The Grace Vine. Fathers (and Mothers) and Friends By Bette Brooks. August Joseph of Arimathaea August 1

Transcription

1 The Grace Vine August 2018 Fathers (and Mothers) and Friends By Bette Brooks Joseph of Arimathaea August 1 All 4 Gospels tell us of Joseph of Arimathaea. He was wealthy. He was a member of the Council. He was the burier of Jesus. He asked Pilate for the body of Christ and buried it with honor in the tomb he had intended for himself. The end. This is all we know for certain and sure. However, there is so much tradition associated with this brave man. (If you are not interested in these legends, feel free to skip to the closing prayer.) Later tradition embellished on this meager account. Some said that Joseph was a distant relative of the family of Jesus. Others said that he derived his wealth from tin mines in Cornwall (England!). Others take this story and extend it further: he took Jesus with him on a visit to England when He was a teenager. This latter tradition is the background for William Blake s ( , English mystic and poet) poem Jerusalem, from which came, incidentally, the title of the wonderful movie Chariots of Fire. Another legend states that after the Crucifixion, Joseph returned to Cornwall, bringing with him the chalice of the Last Supper, known as the Holy Grail. Reaching Glastonbury, he planted his staff beside his head and lay down to sleep. Overnight, the staff took root and blossomed into a thorn tree. The Grail was hidden and part of the great English epic deals with the unsuccessful quest of the knights of King Arthur to find the Grail. The Thorn Tree flowered every year near Christmas Day; however it was cut down by one of Oliver Cromwell s soldiers during the English Reformation. As it fell, the thorns blinded the axe man in one eye. A tree allegedly grown from a cutting of the original Thorn survives today in Glastonbury and trees propagated from it stand of the grounds of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Is there any basis at all in history for these legends? Maybe. Tin is an essential ingredient of bronze which was highly valued in ancient times. Phoenician ships imported tin from Cornwall. And it s a pretty safe guess that in the 1 st century the investors who owned shares in this trade included a few Jewish Christians. And we know that Christianity gained a foothold in Britain very, very early, probably earlier than in Gaul, a Roman possession. It may have been brought by the tin trade. And if so, then early British Christians would have a tradition that they had been evangelized by a wealthy Jewish Christian and, if they had forgotten his name, it would be natural to consult the Scriptures to see what mention was made of early wealthy Jewish converts. There are only two Joseph and Barnabas and the life of Barnabas is pretty well accounted for in the Acts of the Apostles. So, rather than we were evangelized by some wealthy Jewish Christian whose name we ve forgotten, they might say, We were evangelized by Joseph of Arimathaea. Prayer: Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

2 Service and Lay Ministry Schedule If you cannot serve when scheduled, please find a substitute and call the parish office with that person s name. Thank you for sharing in the liturgical ministry of Grace Church. Sunday, August 5 8:00 &10:00 AM Holy Eucharist 11 Pentecost Worship 8:00 Bette Brooks Leader 10:00 Carolyn Englert Greeters Nancy & Fred Lundgren Acolyte Eric Splinter Altar Guild Cindy Ward & Nancy Ervin Coffee Hosts 8:00 Joan & Frank Seman 10:00 John & Mary Jean McDonald Counters Nancy Lundgren & Dennis Dier Deacon The Rev. William Snyder Wrshp Ldr 8:00 Sally Dier Greeters Nancy & Jim Ervin Acolyte Kevin Splinter Altar Guild Cindy Ward & Nancy Ervin Coffee Hosts 8:00 Mike & Shirley Johnson 10:00 Nancy & Jim Ervin Counters Nancy Lundgren & Dennis Dier 1 st Reading 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a Nancy Lundgren Psalm 51: nd Reading Ephesians 4:1-16 Fred Lundgren Gospel John 6:24-35 Sunday, August 12 8:00 & 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist 12 Pentecost Worship 8:00 Bette Brooks Leader 10:00 Charles Parsons Greeters Jeff & Lisa Marsh Acolyte Phillip Crouse Altar Guild Cindy Ward & Nancy Ervin Coffee Hosts 8:00 Shirley & Mike Johnson 10:00 Cindy Ward & Cathy Potisuk Counters Nancy Lundgren & Dennis Dier 1 st Reading 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, Martha Croll Psalm nd Reading Ephesians 4:25-5:2 Phillip George Gospel John 6:35, Sunday, August 19 8:00 & 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist 13 Pentecost 1 st Reading 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Kathy Summy Psalm nd Reading Ephesians 5:15-20 Jeff Croll Gospel John 6:51-58 Outreach We will continue with Outreach this year giving food to the Center of Hope as well as personal items (which they were happy to have). They were so grateful for these items. Please continue to take your clothing to the County Clothing Center. The APL is always in need of food and other items for the animals (see the list on the bin in the Parish Hall). Don t forget to mark the Outreach sheet when you donate items; the list is in the parish hall. We donated about 200 lbs. of clothing to the CCC and more than 200 non-perishable food items to the Center of Hope. The 200s Challenge is part of celebrating the 200th anniversary year of the Diocese of Ohio. Please help us serve others by being generous in our outreach. Thank you for your generosity.

