This past Sunday we were faced with the question "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?", and were exhorted to think about this question as a congregation of exiles, far from home. Pastor Jason posits that the people of exile were led to minister from a broken heart, to pick up their instruments and skills to honor God with their heartbreak, resistance, and resilience in the contexts they find themselves in. Ask for the Spirit to speak to your heart and mind as you consider how to apply this message to your present season of exile personally and as a community. Listen here.
We are now an Anglican Church! As we continue to walk together towards the new future God has for us, here are a few items of interest.
John was ordained as a deacon in the ACNA last Thursday at the annual C4SO Clergy Retreat in Nashville. The service was live-streamed, and can be viewed here. The sermon from John's ordination service can also be heard here with a little better sound quality than the YouTube video.
Second, here is a brief video about our Diocese, which explains a little bit about the vision and structure of our new church home.
Daily Prayer
Pray As You Go is a daily prayer APP, designed to go with you wherever you go, and help you develop a rhythm of praying every day. It is not a 'Thought for the Day', a sermon or a bible-study, but rather a 10 to 15 minute guided time of prayer, Scripture contemplation, and invitation to bring your own prayers to the Lord. You can download the app on GooglePlay or the Apple Podcasts.
Sundays
We will hold in-person worship and livestream this week at 10:15 AM.
Grace Kids Volunteers Needed: As more and more families are returning to worship, we need more adult volunteers during the worship service in the Toddler classroom and during our Sermon Time Class. Please contact Linn Haralson at linn@graceseattle.org. Thank you!
Sunday Volunteers Needed: With the return to in-person worship, we need people willing to help with communion, ushering, check-in, reading Scripture, and sound/video crew. Please contact Danielle Taniguchi at danielle@graceseattle.orgto sign up.
Volunteer Scheduling Changes: We will be working on transitioning our volunteer scheduling platform for both Sunday morning and Grace Kids volunteers to Planning Center and discontinuing the use of Elvanto starting this month. There will be more information to follow later in May.
Connect
We have a wide variety of groups: Community Groups, Bible Studies, Growth Groups, Prayer Groups, Men’s Groups, Women’s Groups, and Listening Prayer Groups. To find a group, or if you are interested in starting one, please contact our Director of Community Formation, Jamie Afshari at jamie@graceseattle.org.
Pastor Jason + Swag = Amazing: As Pastor Jason is finishing up his ministry at Grace and preparing along with his family to begin their new adventure in New Orleans, we came up with a fitting way for us to mark that transition and partner with his new congregation—St. Roch Community Church.
Our own Justin Milgate consulted with an artist at St. Roch to come up with a design that we could use to create swag—T-shirts, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs. The design, inspired by the creation of our Serving the City ministry under Pastor Jason’s leadership, includes images from both Seattle and New Orleans. You can order your swag here. All proceeds will be split equally between Grace and St. Roch and will be used in both congregations’ ministries to the marginalized and hurting in our cities. You can also donate over and above the purchase price if you wish to do so.
Staff Transitions & Job Openings:
We continue to marvel at the Lord’s care for our congregation through the pandemic and transition into the ACNA. It is a gift to be worshiping again in person and to have clarity and peace about our new denominational home.
One of the next big challenges we are facing as a congregation involves staff transitions. We are currently prayerfully looking to fill three new openings:
Assistant Pastor with Emphasis on Youth and Young Adults
Assistant Pastor with Emphasis on Serving the City
We believe these two new positions will bring tremendous blessings as they have been created to:
Provide key leadership to help our Serving the City ministry to thrive and mature.
Make a significant commitment to rebuilding our ministry to youth and families post-pandemic.
Allow us to have a multiplicity of preaching and teaching voices as well as provide additional pastoral care for the congregation.
If you know someone who could be a good fit for any of these jobs, please have them contact us (jobs@graceseattle.org). We already have some strong candidates and will be reaching out to several of our existing networks, but want you to be aware of these opportunities so you can be praying and helping us connect with others. We will keep these positions open until May 31.
Save the Date - Farewell Party, Sunday, June 5th: In light of Jason's news about transitioning and moving to New Orleans this summer and Danielle's news about moving to Vancouver, BC, we are forgoing the Talent Show, and instead, we are throwing the Davison and Milgate family a farewell party on June 5th.
Folk's Tales Podcast: Nate Sahr produces a podcast (called Folk's Tales) that weaves together ordinary people's stories with lovingly crafted musical scores. The next episode, which comes out this Thursday (5/26), features the stories of two formerly incarcerated women (Yvonne Hibbitt and Andrea Altheimer) and the ways God has worked in their lives. Not only are these women connected with Foxy Davison and the work being done at Progress House Association, but their stories are a powerful reminder of the truth Pastor Jason preached this past Sunday—that God is at work in Seattle, even in places of pain and exile. You can listen this Thursday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or this website.
Meditation/Prayer for Children and Families at Grace (all welcome, you do not have to have children to attend this gathering): All are welcome, you do not have to have children to attend. This is a 20-minute meditation/prayer, on the second Wednesday of each month at 8:00 AM via Zoom - the next meeting will be Wednesday, June 8. We begin with a short time of centering prayer, followed by a brief scripture reading, a time to pray over requests generated from our congregation for our children and families, and we will close with a blessing. If you would like the zoom link, please email Linn at linn@graceseattle.org. Please remain muted for the prayer, you are welcome to have your video on or off. If you would like to have a specific prayer request prayed (can be anonymous), please send it to linn@graceseattle.org.
