Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Parish

Online Tidings

Pentecost 6, 2007


P.O. Box 51410, Colorado Springs, CO 80949
www.graceepiscopalcolosprings.org
grace.episcopal.church@gmail.com
719/328-1125

Prayer of the Week

For Travelers:

O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer, page 831

Services This Week

Sunday services this week will be at 12:45 pm at First Christian Church, on the corner of Platte and Cascade. Father Soper will be our preacher this week. There will be coffee hour after each service this month except July 22nd.

Music this week includes Hymns 522 (Love divine, all loves excelling), 483 (The head that once was crowned with thorns), 321 (My God, thy table now is spread) 309 (Oh food to pilgrims given) and 366 (Holy God, we praise thy name). The Offertory is Martin How's Day by Day, based on the prayer of Sir Richard of Chichester and the Communion Motet is a setting of Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd. You will also enjoy the prelude, a setting of Rockingham (Hymn 321) by Parry, and the Praeludium in F-sharp minor by Buxtehude for the postlude.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, today we remember Ascension Church in Denver, Christ Church in Cañon City, St. Thomas in Alamosa, St. Stephen the Martyr in Monte Vista and St. Francis of Assisi in South Fork.

Parish Directory...We Need Your Help

We have accumulated well over 500 names in the database, which is a great start for our new directory. This counts each individual whether as a single, or as part of a family. David Newton has kindly plotted our spreadsheet in a very large format to allow for easy review and correction. These plots were available at hospitality on June 17 and July 1, and will be available this Sunday during coffee hour.

Please check your data on the plots this Sunday. It is not possible to send individual records via email, as some have requested.

Children's email addresses will not be included in this version. This is a clear security risk for what will be an essentially public document, once printed and distributed. If there is interest in a youth group directory with a more limited distribution, please let Mr. Hinkle know.

Courage Classic -- Supporting the Children's Hospital of Denver

The Courage Classic is a one hundred and fifty seven mile bicycle ride starting and ending in Leadville to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Denver. This annual three-day ride takes place this year from July 21 through July 23. The Coffey family is in full training for this arduous task. Kathy says:
The Coffey family has benefited from the caring and competency at Children's Hospital more than once, and we are eager to give something back. Here is a link to our team webpage. To make a contribution, click on the link and select a team member-Alison, Steven, Kathy or Robert Coffey.

Please consider supporting Kathy, Robert, Alison and Steven, either by donating online or contributing this Sunday after the service. Look for Kathy at a table in the fellowship hall.

Saturday Suppers

You may send an email to Jan Malvern at jmalvern@pcisys.net or 638-4922 or with Deb Mack dmack3070@aol.com or 494-8430 to sign up for the Saturday Supper next week, Saturday, July 14th. No need for a babysitter -- these potlucks are family events and children are welcome. The sign-up deadline is Saturday, July 7th, so write or call today.

The Episcopal Church - Marking a Milestone, Moving Forward

Paid advertisement in the New York Times, May 12, 2007

Somewhere near you, there’s a blue-and-white sign bearing the familiar slogan: The Episcopal Church Welcomes You. It represents some 7,400 congregations that trace their beginnings in North America to a small but hopeful group of English Christians who arrived May 14, 1607 at a place they called Jamestown — the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

You may know us as Washington’s monumental National Cathedral, site of historic services and ceremonies, or the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, still unfinished, but already the largest cathedral in the world.

But the Episcopal Church is also Boston’s Old North Church, founded in 1723 and made famous by serving as the beacon for Paul Revere’s revolution-spurring “midnight ride.” And Philadelphia’s Christ Church, home parish of 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence, host to the first General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1785.

It’s Trinity Parish on Wall Street in New York, formed in 1698, and St. Paul’s Chapel just down the street, frequented by George Washington and the spiritual healing center of Ground Zero since September 11, 2001.

It’s also Epiphany Church in Los Angeles, where Cesar Chavez rallied the United Farm workers. And Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Cumberland, Maryland, whose basement was a major stop on the Underground Railroad to freedom for enslaved African-Americans. And St. John’s Church in Greenwich Village, a meeting place for gay and lesbian action following the 1969 Stonewall uprising.

It’s a parish in Iowa; a campus ministry in Georgia; a mission in Dinétah — the Navajo Reservation; a cathedral in Utah; even a house church in Vermont.

Wherever you find us, you’ll find the Book of Common Prayer and a Christian faith that honors and engages the Bible, the tradition of the Church, and God-given human reason.

Joined in prayer, you’ll find people with many points of view — Christians who are progressive, moderate, and conservative — yet who value the diversity of their faith community.

That’s a heritage drawn from our deep roots in nearly 2,000 years of English Christianity, and shared by a worldwide Anglican Communion that unites nearly 80 million people in 164 countries through prayer and ministries committed to caring for “the least of these,” as Jesus commanded, by reducing poverty, disease, and oppression.

Episcopalians struggle with the same issues that trouble all people of faith: how to interpret an ancient faith for today… how to maintain the integrity of tradition while reaching out to a hurting world… how to disagree and yet love and respect one another.