3 Sunday, August 26 8:00 & 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist 14 Pentecost Worship 8:00 Sally Dier Leader 10:00 Nancy Lundgren Greeters John & Mary Jean McDonald Acolyte Jeff Marsh Altar Guild Cindy Ward & Nancy Ervin Coffee Hosts 8:00 Pat Williams 10:00 Carol M, Doris and Gail Counters Nancy Lundgren & Dennis Dier Wrshp Ldr 8:00 Bette Brooks Greeters Nancy &Fred Lundgren Acolyte Altar Guild Cindy Ward & Sally Dier Coffee Hosts 8:00 Joan & Frank Seman 10:00 Nancy & Fred Lundgren Counters Midge Myers & Carol Marotta 1 st Reading 1 Kings 8:1, 6, 1-11, 22-30, Carolyn Englert Psalm 84 2 nd Reading Ephesians 6:10-20 Tim Splinter Gospel John 6:56-69 Sunday, September 2 8:00 & 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist 15 Pentecost 1 st Reading Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Nancy Lundgren Psalm 45: 1-2, nd Reading James 1:17-27 Fred Lundgren Gospel Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, Volunteers Needed for Sundays We re in need of help on Sunday mornings: --greeters (10am) --coffee hosts (8 & 10am) --acolytes (10am, any age strong enough to carry the cross) If you could help, please let the office know, and we ll arrange a tutoring session and get you added to the list. Acolytes can contact the Splinters to get started. Acolytes can also learn the ropes by pairing with someone for a few times first. Many thanks to those who serve in all these ways. It s an opportunity to be involved in worship and to provide welcoming and fellowship for our parish family and newcomers. THE CENTER OF HOPE Thanks to Jim Ervin for taking the non-perishable food to the Center of Hope at least every other week and thanks to everyone who donates. Now that children are home from school for the summer the Center is asking for peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, cereal, and Ramen noodles, granola bars, or anything else children may enjoy.

