January 2020 The Monthly Newsle er of Grace Episcopal Church • Hutchinson, Kansas
“LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY.” Once Jesus visited his good friend Martha. Martha welcomed him into her home, and while she was busy offering hospitality through the preparation of a meal, her sister Mary sat on the floor at Jesus’ feet and listened to his every word. In this simple act, Mary abandoned her domes c du es and, for the me being, adopted the posture of a disciple learning at the feet of a rabbi. When Martha complains about this, Jesus tells her that Mary has chosen the be er part and that it won’t be taken from her (Luke 10:38–42). Then, in the very next scene, we find Jesus praying alone (perhaps he is si ng at the feet of his Father?). A er he finishes, his disciples approach him and make a request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:2). Jesus begins by giving them some words to pray, words which we have come to know as The Lord’s Prayer. But Jesus does stop there because it is not enough to equip his followers with words. They must also come to know the character and heart of the God to whom they pray. This God, says Jesus, is not like any god you might otherwise imagine. For example, your heavenly Father does not have to be worn down before he will act on your behalf. This God knows how to give good gi s to his children. So approach God with all confidence and be persistent: “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you fill find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you” (11:9). As you pray in this way, remember that persistence in prayer is not about convincing God to act; it is not about scoring points with God or building credit with God because we do not worship a transac onal, quid-pro-quo god. We worship a loving Father who takes great delight in giving good gi s to his children. In other words, prayer is a rela onship, not a transac on. Consequently, being persistent in prayer is about crea ng the necessary me and space to let God know what is going with us and also giving God the me and a en on to share with us what is going on with God. Yet, with all that being said, we may s ll wonder what prayer is: Is it one thing? Is it many things? And we may s ll want to know how to pray, so we may s ll be eager to approach Jesus and ask him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The fact is, it was not only Jesus’ first followers who have come to him with this request. Chris ans throughout the centuries have done the same. And many of those Chris ans stayed very curious about learning what it means to pray to the God who has made himself known in Jesus of Nazareth. So when we ask Jesus to teach us to pray, Jesus may point us to the words of Scripture and tell us to chew on them for a while. At other mes, Jesus may point us in the direc on of some of his other followers who—throughout the ages—have made progress in learning how to pray and helping others learn to pray. With that in mind, on January 5, we will embark on a new Adult Sunday School series: LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY, which will run through January and February. In this series of experimental learning, we will explore and prac ce different types of prayer. Not a bad way to start a new year! (See page 2 for more details.) Blessings, Fr. Ted
SERVING CHRIST BY MINISTERING TO THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY & THE PARISH
A FIVE-WEEK SERIES ON THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER JAN 5 • James K. A. Smith You Are What You Love: The Why of Spiritual Prac ce JAN 19 • Henri Nouwen On Silence and Solitude FEB 2 • Phyllis Tickle The Divine Hours FEB 16 • George A. Bu rick A Simple Regimen of Prayer FEB 23 • The Anglican Rosary Hands-On Prayer Would you like to learn more about prayer? Are you curious about different types of prayer?
Cultivating a deeper awareness of God’s presence and activity in our lives and in the world.
EPIPHANY EVE SERVICE January 5th • 5:30 pm The Epiphany of Our Lord is one of seven principal feasts that we celebrate every year in the church. The others are listed on page 15 in The Book of Common Prayer. The Epiphany is a fixedday feast, and so it occurs every year on January 6. This year, we will celebrate with a worship service on Epiphany Eve—Sunday, January 5 at 5:30 pm.
ATTENTION LADIES! EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN EPIPHANY PARTY JANUARY 6, 6:00 PM The annual ECW Epiphany Party will be held on Monday, January 6th at 6:00 pm at the home of Gin Torrence at 8101 St. Andrews Drive. If you have a secret sister, please bring a final gi or card and sign your name revealing who you are. Also bring a snack to share, coffee and beverages will be provided. All the women of Grace are invited to a end. —2—
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 HOLY EUCHARIST II AT 9:30 AM • MEETING & BRUNCH AT 10:45 AM ANNUAL MEETING. At the Annual Mee ng, we will get an update on the mission of Grace, we will present the Mission Empowerment Plan for 2020 (a.k.a., the budget), and we will elect members to Vestry and delegates to diocesan conven on. BRUNCH. We need help with food and with the kitchen. So please put your name down on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex or contact the church office. This is what we need: • 10 Casseroles • 8 Coffee Cakes (or 8 People to bring 1 Dozen Muffins) • 5 People to help with set-up and clean-up in the Kitchen • 5 People to help make fruit cups on Saturday, January 25th at 10:00 am
VESTRY There is a nomina ons sheet on the bulle n board in the Narthex. You may nominate yourself or someone else, but make sure to get their permission before you add them to the list! This year, we are looking to fill four posi ons: three people to be elected to a three-year term and one person to a two-year term. All nominees must be bap zed, must regularly a end worship at Grace, and must contribute financially to the mission and ministry of Grace. All nominees will be asked to fill out a ques onnaire that will be distributed to the congrega on the week before the Annual Mee ng.