Women’s Summer Gatherings: As the summer months are rapidly approaching, we have planned 3 evening gatherings for the women of Grace to share good food and fellowship. The gatherings are scattered throughout the Seattle area each month:
Friday, June 10, 7:00 - 9:00 PM: The Layne (Capitol Hill)
Friday, July 15, 7:00 - 9:00 PM: Jamie Afshari’s Home (Mountlake Terrace)
Friday, August 19, 7:00 - 9:00 PM: Shelly Morse’s Home (Renton)
We hope to see you there! For specific addresses and any questions, please email Jamie Afshari at jamie@graceseattle.org.
Women's Summer Devotional: Jamie Afshari has put together three summer Devotionals for all the women at Grace. Printed copies are available in the church foyer, or you can download the devotionals here. The devotionals are for you to use on your own. There are also three opportunities to share with one another over ZOOM on the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 to 11:30 AM. You will need to pre-register for each zoom meeting at least three days ahead and after registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You may join all three or, if only one fits your summer schedule, come to that one!
Saturday, June 4, 10:00 - 11:30 PM, Discussion of Devotional #1 Register here in advance by Wednesday, June 1.
Saturday, July 2, 10:00 - 11:30 PM, Discussion of Devotional #2 Register here in advance by Wednesday, June 29.
Saturday, August 6, 10:00 - 11:30 PM, Discussion of Devotional #3 Register here in advance by Wednesday, August 3.
Updates to Giving Statements: For 2022, financial giving records will be in Planning Center. More details on how to access your giving for this year will be coming soon. For any questions, please contact Danielle Taniguchi at danielle@graceseattle.org.
Young Adult Group: As a young adult, it can be difficult to find friendships in Seattle. You've probably just moved here, got to or out of college, or you're coming out of your Covid-19-enforced hermitage and finding it difficult to meet people. If you consider yourself a young adult and are interested in growing in the community and breaking bread with others, join us for weekly dinner on Sunday nights in Eastlake. For those living or working downtown, in South Lake Union or the University District, it should be a quick bus ride on the 70. Reach out to Brent Williams at brent.williams333@gmail.com for the specific location, or if you have any questions.
Book Club: Stephanie Pommer leads our book club for Grace. The next book is The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. To join, email Stephanie at stephanie@graceseattle.org.
GraceLife Distribution List: GraceLife (gracelifeseattle@googlegroups.com) is an email group designed to foster spontaneous generosity and hospitality among anyone and everyone who regularly attends Grace. The distribution list allows anyone who signs up to send out an email to the larger group. It is designed to be used to let others know about a party you’d like to invite others to join, a game night you’d like to host, a request to borrow something, a post to give goods away, a need you’d like to ask for help from the larger group, etc. If you are interested in joining, please email Danielle Taniguchi at danielle@graceseattle.org.
Thursday morning Walking Group: Regardless of the weather, we meet weekly at 10:00 AM. Currently, we are walking around GreenLake Park. If you would like to join and have a different park suggestion let us know, babies in strollers and leashed pets are welcome. Contact Linn Haralson at linn@graceseattle.org if you would like to join us.
Listening Prayer Group Opportunity at The Layne 2021-22 “By beginning with the revealed word of God, Lectio Divina (listening prayer) continues the conversation that God has begun. We first pay attention to his approach to us and focus on our receptivity. Scripture becomes a means for God to feed, heal, and love us. We open ourselves to God’s presence and respond with our hearts.” -Stephen J. Binz – Conversing with God in Scripture
A Listening prayer group is a small group that meets with the intention of building a community around the word of God. We will begin a series this summer of Bible passages that describe what Heaven will look like and be like. During this time together we will listen to God’s word read out loud. We will have an opportunity for individual silence and reflection on the scripture and then conclude our time together, sharing the gifts that God has given us in our silence with him. Please join us for listening prayer, led by Shelly Morse, at the Layne on the following dates from 7:00-9:00 PM:
Breakfast Sandwiches for Unsheltered Teens at New Horizons: New Horizons Ministries has a request of partnership for Grace Church Seattle:
“We are looking for small groups to prepare breakfast sandwiches once a week. Ideally, a group would come in on a Monday or Tuesday morning (9:30 AM – 1:00 PM) for 2- 3 hours. They would prepare 80 – 100 breakfast sandwiches, pack them, and then put them in the freezer and refrigerator. We are looking to start making the breakfast sandwiches in April.”
We are asking groups to provide the eggs, cheese, sausage patties, and English muffins. New Horizons would provide all the spices for groups to use. Volunteers must have their Washington State Food Handler’s Permit, ($10 fee). The Serving the City team is working to also partner with other churches for this effort. If you have any interest or questions, please email Pastor Jason at jason@graceseattle.org.
New Horizons Youth Shelter has an opportunity for meals to be prepared and delivered once or twice a month for the youth that utilizes their services. Prepared meals would need to feed 40 youth (teenaged to young 20-year-olds) in family-style containers. If you are interested in supporting this opportunity please reach out to Pastor Jason at jason@graceseattle.org.
