Sunday Forum
After the 10:30am Service in the Forum Room
We begin the new year together with a two week series on “Spaces of Grace” and “Habits of Hope,” during which we will be enjoying the works of Parker Palmer and simultaneously exploring the coming season of Adult Forum at Grace Church. Through collaborative dreaming, appreciative inquiry, and collective discernment, we will explore the themes of “Grace” and “Hope,” while also imagining the ways in which our Adult Forum time can be a place that holds, affirms, celebrates, amplifies those very gifts in the weeks and months ahead. All are invited to this time of care and growth together!
Winter Grace Reads
Wednesday Morning’s, January 22 – February 12 at 10:30am
Forum Room or Zoom
From the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award comes Winter Hours, Mary Oliver’s most personal book yet. And never more so than in this extraordinary and engaging gathering of nine essays, accompanied by a brief selection of new prose poems and poems.
With the grace and precision that have won her legions of admirers, Oliver talks here of turtle eggs and housebuilding, of her surprise at an unexpected whistling she hears, of the “thousand unbreakable links between each of us and everything else.” She talks of her own poems and of some of her favorite poets: Poe, writing of “our inescapable destiny,” Frost and his ability to convey at once that “everything is all right, and everything is not all right,” the “unmistakably joyful” Hopkins, and Whitman, seeking through his poetry “the replication of a miracle.” And Oliver offers us a glimpse as well of her “private and natural self—something that must in the future be taken into consideration by any who would claim to know me.” (Amazon)
Wednesday, January 22, Reading Part 1, Selected essays
Wednesday, January 29, Reading Part 2, Selected essays/poems
Wednesday, February 5, Reading Part 3, Selected Essays/Poems
Wednesday, February 12, Part 4, Winter Hours
Copies of the book are available through Reader’s World, Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wherever your favorite bookstore is. Contact Mary Huisman, maryhuisman47@gmail.com to get on the e-mail list!
The Community Room at River Place, Alternate Mondays (4:00-5:15)
Next gathering is Monday, January 13
Group Host, Paul Trap says, “We are enriched by members of various backgrounds bringing a diversity of opinions and interpretations. The open group is currently studying the epistles of John to the early churches in Asia Minor and discussing the intersections of faith and politics. While this fellowship is focused on careful study of scripture, it is also marked by debate, diversions and digressions as we seek to understand God’s will in our lives.”
An invitation is extended to all men seeking fellowship and to study Scripture in a small group setting.
Growing Into Worship (Sundays at 10:30am)
Kids gather in the back pew and processes in to begin!
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Dear People of Grace, This year’s pledge drive begins as it does every year, from a place of gratitude. Thank You to all who are part of the Grace Church community. Thank You to previous generations of Grace whose gifts continue to sustain us in the beauty and traditions of this place. And Thank You to everyone who is Grace now. Your presence, your prayers, and the gifts you bring are the life of this amazing congregation today. It is because of this life together, a life of worship, formation, compassionate care and service all within a multi-generational community of faith that along with gratitude, there lives a relentless spirit of hope. Even as we experience the painful brokenness within the world, our nation, and our communities…even as we witness deep divisions that carry broad impacts… even as we wonder what tomorrow will bring…even so, I feel hope when we come together. I hear it when we sing. Together. I see it when we feed hungry people at the altar and in the greater community too. I watch hope grow in our children and youth as they experience all ages of people willing to welcome and walk with them. I find hope in the members of the refugee family who left their war torn nation to make a home here in ours, and they’re doing it with tremendous grace. I hear hope in the stories of Grace members who are somewhat homebound, but who are visited and sustained by the ongoing companionship and faith of the people of Grace. And I hear it in the stories of those doing the visiting, as they are given strength through those who welcome and receive them. There is power in “Being Grace.” Something happens when we come together, offer ourselves and our gifts, and let the Spirit work on us, for us, and through us for the sake of this world which God so loves. This coming year and always Grace will do everything we can to help that light shine in a world desperate for such gifts. Our pledge goal for 2025 is $478,000, a three percent increase over the pledge total for 2024. This is enough to allow Grace to maintain our current ministries and facilities, sustain the growth we are experiencing, and reach beyond ourselves offering support to those in various kinds of need. We realize that for some, an increase in giving will not be possible while others will be able to increase more than three percent. And if you have never submitted a pledge to Grace, now’s the time! EVERY gift makes a difference. Pledges make up seventy percent of Grace’s operating budget for 2025. Other revenue comes from our annual endowment draw, non-pledge and plate giving, contributions for the Parish House, and special holiday offerings. For the second year, we will also utilize the planned draw from the Heiberg Bequest which Grace received in 2023. Some Heiberg funding will go toward maintenance projects, some will go directly toward outreach and social justice via the Beyond Grace Fund, and a percentage will go into the operating budget in support of the mission and ministry of Grace, in particular helping Grace to sustain a strong staff. The combination of generous and consistent pledge offerings combined with this new infusion of income from the Heiberg Bequest allowed Grace to re-establish a second full-time clergy position in 2024, a position in which The Rev. Christopher Roe now serves as Grace’s Director of Spiritual Formation and Community Engagement. These gifts also supported the mid-2024 increase in hours for our Music Director Stephen Rumler. Stephen has been able to expanded the choral program to include children and youth and he is busy growing partnerships in the greater community and beyond, offering special music and events with Grace. We were also able to transition smoothly into welcoming a new Director of Children and Youth Ministries, Jonathan Shotwell. Your gifts have helped grow and will now serve to sustain a gifted staff dedicated to “Being Grace.” Vestry asks that pledges be submitted as soon as possible to help prepare for the new year. Pledge cards be can be submitted electronically at any time by hitting the button below. Hard copies have also been mailed out to some and are available to all in the Church Commons and Office. Those can be returned to the Church Office or placed in an offertory plate on Sunday mornings. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. With gratitude and with hope, |
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We will be sending out a Weekly Newsletter that is called Grace to You. If you do not receive this, please email the church office at gechurch@graceepiscopalholland.org to get your email added! After we send out, we will be posting it here as well.
