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.

The Octave of All Saints 2009

Dear Friend(s) of Grace Church:

Some say we are dying, but, look!, we are alive.

This paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 6: 8 sums up where we are at Grace Church in our 119th year. I can point to signs that our congregation is dying, but there is far more evidence that we are very much alive!

We have a core of parishioners who pray, worship, and work with great dedication to the glory of God and for the benefit of Grace Church.

Our priest is skilled at preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. We love her, and she loves us.

Our worship in enhanced by excellent music: choir, organ, and hand bells.

We hold services for the public each month: a healing service in the church and an outdoor service to which people without homes are especially invited.

Our kitchen has received high marks from the Norwalk Health Department.

Our buildings, including two houses on Berkeley Street (one of which now houses our priest), are in good repair; our church is handicapped-accessible.

We have a labyrinth for prayer and meditation.

We continue to support the FAWE girls’ school in Sierra Leone—and three of us have visited it.

We collect food and Christmas gifts and distribute them to those in need. We collect supplies for the children at Malta House; one of us tutors a young mother at Malta House.

We serve our community by opening our building to a variety of local organizations.

We are exploring the possible merger of our parish with the congregation of Iglesia Betania, and we have worshiped and socialized together.

Our new ministries were the subject of a full-page article with pictures in GOOD NEWS, the newspaper of the Diocese of Connecticut.

We all should be excited by and proud of the ministry and mission, which, with God’s help, our congregation is involved in. To accomplish all that we are doing we need the time, talent, and treasure of all of us. As a congregation we are blessed by God. As individuals and families we are blessed by God. A pledge card for 2010 is enclosed. In consideration of all that God has done for us and for you, please make your generous financial commitment to God by filling out and returning the card by November 22nd. Note that nine members of the Vestry have already made their pledges, totaling $$29,380, an average of $3164. A fine example for us all.

Your brother in Christ.

John Sutton, Senior Warden and Pledge Chairman

Okay, how about this...
How about...

On one Sunday per month, say, the first Sunday, instead of our regular worship in the church at 10:00 we have a brunch in the Memorial Room, with a Gospel reading, a simple shared meal (either we take turns as the cook or we all do the cooking together), sometime during the meal a bell rings, a simple Eucharistic prayer is said, we share the bread and wine with one another, we finish the meal, and there's a blessing and we depart.

What about that?

What about this:

Bring Your Own Brain Bible Study, Tuesday evenings? Or is there a better time FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY OF NORWALK, not before or after Sunday worship, but a Bible study that is for all comers.

And instead of weekly or whatever Adult Education/Formation, we have special education/formation events, and the priest (that's me) does not schedule or arrange them all. Anyone who has someone they want to come and do an education thingy can do so.

So, how about that?

If Grace Episcopal Church in Norwalk closed, would anyone notice?

Not to be confused with Grace Baptist Church, on West Avenue in South Norwalk, or Grace Family Church on Wall Street, we’re talking about Grace Episcopal Church at 1 Union Park.

In 1890, 31 members of Saint Paul’s-on-the-Green Episcopal Church, Norwalk, “walked down the hill” and founded Grace Episcopal Church. Originally located at Belden Avenue and Cross Street, the Great Flood of 1955 caused the church to relocate to its current address at the corner of Mott Avenue and Union Park in 1964.

Grace Church was a thriving parish, with a congregation large enough to boast over 200 children in its Sunday School. However, Episcopalians are awful at replacing themselves, and as people moved out of state or died, the congregation dwindled. Today, average Sunday attendance at Grace, for all ages, is 50 souls. The average age of membership is over 60.

Grace Church is now having to decide what its future will be, and one of the options for that future is to close the doors of Grace forever.

The question is, will anyone in Norwalk notice if Grace Episcopal Church closes?

