Sunday Services: 8:30AM and 10:30AM

Wednesday Service: 9:30AM
Helping People Pray

Reflections from Acolyte Coordinator, Paul DeConinck

As an acolyte I help people pray. This is what Rev. Jen tells new acolytes every year when we have training. I try to think of this every time I serve as an acolyte at Grace: acolytes are there to help people pray.

We are an important part of the church service. We assist the priest with their duties and are part of the rituals of the service. Being an acolyte during church service requires attention to what is happening during the service and responsibilities to a variety of tasks. But, I am always aware of the fact that, in addition to our duties, we are there to worship as is the rest of the congregation. In helping parishioners pray, I find deeper meaning in the service, readings, and sermon.

I find many joys from being an acolyte. I love the rituals of the service, the attention to detail, and most of all being able to work with a wonderful group of people. They are happy to be serving as an acolyte at Grace. We have children, teens and adults who serve as acolytes. I have enjoyed the relationships that I have cultivated with everyone involved. For the adults, I am happy to help coordinate when they can serve and assist them with their own leadership abilities.

With the teens and children, I have enjoyed helping them learn the ropes of being an acolyte. I am thrilled at seeing them grow into their duties, become more confident, and take on new responsibilities as they gain experience. I hope any guidance that I offer helps them as they become adults. I want them to have a positive memory of being an acolyte and their time at Grace Episcopal Church. So, maybe someday they might have children of their own and pass on those experiences to the next generation.

Being an acolyte has also given me the chance to become more involved in the life of Grace and helped me grow as a person. In addition to acolyting I have become involved with Creation Care, Worship Commission, and Vestry. Through these groups, I have gained the friendship of many people and have been able to help with a wide variety of activities in the church. I have also become the Acolyte Coordinator. I enjoy working with my fellow acolytes and Rev. Jen in coordinating the schedule, answering questions, and helping with training.

All of this has made Grace Episcopal Church my community in Holland. It has helped deepen my own faith and has given me a sense of purpose and satisfaction of being able to help.

And most of all it has shown me the importance of prayer and service to this church and the wider community. I hope that my efforts help when you come to Grace to pray.

 

Reflections As We Begin the Sesquicentennial

From Karen Wassink, Senior Warden

As I write this blog post, we are about to start of a year-long celebration of joy and gratitude for the first 150 years of Grace Episcopal Church of Holland.

More than a dozen years ago, Jay and I stumbled into Grace Church. We had left a church that had lost its soul. Hundreds of us left in waves and looked for a home, feeling sad and angry and orphaned. And so we came to Grace. In that very first hour, I felt a peace and strength and joy and spirit that I have never known in any church! The rites and rituals of Christian worship have always fed my soul. But here I also found an understanding of what it means to live as a Christian, not just worship as one. The consistent message of Grace Church–spoken, sung, preached and lived-out–is to follow the path of Jesus, to live as he would live and care for each other and this world as he taught.

In our years at Grace, we have made friends, worked alongside one another in a variety ways, had great fun at dinners, Holy Chow, talent shows, hayrides at Teusinkโ€™s, White Caps games, to name only a few. We have sung together, laughed, cried, created and sometimes just maintained.

In recent years, Grace has undergone such wonderful changes! The new organ, the purchases of the Parish House and Grace House, assisting a refugee family, our first work as training ground for curates, not to mention the eagerly anticipated new parking lot! And there have also been among the people weddings, baptism, funerals, divorces, illness, and triumphs.

And through this long history have been great rectors and other leaders who have worked and cared and brought us all along. But the one who leads us now, Reverend Jennifer Adams, is a gift beyond measure. Reverend Jen has given her life to serve the Church, and half of that life has been as rector of Grace Episcopal Church. Her gifts of preaching and teaching and writing are so meaningful to us all. She can connect with those of any age! She is solid and steady and yet open and encouraging us all to grow and expand. She is a rare treasure and we are so grateful for her.

There is so much to reflect back on as we celebrate 150 years. And so much to look forward to as we continue on. What a joy and privilege and gift it has been to find Grace Episcopal Church. Iโ€™ve been an Episcopalian all my life; I just didnโ€™t know it til about a dozen years ago. I am home.

Happy 150th, Grace Church!

 

From The Rev. Jennifer Adams, Rector

Welcome to the year-long celebration of Grace Episcopal Churchโ€™s Sesquicentennial!

On June 10, 1868 Grace was received as a parish in what was then the Diocese of Michigan. In honor of this milestone, on Sunday, June 10, 2018 our congregation launched โ€œ150 Years of Graceโ€ with celebratory worship, the dedication of our new historical marker, a parish luncheon, and a recital by Jordan Van Hemert, grand-nephew of Vivian and Gerard Cook. The day was festive and full of thanksgivings. This year will be too.

