Youth Group
Join us for the final Youth Group before summer break on May 10th, 6-8pm. We will be having an outdoor scavenger hunt! Anyone in grades 6-12 is welcome to attend.
Puzzle Night
Join us for: “Pursuit of Piece” competitive puzzle-making. All teams will receive a new puzzle. The team that finishes first—or completes the most puzzle by the end of two hours—wins and gets first pick from the prize table. Suggested limit to teams - 6 people.
No team? No problem, we’ll add you to a group.This event is BYOB and potluck.
Blood Drive
Mom’s Demand Action is sponsoring a Blood Drive at Grace on June 6th 9:30am-3:00pm. Your donation can help save lives that would otherwise be lost to gun violence. More information about signing up can be found in the newsletter or on the church website.
VBS
VBS will be Monday, July 20th through Friday, July 24th 9AM-12PM.
Children ages 3-11 are invited to join us for a fun week of bible stories, songs, snacks, crafts, science experiments and lot of games. Our registration fee is $35 for the week per child, to cover the cost of participation. Scholarships are available for families facing financial hardship.
Youth Group - DIY Tie Blankets & Movie Night
The Grace Youth Group will be meeting on Sunday 4/26 from 6-8pm. We will be doing DIY tie blankets, while watching a movie. The blankets will then be donated to the local hospital. Anyone in grades 6-12 is welcome to join!
Accessibility Committee Meeting
Our first accessibility meeting will be April 20th 7:00 pm via zoom. I am so excited to announce that we will be starting an accessibility committee here soon! Father Bryan has found a wonderful resource to help us take those first steps in ensuring that Grace is accessible for all. If you are looking to be a part of the committee please find me some time! My biggest ask for you all is that we ensure we are listening to the voices of those with disabilities on the committee! I am so excited to work with you all!
Madie Redfern
Rectory Open House and Blessing
Curious about what the inside of Fr. Bryan’s house looks like? Join us on Sunday, April 19th after the 10:30 am service to bless the house, room by room. Then stick around for snacks, drinks, and fellowship. We are excited to share our home with you all.
Mario Kart Tournament
Join us for a Mario Kart tournament in the parish hall! We will project the game on our giant screen and race to find who is the speediest, shell smashing champ. We will have two brackets: an expert bracket and a novice bracket. If you don’t feel like racing, just stop by to hang out and cheer on your friends. We will also have plenty of pizza and drinks for all to enjoy. To help us order the correct amount of pizza, RSVP to Fr. Bryan at bryan@gracenewlenox.org.
Easter Sunday
This service will be louder and more boisterous! We will sing together, accompanied by piano and organ. Then we will celebrate the Eucharist and declare that Christ is risen! Stick around afterwards for an Easter Egg hunt for the kids.
Easter Sunday
Join us for a quiet morning of rejoicing and meditating on the empty tomb. We will celebrate the Eucharist and declare that Christ is risen!
Easter Vigil
This is the grand finale of the Triduum! On this holiest night of the year, we begin in darkness while we tell the stories of the history of our salvation. We rejoice that Jesus is risen, renew our baptismal promises and celebrate that Easter is here with a great big Alleluia!
Easter Basket Blessing
The blessings of the Easter Baskets is an Eastern European church tradition. Fr. Bryan’s family is comes from Slovakia, so has always been an important part of his Holy Week observance. This year he wants to share it with all of you. Bring a basket filled with foods you will eat on Easter Sunday and we will bless it with holy water and pray over it.
If you would like to learn more about this tradition, you can visit this link to learn about the symbolism of Easter basket items and check out a few recipes.
https://www.asceticlifeofmotherhood.com/blog/traditionalpaschabasket
Good Friday
This is the second part of the Holy Triduum. On this day we remember the crucifixion and death of our Lord. We do not celebrate the Eucharist because we are in mourning. We instead reflect on how we feel distant from God at times. We also venerate, or pay special respect, to the cross because through it, we find salvation.
Good Friday - Stations of the Cross
Walk with us through Jesus’s journey to the cross. We will move through each of the stations of the cross and reflect on how Jesus sacrificed himself for us.
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday begins the great Holy Week liturgy that we call the Holy Triduum. It is the night where we remember that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and taught them to serve one another. Our service includes washing each other’s feet along with a celebration of Eucharist. We end the night by stripping the altar bare to prepare for the death of Jesus on Good Friday.
Healing Service
Join us for a quiet and meditative healing service where we will pray for ourselves, our loved ones, and our world. We will also anoint with oil anyone who is in need of physical, mental, or spiritual healing.
Ways To Pray
Ways to Pray - Compline
Join us each Monday during Lent at 6:00pm in the sanctuary to learn about different ways we pray in the Episcopal church. Each one of us has a different relationship with God, so it makes sense that different types of prayer would work for some people and not others. Each week we will learn about the history and spirituality of a different type of prayer and talk through how to do this type of prayer. Then we practice that type of prayer as a group. Afterwards we will reflect on what the experience was like for us. Join for one week or join for all 6, it's a great way to deepen or refresh your prayer life.
