P.O. Box 548, Colorado Springs, CO 80901
www.graceepiscopalcolosprings.org
grace.episcopal.church@gmail.com
719/328-1125
Book of Common Prayer page 254
| Sunday, February 10 | Adult Education | 11:30 am |
| High School Youth Group | 11:30 am | |
| Choral Eucharist at FCC | 12:45 pm | |
| Children's Sunday School | 1:30 pm | |
| Coffee and Fellowship | 2:00 pm | |
| Monday, February 11 | Communications Committee | 7:00 pm |
| Tuesday, February 12 | Holy Communion | 10:00 am |
| Father Michael's Bible Study | 10:40 am | |
| Worship Committee | 5:00 pm | |
| Grace Notes Handbell Choir | 7:15 pm | |
| Wednesday, February 13 | Lenten Noontime Reflections | 12:00 pm |
| St. Nicholas Choir Rehearsal | 4:30 pm | |
| St. Cecilia Choir Rehearsal | 5:30 pm | |
| Taylor and St. Stephen's Choirs Rehearsal | 7:00 pm | |
| Thursday, February 14 | Healing Service | 12:00 pm |
| Graceful Hands | 1:00 pm | |
| St. Valentine | ||
| Friday, February 15 | Grace Bibliophiles | 12:00 pm |
| Sunday, February 17 | Adult Education | 11:30 am |
| Middle School Youth Group | 11:30 am | |
| Choral Eucharist at FCC | 12:45 pm | |
| Children's Sunday School | 1:30 pm | |
| Chamber Orchestra of the Springs | 3:00pm |
To see this in a printable calendar layout, click here.
Our Shrove Tuesday supper was a great success. The youth group volunteered to organize this event, and served over 90 parishioners a delicious meal. Thanks to greeters Ellie Hinkle and Meg Theobald, ticket-takers Andrew Darress and Paul Hazelton, cooks Wes and Whitney Hendrickson, Spencer Kellogg, Patrick Darress, Carl Campbell, Stewart Hazelton, Josh Mahan, Helen Stritzel, Bart and Elissa Hough and Sarah Theobald and servers Justin Hermes, Ellie McMahon, Christine Campbell and Ette Aschermann for your hard work, and for figuring out how to keep the smoke alarm in the kitchen from going off. Thanks also to Clelia deMoraes and Gary Darress for pitching in with the cleanup crew, Marti Lindberg and Jill Wasinger for helping organize and Jim Hinkle for saying "yes" when it looked like we were going to miss our pre-Lenten pancakes.
I’m a bit tired this morning, but not as tired as I would be had it not been for the wonderful assistance of Deacon Sally and Father John. Our Lenten season began yesterday with four Ash Wednesday services—one at 7:00 am (Fr. Pahls presided); Noon (Fr. Pahls again presided, assisted by me and Deacon Sally); our Choral Eucharist at 6:30 pm (presided by me, assisted by Fr. Pahls and Deacon Sally); and our Taizé service at 9:00 pm on the campus of Colorado College in Shove Chapel (a collaborative effort of the Chaplains Office, Grace Episcopal Church, the Catholic Student Union, and other on-campus Christian organizations). And, now a few words about our Ash Wednesday services….
Obviously, the most noticeable dynamic was the change in liturgy, from the contemporary Rite II to the more formal Rite I. The reason is largely traditional. It has been the custom of many Episcopal parishes that during Lent, and other penitential seasons of the Church calendar, Eucharistic services adopt a more somber and rueful Anglican sentiment. Thus, Rite I—with its Elizabethan English and much heralded “Prayer of Humble Access”—provides a more contrite context in keeping with the tone and tenor of the Lenten season.
A little bit of background on Taizé …. In the south of Burgundy, France, is the home of an international, ecumenical community, founded in 1940 by a man simply called, "Brother Roger". Today the community is made up of over a hundred brothers, Catholics and Protestants from various backgrounds and from more than twenty-five nations. The brothers are committed to material and spiritual sharing, to celibacy, and to a great simplicity of life. At the heart of daily life in Taizé are three times of prayer together with chanted ancient melodies. Since the late 1950s, many thousands of young adults from many countries have found their way to Taizé to take part in prayer and reflection. Thus was our aim this past Wednesday night.
