Grace Notes

September 2015

Grace Episcopal Church 106 Lowell St.

Manchester, NH

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From the Rector From the Rector —— Rev. Dr. Marjorie GerbrachtRev. Dr. Marjorie Gerbracht--StagnaroStagnaro

Spiritual Bookends

Our family has experienced four years in Manchester and five NH summers. With each passing summer I notice “spiritual bookends.” Similar, soul shaping events occurring at the start and the end of summer.

Two years ago the spiritual “bookends” were weddings. Dave and Ken Kjellander were married as summer began, while Carter Beck and Marco Protano married at summer’s end. Thanks be to God!.

This summer began saying goodbye to three other centered indi-viduals–Katrina Herrera, Flora Kim, and Kelly Barnes. (See pic-ture above) This triumvirate of young women lived in Grace House during the 2014-15 school year, serving in local inner city schools. Parish warden Linda Heath, my children and I attended their City Year graduation at the Palace Theater on June 19th.

This summer we welcomed a new crop of City Year tenants – gathering into Grace House from the great states of New York, Michigan, Rhode Island, Ohio, and New Jersey. In a moment of God-incidence, our family ran into five of our City Year tenants at a local Greek Festival. They gladly posed for a photo, though I think the surprise gift from their clergy of loukoumades (fried dough coated in honey, cinnamon, and sugar) helped coerce them.

Thanks be to God for the energy of summer’s beginning, end, and all that’s in between brings. How does God bookend your world? Where do you see the divine enshrined in your seasons of life? Love in Christ, Marjorie +

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Building Faith Through Legos In 2001 author Brendan Powell Smith be-gan using Legos in a unique way – building and photographing Legos to re-imagine biblical stories. In an interview about his work Brendan explained how one Bible sto-ry can be told using 11 or twelve still pho-tos. One story takes about a week to con-struct from start to finish, including read-ing and writing a basic script, as well as building and photographing characters and sets constructed entirely of Legos. Smith’s work, which first began as collected images on a website, have now resulted in The Brick Testament - a book which showcases scriptural stories found in both the Old and the New Testaments.

Beginning this fall Sunday School students will spend quality time building their faith, imagining Bible stories through Legos. We’ll use the text Building Faith Brick by Brick: An Im-aginative Way To Explore the Bible With Children by Emily Given and Emily Slichter Given.

If you have any Legos you no longer in use at your home OR are willing to make a focused donation to support the cost of purchase of basic Lego sets for our classroom, please speak to Marjorie or contact our parish office.

All it takes is one Sunday per month!

Church School is looking for a new instructor and/or helper to share the fun of this important ministry. Instructors would be responsible for leading the lesson of that week and the helper assists the instruc-tor with things like set-up and breakdown of lessons and activities. Either job is a LOT of fun and very rewarding by helping our young-est parishioners learn the ways of the church. If you are interested, please contact Justin or Nicole Otto via email at nhsun-dayschool@hotmail.com

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2016 Stewardship Campaign Kickoff Our theme for this year’s Stewardship Campaign is ‘planting

seeds of God’s love’ There are so many ways we see this saying

come to life within Grace Church – through your time, talent, and

treasure. Our pledge drive will kick off on September 20th and

will conclude on October 4th. During this pledging time you will

hear from your fellow parishioners about how their lives in Christ

have enabled them to plant the seeds of God’s love.

Watch your mail for the letter from the Stewardships Committee

which will include a pledge form. Please complete the pledge form

and bring it to Church on Sunday, October 4Sunday, October 4Sunday, October 4Sunday, October 4thththth and present it at

the offertory. If you are unable to join us please send your pledge

form to the parish office.

Thank you for your continued support of Grace Church through

your generous donations of your time – your talent – and your

treasure.

Your Grace Church Stewardship Team

Grace Church Fiber Lovers' Retreat

The Grace Church Kni�ers and Crocheters will be

hos�ng their 4th Fiber Lovers' Retreat on Saturday,

October 24th from 9AM to 3PM in the Great Hall. A

simple lunch of soup and bread will be served, along

with coffee, tea, water and lemonade.

