This Sunday, May 15, is the deadline to submit graduate information! Information submitted after the deadline will not appear in the slideshow or printable bulletin but graduates would still be recognized at church on Sunday, May 22.
Graduate Information FormChildren’s Chapel will not meet on May 15. The last Children’s Chapel will be Sunday, May 22 and then we’ll take a summer break in June and July!
Please remember that children are welcome at all worship services at Grace Church. For families who prefer it, a nursery is available on Sunday mornings for children age 4 and under.
A Grief Recovery group will begin meeting in the Grace Church parlor on Monday, May 16 at 5:30 PM. This eight week course offers information and specific actions we can take to help work through feelings of grief and recover our sense of energy and spontaneity. There is a $20 fee to cover the cost of course materials. Please contact Cheryl Kelley for more information and to register.
The T3 men’s group will meet at Tap It (110 Maple Street, Gainesville) at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, May 17. Bring ideas for discussion topics that interest you, and join us for some more pub theology.
The Men’s Ministry is planning a Skeet Shoot for Saturday, May 28, at White Sulphur Farm (the Hemmer’s home) from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. The event will include a BBQ lunch. Bring your own shotgun and ammo if you have it, but we will have plenty of loaner shotguns and ammo available. No gun? No problem! No prior experience required. Everyone should also bring ear protection, i.e., ear plugs or ear muffs. We will have a few available in case someone forgets.
For planning purposes, please submit the online form and let us know you are coming by Wednesday, May 26. A $10 donation to help defray costs would be appreciated. Additional information, including directions and possibility of ride sharing will be provided to registered attendees.
We still need a few more volunteers before, during, and after (cleaning up) the parish picnic on Sunday, May 22. If you are available and willing to help, please sign up at the link below. We appreciate you!
May 16-20 is “clean out week” for Grace Church. We are purging old items – files, supplies, knick-knacks – that are no longer needed. If you are a ministry chair person, committee head, or parishioner who knows your group has things stored in any closet in the building, now is the time to consider if it needs to be kept.
Karen Murphy has successfully completed the four year certificate program for Education for Ministry from the Brecken Center of School of Theology, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN. She persevered despite the COVID 19 shutdown, completing the 144 week program in the online EfM group mentored by Rinda Skaggs.
Karen was already gifted and talented in Christian formation. Ask her how Education for Ministry, a unique four-year distance learning certificate program in theological education based upon small-group study and practice, has enriched her life.
Congratulations to Karen on her achievement in Education for Ministry!
Grace Church will next host Family Promise at the Homestead May 22 – 29. We are responsible for providing dinner to the families on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights of that week. We will also provide breakfast, lunch and snack items as needed. At the present time there are three families staying at The Homestead—four adults and eight children. Family Promise has asked that we stay to play with the children after dinner and bring our children or grandchildren to interact.
Please email Tricia McDuff if you are interested in being on a team to cook dinner or provide needed food items.
As we continue our practice of sharing gratitude, I want to highlight a visible ministry in the life of our community: acolytes. The word itself may evoke associations of those starting out on a path, and there may be some truth to that when we consider how our younger folks share in carrying in the torches, helping with the offering, and other items during the Eucharist. That being said, our parish is not limited to only younger people serving as acolytes; we are blessed with a sixty-year age span in our acolytes! I think that is extraordinary. Our acolytes, dressed in their white albs (from the root word we get albino from) remind us all of our common baptismal identity. They are key visible reminders of our shared ministry in helping support our common worship of God, no matter what age they are.
We have had generations of acolytes at Grace, and when we look at those who are currently active, the list includes Ella Early, Scarlett Early, Harrison Flack, Patrick Flack, Evelyn Higginbotham, Miller Jones, Josh Lander, Virginia Munn, Millie Pendarvis, Kara Scott, Aidan Voyles, Pat Calmes, Suzanne Carroll, Fabian Howard, Pam Kohler-Camp, and Stephanie Wells.
If you notice your name not on this list, please consider this an invitation to step back into active service! I am so grateful for the ministry of this group, and I know the entire parish will join me in taking the time to thank them for their dedication.
Blessings,
Stuart
We are taking the opportunity over the next few weeks/months to highlight some of Grace Church’s ministry groups and thank all the parishioners who share their gifts with our community.
Kids in rising PreK-5th grade are invited to join us June 21, 22, and 23 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. A $25 donation per child ($20 for siblings) to help offset expenses would be appreciated. Register online at the link below. Participation is limited to 65 children.
The Rev. Laura Masterson and St. Mary & St. Martha Episcopal Church in Buford invite rising kindergarteners – 5th graders to their “Space to Grow” VBS June 13 – 17. Get details and register on their website.
Look ahead to upcoming opportunities for prayer, worship, and community!
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