The Taizé Ash Wednesday service was inspiring, to say the least; complete with the imposition of ashes. With nearly 100 Catholic and Protestant students and professors, the mood in Shove Chapel was beautifully repentant. I think I counted about 50 candles burning up front, surrounding a handsome Crucifix that rose high above the crowd. In talking afterward with Chaplain Kate and Linda Maden, Shove Chapel’s manager, they expressed great satisfaction in our joint efforts and a desire to have Taizé available in the future, perhaps as much as once a month.
I want to conclude by thanking all the incredible volunteers who made these services possible—many, many people were blessed and no doubt feel the way that I do: that we will be able, inspired by these services, to keep a good Lent. +Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam+
This class is not just for those new to the Episcopal faith but is a superb overview for all of us no matter where we stand in the journey.
We need to know in advance if you plan to come! (for the purpose of setting up the room, providing course outlines and, of course, providing the right amount of pizza.)
Please let us know by writing Carol Nuss, or calling 594-2079 as soon as possible . Carol will also have a sign up sheet this Sunday just outside the Nave and will be there before and after the service to answer further questions.
Dear Grace Parishioners,
Thank you so much for the wonderful support you provided at my recital several weeks ago! It was very exciting to play for you in a concert setting and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. For you lovers of the organ, I wanted to let you know about two CD's that are being released by Gordon Stewart. As you may know, Gordon won back his position at Huddersfield Town Hall and has been quite busy playing and directing all over the map. The CD's feature Gordon playing the organs of St. Giles, Pontefract and Huddersfield Town Hall. I have many more details about the instruments and repertoire and would be happy to pass this information along to you. To order a compact disk email Bobbie Bradford or call 667-1555.
Also, many of you have asked me if I would consider making a CD at First Christian. I think this is a great idea, one that could come to fruition over the summer months.
Musically,
Deke Polifka
To this end, Nancy Lawthers, the Diocesan President of the ECW, will join us on Saturday, March 1st, at 9:30 am for a pot luck brunch (use your imagination) at the home of Susan Stoner in University Park. The address is 1425 Rockhurst Blvd. Click on the highlighted text to view a map. Nancy will explain what we must do to become ECW, and what the other branches do to contribute to the Diocese. There is an upcoming retreat which she will tell us about as well, right here at St. Michael’s! We have also invited Beth Phillips to join us to explain how our Thrift House, our one ECW arm, works. All in all, an enlightening morning, with opportunities for questions, of course.
Nel Benton Hough has agreed to chair our group to get it started, and any help she could glean from others would be appreciated. We have decided to try to vary the times and places for our meetings, to allow as many of us as possible to attend. If it is a set time, it automatically excludes some ladies who have other obligations. We will even try a luncheon meeting, perhaps at FCC, so that working women can come in for an inexpensive catered lunch, a short program, and only be away from their work for an hour and a half or so. All thoughts and ideas are welcome!
For the March 1st meeting, please RSVP to Sherry Brown at 488-9783, Nel Benton Hough at 577-9426 or Susan Stoner at 548-9254.
Our women's annual retreat was held again this year at the St. Francis Retreat Center on the 1st and 2nd of February with forty four of our members attending. We were both honored and joyful to have our former Grace Episcopal Church Vicar of ten years, The Rev Linda Seracuse, as our guest speaker. She called her topic appropriately, "Grace Upon Grace" and there weren't too many dry eyes after the presentation of her major medical battles in relation to her faith. After Compline, we adjourned for an evening of fun and fellowship.
Saturday began with Morning Prayer and then attendees were split into five working groups and asked to reflect upon where we envision or hope our church to be several years from now. Each group spokeswoman was then asked to report a synopsis of comments. The visions were amazingly similar, and included:
A warm, loving and safe environment for all worshippers; reconciliation and healing for our parish; continued emphasis on our music and community outreach ministries; development of new ministries that take advantage of the gifts and talents of our parishioners and that reach out to all generations; growth and strengthening of the small groups program; focus on youth and children's education; lay leadership in balance with clergy; strong relations with other churches in the community; fiscal integrity and stewardship.
What a wonderful way for us to plan to work together and prepare for the Lenten Season.
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