Welcome to Grace Episcopal Church!
Holy Hike on New Year’s Day at ASP 
Kick off the New Year celebrating the beauty of creation . . . as well as St. Luke’s and Grace Church’s partnership. As New Years’ Day plans in 2021 will be unlike any other, the churches have taken this as an opportunity to plan a “Holy Hike” on January 1st, gathering at the Quaker Lake entrance to the park at 1 pm. Grace Church vestry member and retired Allegheny State Park manager, Tom Barrile, suggested a lovely hike through the State Park, followed by a brief communion service.
Pledge for 2021
It is not too late to pledge for the 2021 Budget of Grace Church. We need your support to plan our mission of providing “Grace in Randolph.” You can submit your pledge online here: https://bit.ly/GracePledge
Read the Bible with us during Epiphany 2021
January 1 – February 16
What is the Good Book Club?
Each year we join thousands of other Episcopalians in reading a book of the Bible all the way through, from beginning to end. In doing so we have a different, and often enlightening, experience than only hearing short snippets on Sundays or in Daily Prayer.
This is the year of Mark in the Sunday Lectionary, and so we are joining thousands of other Episcopalians in reading the Gospel of Mark, beginning to end. This will take less than 50 days, reading a page or less each day, and at the end you will have a new perspective of that story that begins with the simple sentence:
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
How can I be part of this?
The Good Book Club at the St. Luke’s – Grace Partnership will provide several different opportunities to be involved in the reading of the Gospel of Mark. You are invited to choose whatever level of involvement works for you.
- Simply read from your personal Bible each day, using the schedule provided. Just open your Bible and start!
- We will be hosting a weekly Zoom gathering on Tuesday's from 10 to 12 starting on 12/29/20 to discuss the readings of the past week and to explore what they mean to our lives today. Even if you can’t make it every week you are welcome to join us whenever you can.
- An OPTIONAL study guide, A Journey with Mark: The 50 Day Bible Challenge, is available through the Forward Movement, or as a Kindle, Nook, or Apple book.
- Watch for email and website announcements for other ways you can join in sharing insights from reading Mark.
Epiphany 2021
The Gospel according to Mark
Fri, Jan 1 1:1-11
Sat, Jan 2 1:12-20
Sun, Jan 3 1:21-45
Mon, Jan 4 2:1-12
Tues, Jan 5 2:38-38
Wed, Jan 6 3:1-12
Thu, Jan 7 3:13-35
Fri, Jan 8 4:1-20
Sat, Jan 9 4:21-34
Sun, Jan 10 4:35-41
Mon, Jan 11 5:1-20
Tues, Jan 12 5:21-43
Wed, Jan 13 6:1-13
Thu, Jan 14 6:14-29
January 6th (the feast day of Epiphany)
Matthew tells us that when the wise men arrived in Bethlehem to visit Jesus, they found him and his mother in a house, not the stable where they had found their first temporary shelter. This is a cue that Epiphany season focuses on celebration in our own homes, and it is a very old custom to bless houses on Epiphany.
A traditional symbol of this Epiphany blessing is to mark the initials of the legendary names of the wise men (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar), written with blessed chalk on the lintel above the front door of the house, framed by the numbers of the new year, in this way:
20 + C + M + B + 21
On Wednesday, January 6th (the feast day of Epiphany) at 7 pm, we will have a brief Zoom service (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89988209468?pwd=QVpIaWkvZmcxdXlQM3lmRERtd09Sdz09) to bless our homes together - where we have spent so much time this past year. We hope you’ll join us for this fun opportunity to connect for a few minutes to ask God’s blessing upon our homes (perhaps with a season beverage in hand).
Faithfully,
Luke
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