This year weโ€™ll celebrate and give thanks for all who were and are Grace Church, the ministries that have shaped us, the varieties of gifts given and received here, the challenges faced, and the ways in which this Episcopal congregation has shared its proclamation of Christโ€™s good news in this community and beyond. Weโ€™ll also be intentional about Grace forward, attentive to what Larry Wagoner, who visited us Sunday from the Michigan Historical Society, called โ€œGraceโ€™s Legacy.โ€

This Parish Blog, โ€œStories of Graceโ€ will run all year and will be one of ways in which we gather and share stories. New posts will appear at least weekly and will include historical information, stories from parishioners, posts from previous Rectors, voices of Grace pilgrims, and more. Please read along with us and let us know if you have a post to share (favorite memory, event, perspective on how Grace has shaped youโ€ฆ) The blog can be accessed via the main page of our website and weโ€™ll provide links on our Facebook page, in our digital newsletter, and in our weekly digital updates too.

150 Years of Grace will include parties, presentations, pictures from every generation of Grace, a โ€˜Raise the Roofโ€™ campaign, โ€˜Inspired by Graceโ€™ opportunities for creativity, monthly Grace Notes recitals, the building of LEGO Grace and more. Mark your calendars for some of the upcoming events listed below and stay tuned as this year unfolds!

July 29 Worship at Hope Church: Hope Church provided us with our first meeting space and weโ€™re going to thank them on July 29. Weโ€™ll meet at and worship with Hope Church at 10:00 that day, with Rev. Jen Adams as the guest preacher and Grace as the coffee hour hosts. Our 8:15 service will be at Grace that morning.

September 9 Kick Off and Blessing of the Backpacks: As a new school year begins, weโ€™ll bless backpacks, take our annual parish photo, and hold our annual Kick-Off Day picnic.

October 21 Oktoberfest: Weโ€™ll hold our annual and fabulous stewardship dinner, kick off the pledge drive and experience the world premiere of Stewardship the Musical: The Prequel (the final in the โ€˜Stewardship the Musicalโ€™ trilogy).

November 4 The Joy Huttar Memorial Organ Recital: Joy Huttar served as Graceโ€™s organist from 1978- 2005 and as such is the longest serving staff person in Graceโ€™s history. This concert marks the first of what will be an annual event in her memory. Mr. Alfred Fedak, Hope College graduate, composer and Minister of Music at Presbyterian Church on Capitol Hill in Albany, New York will be our recitalist. Al became an Episcopalian while worshiping at Grace decades ago.

November 10 – An ‘Inspired by Grace’ Retreat – A day long retreat with prayer and teaching on type, temperament and spiritual growth. More details as we approach the day.

With thanks for 150 years and uncountable blessings of Grace Church,

Rev. Jen

 

Life In The Vine

 

The Rev. Jennifer Adams – April 29, 2018 โ€“ Easter 5, Year B: John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:17-21

โ€œI am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.ย He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.ย You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.ย Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.ย I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing…ย My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.โ€ (John 15:1-8)

ย 

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.ย Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love… if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.ย By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spiritโ€ฆThe commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. (I John)

Well the gospel today gives us a very beautiful and also very challenging image for us to consider as Jesus speaks to his disciples about the vine and the branches. Last week if youโ€™ll remember we heard about Jesus as the Good Shepherd who gathers and protects the sheep. It was a comforting image, one of the most comforting in all of Scripture, in fact. Jesus as the Good Shepherd speaks to us of the care given us by the One who came to love. Itโ€™s often chosen for funerals and itโ€™s a favorite in childrenโ€™s Sunday School classes, all for good reason.

In that parable we see sheep (us) watching the shepherd, on good days, anyway. And we also see Him watching over us. The sheep look for the Shepherd; they listen for his voice, the parable says, and the sheep are slung over the shoulder and brought home when needed, as another parable tells it. In that image of Christ, the Shepherd leads and guides, gathers and feeds. Our role as sheep is to follow โ€“ to watch, to listen, in order to follow well.

And that role is consistent with how weโ€™ve heard Jesus talk in this gospel of John and in the other gospels too. โ€œCome, follow me,โ€ was the language he used in three of the gospels early in the game to call the disciples and others. And there was the phrase woven throughout the journey, โ€œIf you want to follow me, do ______.โ€ And so the disciples did just that, they followed. And following was exactly what they were doing when Jesus told them this parable about the vine and the branches.

But in this parable, Jesus took the whole discipleship thing up a notch. He used different words and a much more challenging image for how they were and we are to be with Christ and one another too. To follow wasnโ€™t and isnโ€™t enough. There is more to give and more to receive than โ€œfollowingโ€ can accomplish. And so, in this parable, Jesus offered them a means to more.

