March 2020 The Monthly Newsle er of Grace Episcopal Church • Hutchinson, Kansas
THE ART OF ENGAGING HOLY SCRIPTURE When I was at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, Rebekah and I a ended The Church of Our Saviour Episcopal Church in San Gabriel. It was there that I met Fr. Jim Clark who became a mentor and a very good friend. Like me, Fr. Jim was from Oklahoma and was a graduate of Fuller. Fr. Jim had an interes ng blend of Chris an tradi ons; he would describe himself as evangelical, contempla ve, and sacramental. Fr. Jim was a trainer for Contempla ve Outreach, so it was through him that I was first introduced to the prac ce of Centering Prayer. In my final years at COS, Fr. Jim and I developed a series of small-group, lay-led Bible studies on different books of the Bible and themes in the Scriptures. Each of these studies followed the same method of reading the Bible, which Fr. Jim called, The Art of Engaging Holy Scripture (TAEHS). Fr. Jim writes: The Art of Engaging Holy Scripture a empts to provide us with an approach to reading Scripture that is consistent with what we believe is Scripture’s primary purpose, namely, to awaken us to a loving relaonship with God, to sustain us in that rela onship, and through that rela onship transform us into the likeness of Jesus. We call this method The “Art” of Engaging Holy Scripture because the method is a dynamic engagement with the Bible. Rather than focusing on learning the informa on or content of the Bible, our method focuses on bringing us into a conversa on with the Bible…. When we first pick up the Bible we are asking a ques on, something like, “What is this book? Does it have a message for me?” On the other hand, if we are already familiar with the Bible and a person of faith, we read the Bible to grow and mature in our rela onship with God, a rela onship that promises to be life giving and life changing. In either case, when we read Holy Scripture, we are reading what Christians believe to be God’s Story and our story. We believe God is indeed in this story invi ng us into a conversa on. Our benevolent, infinitely pa ent God is reaching out to us as the God who is for us, asking us to come and see whether this Story is not also our story. Therefore our method, The Art of Engaging Holy Scripture, is an approach to reading the Bible that seeks to assist us in entering this conversa on. In recent research done by Renewal Works, Chris ans in Episcopal churches have expressed a desire for a deeper, more vibrant faith. They say that want to learn to PRAY, and they want to learn read the BIBLE. And they want to know how their life of prayer and an engagement with the Bible connects with ma ers of JUSTICE. I have heard these same desires expressed by people at Grace. So on MARCH 1, we are beginning a new Adult Sunday School series where we are going to prac ce The Art of Engaging Holy Scripture, using some of the iconic passages of the Bible that depict God’s vision for a world of restora ve jus ce and wholeness. So let’s get together around the Bible. — Blessings, Fr. Ted
SERVING CHRIST BY MINISTERING TO THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY & THE PARISH
WHY LENT? The liturgical season of Lent seems to have taken form in the 4th century. The Council of Nicea ( 325) called for two gatherings of the synods, one of which was to be held before the forty days of prepara on for Easter. By the end of the 4th century, the forty days of Lent had become integrated into the annual rhythm of the Chris an community. The forty days of Lent were marked and measured as a season of prepara on by daily fas ng and daily prayer. For us the forty days of prepara on begins with Ash Wednesday and con nues through Holy Week. Sundays are not included in the forty days since they are always, even in the season of Lent, a celebra on of Jesus’ resurrec on. The season of Lent is a reflec on of our lives in Christ. First, we confront our human nature, our imperfecons, and our brokenness. Only when we do this can we cast our gaze longingly to the one who took on our humanity, loves us even with our imperfec ons, and longs for us to be whole. A curious thing happens when we honestly look within, release control, and confess our dependence. Instead of weakness, we find in ourselves a new strength. We empty ourselves of our self, and are filled with a new identity, our identity in Christ. Lent is a season of pressing on. Today, we are distracted by many things. It is easy to get lost in the chaos of events occurring around us. If we do not pay a en on to our inner self, our ability to recognize God’s work in our lives is diminished. The season of Lent presents an opportunity to reflect on the state of our souls before God, our rela onship with others, and, above all, the promise of Jesus’ resurrected life as a sign of creaon recreated. In Lent we find new courage, new strength and new hope. Let this Lent be marked in days but lived in grace. Blessings, Fr. Bill +
