June/July/August 2010 Newsletter

Copy of articles which appear in

the monthly Grace Church Newsletter)

PARISH NEWS

ALPHA IS COMING!

Would you like an opportunity to share and discuss your questions about the Christian faith? You can do this in the Alpha Course which was designed for this very purpose. Alpha is coming to Grace Church starting Wednesday, September 15 at 6:00 pm. All are welcome to participate, especially newcomers to the parish. Please feel free to bring friends and visitors. For those who would like to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church, Alpha is the first semester of the confirmation class.

The course will take place every Wednesday evening from September 15 through December 8 (except for November 24, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving). If you are interested and have questions, please call the church office (860/388-0895) and leave your name, telephone number, and the best time to reach you. You can also speak with the clergy for more information. A sign up sheet will be posted on the bulletin board. Please sign up with your name and telephone number. Supper will be served from 6:00 - 6:30 pm; there will be a time of worship (6:30 until 6:45 pm) followed by the teaching (6:45 - 7:30 pm). Small Group Discussion will be held from 7:30 until 8:30 pm.

September
15 Christianity, Boring, Irrelevant, and Untrue?
22 Who is Jesus?
29 Why did Jesus die?

October
6 How can I be sure of my faith?
13 Why and how should I read the Bible?
20 Why and How do I pray?
27 How does God guide us?
30 Holy Spirit Saturday (9:00 am to 3:00 pm)
Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?

November
3 How can I resist evil?
10 Why and how do we tell others?
17 Does God heal today?
24 No Meeting (Thanksgiving Week)

December
1 What about the church?
8 Alpha Celebration Supper: How can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life?

Meals Needed for Alpha Program

September 15 is right around the corner when we will begin the Alpha course once more. This program starts each Wednesday evening with a light meal; soup, bread, and dessert. With all the wonderful cooks we have in the Parish I am soliciting members to make soup once or twice during the time the classes run.

I will post a sign up sheet on the bulletin board with the dates, which include a Saturday lunch. Soup is a nourishing, inexpensive, and easy meal to provide. Reimbursement of funds spent will be available with receipts turned in. You may want to pair up with someone else to make the cooking and serving easier.

Let's have a healthy start to each class for better absorption of the Good News!

Blessings,

Gunlög Millet

Grace Church Food Pantry

In the latest publication from the Shoreline Soup Kitchen & Food Pantries it was pointed out that in 2009 there had been a 30% rise in demand for their services.

It doesn't appear that things are any better this year.

Grace Church has always been very generous in their gifts to the food pantry. I'm sure it will continue.

Frank R. Tarrio

Summer Office Hours

During the months of July and August, the church Office will be open 9:30 am until 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday.

Lessons from Noah

Don’t Look Back

Noah loves to play ball – anywhere, anytime. Chasing a ball trumps everything but eating. As soon as the ball appears, Noah crouches, waiting, muscles taut, eyes on the ball, barking to remind me that it’s my job to throw the ball. “Quiet,” I command. He gives another bark and lies down. Perhaps he thinks that barking in conjunction with lying down might be the magic behavior that will result in a thrown ball. Once he’s quiet, I throw the ball. As my arm goes back for the throw, even before the ball leaves my hand, Noah is on the move in the proper direction. The ball sails past him and he races after it. Sometimes he catches it in the air before it hits the ground. Sometimes he catches it on a whacky bounce, since his favorite ball has feet and tiny horns and one can never predict the direction of the bounce. He seizes the ball and trots back to me, head held high, tail waving tall, looking proud and happy. With a toss of his head he deposits the ball at my feet and the process begins again.

Noah knows the importance of keeping his eye on the ball. And isn’t that how we humans achieve our goals, by metaphorically keeping our eye on the ball? Motivational speaker Lou Tice suggests that we periodically examine the various relationships and areas of importance in our lives – God, family, friends, education, community service, recreation, health, and anything else that has meaning in our lives. If we’re happy with what we see in a particular area, we can simply continue on the current course. If we find that we’re not where we’d like to be in a particular area, it’s time to change course, setting our sights in a different direction.

Some of us have been harmed or disappointed or ignored by the folks who were responsible for loving and nurturing us. Some of us have made poor decisions that have resulted in disastrous results. Some of us have been the victim of unfortunate circumstances. When we focus on the past, wallowing in blame or guilt or a combination of both, we can become so obsessed with looking back that we lose sight of the present and cannot even begin to glimpse a better future.

As God prepared to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, his angels instructed Lot and his family, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee . . . lest thou be consumed.” (Genesis 19:17) Lot’s wife looked back and, scripture tells us, was turned into a pillar of salt. Did she turn back for one last wistful look at all that she was giving up – the comfort of material wealth and status in a city that was doomed because of its decadence? Or did she simply look back out of curiosity, the way we cannot help but look at a car wreck or the site of a natural disaster? In any case, looking back cost her dearly.

While the angel cautioned Lot and his family not to look back, Paul, in Chapter 11 of Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, does look back, reminding us of the faithfulness and deeds of Israelite heroes – Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Moses and other saints. This manner of “looking back” gives us encouragement to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” Looking back to remember God’s grace and the good, the wholesome, and the holy can give us the confidence we need to focus on an even better future.

We end up going where we look, whether it’s running a race, riding a bicycle, driving a car, or living our lives. In The Art of Racing in the Rain, Enzo, the dog who narrates the story, shares his owner’s philosophy: “That which you manifest is before you.” Not behind you, but before you. It’s the vision, the goal, which gives the present its meaning.

Noah knows the importance of keeping his eyes on the ball as he steadfastly pursues that fast-moving orb wherever it takes him. May we be equally steadfast in pursuing the vision that Jesus has given us by “proclaiming and sharing the good news of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 8:1)

Julie Peace

CHILDREN & YOUTH NEWS

WONDERFUL 2009-2010 CHURCH SCHOOL YEAR!
Thank you to all the volunteers for sharing their time and talents with our children. I have learned so much from the teachers and from our children.

I was asked to share this with you because it is about you. The Youth Group made pizza for Coffee Hour to end the school year with something different. Even in the smallest things we do here on Earth, God wants to be included. Initially, I was just going to make pizza with the youth because I thought they would have fun. That Sunday morning in a moment of stillness, the Lord flooded my mind with these analogies. The layers of a pizza are like the Body of Christ:

First, you start with the crust
The foundation of our faith as Christians. God sent his only son to die for our sins,
so we can live with him forever.

Second, spread sauce all over the crust (to be continued)

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