โ€œI am the vine and you are the branches,โ€ he said. โ€œAbide in me as I abide in you.โ€ Notice, itโ€™s not follow but abide. In other words: Dwell in me. Live in me. Heal in me. Grow in me. And not only that, Jesus also added, โ€œI will abide and live in you too.โ€

Which is huge! Think about the difference, because this difference matters. More is given and more is expected of us in this parable than the other. โ€œFollowingโ€ one can do blindly, as the saying goes. To abide in, to dwell in means that you see it all, you feel it all. There is a holy and sacred interconnectedness that runs deep and is vital to this image of branches and vine.

Following, you can do from a distance. But you canโ€™t abide in with any distance at all. And so this is an entirely different way to speak of life in Christ. Itโ€™s a different way to talk about the relationships that are Christian faith and community too. This is more intimate and differently life-giving. โ€œAbide in me,โ€ Jesus said. โ€œDwell in me. Live in me. Grow in me. And I will in you too,โ€ He told them.

Which is absolutely beautiful. But there is a different kind of caretaking and nurturing here than what came with the Good Shepherd. This is more challenging to be sure. Because Iโ€™m just not sure that life as a sheep is all that hard, really. The sheep were called out to, they were fed, carried, led. Period. The Shepherd never spoke of pruning or producing anything.

And the branches in this image are fed through the vine, but there are expectations because via that food, there are abilities, gifts given to each branch. Each branch, we heard, is to produce good fruit, and in order for that to happen, pruning is done by the vine grower. โ€œI am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower,โ€ Jesus said. โ€œEvery branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.โ€ย  Every branch over time gets trimmed.

And in case you want or need a little more detail on that, I read this week from a vine growing expert that: โ€œLight pruning doesnโ€™t promote adequate fruiting, whereas heavy pruning provides the greatest quality of grapes.โ€ And Iโ€™m sorry to be the bearer of that news.

But I do want to say something here about that. Because some of the best and most loving work I see in this place is when someone among us is getting pruned. And we help discern if thatโ€™s actually whatโ€™s happening. I donโ€™t want to say that every loss is the will of the vine grower by any means, but at least some of it is. Some of what happens to us is that over time we are cut back in order to grow.

Now the good news is that it doesnโ€™t happen to us all at the same time, unless itโ€™s a communal prune. And some of the most Christ-like presence I see among you, is when branch to branch, you say, โ€˜Itโ€™s OK, friend, buddy, sister, brother branchโ€ฆ you will live, and you will grow.โ€ And then together you wait. And together you come to trust the vine grower.

And over time you start to feel the sun hit the newly opened place in yourself and you see the buds and the sprouts that you might not have believed would ever come. And sometimes itโ€™s another branch that tells you the growth is there, because it can be hard to see yourself.

โ€œKnowing how to prune grapes can make the difference between a good crop and a bad one,โ€ this vine expert wrote. Which is why (as a gentle reminder) we should never prune each other. We canโ€™t prune each other. The pruning is in good and holy hands. And as branches weโ€™re in this vine together, and we have hope and presence and vision to offer each other as we learn how to live.

And so this image of faith tells us that we have been given this intimate, life-giving connection to the One who came to love, and who asks us to do the same. And through these relationships we share, we will be fed, we will grow, and we will be pruned in order to grow more. And sometimes the pruning is something we welcome, but often itโ€™s not. Itโ€™s the dwelling we do, that weโ€™re invited to trust and to witness that new growth comes.

One of my favorite authors who writes about leadership and community is Margaret Wheatley. Sheโ€™s written several books about organizational development, and she wrote a book several years ago that focused on connection called, Turning To One Another. In it she talks about the dangers of isolation (not solitude, but isolation) and the vital role connection plays in health, life, and vital ways of being in this world. I think thatโ€™s what this parable is trying to tell us:

โ€œAs I write this,โ€ Wheatley says, โ€œthough my window Iโ€™ve noticed a mother bird flying back and forth, worms dangling from her beakโ€ฆWatching her Iโ€™m reminded of my own work [of working and growing] and suddenly, I feel connected to all other beings who are trying to keep life going. A brief moment of noticing one hard-working bird, and I feel different, more connectedโ€ฆI describe sacred as the feeling that I belong here.โ€ [we might say โ€œdwell hereโ€ or โ€œabide here.โ€]

โ€œWe are suffering from living in a fragmented state,โ€ she goes on. โ€œSeparated from each other, cut off from nature, we canโ€™t experience sacred. And I think we know what weโ€™re missingโ€ฆ We know weโ€™re missing the richest experience of being humanโ€ฆWe canโ€™t experience sacred in isolation. It is always an experience of connecting. It doesnโ€™t have to be another person. (Remember I just connected with a bird)โ€ฆ

โ€œThe connection moves us outside ourselves,โ€ says Wheatley, โ€œinto something greater. Because we move out beyond ourselves, the experience of sacred is often described as liberating. Sacred experiences always offer gentle reassurance that everything is all right, just as it is. People describe this awareness as surrender, or acceptance, or grace. If only for a moment, we let down our guard and experience life undefended. Defenseless, we feel peace.. the peace that is found in experiencing ourselves as part of something bigger and wiser than our little, crazed self [our little crazed branch.] The community we belong to,โ€ she concludes, โ€œis all of life.