Of course, the members of the three groups of Alcoholics Anonymous who meet at Grace on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, will notice if Grace closes. The Thursday night Manic Depressives Support Group will notice. The Literacy Volunteers and their students, who study English almost every day of the week at Grace, will notice. The Senior Services Umbrella Group will have to find a different place for their quarterly meetings. Two churches rent space for worship, prayer and study at Grace – L’Eglise Baptiste des Haitiennes, who have been at Grace for over fourteen years, and the Remnant of God Church will have to relocate. The Fairfield Symphony, who only just found Grace as a replacement for their previous home, will be looking again for a place to make music together if Grace Episcopal Church closes.

It’s hard to believe that closing might be in the offing, with so many good things happening at Grace.

Grace Episcopal Church was the first organization to catch the vision of helping to build a school for girls in Waterloo, Sierra Leone. Grace Church connected with FAWE, a pan-African organization of women dedicated to education and, through donations that involved the community outside of the congregation of Grace itself, raised the money to build a two room classroom block, the first such block.

Other organizations visited the school and, seeing the plaque on the side of the building, commemorating Grace Church Norwalk’s sponsorship, asked if they could piggy-back on Grace’s work. As a result, an organization in New Haven, Connecticut has been working to provide a library, and another in the Netherlands has contributed to a second block of classrooms and a computer lab.

Three of Grace Episcopal Church’s members visited the school and met the girls and their teachers and families. The real need, now, is scholarships so the girls can continue their education. I can guarantee that, without Grace’s leadership in raising those scholarships, the entire village of Waterloo, Sierra Leone will notice if Grace Episcopal Church closes.

Meanwhile, the work of the Gospel continues at Grace. A service of prayers for healing and laying on of hands is offered at 10:00 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of the month. On the fourth Sunday of the month, at 8:00 a.m., people gather to perform some service to the community outside of the congregation of Grace Church. On the second Saturday of the month, The Mission Congregation of Grace Church meets at 1:00 p.m. for three hours of study, reflection and worship. On the second Sunday of each month, at 11:30 a.m. following the 10:00 service, Practicing Prayer offers support for people’s prayer lives.

This year we had three special events for children: The Real Hallowe’en! offered crafts and activities and lunch, followed by the story of The Real Hallowe’en, where Hallowe’en came from and what it means in the life of Christians. The Real Christmas! was a big party, with games, crafts and lunch, followed by the story of The Jesse Tree, Jesus’s family tree.

The Real Good Friday!: A Walk to Easter saw sixteen children gathered with adults at Grace for the noon service. With a time of meditative music and silences for adults, and activities and an egg hunt for children, the Walk to Easter concluded with all ages joining to experience the last week of Jesus’s life, and a taste of the resurrection.

Meanwhile, children’s Sunday education and adult Wednesday night studies continue. Sunday worship and Holy Days are observed, the Gospel is preached, the sick and shut-ins are visited, and the work of the church goes on.
If it weren’t for the dwindling savings and the shrinking congregation to support the work of the Gospel at Grace Episcopal Church, you wouldn’t be able to tell the church faces closure.

Almost in defiance of this threat of closing, Grace is now looking at a liturgical ministry with people who live on the streets of Norwalk. Sunday worship outside, followed by a meal, armed with spiritual support and information on resources, and maybe even a place for people without traditional homes to have a mailbox, or a place to store their belongings during the daytime – this is what may be in the near future for Grace Episcopal Church.

Grace Episcopal Church is not closing anytime soon. If indeed Grace does close, it will leave a hole in the city of Norwalk, and it will do so not with a whimper but with a bang, preaching, learning and living the gospel for all to see, here at the corner of Union Park and Mott Avenue, one way or another, every day of the week.

Coming in May

The May Mission Congregation gathering will be on the 23rd at 1:00 p.m.

Please find a copy of Garth Stein's book The Art of Racing in the Rain and read it - it's a quick read. You don't have to know anything about, or even like, race car driving to enjoy this novel with. That's all I'm going to tell you. If you can find some information on the Formula 1 driver, the late Ayrton Senna, you just may find more food for thought.

I'm away until May 13. See you soon.
Lois Keen, priest