As we head into these busy days of spring, perhaps it is helpful to highlight a few key upcoming dates.
In terms of Christian Education, May 7 will be our last regularly scheduled Sunday School time for children and youth. Fr. Stuart will lead the classes on May 7 for the Whirl and Godly Play students with snacks to celebrate. There will still be occasional opportunities for adults in the parish hall during the 9:30 hour throughout the summer, so please keep your eyes open for those details. The Rev. Mary Demmler will work during May and June to gather insights and thoughts from parents and teachers, with hopes to help the Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker transition in well when he arrives in July.
May 14 will be a great day for the community, as we celebrate Mother’s Day as well as recognize all those who have helped support and coordinate Christian Education opportunities for the community. We will take the time to celebrate Sunday School teachers as well as Amanda McMillion and the Rev. Mary Demmler, recognizing them for the energy and work they have put into the formative lives of our children and youth. We will also recognize graduates at this service!
On Saturday, June 24, the Rev. Brandon Nonnemaker will be ordained as a priest at the Cathedral of St. Philip at 2:00 PM. There will be more information about this service, but mark your calendars now! His first day in the office will be Monday, July 24, and his first date to celebrate the Eucharist with us will be Sunday, July 30. Given that Brandon won’t be here in June when we have typically held Vacation Bible School, the Circle of Parents group reflected and the consensus was to wait to schedule events later in the summer when he arrives. So, we will not have the typical VBS week this summer but will regather with him and the parents to see next steps.
In terms of parish updates, we sat and did an honest account of the energy level we all have, with staffing, volunteers for set up, families with filled schedules, etc., and we are choosing to move the typical May Parish Picnic later. Last year we struggled to have enough volunteers to help set up, and we want to see how we may shift a few things to build on momentum. On that note, on Sunday, August 6, we will have a parish pot-luck luncheon following the 10:45 service. We don’t have the bandwidth for both a May event and a July/August event, so we will focus our attention this year on a back-to-school celebration and welcome event for the Nonnemakers and the entire community as we gear up for school.
Blessings,
Stuart
Youth will meet for an Egg Hunt at the Voyles’ home (rain plan is the church!) following the 10:45 AM service on April 30. Email Mary+ for additional information.
As I was sitting during Rosemary Dodd’s funeral service, it struck me that she was our last known physical link with the pre-tornado wooden church building. She was baptized in that nave on All Saints’ Sunday, 1935. The tornado completely destroyed it four months later in April 1936. As Mary Demmler was giving her sermon at the funeral, reflecting on Rosemary’s life and all the connections that we saw in this community, I felt the significance of the moment we were sharing.
Places matter. When we do a campaign, we aren’t focusing on just a way to increase our footprint; rather, we are seeking to support the space that holds our common prayer. We think through all the memories that are tied to spaces of prayer, compassion, and belonging (as our campaign title reminds us). We can remember weddings, funerals, confirmations, concerts, lectures, baptisms, preschool pageants, and countless celebrations of the Holy Eucharist throughout the years that continue to shape and nurture our growth as the Body of Christ. Our campus becomes a sort of communal home-base for us as our lives continue.
Such a spirit of recognition and intentionality is what enlivens me about this five-year season of our life, when we direct our attention to honoring the past, celebrating the present, and preparing for the future. I am excited, and I am deeply grateful to look at ways we can share this experience as we prepare for our 200th birthday.
You may have read in last week’s parish newsletter our wish to collect an oral history of personal experiences at Grace as part of our bicentennial campaign. This invitation is open to folks who are brand new to the parish or have been here for the past two hundred years and I hope you will consider participating! If you have a story to tell, please contact Cynthia. What a gift it will be to record these to share with those who will look back on our own lives.
Here’s to a fantastic season as we prepare to celebrate 200 years of prayer, compassion, and belonging at Grace Episcopal Church.
Many blessings,
Stuart
Grace Church typically honors high school and college graduates each spring. Our annual recognition bulletin will be provided as links to a digital slideshow and a printable .pdf document in the May 14 issue of our email newsletter. Graduates will also be recognized during the 10:45 AM service May 14.
If you will graduate (or have a child graduating) this spring/summer, please submit the online information form on or before 9 AM on Monday, May 8. Information submitted after the deadline will not appear in the slideshow or printable bulletin but high school graduates would still be recognized at church.
Look ahead to upcoming opportunities for prayer, worship, and community!
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