Those going off Vestry are Kelly Curry, Howard Dame, Steve Hawkins, and Mitch Hixson.
DELEGATES FOR CONVENTION • October 16-17, 2020 In addi on to members of Vestry, at our Annual Mee ng we will be elec ng FIVE delegates to annual conven on. This will be a special conven on for two reasons. First, the Diocese of Western Kansas will turn 50. Second, the conven on will be held here in Hutchison at Grace. Before being nominated, please check your calendar to make sure you can a end the whole conven on.
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Claire Elodie Long SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 AT 10:15 AM.
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS 1 2 3 4 6
7 9 11 14 16 17 20 21 23 24 25 28
Suzanne Chandley Emma Blakley Bob Summers Mary Waln Becki Libhart Kim Miller Steve Sherrow Gaye Tibbets Silas Walker Charles Moll Esther Blakley Jackie Chew Rosalie Bean Seamus Wamsley Fifi Eckrote Bob Ri er Nancy French Kai French Emily Kohls Sara Spradling Ty Waln Stephen Chalfant Julie Kimmel Lana Mederos Mike Wamsley Sally Russell
Claire was born on October 17, 2019 to Mother Amy and Brandon Long.
GRACE FOOD PANTRY The Food Pantry Fund has a balance of $275.00. Please bring canned soup or chili for our pantry this month. In 2019, we gave out 425 bags of groceries to families in need.
SALTHAWK COMMUNITY SUPPORT Please help by continuing to bring hats, mi ens, gloves, and scarves for SCS this month.
JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES There are no January Anniversaries. Please call the church office if we have missed your special day!
NEW CHURCH DIRECTORY IN THE WORKS A new church directory will be available at annual mee ng. If you have any changes to your contact informa on, please let the office know before January 19th. —4—
SALTHAWK COMMUNITY SUPPORT PRESENTS: A TASTE OF HUTCHINSON - THE MEN COOK Saturday, January 25 • 7 - 9:00 pm •Hutchinson Art Center Come experience delicious samples of food prepared and served by area men, including several from Grace Church. Tickets are $40 per person and are available in the church office. All proceeds will help con nue the work of SCS Program. SCS encourages students to be engaged in school by providing suppor ve listening, pairing students with community mentors, providing programs that encourage a posi ve atmosphere, mee ng basic needs and so much more. Please come support this worthy cause.
BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW EUCHARIST & BREAKFAST Saturday, January 18th • 8:30 am The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is sponsoring a men and boys Eucharist and breakfast Saturday, January 18th. The Eucharist will begin at 8:30 am with breakfast in the Parish Hall following the service.
GRACE OUTREACH The Outreach Commi ee met on Wednesday, December 11th. Those present were Suzanne Chandley, Rae Pat Hederstedt, Shane Schneider, and Fr. Ted Blakley. We distributed $3,700.00 to the organiza ons, agencies, and schools listed below. We le about $300 in the budget in case we had any year end needs. Any monies remaining as of December 31 will be transferred to the Rector’s Outreach Fund.
$500 $500 $500 $500 $400 $300 $250 $250
to NOEL Lodge to Chris an Soup Ministries to Bright House to The Coffee Corner to Circles of Hope to J.A.G. (Jobs for America’s Graduates) to Kairos Prison Ministry each to McCandless, Faris, & Lincoln Elementary —5—
A BIG THANK YOU! The Youth Group wants to thank the Parish for all of the soups & breads that were donated for the Luminaria Soup Supper. This year we had as many people as we have ever had, and we didn’t run out of soup! Even some of the police officers who came in at the very end were able to get a bowl of hot soup. The Youth raised over $800 through free-will donaons! That will help them with Outreach projects, Camp scholarships, and with those who are going on pilgrimage to Canterbury in 2021.
UTX YOUTH GROUP The Under the Cross (UTX) MS/HS Youth Group returns on Wednesday, January 8 at 6:30 pm.
