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    • Sunday service - Holy Communion June 4, 2023 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.comTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…
    • Sunday service - Holy Communion June 11, 2023 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.comTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…
    • Sunday service - Holy Communion June 18, 2023 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.comTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…

All Saints Year A November 1, 2020

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Beth Crane

Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12

Our sermon today will  be brief because we will be having reports from our delegates to Diocesan Convention.

Today, we celebrate All Saints Day. We remember that we are part of that great cloud of witnesses, the faithful saints who have followed Christ throughout the centuries. Because of God’s love, we are knit together as members of the Body of Christ, each of us using our God-given gifts to spread the love of God to everyone we meet. 

In today’s gospel, our Lord gives us the beatitudes, the blueprint for living lives of faith, hope, and compassion, bringing comfort to those who mourn, feeding our brothers and sisters both physically and spiritually, extending God’s mercy, peace, and justice, working to bring in God’s kingdom in which the creation is restored and the dignity of every human being is respected. 

Today, we celebrate the lives of our Capital S saints such as Patrick and Mary, Francis and Teresa of Avila. and our small s saints, ordinary people like you and me who followed Jesus. The saints come from all walks of life, from all over the world. They have a variety of gifts. They are shining examples of people who have followed Jesus and helped to build his kingdom.

This Tuesday is Election Day, and, as you know, the election has been going on for several weeks. We are facing many very important issues: the Covid pandemic; an economy that has been affected by that pandemic, causing severe hardship to many people; political division; and our long history of racism. I’m sure many of you have already voted. If you have not, please do exercise your privilege to cast a ballot.

This is a time of great stress. I encourage you to pray. And I ask you to focus on those three precious gifts from God: faith, hope, and love. May we have faith that God will guide our minds and hearts to make sound choices in our voting; may we have hope that God will guide us to choose wise and faithful leaders, May we be rooted and grounded in God’s love in all that we do. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Prayer “For an Election,” p, 822.

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our prayers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And now, we will have our Convention reports by Beth, Lori, and Jean.

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Pentecost 23 Proper 25B RCL October 28, 2018

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Beth Crane

Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52

Our sermon today will be short in order to allow time for our delegates to Diocesan Convention to share their observations.

The theme of Convention was “Go Tell It on the Mountains,” and we explored ways in which we can share the Good News.

This mornings readings are full of that good news. Job realizes, as all of us do, that he cannot possibly understand the mind of God. In turn, God showers Job with even more blessings than he had enjoyed before.

Psalm 34 calls us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who trust in him.”

In our gospel for today, Jesus and his disciples arrive in Jericho. As they leave Jericho with the usual large crowd following them, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some people sternly tell him to be quiet, but he shouts even more loudly.

Jesus stops and calls Bartimaeus to come over to him. Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus says, “My teacher, let me see again.” And Jesus answers, “Go, your faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus does not go anywhere. He follows Jesus.

When we feel our Lord’s love and healing flowing out to us, we want to follow him.

In our Collect for today, we ask God to “increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love.” These are amazing and wondrous gifts which God gives us every day, and, even as we ask God to give us more of these gifts, we know that God is constantly filling us with faith, the faith to follow Jesus and to share his love with others. And with hope, the ability to look at the world around us and know that the Holy Spirit is at work bringing in the Shalom of God. And the gift of love, God’s love which nothing can stop, God’s love for all people, regardless of their race, class, education, social status, gender, or any of the other things which can be used to divide us. In God’s eyes, we are all precious. God stops for the blind Bartimaeus and makes him whole.

God loves everyone.

This week and every week, every day, every moment, let us absorb God’s gifts of faith, hope, and love. Let us be a people of faith, hope, and love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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All Saints’ Sunday Year A RCL November 5, 2017

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Beth Crane

Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3: 1-3
Matthew 5:1-12

All Saints is one of the most meaningful  and joyful feasts of the Church Year.

Our opening reading from the Book of Revelation shows us the vision of heaven including all those who have followed their Good Shepherd into eternal life. They are in his presence forever.

Psalm 34 is one of the most beautiful songs of praise in the Bible. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him.”

Our very brief but powerful reading from the First Letter of John describes the results of God’s love for us. We are God’s children now, and we are growing into the likeness of Christ. The text tells us that “We will see him as he is.” This gives us deep hope that reaches down into the springs of spiritual freshness.

And then we have the vision of life which our Lord describes in his Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for a right relationship with God. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart, those who are able, by God’s grace, to focus with single mindedness on the love of God and what that love calls us to do and to be.

We are all one in Jesus our Lord. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses—those who have gone before us, those who are here now, and those yet to come, all followers of Jesus. We are all part of what our Presiding Bishop calls the Jesus Movement. And we are all deeply blessed. Amen.

Now we will hear reports on our Diocesan Convention — “Declaring Dignity.”

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