Priest's Annual Address to the Annual Meeting

The Reverend Lois Keen

Sunday, January 22, 2012

On the first Saturday in Advent some of us were in the building all day for a quiet day. All the doors were open, and in the morning a woman came in looking for a collection box. One of us was there and she said she comes often to sit in the parking lot while her son plays chess at the library. She left some cash and a check in thanksgiving. A couple of Sundays later she returned, after church, to just sit in the quiet. A parishioner encountered her and the woman said she comes in whenever the doors are open, because she finds such peace here. In thanksgiving, she gave everything in her wallet except for one dollar.

This building hosts three AA meetings every week. Many of the people in those groups have told me how grateful they are for this place, Grace Church. One of those people, who does not go to any church anywhere, identifies with Grace Church, although his primary worship is his AA meeting, and on New Year’s Day he left an offering, in thanksgiving.

One recent Thursday night, while the Bell Choir was practicing, a man came in and asked is he could stay and listen. A bit later, he asked if he could try a bell. He had been a musician, a bass guitar player. The choir welcomed him, let him play a bell, and gave him a schedule of rehearsals.

One day while I was leaving Norwalk Hospital after making visits, I met a man from Iglesia Betania. We were talking in the hall, and I realized his wife was a little ahead of us, with her back to us, talking in Spanish to another woman. I overheard tell the woman twice that she attends church at Grace Episcopal Church.

These are only four examples, of the many I experience every week, of just how important this place is to so many people – a place of quiet, of peace, of refuge, of welcome.

We are here against all odds.

It has nothing to do with the money. It never did. It has to do with these stories.

Grace is still here because we’re doing the right thing – making time to listen, invite, and welcome three AA groups, the Manic/Depressive group, ESL classes, the Haitian Baptists, the Roman Catholic Voices of the Faithful, the Fairfield Symphony, Family and Children’s Agency, and others who make up this greater Community at Grace, including people who just drop in. I’m reminded of a Hindu woman who, nevertheless, comes here during the day because this is a place of peace.

This year I especially want to hold up to you some gatherings of Grace that have sustained the community here; ministries that feed, sustain and grow faithful ministers who take their faith out into their daily lives.

Holy Needles embodies the spiritual practices of creation, fellowship, and connection with those in need. Holy Needles meets on the first and third Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. The people who gather knit and crochet shawls, scarves, mittens, hats and other things for giving away to people who need the comfort of knowing they are embraced, literally, by the prayers and care of the maker. In addition, conversations during Holy Needles time extend to the lives, inside and outside the church, of the people there and their observations of finding the holy in the ordinary things of life. Holy Needles is open to anyone who wants to just stop by and chat. No need to knit or crochet or do anything but just drop by and sit down.

Practicing Prayer embodies the spiritual practice of prayer as filling the whole of life. Practicing Prayer is in its third year of learning what prayer is, and sharing our various practices of praying, while observing the results of prayer on and in our own lives in the world outside the church.

Another spiritual practice is reading the scriptures, the Bible. This is a practice you can do on your own. Several people here have taken on the Bible Challenge, reading the entire Bible over the course of this year of 2012. This is not a Bible study. Instead, we are reading, separately, on our own, letting the words of scripture seep into us, into our souls, while being watchful of how this practice of daily reading the words of the people of God over millennia works on us and maybe even changes us. Everyone is invited to meet this challenge of reading the scriptures this year. I do ask you to let me know if you are taking up this challenge so we can pray for one another, and know we are not alone in this practice.

Still another spiritual practice, making a joyful noise unto the Lord, is embodied on Monday nights at 6:00 p.m. in the choir room – Music Skills. In this group anyone can try out an instrument, even if you have never done so. This group draws people from as far away as Bridgeport. Combined with the Bell Choir and the Vocal Choir, our Music Director Richard Andrews has contributed greatly to the spiritual health of this Community at Grace.

And with regard to the spiritual practice of hospitality, I thank all of you who are embracing the people of Iglesia Episcopal Betania. Your faithful attendance at bilingual services on the last Sunday of the month, and participation at gatherings for the purpose of conversation and fellowship is greatly appreciated. Next Sunday our monthly bilingual service will be followed by a covered dish lunch with food provided by all of you and by Betania. Please plan to be here for that service and luncheon.

I thank all of you who continue to support the worshiping community of Grace with your offerings and your presence at worship. I thank those of you who embrace the larger Community at Grace by your welcoming presence. I thank God for the continued privilege of leadership in this worshiping community of Grace Church and in this greater Community at Grace.

