Food insecurity: the concept of not knowing where ones next meal will come from. Before this trip, I envisioned a food insecure person as a poor, skinny child living in
Read moreReflection from Mission Trip Leader & Member of Grace, Howard Heyser
“I didn’t know what to expect our first day gleaning, except that it would be hot. After working for a while I got an appreciation for the amount and type
Read moreReflection from Youth Missioner Emily
Hello from Arkansas! Christian asked me to write down what I’d learned & experienced so far. Well, I guess the first thing I learned was that going to work at
Read moreSummer Service Times!
Remember that Sunday, May 25th we shift to our summer schedule with services at 8:15am and 10:00am. See you Sunday!
Grace-Lands: A Property Task Force Survey
We need your thoughts, your prayers, and your input!
Grace has taken amazing steps over the past few years in terms of growth in ministries, community, outreach, and improvements to our church and properties. We are in a growing yet stable place as a congregation and have the responsibility to consider the needs and possibilities of the Grace that is yet to be. For more information on this project click to get to this month’s newsletter here. Right now our task is to dream a bit, open long and short-term doors, and ask important questions. Should we use the empty lots differently than we do? Are there needs in this community going unmet that our buildings and land could help meet? Do we need more space in our church building? Let us know what you think! We want to hear it all – your practical ideas as well as your outrageous visions – from specific thoughts that apply to current configurations to those ideas that change or move current structures.
Announcing, the Barons!
For several months now we have been talking about and planning for the arrival of “The Curate,” a newly ordained clergy person who will be coming on staff here this summer. Well, Grace Church, blessings abound! After months of conversation and discernment and with full vestry and diocesan support, Jodi and Christian Baron, will be coming to Grace together to be “The Curates” – plural. Each will have a distinct job description but they will share this full-time position while also settling themselves and their three daughters into lives of ministry in Western Michigan.
We’ll communicate information about their diaconal ordinations and arrival in Holland as the details are put in place. For now, visit this link for a little more about Jodi’s and Christian’s ministry areas and an introduction to the Baron family.
Hi is Risen!
Join us this Sunday, April 27th as we continue the Easter “Alleluia!” with services at 8:15 and 10:30am. The kids of Grace will participate in the Flowering of the Cross at the 10:30 service, a beautiful symbol of Christ’s resurrection. All are welcome!
He is risen! Easter at Grace Church
The Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 19 begins at 8:45pm in the side yard of Grace. We’ll light a fire in the darkness, process into the Church by candle light, listen to the story of God’s salvific acts, proclaim the Easter “Alleluia!” and celebrate Holy Eucharist. A dessert feast will follow the service. On Easter Sunday, April 20 at 10:30am we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ with a festive service of Holy Eucharist and renewal of our baptismal vows. Childcare is available at both services. All are welcome.
Holy Week and Easter at Grace Church
Join us this week as we celebrate the stories and mysteries that are at the heart of our faith. All are welcome. On Maundy Thursday, April 17 at 6:15pm, we will gather in the church undercroft for a service that includes a simple Agape meal, foot washing and a celebration of the Holy Eucharist in remembrance of Jesus’ Last Supper. At the end of the service we will move into the sanctuary for a stripping of the altar in preparation for Good Friday. Our guest preacher will be The Rt Rev. Whayne Hougland, Bishop of Western Michigan. The service for Good Friday, April 18, will begin at 7:00pm. The sanctuary will also be open all day for individuals to come and pray through the Stations of the Cross. The Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 19 begins at 8:45pm in the side yard of Grace. We’ll light a fire in the darkness and process into the Church by candle light to hear the story of God’s salvific acts, proclaim the Easter “Alleluia!” and celebrate Holy Eucharist. A dessert feast will follow the service. On Easter Sunday, April 20 at 10:30am we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ with a festive service of Holy Eucharist! Childcare is available at all services.
Rest Eternal Grant to Him
“Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.” On Wednesday, April 16 at 1:00pm we will gather at Grace to give thanks for the life and celebrate the new life of David Raffenaud. David was a local jazz and blues musician, a member of Grace and on staff at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts. A reception will follow the service. Visitation is on Tuesday, April 15 from 5:00-8:00pm at Langeland Funeral Home. Please keep the Raffenaud family in your prayers.
Lenten Programs at Grace
On Sunday, March 9th come make Walking Sticks for the Journey! All ages are invited to this intergenerational at 9:15am in the undercroft. On March 12th we begin our Lenten Wednesday programs with suppers at 5:45pm, Holy Eucharist at 6:30pm. A book discussion at 7:00pm follows. We’ll be reading Margaret Guenther’s, Walking Home which is also a Diocese of Western Michigan group read. You can join the online diocesan conversation here through goodreads or on Facebook. In Sunday Forum March 16-April 13 we’ll participate in LoveLife a study of the gospel of John published by the Episcopal Society of St John the Evangelist. Follow this link for register for daily videos delivered to your email box and pick up a booklet in the Forum Room. We invite you join us as we journey together this holy season.
Ash Wednesday, March 5th
Join us Wednesday, March 5th as we begin together the forty days and forty nights of the season of Lent. Services of Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes are at 9:30am in the Chapel and 7:00pm in the main sanctuary. We’ll share a soup supper at 5:45pm. All are welcome!