Dear Friends,
This Sunday our readings include the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:1-17. I wonder what the world would look like if we tried to more fully obey all of the Ten Commandments together?
Our current Prayer Book recognizes the Ten Commandments as the clearest expression of God's will for us in the entire Old Testament. (pg. 847) And all confirmed Christians are expected to be able to recite the Decalogue, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer.
Despite the importance the Lord's Prayer places on forgiveness, not judgment, I have noticed some people prefer to use the Ten Commandments as a lense for judging other people.
Rather than using Ten Commandments to critique others, it can be a good Lenten discipline to use them as a lense for seeing our own sin and our own need for redemption. The Prayer Book reframes the Ten Commandments in ways that help us see God's will is not just that we not murder each other, but that we should "be kind to all the creatures of God." (pg. 848) Framed more positively and comprehensively we can see how we trespass on this and every Commandment.
This truth that we fail to fully obey the Ten Commandments can in turn help us humbly recognize our need for God's help. Which in turn is the terra firma for all healthy spiritual growth.
The humility to remember I am dust is the Archimedian fulcrum of our Lenten pilgrimage toward true Easter joy. Easter is not at all about gaining the power to be more than dust, or to be a better, superior sort of dust. Easter is all about recognizing and remembering that God freely has, does, will give and make us something more than dust because God loves - God gives life in the Spirit who bears witness to Jesus, and makes us members of Christ, even willing instruments of God's love, God's justice, God's shalom for the world.
With Gratitude
Tuck Bowerfind (he/him)
Rector | Grace Episcopal Church
Worship Services | Third Sunday in Lent | Sunday, March 3
Holy Eucharist | 8 a.m.
In-Person & Zoom
Christianity and Culture | 9:15 a.m.
In Person | Parish Hall
March 3 - Part 3 of the El Camino de Santiago presentation
Last summer, Ramona and Chip Bouzard walked the pilgrimage trail called El Camino de Santiago from St. Jean Pied de Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Their journey took forty-four days and covered over five hundred miles. They will be sharing stories and photographs of their journey as "peregrinos" (pilgrims) on the Way to Santiago.
March 10 - "Why was Jesus silent when He was interrogated during his Passion?"
The words of Jesus draw us to the Christian faith, but He chooses to be almost completely silent when interrogated by the high priests, Pilate and Herod. We will explore how ordinary medieval Christians---laborers, parish priests, and tradesmen--understood His silence as a spiritual resource through the short biblical plays they scripted and acted.
Edwin D. Craun
Holy Eucharist | 10:30 a.m.
In-Person and Youtube
First Sunday Lunch
Parish Hall | Immediately after the 10:30 a.m. Service
Women’s Bible Study | 4 p.m.
Welles Room | A study of the Gospel of Luke.
First Sunday Evening Prayer| 5 p.m.
Call for Ministry
Calling all Readers, Chalice Ministers, Acolytes, Ushers and AV techs - we are looking for your help with these ministries. If you have a talent that you would love to share or one that you would like to learn, please contact Lisa.
Morning Prayer | Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.
In-Person & Zoom
Gadsden Trust Update
The Mission and Outreach Committee of the Gadsden Trust will convene on March 12, 2024, at 4:00 pm in the Parish Hall for its first meeting of 2024. The Committee will review first quarter grant requests that were submitted by the March 1, 2024 deadline and make awards.
Completed applications can be sent to The Gadsden Committee. Second quarter grant requests can be sent to the committee and must be received by June 1, 2024. Gadsden Committee meetings are open to the parish.
Backyard Compost Challenge with Boxerwood
Our Big Question: How much food waste could we keep out of the landfill if more of us used backyard composters instead? To answer that question we are enrolling 80 local households in a 10-week “citizen science” project, March 9 – May 18, 2024.
Each selected household will weigh and share data about its total food diversion weekly. Boxerwood will post this data anonymously on its project webpage. We will use this information to better understand the impact of diverting food waste with backyard composting. Your new compost kit (and our weekly tips) will also give you a way to start protecting the Earth right here at home.
Our Lenten Journey
We hope you will join the Diocesan Becoming Beloved Community Guiding Team as we talk about the mission and ministry of Becoming Beloved Community. What does that look like for individuals, for a church and for our communities? We will learn about this important ministry through history, education and resources, action and worship.
