Annual Gift Tags

Family and Children's Agency will drop off today the tags with the gift requests. The tags will be available this Sunday during the 10:00 bilingual service. All gifts must be delivered to Grace no later than Sunday, December 11.

Each gift tag has the caseworker's last name, the client's gender, age and requested gift.

Remember:

All gifts must be new.

Please attach the Family and Children's tag to the gift

Please include any required batteries

Please do not wrap the gifts

Thank you all in advance for your generosity. This is one of our most successful, most loved, long term ministries so enjoy yourselves!

Faithfully,
Lois Keen

Thanksgiving Baskets for Covenant to Care for Children

We hope to do at least 15 to 20 Baskets! Please consider helping.

The following items are needed for the baskets:

• Cranberry Sauce


• Whole Bags of White Potatoes


• Canned Yams


• Gravy


• Canned Vegetables (Corn, Peas, String Beans, etc.)


• Cake Mixes


• Brownie Mixes


• Frosting

Take a leaf or two from the Giving Tree and please have the food back by November 13. Mark your plastic bags with "Thanksgiving Food" please.

Opportunities for Thanksgiving

We have opportunities to share time and supplies for Thanksgiving. First is the Community Thankgsgiving Lunchean at the East Avenue United Methodist Church. We at Betania/Grace have participated in this luncheon in a variety of ways for a few years now. Below is Jessie's letter with the basic information. Below the letter is a list of things you can donate to the luncheon.

Another project that the Grace congregation has been doing for many years are the Thanksgiving Baskets. Tags with supplies needed can be found on the Giving Tree at the church. Please bring purchased items to the church by Sunday November 13.

= = = = = = = = =
November 1, 2011

Dear kind contributors,

It’s almost time for the Community Thanksgiving Luncheon at the East Avenue United Methodist Church in East Norwalk. Our luncheon will again be held on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 20th, from 12 noon until 2pm. This wonderful event is possible only because of the generosity of people like you.

This completely free of charge Thanksgiving feast has become a Norwalk tradition and a wonderful way to unite the community during the holiday season.

For our returning volunteers, I look forward to working with you again, and to our new folks, a great big WELCOME!

I appreciate your valuable time so therefore I try to keep this as simple as possible by multitasking.
Saturday, November 19th from 10am until 12 noon, we begin our preparation. Some will be peeling potatoes, (BYOP- bring your own peeler), while others will be setting up the dining area including table arranging and decorating. I will explain how the luncheon will run and answer any questions.

On Sunday, volunteers arrive at 11am. Everyone will be given an assigned position to work. If there is a specific job you would like to do i.e. cooking, serving, cleanup, etc. please contact me before the day of the luncheon and I will do my best to place you there.

Our event is dependent solely on contributions so please see the attached wish list. Donations may be dropped off at the church office Tuesday- Friday from 10am until 1pm. The entrance is on Rowan Street. Checks should be made out to EAUMC Thanksgiving Luncheon.

There are also many tasks to be done from now until the luncheon. Flyers must be posted, donations picked up, just to name a few so if you are available to help TERRIFIC!

I am truly grateful for any contribution you can make. In order for this undertaking to succeed it is important that I have an idea of how many volunteers will be joining us and when. Please let me know as soon as possible.

You can contact me by email at jessiejmcgarty@gmail.com (preferred method) or by calling the church office at (203) 866-6757.

I cannot thank you enough for being a part of this celebration that brings joy to so many.

Sincerely yours,
Jessie McGarty
Community Thanksgiving Luncheon Coordinator

= = = = = = = = = =
Community Thanksgiving Luncheon Donation Wish List
*Please have items at the church by Wednesday, November 16th.

E.A.U.M.C. 244 East Avenue, East Norwalk (entrance on Rowan Street)
office hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am until 1pm (203) 866-6757


*Perishable items will be requested at a later date.

bags of stuffing......or cash :)
canned mixed vegetables
cranberry sauce- jellied and whole
yams in syrup
disposable foil large roasting pans (we need at least 50)
chicken broth
aluminum foil
plastic cling wrap
Ziploc bags- quart and gallon size ( we make many to-go servings)
Sanka packets
sodas- various flavors including Diet
juices- various flavors
water bottles
Kosher Salt
black pepper
brown sugar
sweetener packets
sterno
scotch tape
masking tape
napkins
dessert plates
desserts- pies, brownies, cookies, etc; ( some sugar free and nut free, and must stay fresh without refrigeration until 11/20 )

Thank you!
Jessie

New Name for Shawl Ministry

I (your humble web master and shawl ministry participant) have been calling our gathering "Grace's Shawl Ministry" simply because I needed something to call it on Facebook, Twitter, the web site, and here on the Outreach Blog. At our last meeting we discussed the listing on the shawl ministry web site. That led us to a discussion about our name because not only was there the web site listing to consider, but one of our members went into the church office and downloaded the shawl minstry brochure templates from the site.