3/30 Compline
Ways To Pray
Ways to Pray - Unscripted Prayer
Join us each Monday during Lent at 6:00pm in the sanctuary to learn about different ways we pray in the Episcopal church. Each one of us has a different relationship with God, so it makes sense that different types of prayer would work for some people and not others. Each week we will learn about the history and spirituality of a different type of prayer and talk through how to do this type of prayer. Then we practice that type of prayer as a group. Afterwards we will reflect on what the experience was like for us. Join for one week or join for all 6, it's a great way to deepen or refresh your prayer life.
3/23 Unscripted Prayer
Ways To Pray
Ways to Pray - Labyrinth Walking
Join us each Monday during Lent at 6:00pm in the sanctuary to learn about different ways we pray in the Episcopal church. Each one of us has a different relationship with God, so it makes sense that different types of prayer would work for some people and not others. Each week we will learn about the history and spirituality of a different type of prayer and talk through how to do this type of prayer. Then we practice that type of prayer as a group. Afterwards we will reflect on what the experience was like for us. Join for one week or join for all 6, it's a great way to deepen or refresh your prayer life.
3/16 Labyrinth Walking
Youth Group - Escape Room in a Box
Youth Group 3/15
The Grace Youth Group will be meeting on Sunday 3/15 from 6-8pm. We will be doing an escape room in a box! We will have an hour to solve a series of puzzles and unlock a secret message. We will also be doing some planning for a Youth Group service project. Anyone in grades 6-12 is welcome to join!
Tutti Voce Collective Pancake Breakfast
The Tutti Voce Collective is a choir based in Joliet with the mission of bringing the arts to undeserved communities. Because of our shared values of radical inclusion and bringing God's beauty to all people, they are partnering with us to hold a fundraising breakfast on March 15th 8:00 am - 12:30 pm in our parish hall. Members of the choir will also be joining us at our 10:30 am service that Sunday to worship together and sing a choir anthem. Tickets for the breakfast are $10 and can be purchased ahead of time on the TVC website or at the door. Proceeds will benefit both TVC and Grace. Anyone who does not wish to pay for the breakfast is still welcome to join us for coffee and company, but we invite you if you are able, to support our two great organizations and invite your friends and family as well.
Ticket Link
Liturgy and Music Committee Meeting
It feels like Lent just started, but it is already time to start planning for Holy Week and the Easter season. Join our Liturgy and Music Committee to help decide where God is leading us in this new season and help select prayers and music to fit that theme. The meeting will be Thursday March 12 at 6:00pm on zoom.
You don't need to be an expert on liturgy to join, you just need to have an interest in diving deeper into what we do here on Sunday mornings. We will open our meeting with prayer and reflection on where this season is leading us in this moment. If you are planning to attend, I invite you to begin thinking about that question ahead of the meeting. You can read the Exsultet on pages 286 and 287 of the Book of Common Prayer for some inspiration.
I will come ready with options for different parts of the services that I can present based on our conversation. Chrissy will also have hymns picked ahead of time and we can discuss if we want to make changes.
Looking forward to planning liturgy with you all!
Ways To Pray
Ways to Pray - Anglican Prayer Beads
Join us each Monday during Lent at 6:00pm in the sanctuary to learn about different ways we pray in the Episcopal church. Each one of us has a different relationship with God, so it makes sense that different types of prayer would work for some people and not others. Each week we will learn about the history and spirituality of a different type of prayer and talk through how to do this type of prayer. Then we practice that type of prayer as a group. Afterwards we will reflect on what the experience was like for us. Join for one week or join for all 6, it's a great way to deepen or refresh your prayer life.
3/9 Anglican Prayer Beads
Ways To Pray
Ways to Pray- Lectio Divina
Join us each Monday during Lent at 6:00pm in the sanctuary to learn about different ways we pray in the Episcopal church. Each one of us has a different relationship with God, so it makes sense that different types of prayer would work for some people and not others. Each week we will learn about the history and spirituality of a different type of prayer and talk through how to do this type of prayer. Then we practice that type of prayer as a group. Afterwards we will reflect on what the experience was like for us. Join for one week or join for all 6, it's a great way to deepen or refresh your prayer life.
3/2 Lectio Divina
Ways To Pray
Ways to Pray- Centering Prayer
Join us each Monday during Lent at 6:00pm in the sanctuary to learn about different ways we pray in the Episcopal church. Each one of us has a different relationship with God, so it makes sense that different types of prayer would work for some people and not others. Each week we will learn about the history and spirituality of a different type of prayer and talk through how to do this type of prayer. Then we practice that type of prayer as a group. Afterwards we will reflect on what the experience was like for us. Join for one week or join for all 6, it's a great way to deepen or refresh your prayer life.
2/23 Centering Prayer
Pancake Supper
Please join us for a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on Tuesday, February 17 at 6:00pm in the Parish Hall. Let's gather together to indulge before the beginning of Lent. We will also be burning last years palms to make this years ashes at 7pm.
$10 per person
Youth Group
The Grace Youth Group will be meeting 6:00-8:00pm on Sunday, January 25th. We will be playing hide and seek in the dark church and parish hall, with some other large group games thrown in if we have extra time. Anyone in grades 6-12 is welcome to join! The group meets once a month during the school year.