Hello, I’m Steve Cendrowski, I was born and raised Roman Catholic originally from Detroit MI, but for myriad reasons, grew apart from the church as an institution and became a part of the non-practicing catholic family.
I resigned myself to seeking God’s message and meaning in my work and in everyday life. But as life went on, I felt a need to re-connect with God in a community and I (we) also began to feel that our children should have a similar opportunity to experience God in a way that both my wife and I did, in an engaging and open community. Over the years of our marriage and life, we have tried a few Christian worship venues including Presbyterian while living in the midwest, and later Methodist and Episcopalian when we moved to the Frederick area just over 7 years ago. We even visited a Unitarian Universalist congregation a few times...but Episcopalian for us was a nice (compromise), mixing traditional catholic themes during worship with an open and accepting Christian community. Life got busy after moving to Brunswick in early 2013 and we stopped going to All Saints in Frederick, but we knew that we wanted to get back to an Episcopal church that was closer to home; so after a couple drive by’s to stare at Grace’s beautiful Gothic Stone facade, we decided nearly 2 years ago to come to Grace on the first Sunday of Advent in 2015. Since then, I have been roped in to managing the Food Forest, Stacey begrudgingly serves on the Vestry and Altar Guild, and Millie just mouths the words while standing up here with the choir...Bazinga! We all love Grace, and have enjoyed the people and the ministries we have each taken on to contribute to the needs of Grace and Brunswick. For my part in Grace ministries, I am the BFF manager., For me, this was a no-brainer to help with the BFF ministry. I have always enjoyed gardening, and managed to grow tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and peppers on a very small home garden scale beginning at an early age and throughout my life. BUT to grow vegetables on a quarter acre to bring produce to the needy in Brunswick? Wow! Working in the BFF allows me to connect with Nature in a way beyond just enjoyment-I achieve an almost meditative state while working in the garden where at times I feel a connection to God and at times even proclaim his name (mostly in vain when I would stand up after crouching for long periods to sow seeds or pull weeds Or when Mother Anjel would sneak up behind me). Even more, It has afforded me opportunities to interact with others at Grace and the broader community. We love it here, and feel fortunate that God showed us the way into the Grace family. Thank you. Ministry Minute, Grace Episcopal Church, October 22, 2017
Good morning. As most of you know, I’m Teri Smith-Jones. My wife, Kathleen and I have been members of Grace for about two years, and I currently serve as Junior Warden. I volunteered to do this Ministry Minute because I wanted to tell you why I believe this place matters so much. To me, it’s all about the welcome. As Christians, we claim Jesus as our Lord, and Jesus welcomed everyone to the table. So, when I consider joining a church, one of the first things I think about is the many people who have been part of my life, and maybe they’ve been part of yours as well. I think about the child whose family struggled with alcoholism. I think about the gay teenager who loved the Eucharist, but was turned away from the Catholic church. I think about the young woman who needed a safe haven for herself and the children she was raising. I think about the loving couple who never thought the church would bless their union. I think about people with family members who reject them because of who they are. I think about those who desperately need to hear biblical truth instead of biblical literalism. I think about everyone who needs a safe community, where they can be themselves. All of these people are part of me. So, I ask myself: Would they be welcome here? Based on my time here at Grace, it seems to me that, in this place, all people are welcome. Indeed, we proclaim that reality on the sign out front by stating that we love our neighbors with no exceptions because that’s what Jesus calls us to do. So, two years later, I’m still here, and I’m looking very forward to the next steps on our journey together as we prepare to welcome our new priest. If you’ve also come to love this place, then I ask you to join me in thinking about our next steps. Think about where you want us to go, and then think about the gifts of time, talent, and treasure you can offer to help us get there. And, remember that none of the work we are called to do can be done unless we do it together, physically, financially, and most importantly prayerfully. Grace Church Ministry Minute – Journey to Generosity
Kathy Brown 10/15/17 Good morning! I’m Kathy Brown…yes the same one that sends out all the annoying emails asking for food donations for this and volunteers for that. And I’m here again to put a little bug in your ear about financial support. So...this is not my first ride in the Ministry Minute Rodeo. I came before the congregation in 2013 to talk about what it is I love about this quirky little church. It was about a year after my family came to Grace, and I was still in that fat, happy and stupid honeymoon period. “OMG…everything is so amazingly perfect here!”