Lenten Supper & Discussion of Parish Retreat next Wednesday, March 6 at 7pm, and available by Zoom, but we hope that you will all join us in the Parish Hall before the meeting at 6:15 pm for a Lenten Supper made by Anne Sauder. We will have a discussion following the meal. Please let Lisa know if you will be able to come to the supper or if you join by Zoom.
Confirmation and Reception
If you would like to try to understand the Episcopal Church better and consider Confirmation or Reception when the Bishop comes later this year, please meet with Tuck and Samson from noon to 1 p.m. on Sundays of Lent: February 18, 25, March 3, 10, 17, and 24. We will provide a light lunch and try to answer your questions about the Episcopal Church, the scriptures, the creeds, the sacraments, and the historic episcopate. Attendance at all six meetings is aspirational but not required.
Dinner Groups
If you did not sign up for a dining group or are new to Grace Church and would like to be a part of a dinning group, (lunch, dine in or dine out) do let Ruth know and we’ll find you a group. Give Ruth a call at 910-409-9325 or send Ruth Smith an email. This is a fun way to get to know other Grace members. If you are in a group that eats in homes, you will be responsible for one meal, planning the date, creating the main course, and assigning other items to those in your group. If you dine out, you are responsible for setting the date and planing where to eat making reservations for the group.
March Music Events
For a full list, of W&L March music events, click here.
Music Scholar Eliza Stucki will give her senior recital Saturday, March 2 at 3:30 at SVU. All are invited.
Wednesday Nights in Lent
Anne Sauder will serve supper at 6 p.m. on the five Wednesday nights of Lent - February 21, 28, March 6, 13, 20. Starting about 6:30 p.m. we will exercise our rights as citizens of the Kingdom and Caucus for our favorite candidates for the Golden Halo. Please register for Lent Madness and vote daily during Lent.
On Sunday, March 3, Lexington’s First Baptist Church invites us to take part in its Heritage Day celebration, which will feature (1) a service at 11 a.m. led by Rev. Dr. Boykin Sanders, who succeeded Martin Luther King Jr. in 1960 as senior minister at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Al.; a complementary soul food meal to which everyone is invited; and (3) the premiere of an exhibition of paintings by Beverly Tucker, “The Music of Black Heritage,” highlighting African American musicians, including “Quintet,” shown here.
Call for Bell Ringers!
On April 28, 4pm we will have a concert celebrating the life and ministry of Dr. Robert Glidden. Evensong will follow. Some of the music for the event is composed by friends of Bob and René's. Amongst those pieces is a composition for choir, organ, and handbells. We will hold extra rehearsals for the handbell parts - Four 45 minute rehearsals will suffice. If you are interested in playing for this event, please email Martha.
Update on the Trex Challenge
Grace Episcopal Church is enrolled in the Trex Challenge to collect 1,000 lbs. of plastic film for recycling over a one-year period. If we meet this goal, we will receive a free Trex bench.
The Creation Care Committee, with the help of the Lexington Garden Club, is pleased to announce that we have collected a total of 199 lbs. of plastic film over the past 3 months toward our goal. This is the equivalent @ 10,000 plastic bags that did not end up in our roads, fields, waters, or landfill. Thank you so much for your efforts in this challenge.
While this is very commendable, we will need to average 267 lbs. each quarter over the next 3 quarters to reach the 1,000 lb. target. This means we need to increase our collections by 34% to meet the goal. Please keep up your collection efforts, and for those yet to participate, we need your help.
Please note that the plastic film collected is not only plastic bags but includes other plastic films that stretch; bread bags, bubble wrap, drycleaning bags, plastic shipping envelopes, Ziploc food storage bags, shrink wrap, salt bags, wood pellet bags, produce bags, etc... everything just must be clean before going into recycling. There is a blue collection bin for plastic film under the bridge between the Church and Parish Hall for your deposit of plastic films. Thanks again for your participation in this challenge.
Prayers for Peace in the Holy Land
A Note from Tuck:
I am writing to ask for your prayers for a de-escalation of violence between Israeli and Palestinian people and for return to the challenging work of building a sustainable and lasting peace.
I have reached out to the current student director of Hillel House, the Chaplain at VMI, and the director of Student Services at W&L to express our support of Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim students.