A�endees are asked to bring, if possible, a breakfast or snack item to

share. Bring needles or yarn you never use to exchange. We will

a�empt a sock kni2ng lesson, and are hoping to set up the labyrinth

in the chapel for some reflec�ve �me. Please join us. Call the Church

Office, 622-9813, with ques�ons or to let us know you will be com-

ing. You can also email Linda Chamberlain at doug-

las.chamberlain@comcast.net or Karen West at

kncwest@gmail.com. We look forward to a fun day and to seeing

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Preparing to welcome an old friend to Grace Church Nancy-Ann Feren

A plaque originally hung in Grace Church and taken down during the renovations in 2000 has been reinstalled. It reads: "This tablet of old oak from Chichester Cathedral, England, commemorates the sabbatical year's exchange of the rector of St. Peter's Church, Selsey, Sussex, George Handisyde, and the rector of this church, Lorin Bradford Young, 1947-8. One Lord, one church, one tongue, one heritage."

In conjunction with this collaboration, Mr. Young suggested in the November/December 1947 issue of "The Good News" (predecessor of "Grace Notes") that the young people in the Guild of St. Richard in Selsey might like to correspond with members of Young People's Fellowship at Grace Church. He commented that such friendships provide a valuable link between the people of different countries.

Ten years after this exchange, the Handisydes and the Youngs exchanged churches again, this time for three months in the summer. I was ten years old at the time and my mother asked Mrs. Young if she could find me a pen pal in England. Thus began a correspondence and friendship that has continued for almost 60 years, not just between Mary and me but also between our husbands, our children, and our grandchildren, two of whom have just become pen pals.

When Dick and I were living in Germany, we happily accepted an invitation to stay with Mary and Bill during our trip to England. They took us to Selsey where a medallion from Grace Church hangs in a window of St. Peter's Church. We visited the Handisydes. We strengthened our friendship.

In 1987 we returned to England with our 3 teenage children and again stayed with Mary and Bill and their two children. When our son David spent a semester of college in Ireland, he visited again. Now, finally, we are able to return Mary and Bill's hospitality. They will be with us in Manchester for two weeks in September. The most important "sightseeing" request from Mary was "I want to go to church with you".

So notice the newly reinstalled plaque, check out the letters from 1947-48 which have been copied and are available at the back of the church, look at the pictures on the bulletin board in the Great Hall, say hello to our friends, and think about Mr. Young's comment about the importance of international friendships.

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VESTRY NOTES July 15, 2015

The Vestry meeting of Wednesday, July 15th was opened at 7 PM with a prayer by Reverend Marjorie and the reading of the Norms. The Treasurer’s Report for May was reviewed and accepted. A mo-tion to allow the treasurer to have the authority, if necessary, to bor-row up to $30,000 from the endowment fund was carried. The Rector’s report was reviewed. Reverend Marjorie added that we should be aware that Priscilla Robinson’s remains had been disin-terred from Grace’s Memorial Garden so that she could be buried with her husband, our former rector, the Reverend David Robinson. It was David’s desire the two be buried in upstate New York on a family plot. John Robinson, their son, and Reverend Marjorie fol-lowed all necessary protocols. Additionally Reverend Marjorie con-tacted all the appropriate people to make sure that the correct re-mains were disinterred without disturbing anything else. The Clergy Report was reviewed and accepted by the Vestry. The Vestry had been requested to view an interview with our newly elected Presiding Bishop, Bishop Michael Curry. The interview can be found at this web address: http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/06/30/video-interview-with-presiding-bishop-elect-michael-curry/ A lengthy discussion followed. We determined that that main thread in the Bishop’s responses was “the Jesus movement”. We talked about how we could help in our neighborhoods and still keep focus on the needs of our own church and church family. We will be inves-tigating what activities/groups are currently working on helping our neighbors that we could contribute our time, talent, and treasures. We concluded that we need to involve our entire parish and first find out what volunteer work parishioners are already involved in so more could join in their efforts. The Vestry will work on having this happen. Planning and Finance issues were then taken up. The floor on the right side of the church is settling. The work going on around the church could be the root cause or destabilize further.