We are people of faith. We don’t know how long this will go on here at Union Park and Mott Avenue. However, as people of faith, we will keep on doing the right things – being a haven of rest, refreshment, learning, refuge and spiritual practices for the community in which this building resides – Grace and Betania Episcopal Churches and the Community at Grace. May God give you blessing and peace.

Day 4 the Bible Challenge - from Rev Lois Keen's journal

Today was the fourth day of my keeping the Bible Challenge. I am reading straight through, as much or as little as works for me on a given day, beginning with Genesis. On day four I was reading about Isaac and Rebekah and found that Isaac did the same thing his father, Abraham, did twice. Twice Abraham passes Sarah off as his sister when he is in foreign parts so men won't kill him in order to take his wife. Both times he is found out, but still lives. Isaac does the same, passing his wife off as his sister.

At least Abraham was partly right. Sarah was his half-sister as well as his wife, so he wasn't really lying. But Rebekah and Isaac are - oh dear, who can figure this family - cousins? Anyway, he lied.

Some families never learn from the mistakes of the past.

The 2012 Bible Challenge

Dear friends,

I am forwarding the Diocese of Connecticut eNews for this week because of the first full article: 2012: Make it the year to read the entire Bible - Take the Bible Challenge.

I shared this with the Holy Needles knitting and crocheting people this past Saturday, and again yesterday in Practicing Prayer. Some of us are taking up the challenge.

There are various ways to read the entire Bible. Some of them are available through one of the links in the eNews article, at http://www.thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/ - the live link is in the article. I'm choosing to begin at the beginning and keep going until I am done. It may take me more than a year, it may take my less. Doesn't matter. The main think is to read mindfully - paying attention. You will not like everything you read. Not everything you read will be instructive. And lots of surprises await you as well.

Here's what I'm doing. I am in the habit of reading Morning Prayer every day, or at least some version of doing prayers in the morning. Beginning today I will read as much of scripture as I want to, then read a psalm (I'm taking them in order), than say the Lord's Prayer and sit in silence for the rest of my prayers. I will finish with walking the Labyrinth painted on the parking lot at Grace. Today I read the first 10 chapters of Genesis and the first section of chapter 11 (the tower of Babel).

I am pondering ways we can share what we see, hear, feel, as we read, each of us on, most likely, a different program but all committed to the same spiritual discipline. First, there is Holy Needles on the first and third Saturdays at 10:30 in the Memorial Room. This is as much a conversation group as it is a working group. No one has to be knitting or crocheting. You can just drop by for a chat. That's one place where we could check in with one another. Second, there is Practicing Prayer, on the second Sunday of each month at 11:30 in the Parlor. There is also Facebook. Grace has a Facebook page. We could set up a discussion group on that page. It does mean you have to be on Facebook, I think. So what about everyone else.

This email is also printed and sent to 22 households that do not have computers. What about those people?If there is enough interest, we might have a multitude of opportunities to share, including Sunday mornings at 8:30?

If you are going to take up the challenge to read the entire Bible this year and let it work on you, please reply to this email so we can pray for and support one another, and find ways to share our insights.

God bless you all,
Lois Keen
(revlois1@yahoo.com, 203-866-8426)

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From the Web Master:

Here are some resources for reading the Bible in one year:

• One Year Bible Online


• Bible Gateway's Comprehensive Bible Reading Plan (365 Days) You can also subscribe to one of their reading plans via email here.


• Bible Reading Calendar from Gideons International. There is a printable checklist version available here.

If you have other resources, please share them in a comment.

Moving Onward

Dear Friends,

About two years ago, a group of Grace parishioners formed The Mission Congregation of Grace Church. Their goal was to discover what God might want us to do. They wanted to discover Grace's mission through trial and error.

Over these two years the Mission Congregation has studied scripture and other writings together, worked through the book "Listening Hearts" on discernment, and brought into being the Labyrinth, the 8:00 a.m. "Service" Service, the Outdoor Service, First Wednesdays, and the monthly Mission Study and Service Eucharist. They brought to the awareness of the congregation ministries to Malta House and the New Day Center. The people who so faithfully met, along with the Vestries of these intervening years, those who gather monthly for Practicing Prayer, and the Steering Committee have been the mainstay of support for ministry at Grace with Iglesia Betania.

