What's Happening After Worship?
In the coming weeks there will be a variety of opportunities to gather after worship.
We hope you will join us!

Adult Forum meets Sunday at 9 a.m.  Children's Sunday School meets  at 9:15.


Lent at Grace
Formation for the season of Lent meets each Sunday morning at 9:00 am
We will explore Richard Rohr's newest book Jesus' Alternative Plan Please join us as we journey through Lent together.  We will continue our study every Sunday at 9:00 am in the Parish Hall with our last class on March 26th.

I hope you will find it engaging and inspiring during this Holy season of Lent.
You can order the book on-line or you can purchase the book at Malaprops Bookstore downtown Asheville.

Virtual Sit Meditations for Lent Beginning February 24, 2023  

 

Are you looking for a centering practice during Lent? Join the CAC online contemplative community for a free series of Virtual Sit Meditations to cultivate greater awareness during this Lenten season. Live streamed on YouTube, these virtual meditations will take place each Friday at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. GMT), from February 24 until April 7.

Virtual Sit Meditations for Lent
Every Friday from February 24 – April 7, 2023 
Featuring CAC Faculty and Staff
Presented by the Center for Action and Contemplation 
LEARN MORE
 

Looking ahead to Holy Week and Easter
April 2- Palm Sunday - 10:30-am
April 6 -Maundy Thursday service - 7:00 pm
April 7 - Good Friday services - noon and 6pm
April 8 - Easter Saturday Vigil- 8pm
April 9 - Easter Sunday service - 10:30 am

Girl Scouts at Grace
This Sunday morning we welcome Girl Scout Troup 42504. The troop meets at Grace, and in appreciation of our generosity with our space, they will be serving Girl Scout cookies after church. Come get your favorites! 



Episcopal Church Women
Thanks to all who came Thursday to help clean up the kitchen and pantry. Your services are greatly appreciated!



Save the date! 
The ECW will hold its Spring Potluck Luncheon on Saturday, April 22nd, at noon in the parish hall.  We will have a business meeting to discuss our goals for the upcoming year.  We would love to encourage newcomers to join us! 

Pisgah Legal Services sponsors the next Justice Matters Tour on Thursday March 16th from noon to 1pm.  Contact Lori Nierzwick with questions or more information.

OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at UNC Asheville Inclusion Committee
Every day, LGBTQ people face discrimination, hatred and even violence. Misinformation and misunderstanding abound about LGBTQ people, whether it’s in athletics, parenting or which bathrooms to use. Join us for “Just Equality,” a compelling conversation with two local thought leaders, to learn about the issues faced by the LGBTQ community and how you can become an informed and supportive ally.

Read more about our guest panelists here.

Register using this link for the free Just Equality Zoom presentation

Financial News
Dear Grace Family,
Your Finance Team has completed its portion of the annual Parochial report for  our Friends at the Diocese. The submitted results reflect Grace's operating and general  financial position for 2022. Grace's profile reflects a very positive uptrend from 2021 and these results are a testimony to the generosity of the Grace community and talent 
of Grace's leadership. Please be mindful of your annual pledge for 2023 to help sustain  the Grace mission and ministry. The Parochi8al Report will be published upon completion by all parties and then submitted to the Diocese.
 
Peace,  Katie Douglas (Financial Reporting) and Steve Birkhofer (Treasurer) 

Grace Backpackers
New ways to get involved with the Grace Backpackers. In addition to the weekly delivery of Manna packs, here’s a new way to reach out to our Jones Elementary neighbors. There are three boxes in the church foyer to receive the following much-needed donations (shopping lists on the table above the boxes or here):
 
Priority #1 – Food items are needed immediately to supplement a major food delivery to 50 families. Your deadline for bringing donations to church is March 22!  A volunteer team is also needed for packing on Thursday, March 23, at 10 a.m., so please let Kim Hayes know if you can help (kimhys53@gmail.com).
 
Priority #2 – An important ongoing need at Jones is emergency clothing. The clothes closet can always use new or gently used boys and girls sweat shirts, sweat pants, t-shirts and underwear, sizes 5T-16.
 
Priority #3 – Another ongoing need is after-school snacks.
 
Thank you, people of Grace! Your generosity is always amazing. Remember our March 22 deadline for food!