ALL PARISH SPRING BOOK STUDY 7 WEEKS in MARCH and APRIL “Human beings are se lers, but not in the pioneer sense. It is our human occupa onal hazard to se le for li le. We se le for purity and piety when we are being invited to an exquisite holiness. We se le for the fear-driven when love longs to be our engine. We se le for a puny, vindic ve God when we are being nudged always closer to this wildly inclusive, larger-than-any-life God. We allow our sense of God to atrophy. We se le for the illusion of separa on when we are endlessly asked to enter into kinship with all. The Choir has se led for li le… and the ‘barking,’ like a protec ve sheepdog, wants to guide us back to the expansiveness of God’s own longing.” • Star ng the Week of March 8 • 3 Groups: Sun, Mon, Tues • Sign Up in Narthex or contact Church • Invite a Friend
BOOKS ARE ON ORDER FROM A LOCAL SELLER & WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE CHURCH —2—
February 27 - April 8
SUNDAYS 8:00 am • Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:15 am • Sunday School for All Ages 10:15 am • Holy Eucharist Rite II MONDAYS 6:00 pm • Evening Prayer WEDNESDAYS 9:30 am • Holy Eucharist Rite I 10:00 am • Bible Study 12:15–12:45 pm • Centering Prayer in the Chapel 5:30 pm • Holy Eucharist Rite II 6:30 pm • UTX MS/HS Youth Group 6:30 pm • Elementary Youth Group (1st & 3rd) THURSDAYS 7:00 am • Men’s Bible Study 6:00 pm • March 12: Service using the Anglican Rosary March 26: Cel c Eucharist FRIDAYS 5:30 pm • Sta ons of the Cross
DAUGHTERS OF THE KING • DOK Strengthen Our Call to Service and Evangelism Dedicated to our vows, we must raise up women who pray unceasingly, serve with great love, and spread the Good News by all means possible. As Gospel-bearers we manifest the love of God in Christ Jesus both quietly and boldly, in our prayerful service and through the power of our tes mony. As a primary commitment for Daughters, praying for others mo vates us to reach out to the people or situa ons we hold in our hearts. When we listen, care, and serve, we have opportuni es to tell of Christ’s work in our lives and the meaning of the cross we wear. Yet too o en, we miss opportuni es to make Him known to others. By inten onally linking our acts of service with the love that mo vates them, “For His Sake,” Daughters can more effec vely bear witness to Christ while we serve. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we pray that our stories and service will spread Christ’s Kingdom.
SYLVIA MAYER SCHOLARSHIP The Sylvia Mayer scholarship is for both tradi onal and non-tradi onal students. Applicaons and guidelines are available in the church office or on the Narthex board. If you have any ques ons, please contact the church office. Applica on deadline is APRIL 1.
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GRACE FOOD PANTRY The Food Pantry Fund has a balance of $610.00. Please bring spaghe noodles for our pantry this month. We have given out 40 bags of groceries so far this year.
MARCH BIRTHDAYS 6 7 9 13 21 22 23 25 28 31
Raleigh Jarre Gage French Andrea Springer Rt. Revd. Mike Milliken Na on Meyer Will Eberly Titus Walker Katelyn Walker Edna Keeler Sharon Kimbell Robyn Longhofer Mary Gere Bridger Katherine Eberly Diborah Simmons
MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 8
Roger & Delta Sullivan
Please call the church office if we have missed your special day.
The collec on sites for both ministries are in the Parish Hall and in the Ves bule. Signs are posted. Thank you for your generosity!
SALTHAWK COMMUNITY SUPPORT Please bring toothpaste and toothbrushes this month.
COMMUNITY CLOTHES CLOSET SPRING CHANGE OVER Volunteers will be changing over the clothes in our community closet to spring and summer. We ask that you now bring only those season appropriate dona ons. A BIG thank you goes to all the volunteers who keep the closet running. We are s ll in need of a few more greeters, sackers, and people willing to come sort and hang clothing. Please contact Charles Moll at 663-8167 or Fr. Ted if you can help.
DIRECTORIES AVAILABLE
5TH SUNDAY • SUNDAY, MARCH 29 DIOCESAN YOUTH OFFERING
Updated directories are available in the Narthex and the church office. Please let the office know if there are any changes needed.
The loose collec on plate offering on Sunday, March 29th will go to support the youth programs of the diocese.
DIRECTORY UPDATE The correct email for Jane Horn is janehrn31@gmail.com.
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READERS NEEDED PALM Sunday (April 5th) is also known as PASSION Sunday because on this one Sunday, we tell the story of the last week of Jesus’ life. We begin with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem amidst shouts of Hosanna and the waving of palm branches at the beginning of the week. And then we skip to the end of the week, to his last supper with his disciples followed by his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion on the following day. We remember these events by reading the whole Passion Narra ve. This year—liturgical Year A—we will be reading the passion narra ve in Ma hew, and we need your help. If you would like to have a reading part, please sign up in the Narthex, or contact the church office (grace.hutch@sbcglobal.net; 662-8024)
EASTER LILIES The Easter lily sign up sheet is on the Narthex bulle n board. You are invited to donate $25.00 to the flower fund in memory or in thanksgiving of a loved one.
CANDY NEEDED We need candy to stuff plas c eggs for our annual Easter Egg Hunt! Please bring candy dona ons to the church office. All candy must be individually wrapped and small enough to fit inside plas c eggs. All types of candy are welcome and appreciated. Help make our Easter Sunday egg hunt a fun experience for our kids!