Occasionally those struggles make the news. People find they can no longer walk with us on their journey, and may be called to a different spiritual home. Some later make their way back, and find they are welcomed with open arms.

Despite the headlines, the Episcopal Church keeps moving forward in mission — in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as congregations in Belgium, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guam, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands. We’re committed to a transformed world, as Jesus taught: a world of justice, peace, wholeness, and holy living.

We’ve grown a lot in 400 years, since that 1607 worship service from the Book of Common Prayer was held in Jamestown — inside and out. Come see for yourself. Come and visit… come and explore… come and grow.

ESM Offerings

Grace Episcopal is one of the founding members of Ecumenical Social Ministries. In order to fulfill our obligation, we need a high level of participation. Donations are easy to make: just bring what ever you would like to donate to church on Sunday and place it in the large grocery cart located between the narthex and the fellowship hall. ESM is in need of volunteers to help in all of their departments, including the food pantry, housing assistance, jobs program, general health care, and mental health care. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Joyce Polifka at 633-7956.

1st Sunday250 cans of soup
2nd Sunday250 boxes of crackers
3rd Sunday400 cans of pork and beans
4th Sunday500 boxes of macaroni and cheese
5th Sundaytoiletries, paper products and baby items

St. Theresa's Guild

St. Theresa's guild is composed of parish members who like to lend a helping hand by preparing a meal for those who are ill or experiencing a serious life event. If you are interested in participating, please contact Chrys Hutka at 590-9236.

Parish Transportation

Would getting to church on Sunday be easier if you had someone to drive? The Grace Transportation volunteers would be happy to help. We are currently serving members each week. If you --or someone you know-- could join us if only there was a way to get to church, then we are just a phone call away. Please contact Kathy Coffey at 528-5754 to make arrangements.

We are still in need of help on Sundays transporting several parish members to services. If you could volunteer to help with this, even just occasionally, please contact Kathy Coffey at 528-5754.

Summer Child Care

With many thanks to our loyal Sunday School teachers who have continued unfailing work with our children during these transitional times we wish them some time away from these duties in the summer months. In order to provide for the children we have a great roster of parishioners who will provide care during the latter part of the Sunday services in June and July. All are experienced teachers in various fields and they will supervise teams of teen-agers from our Youth Group.
DateSupervisor
July 8Jan Malvern
July 15Nick Abbott
July 22Deborah Kirkpatrick
July 28Marti Lindberg

Grace Midweek Services at First Christian

Thanks to the continuing hospitality of our hosts at First Christian, all our midweek services will be held in the Chapel at the north end of the building. All are welcome as we sustain ourselves with these worship services.

Please note that, due to the setup for Vacation Bible School, the First Christian parking lot will be closed during the mid-week services this week.

Tuesdays -- 10 a.m. -- Holy Communion with Fr. Michael. There will be no Tuesday Bible Study this month.

Thursdays -- 12 noon -- Healing Service and Holy Communion.

Youth Group

Remember our youth group meetings this week are the YAC meeting at 11:45 and the full youth group at 2:30 on Sunday. We will work this week on setting up the "village" for vacation bible school. Did you have fun rafting? Be there as we create more fun activities and service projects.

Our Day in Pueblo is next Saturday, July 14th. Activities include the Pueblo Riverwalk, a movie at the Drive-In and the best pizza in Colorado! Please email Jim Hinkle or contact him at 440-4432 to RSVP or for information on how to get involved in our Youth Group program.

Grace Bibliophiles

Readers will gather as usual on July 20 and August 17. In July, we will discuss themes from Susan Howatch's extraordinary series of novels about the Church of England in which she presents a compelling picture of the gifts and temptations that mark the lives of its unforgettable characters. The series is available at the public library and any of them makes good reading and will enliven the discussions. The volumes are Glittering Images, Glamorous Powers, Ultimate Prizes, Scandalous Risks, and Mystical Prizes. Readers are invited to choose one (or more) for fascinating summer reading.

Closer to home is the setting for August's book, Memories of a Lifetime in the Pike's Peak Region by Irving Howbert. This is a 2007 reprint of the classic 1925 autobiography of a man who arrived here as a 14-year-old boy from Iowa. He was an early public official and was an active assistant to General William Palmer in the founding of our city. The book is available at the Old Colorado City Historical Society and at the Pioneers' Museum. The Howbert family has been part of Grace Church for decades and you will find the name of the current Irving Howbert listed in our 2005 parish directory.

Graceful Hands

Graceful Hands will resume on July 12 from 1:00- 3:00 at 817 Panorama Drive. Graceful Hands is a group dedicated to helping those in need through creating handmade caps, scarves and lap blankets. If you have questions, please contact Bobbie Bradford at 667-1555. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten. See you in July.

Hospitality and Housekeeping

Please do not bring any peanuts or foods made with peanut products into First Christian as there is a child with extreme allergies.