4 Did You Know?... While Lisa Marsh and daughter Sarah Beth were off to Brazil, Rachel, daughter number two, went to Rhode Island and visit with aunts and grandma which is always a good idea. Rachel had a great time and I m sure they all enjoyed having her there. Rachel did say that her suitcase weighed 23 pounds when she left for Rhode Island and when she came home it was over 40 pounds ---that s a lot of clothes. But then again what girl doesn t enjoy shopping and I m sure she ll be one of the best dressed in high school this year Charles Parsons enjoyed his trip to New York City and he especially enjoyed going to Calvary Episcopal Church where our very own Calvin Hampton played the organ. For those of you who don t know; Calvin Hampton is a world famous organist and composer (some of his hymns are in our hymnal) and he grew up right here in Ravenna and attended Grace Church. Who knew?... Susan Kay Wyatt, author of No Crown Required and daughter of Mike and Shirley Johnson, will be back in Ravenna in August. Mike and Shirley are hosting a Hot Dog Roast at their home on Sunday, August 19 th, from 5-9 p.m. for those who would like to come and meet Susan Kay. Susan Kay will also be at Reed Memorial Library on Monday, August 20 th at 7:00 p.m. for a discussion of her book. Books will be available for purchase and signing We received a note from Phyllis Shorts and she read in last month s Grace Vine that Kevin Splinter will be attending Bradley University. Phyllis grandson Will Putt graduated from Bradley and she enjoyed visiting that university when Will graduated Eric Splinter will be home for August, meaning Splinters will have two boys home for 3 whole weeks before they all take Kevin to Bradley in Peoria for his Freshman year. Eric will head back to Clarkson a week later for his junior year. He expects to have a busy year between studies and serving as the VP of the theater club. Thanks to our Christian Education director Carolyn Englert and Carol Marotta for cleaning out the Sunday school room office. They found things there from 1978 and it has taken three days to clean out all those papers, old broken crayons, lesson plans, old books, and anything else you can imagine. But it does look so much better. And thanks to Jim Ervin for hauling it to the dumpster Nancy Ervin has been busy organizing the food ministry and taking dinners to Maynard and Carol while she s recovering from her surgery Thanks to Mike and Shirley Johnson for hosting Sit & Stitch at their annual (well it s beginning to be annual) picnic We had a new couple attend church on the 15 th of July --- please welcome Steve and Margaret Bigley Our organist, Tim Lewicki is giving Carol Marotta s grandson Gregory Ballway piano lessons on the Sundays he s here, so if you hear music coming from the choir room it s only Gregory learning how to play the piano Please keep several people in our parish in your prayers: Rev. Carol is recovering from rotator cuff surgery; Joan Seman had a knee replacement, John McDonald and Bill Snyder had cataract surgery, Bruce Ahrens is fighting an infection from knee surgery. Keep all those on our intersession list in your daily prayers. We are well into vacation season, please continue to keep current on your pledge.

5 BLUEGRASS, GOSPEL, AND 50 s COUNTRY MUSIC CONCERT SATURDAY AUGUST 11, 2018 PLAN TO ATTEND WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS! DOORS OPEN AT 5:30P.M. TICKETS ARE $10.00 PER PERSON CONCERT BEGINS 6:30 P.M. TREASURE CHEST PRIZES RAFFLE 50/50 RAFFLE FOOD AND DRINKS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION Birthdays 6th Jameson Patrick 8th Alexandra Wroblewki 9th Goldie Shriver 10th Lynn Francois 11th Mary Jane Gear-Jozsa 12th John McDonald 15th Hera Whipple 16th Jane O Neill Karen Krofta 18th Samantha Stickle 22nd Bill Summy 23rd Jada Whipple 26th Kevin Splinter 27th Jim Neely 30th Carl Seiter Congratulations! and many happy returns... Anniversaries Baptisms 13th Debbie Shorts 14th Amy Seman Jeff Croll 8th Brian & Jane Jozsa

6 The Bulletin Board The Mite Box Did you know that Grace Church has a Mite Box? There is a small wooden box that sits on the window sill in back of the church. Money is collected and placed in the Parish Discretionary Fund to be given to help parishioners in need. If you could give a few dollars once in a while, it would be very helpful.

7 August The Grace Vine Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat 11 Pentecost 8am HE 9am Coffee 10am HE 11:15 Coffee 12 Pentecost 8am HE 9am Coffee 10am HE 11:15 Coffee 13 Pentecost 8am HE 9am Coffee 10am HE 11:15 Coffee Pentecost 8am HE 9am Coffee 10am HE 11:15 Coffee pm Sit & Stitch 7pm Vestry Meeting pm Sit & Stitch pm Summit Area Discernment Day am Breakfast Club at Brimfield Steak House pm Choir Practice 31 9am Loaves & Fishes 6:30 Bluegrass, Gospel & 50 s Country Music Concert

8 Grace Episcopal Church of Ravenna The Rev. Carol Evans Rector The Rev. William Snyder Marsha Snyder Secretary Tim Lewicki Organist Martha Croll Choirmaster Phone: Web Site: The Vestry of Grace Episcopal Church Phillip Crouse(2018) Jeff Croll(2018) Dennis Dier(2018) Nancy Lundgren(2019) Carol Marrota(2019) Rick Taylor(2019) Midge Meyers(2020) Fred Lundgren(2020) Barb Popiel(2020) Grace Episcopal Church 250 W. Cedar St. Ravenna OH 44266