One of the Mission Congregation's most valuable lessons was to try things and learn to let go of those things that no longer work or which have fulfilled their purpose. The purpose of Mission Congregation has been fulfilled.

The work now continues through Practicing Prayer (second Sundays at 11:30 a.m.) and the Shawl Ministry (first and third Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.) Those who gathered yesterday spent their time together honoring what had been accomplished and what can be continued through other avenues. A simple Eucharist ended our last gathering, as we had always done.

Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose mercy endures forever. May God's blessing continue through our growing relationship with Iglesia Betania; through the increase of our spiritual growth through Practicing Prayer; through our fellowship, conversations and work together over our growing prayer shawl ministry; and in our worship and life together as God's people.

Faithfully,
Lois Keen

In the near future this blog will be revamped for a new purpose. We'll keep you posted.
-- The Webmaster

The beginning of a new vision for mission

It has been maybe two years since the group charged with casting a vision and mission for Grace Episcopal Church decided instead to do mission and see what vision might come out of that work.

Mission Congregation, as we came to be called, has faithfully met on the second Saturday of every month at 1:00 p.m. We intentionally called ourselves a "congregation" to differentiate our work together from that of a committee.

Our gatherings are always a means of extended worship: We study, we reflect on scripture, we pray, we explore mission possibilities, and we share the bread and wine.

Out of Mission Congregation came experiments in mission - the 8 a.m. Sunday Service service, the 2:00 p.m. Street Service, cleaning up the neighborhood in Jesus' name, spearheading Grace's partnership with East Avenue United Methodist Church's annual Community Thanksgiving Luncheon, to name a few.

Now the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut has appointed a deacon, the Reverend Sally Herring, to serve with Grace Episcopal Church and Iglesia Betania. Sally has been getting to know people at Grace through Sunday worship coffee hour, First Wednesday Food, Fellowship, Fun and Bible Study night, and today, Mission Congregation.

Our two hour worship was structured around Isaiah 61:1-9, the Hebrew Scripture appointed for the eve of the First Sunday after Epiphany:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
6 but you shall be called priests of the LORD, you shall be named ministers of our God; you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory.
7 Because their shame was double, and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot, therefore they shall possess a double portion; everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed.

Our reflections began with sharing a word, phrase or idea that stood out for us.
We then went back to the reading and identified themes:
Restoration, reconciliation, provision, transformation, God's glory, called by God.

Beside these themes we identified the issues and concerns of our community of Norwalk:
Youth and crime, guns, drugs and alcohol, homelessness, poverty, education, health care, immigrants, unemployment and underemployment, hopelessness.

As we reflected on how the scripture reading for today speaks to these issues, we started naming those agencies that already exist to meet some of these needs:
Christian Community Action
the Homeless Shelter
City of Norwalk mentoring program through the public school system
The drug program on Byington St.
El Camino's program for immigrant day laborers
Brian McMahon School's youth initiative to feed those same immigrants
and others.

We then named those initiatives in which we are already involved:
The East Avenue United Methodist Thanksgiving Luncheon
Covenant to Care for Children Thanksgiving baskets (CCC was an agency one of us identified as an action in which we could increase our participation)
Family and Children's Agency Christmas gift program (We also provide space several times a year for FCA programs with the families they serve.)
Literacy Volunteers classes for those for whom English is not a first language
AA groups which meet at Grace

None of these lists is definitive. We have not completely mined the reading from Isaiah. For instance, one of us noted that the first few verses of the scripture for today is what Jesus read in the synagogue at the beginning of his ministry, and that when he finished, people were ready to stone him to death. From this we understand that whatever we undertake probably will not be easy. Another reflection was that we while some ministry will be individual, and others corporate, none of it will be alone. There will be others to help.

We did come to the insight that: a) The initiatives like CCA, or Housing for Hope, began small, intending to meet a specific need, with no intent of becoming big, but they grew to meet growing need.
b) Grace has a history of starting ministries with the intention that they would become big and in the end closing them for lack of people to staff them or having them be absorbed by other organizations
c) The listing of ways in which needs are being met by existing organizations tells us it is our call to find ways to work with or through them instead of inventing the wheel.

This has implications for Sally, our Deacon. Rather than have her comb the neighborhood to find needs to be met, we did that in our worship this afternoon. Rather than have her push us out the door to a new ministry her work will be to explore those already-existing programs for volunteer and ministry opportunities for individuals to meet.