SUPPORT THE DIOCESE OF WESTERN KANSAS BY SHOPPING ON AMAZON AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support your favorite charitable organiza on every me you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selec on and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organiza on of your choice. You can choose from over one million organiza ons to support. • To do this, sign in to your current Amazon account. Under account and lists click on Your Amazon Smile. This will take you to a search screen where you can type in the Diocese of Western Kansas. Click on select. Then, when you want to shop, remember to sign in to smile.amazon.com not amazon.com. —5—
ELEMENTARY YOUTH GROUP UPDATE The elementary youth group met two mes in February with 11 par cipa ng the first mee ng and 6 par cipa ng the second mee ng. Before each mee ng, we take me to eat supper with the middle school/high school group. On February 5, we talked about what we wanted to do each week during our me together. Then we drew pictures of these ideas on a giant piece of paper and hung it in the parish hall. Perhaps you saw it! Some of the ideas include music, arts and cra s, stories, plays, cooking, and shoo ng off rockets. On February 19, we talked about grief and sadness and how God promises us eternal life through Jesus. We read Ecclesiastes 3:1 - To everything there is a season, A me for every purpose under heaven. Next, we wrote down what makes us happy when we are sad, we rolled up these small notes and stuck them in balloons. We blew up the balloons, ba ed them around awhile, and then picked a random balloon and popped it. We then read each other’s happy thoughts. Con nuing our discussion on how Jesus promises us eternal life, we moved to the kitchen where we made crosses out of bread and we baked it. We talked about how the cross is a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. This is an incredible group of li le ones and I consider myself blessed to be able to work with them. All elementary-age kids are invited. We meet the first and third Wednesdays from 6:30-7:45 p.m.
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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.
March 14 IN PARISH HALL 5:30 pm Family Game Night Bring a snack to share and your favorite games
March 11 & 25 4:45 pm Conference Room
SUNDAY, MARCH 29
March 12 & 26 2:00 pm Wesley Towers
SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 7
Fi h Sunday Loose Plate Offering for the Diocesan Youth Fund
Remember to set your clocks forward 1 hour.
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 Jan Steen (2022) ............................Senior Warden Brandon Long (2023) ..................... Junior Warden Stephen Armstrong (2022) ............................Clerk Kathy Moll (2023) Kathy Petz (2021) Todd Ray (2021) Jim Richardson (2021) Bob Summers (2022) Ron Sylvester (2023) 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 1
Mon 2
Tue 3
Wed 4 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
Thu 5 7:00am Bible Study
Fri 6
Sat 7
1:30–3:30pm 8:00 & 10:15am Holy Eucharist I & II 9:00am Choir 9:15am SS All Ages 6:00pm Eve. Prayer “The Art of Engaging Holy Scripture” begins 7:00pm Al-Anon 8 8:00 & 10:15am 9 Holy Eucharist I & II 9:00am Choir 9:00 am Youth
12:15-12:45 Centering Prayer
6:00pm Girl Scouts 10
5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth 6:30pm Elem. Youth 11 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
Remember to Set Your Clocks Forward 1 Hour
5:30pm Sta ons of the Cross 12 7:00am Bible Study 2:00pm Eucharist at Wesley Towers
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14
12:15-12:45 Centering Prayer 9:30am Godly Play 12:00pm Brotherhood of St. Andrew
4:45pm Daughters of the King 5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth
6:00pm Eve. Prayer 7:00pm Al-Anon
15 16 8:00 & 10:15am 10:00am Holy Eucharist I & II
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18 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
6:00pm Anglican Rosary Service
5:30pm Sta ons of the Cross
19 7:00am Bible Study
20
Family Game Night 5:30pm In the Parish Hall
21
1:30–3:30pm 12:15-12:45 Centering Prayer
9:00am Choir 9:15am SS All Ages
6:00pm Eve. Prayer 7:00pm Al-Anon
23 22 8:00 & 10:15am Holy Eucharist I & II 9:00am Choir 9:15am SS All Ages
6:00pm Girl Scouts 24
5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth 6:30pm Elem. Youth 25 9:30am Eucharist I 10:00am Bible Study
5:30pm Sta ons of the Cross 26 7:00am Bible Study 2:00pm Eucharist at Wesley Towers
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6:00pm Cel c Eucharist
5:30pm Sta ons of the Cross
12:15-12:45 Centering Prayer
12:00pm Vestry
4:45pm Daughters of the King 5:30pm Eucharist II 6:30pm UTX Youth
6:00pm Eve. Prayer 7:00pm Al-Anon 30 29 8:00 & 10:15am Holy Eucharist I & II 9:00am Choir 9:15am SS All Ages
6:00pm Eve. Prayer 7:00pm Al-Anon
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COMING IN APRIL... Friday, April 3 Sunday, April 5 Wednesday, April 8 Thursday, April 9 Friday, April 10 Saturday, April 11 Sunday, April 12
• Palm Cross & Pizza Party • Palm Sunday • Chris an Seder Dinner • Maundy Thursday Service • Good Friday Services • The Great Easter Vigil • Easter Sunday
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