the $75 non-refundable registration fee online. Both the application form and the registration fee must be processed through the COG office in order for a child to be placed in a classroom. You may use the online application form and send in a check made out to COG if you wish. Please contact the COG office at 770.536.9088 or email Ansley Forrester or Meg McPeek if you have any questions.
Pastoral Care During Pandemic
As with every other area of our common life, the pandemic has impacted how we take care of each other. We wanted to update the entire parish in terms of pandemic-temporary policies regarding prayers for those who are sick, hospital visitations, home visits, and other sorts of care that have been part of our history. It is not possible at this time to bring meals from one home to another. It is possible to deliver groceries or medications. And, if this is a service that you require, please contact the church. We are also not able to go into the hospitals to visit patients. We are able to set up phone calls, face time, or zoom to visit with patients.
With regard to the names that are offered during worship in the Prayers of the People, our policy remains that we will include only those names we have been asked to include, and we never include the specifics. Thus, some parishioners who are sick with the virus have asked to be in the public prayers, while others prefer not to share that they are even sick. Because our lives are so interconnected, you may wonder why a name is not included when you are aware that the person is ill. Please know that, above all, we seek to respect the dignity of each person, including a request for privacy during illness.
Names in the public prayers remain on the list for three weeks. After this time, if the condition remains, we add the names to the prayer list maintained by our chapter of The Daughters of the King. Part of their vocation is prayer for long term situations.
Please use the links below to contact the staff, and be assured that these temporary limitations do not reflect a limited pastoral care presence.
Cynthia+
For pastoral care concerns contact:
- Brenda Morgan: email
- Fr. Stuart: email or 404-788-9365 if you text, please include your name
- Cynthia: email or 703-888-7263 if you text, please include your name
Lent@Home
Since we’re not able to observe Lent in our ordinary fashion, we are preparing Lent@Home kits to help you observe a holy Lent at home. Kits will include ashes for Ash Wednesday, suggestions for your home altar, palm crosses for Palm Sunday, incense for Holy Week, and more! Kits will be ready for pick up at the church office the week before Ash Wednesday. If you haven’t yet reserved a kit for your household, please complete the kit reservation form below. Contact Cheryl with any questions.
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