At a Special Meeting on Wednesday, October 4, the Mission Council (aka Vestry) called The Rev. John Bower by unanimous vote to serve as interim part- time Vicar at Grace Church. His first Sunday with Grace will be Ocober 15.

This will mean an increase in clergy presence and leadership not afforded by the Sunday supply arrangement we have had for most of the year.

Father Bower, 69, impressed the Council by his open and frank discussion and his spirit-filled approach. His philosophy is to facilitate healing and to raise up leaders in the parish. He feels you do this by “letting go in order to receive---to make space in our lives for grace.”

Father Bower has served several parishes throughout the Midwest both large and small. He has served mainly in the Cincinnati area, to which he returned in retirement. He served 11 years as chaplain at the Convent of the Transfiguration in Glendale; his most recent interim was 4 years at St. Simon of Cyrene in Lincoln Heights.

There will be a potluck to honor Fr. Howard next Sunday, Oct. 8, following the 10:00am service. This will be his last Sunday with us.

The campaign goals for the 2006 Every Member Canvass are 40 pledging families and $40,000. Here is the timeline for the Every member Canvass.

• Week of October 1: Announce timeline to congregation at October 1 service. Receive a pledge from all members of the Mission Council and from all canvassers for this drive. Letter and pledge card mailed to all members.
• Week of October 8: At the October 8 service, announce total of pledges made and amount pledged by Mission Council and canvassers. Push for all pledges to be made during this week. Canvassers follow-up on anything that their conversation with their assigned members may require.
• Week of October 15: At the October 15 service, announce total pledges made. Canvassers will meet to discuss what they have learned, to follow up on any remaining and unfinished calls, evaluate success of the canvass drive, determine what more needs to be done, if anything, and make recommendations for improvements for the following year’s drive.
• Week of October 22: At the October 22 service, announce end of successful campaign.

It all depends upon you!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

That was the feeling of the three Grace Church parishioners traveling home from Procter Center on September 23. They had met with members of the Diocesan Committee on Congregational Life and Bishop Kenneth L. Price to present and answer questions about our application for funding.

While there is no answer at this writing as to the amount of funds we will receive, all of us agreed that telling our story and receiving ideas and advice from committee members and members of other congregations was a spirit-filled experience. It is also one that continues to excite us and fill us with hope for the future.

During our presentation, we were told several times that our application was the most professional they had ever received. This is in very large part due to the hard work, competency and leadership of Jim Edgy, our Parish Administrator. Without Jim's vision, tenacity and experience in the area of grantsmanship, it is likely we would still be at square one in program planning and implementation and applications for funding.

In addition to the various funds presently being requested for clergy, programming and capital improvements to building and grounds, Grace Church recently received word that it has been granted $50,000 over two years from the Procter Fund for Lifelong Christian Formation. This money will be used for Christian education leadership, materials, audio and visual equipment, and to develop and publicize alternative worship services at times other than Sunday mornings.

Let us all praise God, indeed, and commit our time, money and prayers to the renewal of Grace Church and its mission.

Article contributed by Mary McLain and Grace Staples.

A big thank you to the ten people who agreed to call each of our absent members. As one said, "I really didn't want to do it, but I'm so glad I did!"

People re-connected with people they hadn't seen for awhile. We heard about needs of which we had not been aware and everyone learned a lot at both ends of the phone line. Moreover, we are delighted to see some of our old friends back in the pews.

The Department of Pastoral Care at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center will offer a day- long program on "When Bad Things Happen to Children: Pastoral Responses for Difficult Times."

The program will take place on Oct. 24 from 8:30am to 3:30pm. The program fee is $25, which includes conference materials and lunch.

Funke’s Greenhouses on Gray Road has agreed to give us a minimum of a 50% discount on all plants that we purchase from them and a lesser but still significant discount on things like fertilizer, mulch, peat moss.

Recently, we had a donor who contributed money for four Crepe Myrtle plants. Because of this discount, we were able to purchase six. In talking with Bob LePere at Funke's, we learned that his father attended Grace Church and sang in the choir for many years.

On November 11, clergy and lay delegates will elect the ninth bishop of our diocese. The nominees are

• the Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, dean of religious life and of the chapel, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ;
• the Rev. Robert G. Certain, rector, St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, CA;
• the Rev. Susan E. Goff, rector, St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, Springfield, VA;
• the Rev. Canon George Hill, rector, St. Barnabas, Montgomery, OH;
• the Rev. John F. Koepke III, rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Dayton, OH;
• the Rev. James B. Lemler, director of mission, The Episcopal Church, New York City, NY;
• and the Rt. Rev. Kenneth L. Price Jr., bishop with ecclesiastical authority, Diocese of Southern Ohio.