2nd Sunday of Advent - We brought in gifts for the Adopt-a-Family program today! In addition to gifts from individual parish folk, the parish as a community contributed funds towards a tablet that was requested for a little girl from one of the families. During the intercessory prayers at Mass, we prayed for the families that "all the families may see joy and hope this Christmas." Then after Mass, we continued our series on prayer with time to reflect and pray on the 2nd Joyful Mystery, The Visitation.

We collected 150 pairs of socks so far for our holiday sock drive, including several pairs that were mailed in from other parts of the jurisdiction! If you have socks to donate, you can still bring them in and we will add them to the sock collection. A very special thanks to Joanne for organizing the sock drive!

This is what 150 pairs of socks looks like:

A special thanks to Joanne and Kristi, who are continuing with the intercessory prayer ministry begun by Br. Bob. This ministry is part of the Mt. Carmel Apostate of Prayer. We have been blessed with Br. Bob's dedication to this ministry over the years and are glad to see his legacy continue to live on in the parish and jurisdiction. If you have any intentions or people you would like held in prayer, please let Joanne and Kristi know and take a moment to enter them into the book of intentions in the back of the chapel near the statue of Mary. Please also feel free to leave a message via the parish's Contact Page.

Hi everyone - Phew! It's been a busy week so we thought it may be easiest to share this update from Bp. Tim: "Thursday through Saturday, the ICCC clergy had a wonderful retreat at the Sisters of St. Joseph Carondelet Hospitality Center near Albany. I ordained Dave Wood as a subdeacon. He gave us commemorative mugs with a picture of a subdeacon donning a maniple with the legend "Tie one one". This evening, we had a wonderful service and dinner afterward. One parishioner had been abroad, in Spain and Jordan, and brought back souvenirs for parishioners from the Holy Land. Another parishioner brought Padre Pio devotional booklets for everyone. And another brought in leftover Halloween candy. And another brought socks for our upcoming socks for the homeless project. All in all, a great few days!"

Congratulations to Dave Wood on his ordination to the major order of Subdeacon!

Thank you for your generosity these past few weeks towards hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The members of St. Mary of Grace Parish have raised $530 as a community, which we will donate to the Puerto Relief Fund of Concilio. A very special thanks to Kristi, Hector, and Donna for providing information about the situation in Puerto Rico and relief organizations.

Today the parish decided to make a donation to support hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Thank you to Kristi and Hector, who are gathering information about which organization(s) we can support. More information to come... In the meantime, we wanted to share this prayer for those who may be separated from their loved ones at this time:
 
O God, whose fatherly care reacheth to the uttermost parts of the earth: We humbly beseech thee graciously to behold and bless those whom we love, now absent from us. Defend them from all dangers of soul and body; and grant that both they and we, drawing nearer to thee, may be bound together by thy love in the communion of thy Holy Spirit, and in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer)

At Mass today we celebrated the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, then afterwards had a surprise birthday celebration for Bp. Tim! Happy Birthday!!!

Congratulations to Dave Wood on his ordination to the minor order of Acolyte, the next step on the way to priesthood. It was wonderful to have him, Mtr. Sandy, and Fr. Michael at St. Mary of Grace Parish for Dave's ordination!

Hello everyone - We are sad to write that Br. Robert Julian Dabrow (Frater Julian D) passed away unexpectedly on August 26 the Feast of the Transverberation of the Heart of St. Teresa of Jesus. He was a beloved member of the parish and we will miss him greatly.
____

O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother, Br. Robert Julian Dabrow. We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that your servant Br. Robert Julian Dabrow, being raised with him, may know the strength of his presence, and rejoice in his eternal glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

******
I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.

For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord's possession.