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Appropriate actions will be determined. Quotes to have the Great Hall painted were obtained and the Hill Brothers will be contracted to paint the Great Hall. An irrigation sys-tem for the Grace House front lawn has been donated. It was ap-proved that the system will be tied into the house’s plumbing at a cost of $500. Currently it has been necessary to obtain 3 quotes for any work ex-ceeding $500 that is to be done at the church. The limit where 3 quotes are needed was raised to $2000 provided that known and trusted vendors are used. The meeting was adjourned following a prayer written by Pastor Meredith Musaus. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Johnson, Clerk

Did You Know? In 1860, the Reverend Isaac G. Hubbard, was ap-

pointed chairman of the building committee who engaged architect Richard Upjohn of New York to design a new church. Mr. Upjohn’s plans were ultimately accepted with the omission of a clock in the tower and a chapel north of the nave (the chapel that exists now was built later… more infor-mation on that to come). Once the design was completed, Mr. Alpheus Gay was hired as contractor and builder. The corner stone of Grace Church was laid with “impressive solemnity” by Bishop Carlton Chase on the 5th of June, 1860. The building was completed and ready for consecration on De-cember 4, 1860. It was made of “uncoursed granite” quarried in Hooksett and constructed in the English Gothic style. (Originally published 4/5/15)

Did You Know? The space that is now the Rector's office used to be a

kindergarten classroom. It contained a consecrated altar made by a teach-er's husband. This altar mentioned is now sitting at the bottom of the stairs in the hallway outside the Sexton's workshop. For several years it has been placed near the right front of the church and used to display the figures of the crèche during Advent and Christmas. (Originally published 5/10/15) This feature will be republished in issues of Grace Notes. If you have a fact to share, email Lauren Cline at lauren6997@yahoo.com

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Sabbath-keeping

I must say this has been an incredible summer in so many ways. The weather has been absolutely glorious including the swift but welcome torrential downpours of much need-ed rain. Deacon formation continues within the sacredness of Sab-bath-keeping for the months of July and August. My spirit wants to honor this special time –so rich, so important to

one’s health and wellbeing. Yet, as most of you know, Sabbath can be diffi-cult to keep, at least until you get into a rhythm that is consciously feeding the spirit. So, I have made space to play in the garden and with my grandchildren more often. I have sewn the top of a quilt for my granddaughter’s new bed and en-joyed Summer Theater with friends. Yet, most important of all, I have been mindful of God’s gracious presence in my life each and every day. I have also learned that Sabbath is giving one’s self the privilege to sit and read a good book. This week it was “Run with the Horses,” by Eugene Peter-son (translator of the message). It’s about how our lives as Christians can be formed and shaped by the life and ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. I found the book to be both thought provoking and essential to our growth as God’s people and to our ministry in the world beyond the walls of the church. It is a story that reflects God’s never ending love for us and our never ending hope for God’s kingdom to dwell among us here on earth. Sabbath rest is a gift, a time to just be, a time to share Eucharist with folks who reside in communities for the elderly. It is a gift to sit in their presence and listen to their stories. There is so much of what has brought meaning to their lives in their small rooms and they are so eager to bring it back to life when we take the time to listen. Sabbath has also allowed me the time to prepare for my third and final year of deacon formation. As a candidate to the diaconate I will be working on an ongoing service project of Hospitality and Retreat at the Bethany House of Prayer that centers its ministry in relationship with The Sisters of St. Anne where we meet for our monthly deacon formation weekends. I wish you all God’s Grace and Peace, Maryan Davis (candidate to the deaconate)