โ€œI am the vine, and you are the branches, Jesus said. Abide in me. Dwell in me. Live in me, Grow in me. โ€œAnd I will abide in you too.โ€ Know that you will be pruned, for good. Remember that the branch next to you might be getting pruned right now and so that sister or brother branch could use your kind words, your presence, your hope. Know also that birds will visit your branches, like they did for Margaret Wheatley. We arenโ€™t meant to be alone. Finally, know that through the vine you will be fed, nourished. Always. And that through you that love will come as good fruit. It will be grace for the world.

Amen

This Fragile Earth

 

The Rev. Jennifer Adams – April 22, 2018 โ€“ Easter 4, Year B: John 10:11-18, 1 John 3:16-24ย  (Earth Day)

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for usโ€”and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.ย How does Godโ€™s love abide in anyone who has the worldโ€™s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?ย Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.ย (I John 3:16-18)

โ€œI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.ย The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs awayโ€”and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.ย The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.ย I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,ย just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.ย I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.โ€ (John 10:11-16)

Itโ€™s always a wonderful thing to land on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, (actually every Sunday in Easter is a wonderful thing) but on the Fourth Sunday we always hear in some form about the Good Shepherd. And this is one of our more comforting images of God and of Christ. The Shepherd cares for the sheep, lays down his life for the sheep, and ultimately through His intentions and actions, gathers us all together as one.

Itโ€™s also nice that this year, Fourth Easter is also Earth Day which weโ€™re acknowledging with educational opportunities and a special blessing of the Grace grounds in procession at the end of this service. And the connection to the readings and the presence of the Good Shepherd to this other celebration is not a hard one. So many of the images in Scripture that bring us comfort, that speak to us of Godโ€™s care and love, use images of Creation to get that message across.

In todayโ€™s psalm, we heard of green pastures and still waters and Creation was referred to as the โ€œhouse of the Lordโ€. Other psalms speak about the moon and the stars, the birds of the air, the sheep, oxen, and wild beasts of the field. They proclaim that the heavens โ€œdeclare the glory of God and that โ€œthe firmament shows his handiwork.โ€ Psalm 139, in its celebrating โ€œhow wonderfullyโ€ human beings are made, puts us in deep relationship, with the earth: โ€œI was woven in the depths of the earth,โ€ the psalmist wrote, who then also uses images of Creation to give human beings perspective on the holy: โ€œHow deep I find your thoughts O Godโ€ฆif I were to count them they would be more in number than the sand.โ€ In the Book of Job, the longest speech given by God in all of Scripture is one soaked through with Creation, โ€œWhere were you?โ€ God asks Job, โ€œWhen I made the foundation of the earth?โ€ And then God spoke to Job of rain, and deer, and mountains, of lotus trees, willows, cedars, ostriches, horses, mighty rivers and hawks. And when that holy whirlwind that God filled with the wonders of Creation quieted down, Job knew his place, his role. Even given his personal hardships of which there were many, Job was made aware again of the grace of it all.

Which is I think part of the point of Earth Day in our context of being church. From the very beginning the story that is Scripture, our story is woven together with the story of Creation. There is no separating it and us.

And in that relationship there is beauty, there is mystery, and there is grace. God โ€œsaw that it was good.โ€ All of it. On every day (or every gazillion years depending on which math you use,) God saw that it was good. From the waters, to the land, to the animals, fish, birds and people. God saw that it was good. And in that whole big picture, in this holy, salvific story which we share with streams, and mountains, and trees – we were named as stewards. Not masters, but caretakers. And we were given power to use for good. The earth itself is home, gift, and responsibility.

โ€œThe earth is what we all have in common,โ€ poet and theologian Wendell Barry wrote. If we are looking for that which unites us (and we are always looking for that which unites us)โ€ฆIf we are looking for that which sustains us all and cries out to us to sustain back, it is โ€œthis fragile earth, our island home,โ€ as one of our Eucharistic prayers says so beautifully. And so, when we pray not only our thanksgivings, but also when we pray our confession, our relationship with the earth is present among โ€œthose things we have done and those things we have left undone.โ€

And then it is our work to be the stewards we have been called to be. The Good Shepherd would never leave the sheep in the hands of the wolf, we heard today. Good stewards too are called to protect that which has been given into our care, to shield from that which causes destruction and destroys. Which means that we, the large collective we, and the individual weโ€™s, need to fight and work for change. And we need to change ourselves; it is our ways, or many of them causing much of the damage being done to this fragile Earth our island home. โ€œLittle children,โ€ we heard in 1st John this morning, โ€œlet us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and in action.โ€ Itโ€™s time.

