What's Right About Grace Church

 

These are urgent times at Grace Church. As we focus on meeting the challenges of the present and immediate future, we can get overly concerned about the things that we're not doing. At a recent Growth Committee meeting, we discussed the tremendous number of things that we have accomplished in the past three years and we talked about how good it would be to point this out to people so they could talk about it with their friends.
Let's change the discussion from what we are not doing to the many good things that we are doing. We have a lot to crow about. Spread the word. Then we will begin to see even more things happen.
                                                                                                Jim Edgy, September 2009

Our List of Successes at Grace Church

Worship

• We instituted Coffee Hours following Sunday Worship at least two times per month and often more.
• We held several Blessed Grills following Sunday Worship.
• Choir has grown to the largest number of people since we quit having a paid choir, singing a wide range of music from the Anglican tradition from the 15th - 21st Centuries.
• We have more Sunday volunteers than ever, serving on the Altar and Flower Guilds, and as ushers, lay readers, chalice bearers, and other functions to make our services more meaningful.
• We began the monthly African Drumming, Reiki, and traditional Healing service.
• We continued the Sunday healing service during the Eucharist.
• We began the monthly Hip Hop Service.

Programs

• We sponsored several Rainbow Band concerts
• We began holding a parish Christmas Dinner.
• We held a Spring Luncheon in honor of Mothers.
• Healing
  • We visited the sick and the shut-in and took them Communion.
  • We served those who grieved from loss of a close one or for other reasons.
• We hosted special receptions for several events.

Education:

• Sunday School has grown from 3 children to 17 children.
• We held 10 "Stir the Pot" sessions of stimulating discussions about controversial issues.
• We held several "Ask Questions" sessions where people could discuss troublesome topics about their faith.
• We continued our two Education for Ministry classes for 20 people from all over Greater Cincinnati, graduating four students last year.
• We trained 7 Lay Eucharistic Ministers to distribute elements during Worship Services.
• We trained 4 Lay Eucharistic Visitors to take Communion to shut-ins following Worship Services.
• Five people receiving training as Worship Leaders.
• We enrolled one person in the Diocese's Lay Preacher training program.
• 12 members took Safe Church training.

Outreach

• We donated regularly and generously to the Christ's Community in College Hill food bank
• We participate in Interfaith Hospitality Network with Christ Church, Glendale and are working with 5 local churches to begin one in College Hill.
• We provide mentors for several school children to assist with their studies.
• We participated in the College Hill Block Parties for the past two years.
• We participated in the College Hill Pumpkin Patch festival for the past 3 years.
• We have been active in the College Hill Ministerium and the College Hill Summit
• We continued the Christmas Giving Tree, providing 20 young people with clothing gifts last year.
• We continued the parolee project where they assist us and we support them on a personal, spiritual, and personal basis.
• We provide space for another church's services and activities.       
• We provide meeting space for several community groups on a regular basis, including
  • Narcotics Anonymous,
  • The Rainbow Band,
  • The Flag Drill team,
  • Three theatre groups,
  • A Bible study group,
  • The Uganda School, and
  • Several other groups that do one time events, including weddings and funerals for non-members.

Building and Grounds

• We repaired the plumbing in the rest rooms
• We repaired the plaster and repainted the Sanctuary
• We repaired the plaster and repainted the hallways
• We increased the lighting level in the Sanctuary
• We totally improved the heating in the 1957 wing
• We installed better furniture in the parlor
• We created and furnished a seating area in the Great Hall.
• We continued to improve the appearance of the grounds around the church
• We began the Red Door project
• We improved day to day maintenance of our building and grounds
• We replaced portions of the roof
• We installed flags over front door which has brought us several new members.
• We began renovation of the meeting room under the choir room.
• We redid the lower Belmont entrance to make it more inviting for the many groups that use our facilities

Membership

• We have baptized, confirmed and accepted new members through transfer.
• We created and distributed Grace Post Cards and a Grace Slide Show on CD and DVD.
• We maintained our attractive web site, which attracts over 100 visitors per week, and continued to publish eGraceNotes to over 100 subscribers

Finances

• We have enjoyed a generous level of support from both our parishioners and from the Diocese. Although it is still a struggle, we have finished the past 3 years with a small excess of income over expenses.     

While doing all of the above:

• We have built a committed congregation of actively involved people of all ages, colors, orientations and national origins.
• And last, WE HAVE SURVIVED, WE LOVE EACH OTHER AND WE ARE A VERY SPECIAL CHURCH THAT WE ARE PROUD TO BE PART OF.  TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Questions about Common Ministry

The following questions were asked at Grace Church’s Common Ministry Forum on August 2, 2009:

• What is the definition of Common Ministry?
• What are some of the existing models of Common Ministry churches?
• How do we create the correct list of functions needed to keep the congregation together?
• How is the Common Ministry team formed?
• Who’s in charge and how are they elected?
• How does the discernment process work?
• How are priests raised from the congregation?
• Can a congregation raise more than one priest?
• Are there any age qualifications for priests?
• Can the Bishop ordain a deacon to become a priest in a Common Ministry church?
• What are the track records of other churches that have used Common Ministry?
• Is Common Ministry just for poor churches?
• What Diocesan support is available if we want to explore Common Ministry?
• If we become a Common Ministry church, will we ever hire professional clergy again?
• Can the church grow in a Common Ministry model?
• Will we be able to have Eucharist every Sunday?
• During the interim period, how can we do weddings and funerals?

You might be an Episcopalian if ...

... when a Star Wars character says, "May the force be with you",
you automatically reply, "And also with you".

... the only good reason to raise your hand during a hymn
is to question the organist's re-harmonization.

... you recognize your neighbor or priest in the local liquor store
you go over to greet him or her.

... hearing people pray in the language of "jesuswejus" ("Jesus, we just ...")
makes you want to scream.

... words like: "vouchsafe," "oblation," "supplications," "succor," "bewail," "wherefore," and "dost"
are familiar to you even if you don't have a clue that they mean.

... the sight of a woman in a clerical collar
doesn't make you cringe.

... you think that the Bible is a holy book
because it quotes the Book of Common Prayer so well.

... your choir director suggests discussing something
over a beer after choir rehearsal.

... you catch yourself genuflecting or bowing
as you enter a row of seats in a theater.

... you visit a Protestant church, and you wonder
"where are the kneelers?" or
"where is the altar?"

... you know the best way to quiet a room full of people
is to say, "The Lord be with you!"

... when you visit a Roman Catholic Church,
you are the only Ah-men amongst a sea of A-mens .

... your covered dish for the potluck dinner is
escargot in puff shells.

... your preferred term for a potluck dinner is
covered dish dinner.

... you know Agnus Dei
isn't a woman.

... your picnic basket
has sterling knives and forks (entree, fish, salad and cake).

... you know that the nave
is not a playing card.

... on hearing the story of Martha and Mary, you’re convinced that
Mary would have been in EfM and Martha would have made a great head of the Altar Guild.

... you search your parish kitchen for a can opener
and you find four corkscrews.

... your friend says "I'm truly sorry"
and you reply, "and you humbly repent?"

... you consider a sticker on your car
to be an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

... you know that Senior Warden and Junior Warden
are not positions in the local prison.

,,, churches without gay clergy just seem like
they’re trying just a little too hard to be “butch.”

... you think the most serious breach of propriety one can commit
is failure to chill the salad forks.

... you not only talk about God,
but God is placed in the palm of your hand.

And finally,

... you reach a point when you're not sure about anything theologically
but you still feel at home at the altar rail, knowing that somehow you're meeting God.