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School, which is titled Holy Land Adventure: Galilee by the Sea, is scheduled this week, Monday through Friday each evening from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. The curriculum is designed so that family members can all attend together. We will be sharing this experience with the children and families of First Christian so that we can all know each other better. We hope to have one parent volunteer for each eight Grace members participating. We will have the opportunity to join one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and inhabit a village with tents, a well and a marketplace. Please email Helen Hazelton or call 633-7464 for more information, and save these dates as your summer calendar fills.

Tithes and Contributions

Please note that as long as we are at First Christian, you may send all contributions and general correspondence to P.O. Box 51410, Colorado Springs, CO 80949. This address appears on both the web site and at the top of all editions of the Online Tidings. Checks should be made payable to Grace Episcopal Church.

All contributions directed to our post office box or placed in the collection basket during Sunday services are used only by Grace Episcopal and cannot be accessed by the secessionist congregation.

Contact Information

All underlined contact names throughout the Online Tidings are linked to email addresses for your convenience. Just click in the online version to contact one of our vestry, staff or volunteers: >
General InquiresGrace Episcopal328-1125
PriestFather Michael O'Donnell233-2386
DeaconRev. Sally Ziegler648-9350
Choirs (all ages)Deke Polifka633-7956
Altar GuildAnna Johnson471-2233
UshersLeigh MacHaffie579-6793
Chalice BearersMary Lou Porter599-5548
LectorsVirginia O’Conner685-1306
AcolytesJames Duell471-8944
NurseryHelen Hazelton633-7464
Sunday SchoolEd Brown475-9490
Youth GroupsJim Hinkle440-4432
HospitalityNancy Klotz622-1254
TransportationKathy Coffey528-5754
Service SheetBill Hazelton210-4349
Online TidingsChuck Theobald442-0602
Contact/Mailing ListsDave Eschliman471-8334
Parish NurseJill Wasinger473-7366
WebmasterDavid Newton282-2360
Vestry:Clelia deMoraes633-6807
Amy Duell471-3026
Timothy Fuller473-2629
Helen Hazelton633-7464
Bob McJimsey471-1765
David Watts389-0050
TreasurerDavid Nuss594-2079
ClerkConni Eggers592-0388

Vestry Meeting

The next vestry meeting will be on Tuesday, July 24th at 7:30 pm, and you are invited to attend. Meetings are held at La Posada del Sol Clubhouse at 2090 Mesa, on the corner of Mesa & Fillmore. Turn in the gate at La Posada del Sol -- the clubhouse is directly ahead clearly marked.

Recent Court Filings

The lawyers have been busy this week. There are five additional filings at News and Updates on the Grace Episcopal website.

California Appellate Court Decision: On Friday, June 29, attorney Martin Nussbaum filed three documents (Notice of Supplemental Authority, Part 1 of Attachment to Notice of Supplemental Judgment, Part 2 of Attachment to Notice of Supplemental Judgment) concerning the recent California Appellate Court decision that reversed three California trial court decisions allowing secessionist Episcopal parishes to take their property with them. In a unanimous decision, the California Appellate Court supported the diocese's assertion that the property, buildings and other items did not belong to the individual congregations, but were held in trust for the diocese and the Episcopal Church. The court further determined that the Episcopal Church possesses a valid trust interest in local parish church property even when factions within a parish seek to succeed from the Episcopal Church.

According to a New York Times article (Neela Banerjee, Church Dissidents Lose Property Appeal, June 28, 2007), "State property laws vary to such an extent that legal experts say the ruling will probably not set a precedent in similar disputes around the country, where other congregations have broken with the Episcopal Church. But they also said the ruling's encyclopedic discussion of church property precedents... could make it a persuasive resource in other cases." The article went on to quote Nussbaum. "'This is a very scholarly opinion, and trial judges know when a decision is more learned," said L. Martin Nussbaum, a Colorado Springs lawyer representing the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in a dispute with a breakaway parish. "This will have persuasion beyond its jurisdiction and will have persuasion beyond the state of California.'" Note that you must register (free) with the New York Times to read the full article.

1929 Article of Dedication for Grace Church: Last week a 1929 dedication of the "realty" titled in the Grace and St. Stephen's parish corporation that deals a serious blow to the claims of the secessionists' congregation was brought to the attention of Martin Nussbaum. Signed by the rector, the wardens, and the entire vestry in 1929, it states, " . . . we do hereby request the Right Reverend Irving P. Johnson, Bishop of Colorado, to take the said building under his spiritual Jurisdiction, and authority, and that of his successors in office . . ." It continues "we do moreover hereby relinquish all claim to any right of disposing of the said building, without due consent given by the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese, according to the Canons of the said Diocese . . . " Nussbaum informed the court of the 1929 Instrument of Donation by filing a Second Supplement to the Motion for Summary Judgment and a Supplement to the Summary Judgment Brief.

You can see the document here and comment on these filings at the Grace Concerns blog at www.graceconcerns.blogspot.com.

If you would like to be mailed a copy of any of the legal filings, or the Presentment issued by the Diocesan Standing Committee, acting as the Review Committee in the matter of Rev. Donald Armstrong, please contact Conni Eggers at 592-0388. Copies are also available on the website.