And there is so very much that we can do. Warning bells have sounded, flags have been raised for decades now with regard to environmental concern and care. But there is still much that we can do. And this like other ministries of the church is work of reconciliation and it is work of repair. We are not in right relationship with this Creation of which we are part. And so we make it part of โ€œthe work we have been given to doโ€ to change that.

Parishioners will speak to us as we process today about actions they have taken and theyโ€™ll invite us to take them too. Brian Bodenbender, Professor of Geology and Environmental Care at Hope College, spoke at Forum Hour this morning. The team of Creation Care is hard at work here at Grace, but this work is for all of us in our church, in our homes, in our lives. Youโ€™ll hear more and more moving forward through the voice of Grace about local and church wide initiatives that have to do with Christians claiming our place and our role, among the trees, under the stars, and for the earth. Loving in speech and in truth and in action too.

โ€œThere will be one flock, one shepherd,โ€ we heard today. That unity is our vision. It is our hope and it is the promise given us by the One who cares for us all. โ€œThe earth is what we all have in common,โ€ Barry said. Itโ€™s a good place to start and according to the psalm, not a bad place to end either. May we tend the green pastures, care for the still waters, and lay down our own lives for this earth. May our actions proclaim the love the Creator intends for all.

 

Tender Appearance

 

The Rev. Jennifer Adams – April 15, 2018 โ€“ Easter 3, Year B: Luke 24:36b-48

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, โ€œPeace be with you.โ€ย They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.ย He said to them, โ€œWhy are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?ย Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.โ€ย And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.ย While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, โ€œHave you anything here to eat?โ€ย They gave him a piece of broiled fish,ย and he took it and ate in their presence.ย Then he said to them, โ€œThese are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with youโ€”that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.โ€ย Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,ย and he said to them, โ€œThus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,ย and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.ย You are witnesses of these things.ย And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.โ€ (Luke 24:36b-48)

This is one of those passages that reminds me how very simple and almost tender our faith can be. And in this world, in tthese times that can feel less than simple and rarely tender, we need to be reminded of this.

This is the third resurrection appearance story that weโ€™ve heard this season. Last week we heard the stories from the gospel of John in which the disciples, and then the disciples and Thomas met the resurrected Christ. And today we have an appearance story from the gospel of Luke, one in which all of the disciples were gathered together in one room when the risen Jesus came to them.

Now all three stories reveal the profound mystery that is the resurrection, and there is no denying the doctrinal and theological implications of whatโ€™s being proclaimed here. These are the stories that absolutely shattered previous paradigms and doctrines of faith and belief. But before what happened here was ever doctrine, before there was even what one would call โ€œThe Christian Faithโ€ or โ€œBelief,โ€ before any of those pieces, there was this was very simple and tender encounter between Christ and his disciples.

โ€œPeace be with you,โ€ Jesus told them which was at that time a relatively common greeting among people of faith, essentially saying, โ€œHello, I greet you with love. I wish you the wholeness, the Shalom of God.โ€ And so these stories are beautiful from their very beginnings.

Note also that even though a few verses prior to this passage in Luke, the disciples had heard from the two who had encountered Christ on the road to Emmausโ€ฆ even given that testimony from their friends, the disciples were still โ€œstartled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost,โ€ when Christ appeared. So itโ€™s good to mention here that it was never only Thomas who needed to โ€œseeโ€ for himself, or to experience for himself. Every disciple in these gospels had their very own (even if shared in community,) every disciple had their own resurrection appearance.

And those appearances went like this: They were gathered in a room or walking together on the road, and Christ appeared to them and at first they were afraid. The were always afraid. And then in response to that fear, Jesus simply asked something like, โ€œWhy are you afraid?โ€ And then he said something like, โ€œLook at my hands and my feet,โ€ and then tenderly, โ€œTouch me and seeโ€ฆTouch my hands and my side, Thomas and all of you.โ€ โ€œI have flesh and I have bones,โ€ Jesus said in todayโ€™s passage. And so maybe the disciples embraced him or maybe since they were still frightened they simply, gently reached out and touched his arm to prove to themselves that it was so. To prove to themselves that He was so. Donโ€™t be afraid. See. Listen. Touch.