SIGN UP FOR YOUTH GROUP DINNERS It is such a blessing for our youth and their families when the parish provides dinner for the Wednesday night Youth Group. To bring a meal, just sign up on the sheet hanging in the Narthex.
From our friends over at FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH You may recall that this past summer Pastor Tonya Remer Wenger led a Sunday School class and preached at Grace. This coming year, she will be leading a series of seasonal retreats at the Dillon Nature Center. See below for more informa on. Register for the Winter Retreat by January 25.
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GODLY PLAY Sundays at 9:15 am in the back room of the Undercro For ages 3-12
OUR NURSERY is located in the Undercro , and is available for our li le ones Sunday mornings during Sunday school and the 10:15 service.
Saturday, January 18 5:30pm at Grace Hosted by Bob and Jeanne Ri er
January 8 & 22 4:45 pm Conference Room January 2 & 16 2:00 pm Wesley Towers
GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH STAFF The Rev. Dr. Ted Blakley ............................................ Rector frted.grace@gmail.com • 620-314-7520 The Rev. Amy Long ...................................... Assistant Priest The Rev. Bill Waln ........................................ Assistant Priest The Rev. Larry Steadman............................ Priest Associate The Rev. Larry Carver ............................ Priest in Residence Brandon and Mtr. Amy Long ................ Youth Coordinators Todd Ray .................... Coordinator of Eucharis c Ministries Jan Howard ............................................................. Organist Missy Waln ................................................... Music Director Rosie Bean .............................................. Nursery A endant Laura Southards ........................................................ Sexton Brenda Hoefer ..................................... Office Administrator HOW TO CONTACT US 2 Hyde Park Drive; Hutchinson, KS 67502 620-662-8024 phone • 620-662-2930 fax grace.hutch@sbcglobal.net • www.gracechurchhutch.org www.facebook.com/gracechurchhutch CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Monday through Thursday • 9:00am to 4:00pm
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VESTRY Mitch Hixson (2020) ......................Senior Warden Howard Dame (2020) .................... Junior Warden Todd Ray (2021) .............................................Clerk Kelly Curry (2020) Kathy Petz (2021) Jim Richardson (2021) Stephen Armstrong (2022) Steve Hawkins (2022) Jan Steen (2022) Toni Co rell ........................................... Treasurer SUNDAYS 8:00am • Holy Eucharist I (spoken) 9:15am • Sunday School for All Ages* 10:15am • Holy Eucharist II (music) *Except on Second Sundays of a month when the Youth prepare breakfast for the congrega on.
WEDNESDAYS 9:30am • Holy Eucharist I — in the Chapel 10:00am • Bible Study — Parish Hall 5:30pm • Holy Eucharist II — in the Chapel 6:30–8pm • Under the Cross MS/HS Youth Group
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed 1
Thu
Fri
Sat
3
4
9 7:00am Bible Study
10
11
16 7:00am Bible Study 1:30–3:30pm 2:00pm Eucharist at Wesley Towers
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18
2 7:00am Bible Study 1:30-3:30pm NO CLOTHES CLOSET 2:00pm Eucharist at Wesley Towers
5
6
7
6:00pm ECW Epiphany Party
8:00 Holy Eucharist I 9:00am Choir 9:15am SS All Ages “Teach Us to Pray.” 10:15 Holy Eucharist II Bap sm of Claire Details on Page 2. Elodie Long 12:00 Elementary 7:00pm Al-Anon Youth Group Mee ng 13 12 8:00 & 10:15am Holy Eucharist I & II 10:00am 9:00am Choir 9:00 am Youth
9:30am Godly Play 12:00pm Brotherhd. of St. Andrew
26 9:00am Choir 9:30am One Service: Holy Eucharist II 10:45am
ANNUAL MEETING & BRUNCH Details on page 3
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21
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY 7:00pm Al-Anon
6:00pm Girl Scouts
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7:00pm Al-Anon
4:45pm Daughters of the King 5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth 15 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
8:30am Men and Boys Eucharist and Breakfast (Page 5) 5:30pm Family Supper Club at the Church
5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth
7:00pm Al-Anon
19 8:00 & 10:15am 20 Holy Eucharist I & II
9:00am Choir 9:15am Sunday School for All Ages 12:00pm Vestry
6:00pm Girl Scouts
8 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
22 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
23 7:00am Bible Study
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30 7:00am Bible Study
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4:45pm Daughters of the King 5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth 29 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth
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