Dear Friends in Christ, School is starting – can you believe it? On Monday morning, many of our children and youth will return to the rhythm of early mornings and busy schedules. At church, we will mark this transition by offering blessings to students and teachers on Sunday morning and by collecting donations of…
If you’ve ever found yourself moved by a hymn, uplifted by an anthem, or simply comforted by the familiar rhythm of the liturgy, you already know that music is an essential part of who we are as Episcopalians. At Grace Episcopal Church music does more than fill the silence—it helps shape our worship, express…
Prayer is at the heart of our Christian tradition – especially the kind of prayer that asks nothing of us except to sit still and let God love us. These moments can feel magical. They are also surprisingly hard. Even when we’ve paused to be with God, our bodies often keep going. We get…
Dear Friends in Christ, Today we celebrate Independence Day, which is one of the major feasts on the calendar of the Episcopal Church. The founding of our church is intertwined with the founding of our state. The principles that ground our democracy—freedom, justice, and the hope of peace—are all deeply theological. We at…
Dear Friends in Christ, On Sunday morning, members of our Episcopal Youth in Community (EYC) will pull out of the parking lot on their way to southwestern Virginia. They will spend a week repairing housing, building relationships, and preaching the gospel with hammers and nails. Watching such groups leave brings me joy, and…
Dear Friends in Christ, I have often told people that not a lot of churches look like Grace. In low-church Virginia, full of plain colonial buildings and modernist suburban parishes, our stone and stained glass stand out. I am beginning to realize, however, that a more telling description is that not a lot…
Dear Friends in Christ, A friend of mine recently moved her mother into a rehab center after a fall. Her mother was anxious, and so my friend spent a great deal of time answering her questions. Who would bring her food? Who would come help her if she needed to get out of bed? …
Dear Friends in Christ, “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.” Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote these words from prison. They have been on my mind as we engage in our visioning work, and I think they tell us the next step in the process. As we think about our future,…
Dear Friends in Christ, It’s 2035. Grace Church has made the newspaper headlines. (Or—this being 2035—it’s the top of your Instagram feed.) What does the headline say? This exercise is just one of the many ways to engage with the vision process underway at our parish. If you come to the auditorium this…
Dear Friends in Christ, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32) These words have been on my mind and in my prayers this week. I am so aware of how tender our hearts are. In the church office, we have been…