And then in this gospel Jesus said a wonderful thing that makes me smile every time: โ€œDo you have anything to eat?โ€ he asked them. Here is this amazing, life-changing, theology-forever-transforming-eventually-doctrine-making-moment, and Jesus very simply asks for something to eat. And maybe that was to show them he was in fact, not a ghost, but maybe it was to say something even more than that. Before faith is anything else, it is peace offered. It is human and divine encounter in rooms and on the roads we travel. Itโ€™s a meal.

And so the disciples fed him, which is sort of wonderful too. Given that the Last Supper was days ago now, the first thing that Jesus asked them to do was to feed him. Tables turned. But still a table. And so they did. And then Jesus opened their minds to the Scriptures (nice touch) and sent them forth with a message of repentance, forgiveness and a promise that the Holy Spirit would come.

And so I want us to claim this moment as people of faith. I want us to claim this very moment in the gospels because it contains the makings and re-makings of faith. In this moment before there was belief, catch that, before there was belief the gospel says there was very simply, โ€œjoyโ€ in the encounter. โ€œIn their joy, they were still disbelieving and wondering,โ€ the gospel says. And Jesus was apparently OK with that. With and for those still disbelieving and wondering disciples, He moved on with the meal.

And so I think that this is a gospel moment that we need to visit, and revisit, and claim. This is the moment that is pre-belief, pre-doctrine, pre-capital โ€˜Fโ€™- Faith. It is simple and it is tender and it is holy encounter with the risen Christ. There are so many examples, too many examples of the Christian faith being used like a wall, or a weight, an argument, or sometimes even a hammer, in an attempt to force, or prove, or separate, or elevate in the name of Christ.

But these resurrection stories contain a different kind of model for how belief comes to be and how the risen Christ is present in our midst. And there are no hammers. There is peace and touch and food. And the Scriptures are opened. They arenโ€™t thrown or inflicted. The minds of the disciples and Scriptures are opened and understanding comes.

And so in many ways these resurrection appearances are essentially the conversion stories of the disciples. These are the ways in which the very first evangelism, โ€œproclamation of good news,โ€ was given by Christ.

And so we are invited into the joy of this moment and we can let it be just that. We might need to let it be just that. This is the moment in which Christ and we as his Body speak and live a message that this world so desperately craves. Because everyone needs a resurrection appearance. We need to see and listen and touch and eat. Before there is belief, or doctrine, or faith, everyone needs, (deserved or not- that didnโ€™t seem to matter in these stories,) everyone needed and got a resurrection appearance.

This moment is about invitation and itโ€™s about conversion, conversion into a way of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. And in all of that there is new life and there is joy. There is disbelief and there is wonder all wound up into an amazing experience of resurrection. And these stories tell us how to receive and offer such grace:ย ย  Greet with a message of peace: โ€œI come in love. I wish for you the Shalom, the peace of God.โ€ Then ask about fears and in doing so, you will help relieve them. Offer tender encounters that in their very offering shatter expectations of what is possible in this world and open the Scriptures anew. Ask for food. Share it. And trust that in such moments there will be joy.

Amen.

Happy 150th! – from the Rector

Welcome to the year-long celebration of Grace Episcopal Churchโ€™s Sesquicentennial!

On June 10, 1868 Grace was received as a parish in what was then the Diocese of Michigan. ย In honor of this milestone, on Sunday, June 10, 2018 our congregation launched โ€œ150 Years of Graceโ€ with celebratory worship, the dedication of our new historical marker, a parish luncheon, and a recital by Jordan Van Hemert, grand-nephew of Vivian and Gerard Cook. The day was festive and full of thanksgivings. ย This year will be too.

This year weโ€™ll celebrate and give thanks for all who were and are Grace Church, the ministries that have shaped us, the varieties of gifts given and received here, the challenges faced, and the ways in which this Episcopal congregation has shared its proclamation of Christโ€™s good news in this community and beyond. ย Weโ€™ll also be intentional about Grace forward, attentive to what Larry Wagoner, who visited us Sunday from the Michigan Historical Society, called โ€œGraceโ€™s Legacy.โ€

This Parish Blog, โ€œStories of Graceโ€ will run all year and will be one of ways in which we gather and share stories. ย New posts will appear at least weekly and will include historical information, stories from parishioners, posts from previous Rectors, voices of Grace pilgrims, and more. ย Please read along with us and let us know if you have a post to share (favorite memory, event, perspective on how Grace has shaped youโ€ฆ) The blog can be accessed via the main page of our website and weโ€™ll provide links on our Facebook page, in our digital newsletter, and in our weekly digital updates too.

150 Years of Grace will include parties, presentations, pictures from every generation of Grace, a โ€˜Raise the Roofโ€™ campaign, โ€˜Inspired by Graceโ€™ opportunities for creativity, monthly Grace Notes recitals, the building of LEGO Grace and more. Mark your calendars for some of the upcoming events listed below and stay tuned as this year unfolds!

