Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Parish

Online Tidings

Pentecost 8, 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 the Unity of the Church:

Book of Common Prayer, page 204

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 no coffee hour after services this week, but our usual hospitality will resume next week.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, today we remember The Church of Santiago in Lafayette, Holy Innocents Church in Elizabeth, Christ Church in Denver, and The Church of the Nativity in Grand Junction.

Visitation by Bishop O'Neill

Bob McJimsey to Retire from Vestry

Please plan to join us at coffee hour on July 29th to celebrate Bob and his faithful service on behalf of our parish.

Choir Camp is Coming

We hope to raise the final $700 needed through a special collection this Sunday, July 22nd. You may place a check marked for "Choir Camp" in the collection plate. Our choristers will present a special program during the service on Sunday, August 12th. Thank you so much for helping make such a rewarding experience possible for some of our youngest members.

America the Beautiful Chorus

The Sea of Galilee Vacation Bible School

The week just past was filled with Galilean history, story-telling, crafts, animals and a great sense of fellowship between the members of First Christian and our Grace congregation. Many thanks to all those who served as volunteers, to the families that supported this excellent activity and to the children who brought us such a good message during our service on Sunday, July 15. For any who missed it, we are working to set up the slides shown during the service last Sunday at a future coffee hour. The following Grace members helped make this all possible:

Participants		Volunteers
Isabel Stritzel	Abigail Sena	Bobbi Bradford	Christine Campbell
Helen Stritzel	Isabelle Sena	Ed Brown	Denise Campbell
William Stritzel	Matthew Lenz	Helen Hazelton	Alyssa Hough
William Brown	Katherine Hazelton	Tammy Lenz	Sarah Theobald
Joseph Brown	Hannah Neighbors	Bart Hough	Andrew Theobald
		Holly Hermes

It was neat! Jesus was just like my vision of Him. I liked making the bread and I especially liked eating it. Katherine Hazelton

I liked the marketplace the best, especially spinning yarn! I liked it a lot. Hannah Neighbors

The following was received on a home-made hand-written card from one of the FCC participants in last week's vacation bible school:

Dear Grace Episcopal, Thank you for all you did to set this up. We all had tons of fun. love, First Christian Church youth of Galilee.

ESM Offerings

Memorials and Thanksgivings

Summer Child Care

Following our usual tradition there will be no Sunday School for the children during the month of August. Sunday Schoolers will remain with their families for the full service. We are grateful to the fine volunteers who provided care the children during June and July giving a welcome break to the regular Sunday School staff. The Nursery will be available as usual with many thanks to the faithful staff who care for our littlest parishioners.

Grace Midweek Services at First Christian

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

Youth group is on summer break. There will be no youth group meetings for the next three weeks. Regular meetings will resume on August 12th. Keep in mind the MOSTrust Rummage Sale scheduled for Saturday, September 15th. Youth group members, be sure you are helping clean out your attic or basement over the summer and setting aside all that rummage. Donations will be accepted from anyone in the entire congregation. 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.

Comments from some of the participants in the Youth Group rafting trip on the Arkansas on June 29th:

When we went rafting, at first I was really scared because I'd only been on Class 2 and 3 rapids, and we were going to do some Class 4. My family and friends (and rafting guide) helped me through it. My favorite rapid was Shark's Tooth-- that was so much fun! I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did!

Rafting was probably one of my favorite youth group trips. It was wild, spontaneous, and a thrill. It taught us another level of team work, too. Without teamwork, the whole raft team would end up in the water.

Grace Bibliophiles

Vestry Selects Delegates to Diocesan Convention

• Clelia deMoraes
• Helen Hazelton
• John Hough
• Marianna McJimsey
• Chuck Theobald

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.

From the Mouths of Babes (and Teenagers)

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cellphone? What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets? What if we flipped through it several times a day? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we used it to receive messages from the text? What if we treated it as if we couldn't live without it? What if we gave it to our kids as gifts? What if we used it when we travel? What if we used it in case of emergency? This is something to make you go, "Hmm...where IS my Bible?" And one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. And no dropped calls!

Tithes and Contributions

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.

Lesser Feasts and Fasts

On July 17th we remembered Bishop William White who was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1747. Ordained in England in 1772 he served at Christ and St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia from 1772 until his death in 1836. He served as chaplain to the Continental Congress and later to the U.S. Senate and is considered by many to be "the chief architect of the Constitution of the American Episcopal Church".

O Lord, in a time of turmoil and confusion you raised up your servant William White, and endowed him with wisdom, patience, and a reconciling temper, that he might lead your Church into ways of stability and peace: Hear our prayer, and give us wise and faithful leaders, that through their ministry your people may be blessed and your will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Weekly Calendar

Contact Information

Legal Status

Two additional documents have been filed this week, the first amending our Motion for Summary Judgment to note that Grace Church's attorney in 1992 had cited the Mote case as controlling church property, and the second to submit that letter from former Grace Church Attorney Lee Wills as evidence. Direct links will be included in next week's Tidings once they are available on our website.

We have been told that the trial of Don Armstrong on the charges contained in the Presentment in Ecclesiastic Court is scheduled for July 31st.

Vestry Meeting

The dates of the next vestry meetings have been changed. The July meeting will now be held on Tuesday, July 31st at 7:30 pm, and the August meeting on Tuesday, August 21st. You are invited to attend all regular monthly meetings of the vestry. 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.

Minutes of the April vestry meeting can be found on the Grace Episcopal homepage.

Minutes of the May vestry meeting can be found on the Grace Episcopal homepage.

Minutes of the June vestry meeting will be posted after they are approved at the meeting scheduled July 31st.