I encourage you to reach out to your Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim friends in recognition that this crisis creates the conditions for increased anti-semitic and anti-muslim behavior, as well the strong likelihood that they or someone close to them has been impacted by this crisis.
Finally, please read the following statement by the Episcopal Church and the accompanying statement by Churches for Middle East Peace.
Pray for peace.
Boys Home of Virginia Wish List
Please help us support the Boys Home of Virginia by supplying any of items on their wishlist. There is a basket on the stair landing to the Parish Office for the Boys Home donations. Please drop off at church. Thank you!
A Plea for Haiti
Our neighbors in Haiti are struggling through a period of political violence and chaos. With the government disabled, many Haitians rely on church schools to educate their children. Grace, as part of the Virginia Haiti Collaborative, supports one such school in Haiti, St. Marc’s in Cerca-la-Source. Every month the Collaborative sends $5000 to Haiti to pay the salaries of the 30-some teachers at St. Marc’s who teach the 350 students in grades K-12. That $5000/month pays the full salaries of 30 adults and provides education for 350 students. The Collaborative is the school’s only source of funding.
This season, we are also raising money so that the students can have computers at school. They will need some degree of computer literacy to take their graduation exams and to serve them as they seek jobs after graduation. If you can help provide schooling for these children, please put Virginia Haiti Collaborative on the memo line and send your check to Trinity Episcopal Church, 214 W. Beverley St, Staunton, VA 24401. Trinity provides bookkeeping for the collaborative. For more information, please contact Anne Hansen or Tuck.
Wanted: Sunday School Teachers
Grace is looking for youth, college students and adults willing to help provide Sunday School for a few children each Sunday from about 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. We are willing to pay a stipend. Please contact Tuck to find out more.
Prayer List
Prayer for the election of the next Presiding Bishop: Almighty God, source of all wisdom and understanding: Look graciously on your church, and so guide the hearts and minds of those who will choose our next presiding bishop, that we may receive a faithful pastor who will care for all of your people, equip us for our ministries, and proclaim your word to us and to the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Please pray for the wider Church and intercessions requested by our Congregants: Pray for the Presiding Bishop Curry who received a pacemaker on Feb. 29. The Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, and our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Bourlakas. Pray today for the Youth of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, our Canon for Christian Formation, Pattie Ames and our Canon for Evangelism & Youth, Jenni Faires. Pray for Brendon, Michael Murphy, Timmy, Rick Alexander, Bradley Fairchild and Karen Junkin, John & Gloria June Perry, Glen Jones, Patricia Brown Boyer, Carolyn Glenn, Jack Hershbell, Laura Stearns, Worth & Katie Burnes & Family, Amelia Dull, Stephen deMaria, Polly Lawrence, Betty Cadden, Jeff Mason, Joe Irby, Kent Wilson, Don Ellis, Diana Kenney, Patrick Bowes, Ann Nay, Paula Cooper, Penny & Ned Henneman, Barbara Bova, Daniel Diener, Shelby, Clay Sadler, Lynn Butler, Sharon Humphreys, Eloise Adams, Nancy Mastin, Elizabeth Klein, Patrick Keeley, Cullen Bahr (friend of Drusie Milford), Mary Etta Randolph, Amaree Cluff, Jeff Patnaude, Blake, Liz & Cameron (friends of Chris Young), Carl & Rachel Pattison, and those we name aloud or in our hearts. Pray for those who have died. Pray for the people of Israel, Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Ukraine, and pray for the cessation of violence, and for reconciliation, and peace.
In Thanksgiving for March Birthdays
3/2 Katherine Greene
3/3 Scott Centorino
3/6 Connor Rothermel
3/7 Woody Sadler
3/8 James Brown, Emma Brooke, Jonathan Webster, Carole Elmore
3/9 Anne F Grizzle, Susan Mead
3/10 Mary Price
3/11 Daniel Mastin
3/14 Cindy Mullen
3/15 John Milford
3/16 Shay Peters, Catherine Harcus
3/17 Ed Craun, Bill Sayre, Pat McGuire
3/18 Elizabeth Knapp
3/19 Wade Branner, Cecile West-Settle
3/23 Polly Lawrence, Laura Stearns
3/24 Rose Gordon
3/26 AP Smith
3/27 Kathryn Hill
3/31 Will Edgar
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