July 29 Worship at Hope Church: Hope Church provided us with our first meeting space and weโ€™re going to thank them on July 29. Weโ€™ll meet at and worship with Hope Church at 10:00 that day, with Rev. Jen Adams as the guest preacher and Grace as the coffee hour hosts. Our 8:15 service will be at Grace that morning.

September 9 Kick Off and Blessing of the Backpacks: As a new school year begins, weโ€™ll bless backpacks, take our annual parish photo, and hold our annual Kick-Off Day picnic.

October 21 Oktoberfest: Weโ€™ll hold our annual and fabulous stewardship dinner, kick off the pledge drive and experience the world premiere of Stewardship the Musical: The Prequel (the final in the โ€˜Stewardship the Musicalโ€™ trilogy).

November 4 The Joy Huttar Memorial Organ Recital: Joy Huttar served as Graceโ€™s organist from 1978- 2005 and as such is the longest serving staff person in Graceโ€™s history. ย This concert marks the first of what will be an annual event in her memory. Mr. Alfred Fedak, Hope College graduate, composer and Minister of Music at Presbyterian Church on Capitol Hill in Albany, New York will be our recitalist. ย Al became an Episcopalian while worshiping at Grace decades ago.

November 10 – An ‘Inspired by Grace’ Retreat – A day long retreat with prayer and teaching on type, temperament and spiritual growth. ย More details as we approach the day.

With thanks for 150 years and uncountable blessings of Grace Church,

Rev. Jen

150 Years of Grace!

Join us as Grace turns 150 years old! Our year-long Sesquicentennial celebration begins June 10th with our Sunday services at 8:15 and 10:00am. Immediately following the 10:00 service weโ€™ll process to the front yard for an unveiling and dedication of Hollandโ€™s newest historical marker, acknowledging 150 years of this Episcopal congregation. A celebratory luncheon will begin at 11:30 and then all are invited to a Grace Notes Recital at 1:00pm. Jazz saxophonist Jordan VanHemert is our recitalist. He will be joined by Graeme Richmond (cello) Rhonda Edgington (organ,) Steve Jenkins (harpsicord) and others. Join us this Sunday as we begin to celebrate 150 years of Grace!

Marktplaats Thanks you! Thank you to everyone who helped out this past week at Marktplaats! A special thanks to Debbie Coyle, Alex Foster, Renee Krueger, and Prescott Slee, for your leadership & coordination. We will have numbers in soon for the amount earned for the Grace Youth fund. All the time and care given this project is greatly appreciated. Look to hear more from youth soon!

ย We’re moving into high gear with planning for our Sesquicentennial celebration – 150 Years of Grace! The celebration will begin on June 10, 2018 and go through June, 9 2019.ย  Be sure to mark your calendars for June 10th which will include a special meal after the 10:00 service.ย  We will be sending out a mailing this weekย  announcing some of the celebratory highlights of the year. Remember that we’re eager to receive any photos you have of special events or groups at Grace Church, whether those pictures be digital or paper. If the pictures are digital, please send them to Mary Miller at the church email or bring in a flash drive to her.ย If the pictures are paper, you can bring them in and Mary will scan them and return them to you. Thanks for helping us prepare for 150 Years of Grace!

Service Times Reminder: Just a heads up that we change our service times to the summer schedule on Memorial Day weekend.ย  Sunday services from May 27 through September 9 will be at 8:15am and 10:00am.ย ย 

 

Grace Celebrates Earth Day

This weekend Grace will celebrate Earth Day in lots of ways!ย  We’ll have a cleaning of the Grace grounds on Saturday from 8:30-11:00am.ย  Bring rakes, a fork rake if you have one to help with mulch, and be sure to leave some room for a donut or two!ย  Grace Youth will be going on a hike, leaving Grace on Saturday at noon and returning at 3:00pm.ย  On Sunday we’ll have services at 8:15 and 10:30am with Forum Hour at 9:15.ย  Our guest speaker at the Forum will be Dr Brian Bodenbender, Professor of Geology at Hope College.ย  He and Grace member, Dr Ed Hanson will lead a presentation and discussion on environmental concerns and care.ย  As a part of our 10:30 service we will process outside and bless the grounds of Grace, stopping at three stations to sing, hear about actions for earth care, and sing.ย  The 10:30 service will be followed by a special Coffee Hour, outside if weather permits.ย  The day will end with an Organ Recital with Dr. Stephen White, Music Director at St Thomas Episcopal Church in Battle Creek as our guest recitalist.ย  Join us as we take good care, process, bless, make music, and share!

Sign Up For Marketplaatz!