Ecumenical After School Atrium  for Children Ages 3-12  
Beginning March 6 through the end of May, children will gather in the Atrium, which is:  

• A calming place where children can focus on their inner lives 
• A special room which offers images of a loving God and Christ the Good Shepherd using wooden figures, art, and other hands-on activities 
• A space which invites children to interact with stories and images in their own way
• Gentle and open
• An approach which shows older children that they are partners in creating a better world, a world of love and justice Led by trained adults
• Welcoming to parents (Come observe anytime!)
• Also called The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd  

For more information, and to register, call or drop by St. Mary’s Church Office (828.254.5836) 

Upcoming Lent Events in the Community

Music Presentation



 Stations of the Cross
Art Show
This event features art work by a resident of our Winter Shelter!


 

PubSing

Come join us for our PubSing, an informal gathering on the second Sunday of each month to sing hymns, old-time gospel, folk music, and Americana inspirationals. We’ll meet on March 12 at Cork & Keg Bar, 86 Patton Ave., Asheville from 3:00-5:00 p.m. For directions go tohttp://www.weinhaus.com/cork-keg-bar/. For further information, contact Monty Wooten at montywooten@bellsouth.net.

Women's History Month

Tempie Avery Montford Community Center

Tempie Avery was purchased in Charleston in 1840 by Nicholas Woodfin. During her time on his plantation, she became a midwife delivering both Black and white babies in the Asheville area. After the Civil War, Woodfin deeded an acre of land on Pearson Drive to Avery. Prior to the expansion of Montford beyond West Chestnut Street, the area adjacent to Avery’s property was a thriving Black neighborhood known as Stumptown. Following her emancipation, the widow used her skills as a nurse and midwife to support herself and her children. She passed away in 1917. Estimations of her age range from 90 to 107.

Newspaper clippings during and after her lifetime show Avery was a beloved local figure. An 1914 article from The Asheville Citizen recounts, “She seemed to brighten up at the prospect of telling about the incidents of her life, and it was only necessary to ask a new question every little while to reopen the floodgates of her memory. She stated that she reckoned her age by the first falling of the stars, which occurred in the first few years of the nineteenth century, and told many incidents of her early childhood.”

When it opened in 1974, Montford Recreation Center was only the first facility ever built by Asheville Parks & Recreation designed exclusively for recreational and cultural programming (rather than converting an existing building). In 2017, Asheville City Council unanimously approved renaming the center to Tempie Avery Montford Community Center. A series of bond-funded improvements were completed in 2019.

 

Have you considered joining the Altar Guild?

Members of the Altar Guild carry out the meaningful ministry of preparing our church for worship, especially setting the altar each Sunday, as well as preparing for baptisms, weddings, and funerals, and making sure the linens, silver, and brass are in tip-top shape. We need to add two more people  to each of our four groups that serve one Sunday a month. Would you serve with us? Please connect with Shannon Townsend or just walk into the sacristy and speak to the member serving. 

ADVANCING RACIAL JUSTICE SAVE THE DATE

Every April YWCAs across the country celebrate a month of anti-racism awareness, bringing into focus issues around equity and justice. Until Justice Just Is, previously known as Stand Against Racism, will kick off with a virtual YWCA-USA keynote event, Advancing Justice: Ensuring Equity for All, on Thursday, April 13th at 3 pm. It will feature experts, community leaders, and elected officials to discuss intersections between racism and housing disparities, how disability and mental health challenges increase the impacts of these disparities, and what we can do to address the most critical issues affecting communities of color today. Register today to attend this virtual event. Questions about the event? Contact racialjustice@ywcaofasheville.org.

 

Praying Together
Rev. Milly holds open spiritual direction sessions for individuals or couples weekly by appointment Wednesdays 1-3 pm in the sanctuary. Please email Rev. Milly to schedule your time with her: Milly@graceavl.com

Weekly Taizé Tuesday evenings at 6pm

What if .  .  .  as part of a Lenten practice this year we set aside one hour of time just to listen for God — just be available to listen?

Why not take a short break on the way home from the pressures of the office or a few moments away from the hustle and bustle of the demands of home?

The weekly Taizé service offers just such a respite. Please consider the Tuesday evenings of Lent at 6pm as an opportunity to experience a brief slice of peace .  .  .   And as Milly has reminded us — to Slow Down.

For more information on Taizé at Grace visit: 
www.graceavl.com/taize-grace

Women Walking the Way
Thursday at 8:00 am meet at the Bird Sanctuary parking lot. Women of Grace, please consider joining Rev. Milly for a weekly walk at Beaver Lake. This time together is devoted to deep listening to how we as women walk the way of Jesus, in the world and in our community of Grace. No need to register or even email her, just show up! 