Grace's Shawl Ministry has many meanings, but it is too closely tied to the name of Grace Episcopal Church. We have folks who come from Iglesia Betania and other places, too. One member suggested Holy Needles.

We have a new name! Holy Needles/Las agujas santa.

Brochures and shawl ministry site listing to come.

We gather on the first and third Saturdays of the month from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Although some folks show up at 10, and many of us stay until noon. We're also making hats, scarves, mittens, cowls, baby sweaters and blankets. Another reason Holy Needles/Las agujas santa fits our group

Join us as we knit, crochet, and share conversation. If you want to learn how to knit or crochet, this is a great place to try it out! Or just come for the conversation.

See you on November 5th!

Grace's Shawl Ministry - The Blessing of the Shawls

The cedar chest in the Memorial Room was full. Time to bless the finished shawls and begin giving them away. We talked about what the blessing should look like and how the shawls should be distributed. Today, during the 10:00 a.m. service, we blessed them and gave three to the Lay Eucharistic Ministers who took communion to some of our home bound parishioners.

Shane and Sally arrived even earlier than our scheduled gathering time, so all the shawls were out on the altar by the time the rest of us arrived.


We fussed with them until they looked "right" on the altar, making sure to leave space for Sally to set the elements out for the Eucharist.












May God's grace be upon these shawls, warming, comforting, enfolding, embracing.

May these mantles be a safe haven...
A sacred place of security and well being...
Sustaining and embracing in good times as well as difficult ones.

May those who receive these shawls
Be cradled in hope, kept in joy, graced with peace,
And wrapped in love.
In the Name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Moving forward we will be expanding our outreach. Along with the prayer shawls, some of us will be knitting and crocheting hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves for the homeless and others in need. And some of us will be knitting caps for the babies who are baptized in our church.

If you knit or crochet, would like to learn to knit or crochet, or just want to spend some time in conversation and fellowship, please join us at 10:30 a.m. on the first and third Saturdays of every month. Another way to participate in the ministry is to donate yarn to be made into shawls, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and caps.

Grace's Shawl Ministry - Carol

I don't remember who taught me how to knit or when I started knitting. I think I was a teenager. I picked up the needles again in 2002 when looking for something to help me pass the time while my son, the Marine, was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. I took lessons at Norwalk High School's adult education program. My goal was to knit an afghan and finish it by the end of his 1-year tour. I finished the afghan in June 2006, 4 years later.

My next attempt at knitting was in 2009 after reading The Shop on Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber. The books revolved around a yarn shop. The description of the yarn and the camaraderie of the men and women who were involved in the knitting circles drew me in and rekindled my desire to knit again.

That camaraderie is exactly what I found at the Shawl Ministry. There is something very calming and peaceful to sitting, knitting (or crocheting) and talking with a group of friends and there is no pressure to finish a set number of shawls. There are those who have finished 5 or 6. I am working on my second shawl and there are those who are working to complete the first one. But that's okay because we are all enjoying the process while laughing, talking and sharing with one another.

I believe that the Shawl Ministry is not only a blessing to the recipients of the shawls; it is also a blessing to those who make them.

Grace's Shawl Ministry - Leona

I had not knit anything for about 20 years. But when the Prayer Shawl Ministry was announced I decided I would go and see what it was all about. I prefer crocheting because it produced faster results— immediate gratification. At the Shawl Ministry however, I found that suggested size 13 needles and soft textured yarn resulted in faster knitting and the same immediate gratification.

When I started attending the Shawl Ministry meetings on the first and third Saturday of the month, I also discovered that there is no requirement that you knit or crochet. You can just come and enjoy the conversation which is eclectic and interesting. Personally, I love the community feeling of the group. It’s fun and relaxing to get together.

But if you do like to knit or crochet, there are all levels proficiency from beginner to expert. I have learned a different method of casting on and starting a new skein of yarn. I have made four shawls and look forward to the fall when all the shawls are blessed and given away.