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This photo shows the installation of the new drain line on Lowell Street in front of Grace Church. This work is part of the City’s Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) program. In the City, the majority of the sewer lines collect both rainwater from streets and sewage from homes and businesses. These lines are called combined sew-ers. When it is not raining, the wastewater flows through these lines to the City’s Wastewater Treat-ment Plant on Brown Avenue for treatment before being discharged to the river. When it rains, the sys-tem is quickly overwhelmed and the mixture of rain-

water and sewage is relieved through a series of outfalls called combined sewer overflows. This is necessary to prevent the mixture from backing up into the streets and basements throughout the City. It is estimated that about 220 million gallons of combined sewage is discharged annually to the Mer-rimack River. The solution is to separate the storm water from the sewerage. The CSO project started decades ago with the sewer interceptor pipes installed along the river. The work has proceeded steadily since then and has reached the area around Grace Church. There is already a sewer line on Lowell Street. A drain line is needed to separate the rainwater from the sewer. A section of the 18” diameter drain pipe ready for installation can be seen in the photo. The flow line of the proposed pipe is about six feet below the waist line of the gentlemen in the trench in the photo. The top of the drain line will be installed approximately seventeen feet deep. On Pine Street in front of the Church, there exists a drain line. A new sewer line will be installed in that area. One of the benefits of the project is that the water, gas and other utilities have taken advantage of the opportunity to replace their antiquated mains as part of the construction projects. Both the water and gas mains are being replaced on Lowell Street. The utilities benefit by not having to restore the roadway. That is done by the piping contractor. Another benefit of the program is to the Department of Public Works. The DPW has capitalized on the program by having streets reconstructed in the CSO project areas (or in some cases full street width pavement overlays are installed).

(cont’d)

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(cont’d from previous page) Grace Church will specifically benefit from this project by having brand new streets installed on both sides of the Church. In addition, the concrete sidewalk on both sides of the Church will be replaced. The City has also agreed to install an Americans with Disabili-ties Act (ADA) sidewalk ramp in front of the Church in the courtyard area which will provide much needed ADA access to the Church. Plans of the project on Lowell and Pine Street are posted in the Great Hall. Feel free to contact Bruce Thomas (624-6444) for additional infor-mation.

MILESTONES

Happy Birthday to the following September birthday celebrants!

3 Andrew Cline 16 Don Cox 4 Mark Anderson 18 Karen Grant 5 Alycia Miner 20 Jill Porter 6 James Everett 21 Olivia Phipps 8 Doug Chamberlain 24 Caleb Richmond Sally Douglass 25 Hobart Rand Andrew Fox Barbara Hermann 9 Hannah Richmond 28 Sandi Albom 11 Grace Dube 30 Rob Fox

Brennan Gregoire Nathaniel King 13 Kaitlin Taylor Genevieve Turner 14 Bruce Thomas Joan Holleran Isaac Gioseffi

If you don’t see your birthday listed that means that we do not have it. Please call the office so that your special day can be acknowledged. Watch over thy children, O Lord, as their days increase; bless and guide them wherever they may be. Strengthen them when they stand; comfort them when discouraged or sorrowful; raise them up if they fall; and in their hearts may thy peace which passeth understanding abide all the days of their lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer, page 830

Other Milestones Marriages: Paul Walter Gumbs & Steven Michael Botana – July 11 Memorials: Patricia Stroberg English – August 21, 2015

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Hidden Treas- ure

Recently, in June of this year (2015), Nancy-Ann and I were doing some landscaping in our nature-heavy back yard. In the southwest corner of the yard, we have a gate in our fence so we can drive into the yard if needed. Over the last year or two, however, a plant had decided that it was going to block the entrance and had seriously intruded onto the driving path. We had an abundance of that particular plant, so we decided to pull out enough to clear the driving area. As I started pulling up large amounts of the plants, I noticed that there were strawberry plants hidden among them. The straw-berry plants were healthy and spreading, and finding them was a wonderful surprise because we had recently talked about consolidating our limited strawberry plants to a more fertile area in hopes that they would flourish and produce more; at least enough so that some would go to us and not just to the birds. Now let’s move from our back yard to the neighborhood of Grace Church and see what might be hidden there. When Bishop Hirschfeld came to our Vestry meeting, he talked about walking around in the vicinity of Grace Church and talking to people who live nearby. He even described one con-versation where someone recited a poem he had written. How many of us would have considered looking for poets in our neighborhood? A good ex-ample of a hidden treasure. Even Grace Church itself can be considered a hidden treasure because of the number of people who don’t even think of how it could be of value to them. HP LASERJET PRINTER AVAILABLE: Jill and Ken Porter have an HP LaserJet 6P printer that they no longer use. It prints black and white and needs a new toner cartridge. They’re offering it to an-yone at NO Cost, otherwise we plan to donate it. Call us at 603-626-0129 or email us: jilleporter@comcast.net.