Monday Morning Bible Study
Bible Study will continue to meet via Zoom on Mondays until further notice, at 10:30 AM, as we study the scriptures for the upcoming Sunday service. Please join us virtually or by clicking on the button at graceavl.com/.

The Pastoral Care Team at Grace
Our pastoral care team invites you to reach out to us with any pastoral care needs you, or your family, may have, by emailing the team at pastoralcare@graceavl.com.You can also email, text or call Fr. Mike at 860-771-1656 or Rev. Milly at 828.772.1429, Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., unless it’s a pastoral emergency.
 

 

Our Prayer List

For Parishioners: Pat Davis; Rusty Herman; Daniel and Hannah Johnston; Shari Lane; Joan Mahon; Laura and Tsz-yan (GN) Snyder; Kelly and Sydnor Thompson; Barbara Wilcox; Tim Wrinn.

 For Homebound Parishioners and Those in Healthcare Facilities: Bill Coward; Bobbie Eblen; Eunice Ferguson;  Dorothy Engel; Ed Denison, Marion Mayfield-Johnson; Deb Pegel; Rita Spragg; Cys (Sis) Hayes; Shirley Turner.         

 For Others: (Names will remain on the list for 6 weeks unless we hear otherwise.) Linda Adams (neighbor of Cliff and Anne);  Angela (sister of Steve Booth); Wes Auret (godson of Elaine Potter); Gene Bowen (brother of Larry Bowen); Gabriel and Lara Brongel and family (grandson and daughter of Jackie Schauer);Cathy (friend of Elaine Potter);  Porter Claxton (friend of Ginny Moser); Jimmy Cole (lifelong friend of Sonny Rawls); Ann Derwort (sister of Jeanne Sims); Cody Ervin (friend of Hannah Pennell); Woody Geizentanner (friend of Pat & George Davis; ) ; Patricia Grace (friend of Gael Paschal); Jackie Haines (sister of Carol Booth); Angela High (friend of Vicki Vest); Cherry Howe (friend of Rusty Herman & Janice Orson) Laury Keen (friend of James Cannon's sister); Candy Kelly ( friend of Dodie King); Gene Mahon (brother of Pat Mahon); David Moltke-Hansen and Patricia Poteat (friends of Jeanna nd Ron Sims); Molly B (friend of Gary Coffey and family); Bob Noble (brother of Walt Noble); Pam (neighbor of Mike Reardon); Matthew Pennell (son  of Hannah Pennell); Sharon Prater (friend of Lorie Tola); Sarah and Bo (friends of Amy and Phillip Trees); Wilma Wilson (mother of Debbie Jones).
 

We grieve and pray with the family of  Robert Giles (brother of Nancy Walters).

 
For Those in Service to Our Country: Tommy & Danny Brown (grandsons of Ed & Marla Woeckener); Martha and Matt Cardenas (daughter & son-in-law of Hannah Pennell); Matthew George (son of Zoe Davis); Jason Marino (son of Lynda McCredie); Sarah Jane Wilkey (daughter of Diane & Tony Wilkey).

For those who have birthdays:  James Carlin; Valerie Heavens; Gael Paschall; Linsday Whitner; Scott McKenzie; Guy Sayles; Keith Hargrove; Andrew Wall; Donald Alford; Laura Parton; Peter Cassarino; Pat Mahon.

If you are not a member of Grace Church and are interested in joining, please reply with your interest, or let Rev. Milly know by calling or texting her at 828.772.1429. Once you're a member, you'll have access to our directory.

Information About Your SimpleChurch App!  Not only do you have access to the parish directory, but you can also easily change your profile picture, confidentially check the status of your pledge, and give to your favorite ministry through online giving. Sign on to find ways to reach out to and connect with other members of the church. And if you don’t know your log in information or need more instructions, contact Jill at the office. A link will be sent to you that will make it easy for you to get into SimpleChurch.

Look for the green tree symbol to download the SimpleChurch app from your app store onto your computer or phone. The domain name when requested in the app is graceepiscopalasheville. For your computer you put in the domain name.  https://graceepiscopalasheville.simplechurchcrm.com.
 

Look Grace Church receives electronic giving via our website at www.graceavl.com. There is a "Give to Grace" button on the top blue banner of our home page, in the upper right-hand corner. Additional ways to give to our "virtual collection plate" and various fundraising efforts are through the Simple Church app. 

 

Jill Stevenson | Office Manager
Grace Episcopal Church | 871 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC 28804
graceavl.com | 828-254-1086 | facebook.com/grace.church.718689/
Youtube Channel

Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00am-3:00pm, and Wednesday 9:00am-12:00pm.