Tulip Time is near! We’ve got LOTS of slots to fill for Marketplaatz, so it’s time to get your Dutch on, Grace Church.ย  Come on board to help with our ONLY youth ministry fundraiser of the year .ย  It’s fun.ย  We come together to help Grace youth and serve Dutch food to guests of this festival (click this linkย for a video of food served, complete with Tulip Time tunes.) Follow this link ย to sign up for some shifts!ย ย Thanks, Grace!

Learning from the Tomb

LEARNING FROM THE TOMB

The Rev. Jennifer Adams- Easter Morning 2018 –ย Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.ย They had been saying to one another, โ€˜Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?โ€™ย When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.ย As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.ย But he said to them, โ€˜Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.ย But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.โ€™ย So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.ย ย 

One of the strangest things about Easter morning for me is that what we are doing in here which is so very beautiful and joy filled โ€“ it doesnโ€™t seem to resemble the gospel story hardly at all.ย  On other Sundays we bear at least some resemblance to what we hear proclaimed from the aisle.ย  We hear a story about healing, or teaching, or sharing a meal and there is usually something going on in here that very obviously looks like what the gospel story told us.

But this morning is different.ย  There is actually more happening than usual in our space.ย  The music is loud (a good loud) and filled with joy.ย  Weโ€™re dressed up a bit.ย  There are candles and flowers and bells. Weโ€™re nearly full, and even coffee hour has a wonderful sort of โ€œfestiveโ€ about it today.

Which is absolutely wonderful, but also so very different than what that first Easter morning looked like and sounded like and felt like.

Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, the three women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus.ย And when they got there, they โ€œlooked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.โ€ They went expecting to care for their friend who had died. They were quiet.ย  They were tired.ย  There were only three of them.ย  That first Easter morning, the women had essentially gone to the tomb to mourn.

But then as they entered the tomb, which was sort of a brave act really considering the unusual circumstances, โ€œthey saw a young man, dressed in a white robe and they were alarmed.ย But he said to them, โ€œDo not be afraid; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He has been raised; he is not here…Go and tell his disciples that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.โ€

And the women went out and fled from the tomb, โ€œfor terror and amazement had seized them;โ€ the gospel said. โ€œAnd they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.โ€ย  And that was it. End of the Easter gospel. On that first Easter morning, according to Mark, there was just an empty tomb.ย  No flowers. No bells.ย  There was a man in a white robe (now we have those but I think Mark was probably talking about an angel).ย  There was fear, terror actually, and amazement! And they were told that Jesus wasnโ€™t in that place โ€“ he had been raised and was โ€œout ahead of them.

And so there are a couple of things for us to hear this morning.ย  First, we have just been reminded about where and how Easter begins and we need to hear that.ย  There is an invitation in this gospel story for each of us, and itโ€™s an invitation to the tomb.ย  What the women were doing that morning was a gentle and loving act. They had gotten up before dawn to visit a place in their own life, in their own world that had invited their tears and evoked their desire to โ€œcare for.โ€ย ย  Thatโ€™s all they were doing. But they were doing it.

And the invitation to the tomb is one we often avoid. But like the women that first Easter morning, we need to go to those places โ€“ we need to allow our tears and our desire to care for – we need to let those pieces of ourselves guide us.ย  And if there is anything this world is not lacking itโ€™s situations that are tear and care worthy.ย  โ€œDonโ€™t be afraidโ€ we hear in this story.ย  Easter morning invites us to those places in ourselves and in our world where resurrection is happening but isnโ€™t visible, tangible, understandable, explainable.ย  Yet. Easter morning began in a very hard place because the tomb has something to tell us.ย  Itโ€™s where resurrection begins.

Now what happened was that they found the place to be empty except for an angel, and thatโ€™s something for us to hear too.ย  There are always angels in different shapes and sizes, speaking in different voices, and โ€œDo not be afraidโ€ is a common theme among them. Eventually the tombs themselves empty.

The tomb is an essential stop along the way, but thatโ€™s all it is, thatโ€™s all it ever is.ย  In the gospel of Mark, Jesus was โ€œout ahead of them,โ€ we heard.ย  And itโ€™s true for us too.ย  Our tears and our compassion will take us to places where resurrection isnโ€™t visible, tangible, understandable or explainable but it is happening.ย  Resurrection is always happeningโ€ฆfor you for me, for this world which God so loves.ย  The good news is that the way of new life, the way of resurrection is being forged for us before we can see it ourselves.

And so on Easter morning we visit the tomb, eyes and hearts open to grace.ย  And we offer the best of ourselves in those places that long for our presence, our love, our care.ย  We hear the words of the angels and we go forward, trusting that Christ is there too, bringing resurrection and new life.ย  And as we go we make our song, Alleluia! Alleluia!ย  Alleluia!

Amen.