Because Iglesia Betania is partnered with Grace, Sally and Padre Jose Diaz will explore with Pastor Oscar Destruge participation with El Camino in their new ministry with immigrant day laborers.

And because there are people who have served the Gospel faithfully for years, and are no longer able to labor in the vineyard as they used to, Sally is charged with beginning a knitting ministry, creating shawls and other items for the comfort of the sick and elderly, as a way not only to be useful, but to connect with one another on a regular basis.

We concluded our worship, as always, with the bread and wine of the Holy Communion, and have now gone out into the world to love and serve the Lord for another week.

We will meet again as a congregation on Saturday, February 12 at 1:00 p.m.

Letter to Grace Church

May 8, 2010

To the People of Grace Episcopal Church,
Dear Friends in Christ,

Grace Episcopal Church has a long history of letting itself be transformed through inclusivity and diversity. The people who worship at Grace have benefited from that history as has the city of Norwalk.

During the last week of April, our brothers and sisters at Iglesia Episcopal Betania were advised that their host parish would no longer provide space for an office for their Priest Missioner. Iglesia Betania voted to leave the host church with their priest.

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, I delivered to Iglesia Betania, in a gathering of people from both Grace and Betania, the following letter from the Vestry of Grace Episcopal Church:

“The Vestry, Wardens and Clergy invite you to be a Congregation in Residence, living with us at Grace Episcopal Church, 1 Union Park, Norwalk, Connecticut.

It is our desire that conversations and work toward merger of Grace Episcopal Church and Iglesia Episcopal Betania continue during your residence among us.

We invite you to worship regularly at 1:00 on Sundays in the language of your choice, and to join us at any time in English worship at 10:00. We invite you to join us in worship together once every month, in a bilingual service. We invite you to maintain an office for your Priest Missioner at Grace Church.

We extend to you the hospitality of Christ Jesus our Lord and pray that our life together will be a participation in God’s mission of reconciling all people to God, to one another, and to all creation.”

Grace Church will begin hosting Iglesia Episcopal Betania on June 1. On Sunday, June 6 they will celebrate their first Spanish service at 1:00 p.m. in the Undercroft, until such time as Grace and Betania may merge. The Undercroft is a temporary measure, giving L’Eglise Baptiste Hatienne, which worships at noon in the Church, time to adjust to other possibilities that will enable them to continue to have a home at Grace.


The Reverend José Díaz will continue to serve the people of Iglesia Betania as their missioner, a position funded by the Diocese of Connecticut. The monthly bilingual service will continue.

The Steering Committee of Grace and Betania will write an agreement covering our life together, including but not limited to:

An office to be provided for the Priest Missioner

The use of the Church by Iglesia Episcopal Betania for a Spanish Mass every Sunday

The joining of Grace with Betania in a monthly bilingual service

A time every Sunday when the two congregations will join together in the education and spiritual formation of children, youth and adults

Music program opportunities

Other privileges and responsibilities of our common life together as we, jointly, deem proper to the relationship between a Congregation in Residence and the Host Congregation, including Iglesia Episcopal Betania’s pledge to Grace Episcopal Church

This agreement will be reviewed by the Right Reverend James Curry, Bishop Suffragan, and Canon John (Jack) Spaeth.

During their residency, Iglesia Episcopal Betania will continue to have their own Vestry, elect officers and delegates to Diocesan Convention, keep separate books, have their own stewardship campaign, and provide their own Altar supplies and musician.

Iglesia Betania’s last 1:00 p.m. Spanish service at Christ Church East Norwalk will be on Sunday, May 16. You can show your support for the people of Betania by attending that last service.

On May 23, the Feast of Pentecost, Betania will worship with Grace in English at the 10:00 service, except for those portions which, because it is Pentecost, will be in other languages. On May 30 we will celebrate our regular bilingual service.

In June there will be a special “coffee house” type gathering of both congregations, which will give us an opportunity to hear one another’s stories. In the meantime, if you have any questions, or would like to know more about this transition, please feel free to contact the Reverend Lois Keen at revlois1@yahoo.com or 203-866-8426, or Senior Warden John Sutton at johnfsut@aol.com or 203- 838-8836.

Yours faithfully in Christ,

Lois Keen
Priest in Charge

Our February Meeting

Check out Barbara's Own to read about the Mission Congregation's February meeting.

Please consider joining us in the Parlor at 1:00 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month.