October 20, 2023
To Everyone at Grace Church – Last Friday night several Members of Grace Church attended the Community Shabbat service at the Hebrew Center to support our neighbors. The service was simple, beautiful, and a sign of how human beings can gather together and support each other in the face of trauma, atrocities, and the worst of what humans can do to each other and our planet. The focus was not on politics, but prayers for the ordinary people on both sides who had been caught up in horror. Last Tuesday night, we hosted an Interfaith service of Prayers for Peace in the Middle East at Grace Church. The focus again was on remembering the innocents, our shared values, support for each other, and prayer. Our role is to pray for everyone involved. As the leaders of the world work for a just end to this war, I ask your prayers for the people of Israel, for the Palestinians, for the hostages and their families, for our neighbors, and for a peace that will last. A Reminder about Homecoming, and a Request This Sunday, October 22nd, is Homecoming Sunday! All current and former Members of Grace Church are invited and welcome to join us as we celebrate our 2nd Annual Alumni Open House! Please invite a friend to join you this Sunday. Services will be held at 8:00 and 10:00am, as usual; all are invited to Coffee Hour, beginning at approximately 11:15. We will remain open until 4:00 to welcome anyone interested in Grace Church or our programs, and the day will conclude with Evening Prayer at 4pm in the Church. As food is an essential ministry for Grace Church, our Hospitality Committee is asking for your help in providing food for the day. They are particularly requesting that we bring salads, vegetable side dishes, and (some) desserts to make sure we will have enough to offer throughout the day. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated. TAKE THE SURVEY: YOUR VOICE IN THE SEARCH FOR OUR NEXT BISHOP As Members of Grace Church and the Diocese of Massachusetts, we are invited and welcome to participate in the Survey organized by the Search Committee for a Bishop. Click here to take the survey , and know that your voice will be heard in the search process. Sunday School will meet again this Sunday! All children are welcome and invited to join us, beginning with a 9:45 drop-off time in the Chapel. Any parent or parishioner interested in helping teach our children please see Susan Hoehn or Fr. Stephen. MV Poet Laureate poetry reading and book signing at Grace Church October 26th: Justen Ahren, the MV Poet Laureate, will be at Grace Church for a poetry reading and book signing on Thursday, October 26th from 5-6pm. All are welcome – Please post this on your social media platforms. Refreshments will be served. Fourth time of asking for Halloween Candy: Every Halloween, Grace Church is visited by between 700 and 1,000 ghosts, vampires, dinosaurs, clowns, princesses; ghouls, goblins, and other creatures too terrifying to mention. If you would like to donate a bag or two of Halloween candy (bring it to church or drop it off during the week), that would be great – thank you! And thank you to everyone who has brought candy!! Thank you to everyone who participated in last Sunday’s CROP WALK! (See photo below). A special thank you to the Rev’d Sharon Eckhardt and Betsy Holcomb for organizing our participation! With your help, we raised $650 to help fight hunger on the Vineyard and beyond. The overall amount raised on Sunday was $25,199.25!!! Construction: The concrete for the side walls of the new steps was poured yesterday! You can see a video of this on our website’s welcome page. You will also notice that the Cross on top of the bell tower is back and vertical for the first time in years. I am also letting you know that Cotuit Solar is scheduled to come next week to install the solar panels on the roof of the Parish Hall! This is fabulous, and in conjunction with our new heat pumps being ready to go, means that we will be ready for an oil-free winter in the Church! Cotuit is currently scheduled to install a groundmount array of solar panels for the Rectory the week of November 13th! Thank you all for your generosity and for your prayers for the Middle East. Stay safe, and God bless you, Stephen+ The Reverend Stephen Harding, Rector
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