Ash Wednesday Services
Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes
February 14, 2024
8:00am, 12:10pm, 5:00pm (Chapel Taize service), & 7:00pm
(The 7pm service will be live streamed)
Today’s Coffee Hour will have a Shrove/Mardi Gras theme. Please enjoy some pancakes as we prepare ourselves for Lent.
Joy of Living Group, 7:00-8:30 p.m., 2nd and 4th Mondays This group combines meditation, practices integrated in the flow of life, and discussion. Led by certified mindfulness instructor Kell Julliard and practice leader and licensed acupuncturist Claudia Citkovitz, it meets in the Connector. Next meeting: 12, 2024
Raising the Questions will meet in the Connector on Tuesday, February 12 at 10:00 am.
Botany for Gardeners and Cooks Have you ever wondered why some plants turn red in the sun? How fall mums get so bushy? Why cooked beans get mushy? Then you’ll want to come to Botany for Gardeners and Cooks. The remaining session will be in the Grace Church Connector on February 17 from 9:30-11:00 am. The course covers plant structure and function as they relate to gardening and cooking, led by John Horn, a retired botany professor and Episcopal priest.
The Grace Church Stewardship campaign for 2024 To date 139 pledges have come in totaling $468,677 – most encouraging, we have 4 new pledges. We are off to a good start. To those who have pledged God Bless, to those who have yet to pledge please pray and pledge so our Vestry can budget for 2024. If you need a pledge card, they are available as you enter the church or you can contact the office (413) 256-6754 or Bruce Stebbins at (413) 530-3805.
Latest Needs from the Amherst Survival Center Please bring soup. They can’t keep it on the shelves! Hygienic items in demand: Toilet paper, Toothpaste (all sizes), Shampoo, Hand soap
Nursery care now provided! Childcare during the Sunday School hour and the 10:30 a.m. service went on hold at the beginning of the pandemic when we pivoted to online worship. We are excited to now offer weekly childcare again for ages 3 months and up! The nursery is located in the Parker Room, the sitting room in the parish office. Each Sunday two background checked nursery staff workers will be present from 9:15 through the end of the 10:30 service. There is no childcare for our 8 a.m. service. Please ask Megan if you have any questions, and please share this news with families in your life who might be looking for a worship option with provided childcare
Dine In, Help Haiti Out A HUGE thank you to all who participated in the Dine In, Help Haiti Out annual soup supper extravaganza yesterday. The Haiti Ministry is so very grateful to everyone who purchased meals, made soup, baked bread, provided cookies, helped pack, delivered meals, and so much more. We also greatly appreciate our local restaurant partners who generously donated soup to support this effort. As of today, we have made approximately $3,400 with the final number still to be calculated. All of this will directly benefit the St. Matthew’s School in Haiti for which our Haiti Ministry is are the sole support. Your donation is a true blessing. Again, thank you.
“Mind the Gap” returns! In 2023, the “Mind the Gap” campaign brought in $19,647, thanks to all of you who participated in five events between June and October: a garden tour, art auction, week in a Cape Cod house, mushroom-foraging expedition, and weekend-long Harvest Festival. We are grateful to the volunteers who came up with superb ideas and organized these events, and to everyone who took part. The funds raised were an important factor in Grace’s ending the fiscal year almost in the black (the church’s overall deficit for the year was just $250!). The 2024 budget that was presented at the Annual Meeting on Feb. 4 shows a goal of $12,000 for “minding the gap” this year. Whatever comes in above that number will help offset unanticipated shortfalls in other areas of the budget. Our twin goals remain to increase income, of course, and also to keep the “fun” in fundraising. We need your good ideas for 2024 and also your offers of help in bringing those ideas to fruition. Please contact Donna Devine and/or Suzannah Muspratt with either or both. Thanks!
Save the Date
Now What? Incorporating the Gospel We Heard into Our Lenten Journey: A Lenten Series Sundays in Lent at 4:00 pm via Zoom
- February 18, The Rev. Heather Blais, Ss. James and Andrew, Greenfield
- February 25, The Rev. Michael Bullock, St. Philip’s, Easthampton
- March 3, The Rev. Tanya R. Wallace, All Saints’, South Hadley
- March 10, The Rev. Megan McDermott, Grace, Amherst
- March 17, The Rev. Vicki Ix, St. John’s, Ashfield
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83589948859?pwd=SW5Mb1dZbmFBcW9Wem9kbk5HSWN2dz09
Meeting ID: 835 8994 8859, Passcode: lent24
A Series on Death and Dying, 12:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall On Sunday February 25th, Karen Miller, Clinical Nurse Manager, at Cooley Dickinson Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) and Hospice will be hosting a presentation on the importance of home caregiving at the end of life. She will discuss options for emotional, physical, and spiritual support that can help families manage challenges and provide comfort.
Covenant and the Promises of God: A Lenten Reflection. During Lent this year in church we will hear many of the covenants and promises God has made. What did they mean to the people who first heard them? How do they connect with our lives today? Beginning Sunday, February 25, John Horn, a retired Episcopal priest, will lead four sessions of reflections on covenant in the Sunday readings from 9:15-10:15 in the Fireplace Room. All are welcome to attend.