Vestry
Support for Ukraine through Episcopal Relief and Development
Episcopal Relief & Development continues to provide humanitarian assistance to people fleeing the violence in Ukraine, working with our Anglican partners in Europe and ACT Alliance (a global coalition of over 140 faith-based organizations). Follow the link below to contribute knowing that your gift will help provide cash, blankets, hygiene supplies and other needed assistance. You can follow this link to get to ER&D’s contribution page. You may also make a contribution to Grace with “Ukraine” in the memo and we will make the contribution to ER&D.
Grace Refugee Co-sponsorship
This fall we are looking to co-sponsor a refugee family with St. Francis and All Saints churches. At this time, we have been blessed with all the furniture and lamps and kitchen items we could have hoped for – a big thank you to so many who kept this ministry in mind! We are now shifting our focus to gift cards from Meijer and Target for the purchase of towels and linens and a new set of queen size mattresses, to be purchased once we are paired with a family. Please drop off any gift card donations at the office during the week, or leave them in the offering plate during services. Thank you!
Communities across West Michigan (including Ottawa, Kent, and Muskegon Counties) are beginning to welcome more than 280 adults and many children who are newly arrived from Afghanistan. We’re finding ways to help now – read on and also stay tuned for more!
Contact the Church Office if you would like to be part of a “Refugee Ministry Leadership Team.” This is the group that will meet regularly with leads from the other congregations to coordinate efforts with each other, Bethany and Lighthouse. We need a few more folks to help out with coordination and planning.
Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates (LIA) has a new legal clinic to serve the legal needs of the influx of newcomers to achieve safety and stability. LIA is the only nonprofit law office in Ottawa County serving immigrants and refugees regardless of income. Financial support is needed as soon as possible for this clinic to offset significant legal fees, translation and interpreter costs, and hospitality expenses. LIA will provide over half a million dollars of legal services at no cost to refugees. The Clinic designed by the LIA Legal Team will provide every refugee with the appropriate legal services to transition from temporary humanitarian parole status into full asylum status. Applications must be made for asylum for refugees who would face persecution, torture, or worse, if they returned to their home countries. Refugees have 1 year from the date of entry into the United States to apply for asylum. Learn more about the program by visiting the Refugee Program page on LIA’s website at https://lia-michigan.org/legal-services/refugees/ or by emailing admin@lia-michigan.org
You can make a contribution through Grace’s Beyond Grace Fund or directly to LIA.
Bethany Christian Services – Refugee Resettlement Program
Refugee resettlement is the work we have done and hope to continue with St Francis and now All Saints, Saugatuck too as we Co-Sponsor a family. This is a six-month to one year commitment that does NOT involve providing housing. It is a way for us to offer support before the Parish House is again available. Bethany secures housing and a team of people (folks from each church) collectively supports a refugee family. We’ll prepare their apartment with necessities, welcome them at the airport, and provide other services such as English tutoring or cultural assistance. Follow the link above to learn more. If you are interested in serving on a Resettlement Team contact the Church Office as we explore the possibilities.
Thank you, Grace for helping people who have lost so much, find welcome and home again.
Food Club with Community Action House
Grace has partnered with Community Action House and we are proud to say that we make up a large part of the volunteers of Food Club. They are still always looking for help and it is a great way to get connected with Grace folks & the greater Holland community. THANK YOU, Grace for feeding hungry people! If you are already signed up to serve, Thank You! If you’d like to serve (generally once a month) but haven’t yet signed up, contact the Church Office.
If you’d like to learn more about Food Club and Opportunity Hub, look here.