Embracing the the Seasons

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Please come and join us!  All are welcome here at Grace Episcopal Church.  Whether it’s one of our regular Sunday services, morning prayer or one of our special services held throughout the year, visitors find Grace Episcopal Church to be warm, welcoming and a friendly place to worship God. Our 9:00 a.m. service includes music with our choir and organist, children are invited to attend Sunday school and join their parents after the sermon.  For those wishing to become more actively involved in worship- our altar guild, acolytes, lay readers and choir always welcome new members.

 

Special services during the year also include:

 

Ash Wednesday Services mark the beginning of Lent.  It is a time to begin the journey of the 40 days of preparation that lead up to Christ’s glorious resurrection. 

Mothering Sunday the fourth Sunday in Lent, is a British tradition equivalent to our Mother’s Day.  Grace Church observes the day by serving Simnel Cake during coffee hour.

 

Palm Sunday gives worshipers an opportunity to not only hear God’s word in scripture, but to experience it with all the senses.  The Passion play breathes life and meaning into the Gospel reading with its colors and drama as we experience Jesus on the road to Calvary.

 

Maundy Thursday is one of the most moving services during the Holy Week.  We are reminded of Christ’s forgiveness during the ceremonial foot/hand washing. The stripping of the altar and darkened sanctuary at the end of the service starkly contrast the beauty and light that await us on Easter Sunday morning.  Children are also invited to partake in foot washing, offering them an opportunity to experience and participate in the service on a level they can understand and learn from.

 

Good Friday is a time when we remember the stations of the cross at a special service on this Friday before Easter. 

 

Great Vigil of Easter is joyously celebrated each year with Emmanuel Lutheran Church.  We light the new fire and celebrate “passing over” from darkness to light with candles, chantings, reading and music.

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Easter Sunday is the center of our faith and the highlight of our worship year.  The church is gloriously decorated, the cross is "flowered" and special music is offered.  The service is followed by an Easter egg hunt for the children.

 

Rogation (Dirt) Sunday is the day when Grace Church's beautiful gardens get blessed - including the Contemplative Community Orchard and historic Sunken Garden.  Our home gardens are not forgotten.  Everyone is urged to bring a scoop of dirt from their home gardens to be blessed.  The dirt is deposited in a wheelbarrow, blessed and as we leave the church we take a scoop of blessed soil to deposit in own garden for a fruitful and prosperous growing season.

 

Pentecost is the day we experience the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles on Pentecost.  We participate in the service by encouraging our congregants to wear red and listen to the gospel as it was translated.

 

Blessing of the Backpacks occurs each September and all school-age children, college students, school teachers and professors, school administrators and anyone associated with schools and education are invited to bring their backpacks to be blessed before the new school year begins.

 

Blessing of the Animals honors the Feast of St. Francis. During this service we acknowledge and celebrate the beauty, mystery and wonder of God’s creation by blessing beloved two and four legged pets (and stuffed animals). 

 

All Saints Day occurs the Sunday after All Hallows Eve (Halloween). This is a service where we remember our family members who have passed. We encourage congregants to bring pictures of their beloved family members to be placed around the sanctuary for special prayers and blessings. 

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St. Nicholas and the first Sunday in Advent service in early December reminds us of the real saint and bishop who embodied selfless giving and generosity during his lifetime.  His presence during the service is a much anticipated event by both the young and the young at heart.

 

Christmas Eve Family Service is a warm, inviting service for all ages, but especially for those with children.   It begins with musical talents singing hymns…and ends with a darkened, candlelit church and the singing of the hymn “Silent Night.”