Grace Episcopal Church is turning 150 years young this year! In celebration of all of the Saints of Grace past, present, and future, we are having a fabulous PAAAAARTY! On Saturday November 1st, All Saints Day, we will celebrate our sesquicentennial honoring the Saints of Grace church. Bishop Megan Traquair will join us for our celebration starting with the Anniversary Eucharist at 2pm. After the service, we will celebrate with wine and small bites for dinner, enjoy music and dancing! Bourn Hall and our campus will be full of stories of our Saints past, lively decorations and lots of life! Grace has been an important part of Saint Helena and Napa Valley’s history – something we will fully celebrate that day!!
The saints are “the lights of the world in every generation,” people whose lives and deeds have shone brightly and helped others more closely follow God. There are saints who lived long ago and there are saints living and working in the world today, saints who are known by the church and saints who are known only to God. We say that the church—we—are part of the Communion of Saints, the company of all faithful people, connected through our baptism to those Christians who have died, those who are alive now, and those who haven’t yet been born. The word “saint” means holy and in the Episcopal Church we have a Calendar of Saints, holy men and women we remember in prayer and with readings from the Bible on their feast day.
Psalm 78:4 says, “We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generations the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” This verse emphasizes the importance of sharing God’s deeds and teachings with future generations. At Grace church, we have a lot to share! God has been faithful to his work through the Saints of Grace for 150 years – and we are telling their stories, along with our own for the Saints of the next 150 years! Grace is exactly 150 years young! So come help us
We know it will be a GREAT DAY!!!
It will take all of us, participating as we can, to pull off such a great event!! The following teams are forming and could use more help! If you are able and willing to help, please send an email to deacondiana@grace-episcopal.org with your team of choice!
Branding & Promotions Team – Manage the ordering and selling of the 150th Anniversary Chotchkes; Promote the event through outreach community-wide, valley-wide and to past members.
Decorations Team – Help design and deliver both inside and outside decorations for the 11/1 through holiday period. Select colors, banners, posters, etc and prepare decorations in advance. install them for the week of the November 1st event.
November 1st Event Setup/Clean Up Team – Help gather and organize team to support Grant and various chefs. Set up tables and hi-tops inside and out. Set up food, appetizers, dinner tables and dessert table (outside and inside); including tablecloths.
Wine Team – Organize wine tasting for the event by coordinating with various local wineries with historical relationships to Grace Church. Set up wine tables alongside the food tables. Procure wine donations. Highlight winery stories as part of the history of Grace (Rombauer, Bechstoeffer, Ehlers, etc). Coordinate setup and welcome for local winery teams. Write thank you notes to winery participants.
Grace Saints Team – Read through and identify past saints from the beginning of the church. Research illustrative stories from the press and families. Develop Saints Profiles for the decorations teams. Print profiles/pictures of saints as part of the story telling and decorations. Communicate with families of the saints past of their inclusion through the Promotions team.
o Saints of Grace Present / Church Directory Team – Manage directory coordination end to end. Coordinate two weeks in September for picture taking. Work to publish directory (target date October 15). Manage communications, schedule and sign-up.
Thank you! It’s going to be a GREAT PAAAAARTY!!
— The Rev. Diana Deen, Deacon
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