AND THOUGHTS

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GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH Noon Day Book Group 2015-16

Join the book group for study, enlightenment, discussion, food, and an experience to be community as we explore our faith through books. We gather at noon in the Parish Library to enjoy a potluck meal and an hour or two of conversation and discussion. The current schedule involves meeting on the third Tuesday of each month except December, July and August. Questions? Email Anne Lake ASL03104@aol.com Proposed books for the 2015-2016 season include: September 15, 2015 Trash by Andy Mulligan

October 20, 2015 Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin

November 17, 2015 End of Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe

December 15, 2015 No meeting

January 19, 2016 All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

February 16, 2016 Felicity by Mary Oliver

March 15, 2016 Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

April 19, 2016 The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

May 17, 2016 Wonder by P. J. Palacio

June 21, 2016 We are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas

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16th

ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ATAXIA AWARENESS DAY

Many people around the world have never heard of ATAXIA. Interna-tional Ataxia Awareness Day is an outreach of ataxia organizations around the world to get the word out about ataxia.

Ataxia is a group of rare, progressive, degenerative disorders of the nervous system affecting balance and coordination. People of all ages and races are affected.

Ken and I didn’t know the about ataxia, or its effects, until Ken was diagnosed with ataxia in 2009. Ken’s ataxia initially impacted his balance and his speech. It is the result of a dominant gene that causes the loss of function in the part of the brain, the cerebellum, which serves as the coordination center. He has progressed from using a cane, to using a walker 24/7 and a wheel chair when he goes out and often in the house. His fine motor coordination has diminished. Fortunately, it has not af-fected his appetite. He still enjoys chocolate cake and ice cream.

Many of you have helped the Ataxia Foundation by participating in the Macy*s Shop for a Cause event this year and in the past. Another way to help the Ataxia Foundation and fight for a cure for ataxia is to sup-port the 16th Annual IAAD, September 25, 2014. As part of IAAD, Walk N Roll events are being held throughout the country. Ken and I are participating in the New England Walk N Roll Event on October 3rd and would greatly appreciate your support. You may contribute online via our personal page at: http://ataxia.donorpages.com/2015NewEnglandWnR/JillPorter. We are part of the New Hampshire Support Group Team. You may make a donation by check payable to: National Ataxia Foundation.

At this time, there is no effective treatment or cure for ataxia. It can af-fect anyone at any time. The National Ataxia Foundation continues its efforts in helping ataxia families through research, education, and pa-tient services. Raising awareness helps all of these efforts and raises hope and that means hope for future generations especially our sons and our grandchildren.

To all of our church family who have already contributed financially to the 2015 Walk n Roll our heartfelt thanks. We also thank you for your continued prayers, Jill & Ken Porter

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Grace Episcopal Church 106 Lowell Street

Manchester, NH 03101 Tel (603) 622-9813 Fax (603) 669-6044

gracechurchmanchesternh@gmail.com www.gracechurchmanchester.org

Clergy

The Rev. Dr. Marjorie Gerbracht-Stagnaro, Rector

Vestry Linda Heath, Warden Mary Sargent, Warden Nancy Johnson, Clerk Ed High, Treasurer

Richard Feren, Assistant Treasurer

William Bochinski, Jason Carignan, Lauren Cline, Barbara Her-mann, Ann Hewins, James Higgins, Miclena Linares, Jill Porter,

Kevin von Braun

Staff Mark Cleveland, Director of Music

Ken Grinnell, Organist Carter Beck. Organist

Justin & Nicole Otto, Church School Coordinators Marlene Thompson, Parish Administrator

Jill Porter, Bookkeeper Emery Freethey, Sexton

Susan Senneville, Nursery Care Giver

Newsletter Lauren Cline

Lauren6997@yahoo.com

Next Newsletter Deadline September15, 2015

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