…ya know like that. In prepping for this talk, I started thinking about whether I still feel the same way and/or what has changed for me. So, let’s dust off my 1st talk from 2013… __________________________________________________________ Fall 2013 “What’s a good Catholic girl from CT, doing in a place like this?” What’s a good Catholic girl from CT, doing in a place like this? How in the world did she wind up here? And why on earth does she love it so? This is NOT what the plan was to be. Let’s go back to 1976, to a kitchen table in Darien CT. Dot and Frank, dyed-in-the-wool Catholics that have raised their 5 kids that way, sit discussing a request by their 14 year old daughter: Frank: “I don’t know Dot, this just doesn’t sound right” Dot: “Oh, Come on Frank, it’s just one little youth group meeting. Kathy’s friend Melanie asked her to go along.” Frank: “I’m gettin’ a feeling about this. You said it’s gonna be at the Episcopal Church, right? I heard they let the priests get married, for God sake! And and and have KIDS! Does that sound right to you?” Dot: “Now…Frank, it’s harmless…one meeting. It’s not like she’s going to start questioning whether the Catholic church is right for her, or marry some quasi-Episcopal guy she meets in college, or wait 12 years to have kids and then start taking them to Episcopal services, baptize the kids Episcopal, then decide to be received in the Episcopal church and then wind up finding an Episcopal church in some dinky little railroad town in a state 350 miles away, with a tank out front. What are the odds? LET’S NOT PANIC! I’m sure it’s just a phase…” Ok, maybe that’s not EXACTLY how it went down, but it wasn’t a phase and here I am! Little did I know that attending a few youth group meetings way back then, would set off that chain of events that would land me here. A good Catholic girl at THE best Episcopal Church! How did I wind up here? Well…I’ve asked myself that same question and it’s actually pretty simple: It’s the grace of God. I didn’t set out to come here, Grace led me here, and I am eternally grateful that Grace came lookin’ for me! Dave, the girls and I have been here at Grace for just a year, and it feels like home. You see, I searched a long time, knowingly or not, for a place like Grace Church…where miracles and blessings happen every day:
__________________________________________________________________ So, those were my thoughts in 2013! While I’m still fat and happy, the honeymoon is definitely over. Time has marched on for Grace Church. New people have come, others have left, and some are getting ready to leave. We’ve faced joys and challenges. Members of my family drift in and out of the church. However, my commitment to Grace gets stronger every day and each year, I find new ways to grow in my faith and as a member of Grace. Grace sponsored me to join the Cursillo movement…it’s awesome, ask me about it! We started “Eat, Pray, Talk” …like Sunday night therapy with food! Hospitality Ministry…again FOOD! The new women’s “Prayer and Self-Care” group…can’t wait to launch that next week! Don’t even get me started on the people who inspire me here! This church, this “family” is bigger than the sum of its parts. And, I’ve found that the more I’m drawn to become more involved, my financial investment in this community has grown as well. While Dave and strive toward tithing (haven’t gotten there yet), our yearly contribution to the works of Grace has tripled since we started here in 2012. The more I give of my time, talent and treasure, the more connected I feel to the life here. So, whether you’re born and bred here or you’re a newbie, think about where and how Grace Church fits into your life journey, what you get from this community and what you can give to support it. Thank you and God bless you! Good morning. My name is Charlie Harris and I am your senior warden! How'd that happen? Who knew? "LOL." Only two years ago no one here knew me and I didn't know any of you or anyone in Brunswick for that matter. You might even say it’s a series of coincidences that brought me to this moment right here, right now, as I stand before you this morning.
Over the past year, I have frequently said that I have experienced an amazing set of coincidences ---- happenstances that I did not anticipate and could not have created. My journey here began about two and a half years ago, when Sherry and I made the decision to relocate and spend our retirement years in Brunswick, a community we knew nothing about and we didn’t know anyone living here. We made the decision to relocate and retire here after investigating about 15 planned communities in Maryland and northern Virginia. We discovered that Brunswick was the only community that checked all our boxes. And then the coincidences began: —after completing a homesite visit about a month before we moved here, we went for a spur-of-the-moment drive through downtown Brunswick and we made the discovery that this marvelous, historic stone church is home to an Episcopal parish and we are Episcopal! —that same day we discovered Anjel+ sitting out front painting an icon. After a lengthy discussion with Anjel+ that afternoon, we drove away and said to each other, "wow, what a wonderful coincidence!" Much to our surprise, the coincidences did not stop there. We received our first Grace newsletter about a week later and discovered that we knew someone on your parish prayer list. It was a friend from our old church. We contacted Anjel+ and learned that our friend had a daughter, whom we had never met, and that she lived in Brunswick and was a member of Grace! And then the very first Sunday morning we attended mass at Grace we met our friend's daughter. Since we were new, we arrived a few minutes early and sat on an empty pew near the back of the auditorium. The daughter came in a few minutes later and actually sat on our same pew --- and we knew her the moment we saw her (she looked just like her mother). Even though we had never met her before, we felt a connection immediately!! What a wonderful coincidence! Over the next several weeks we returned to Grace every Sunday morning, and our new friend introduced us to another person, who introduced us to another person, who introduced us to another person, and so on until we began to feel very much at home in our new community. And before a year had passed, we had made some of the best friends we've ever had in our lifetime! Who knew this would all happen, not us before we moved here!! What great good fortune! At the vestry retreat last March, Anjel+ asked each of us to tell about what brought us to Grace, and I told everyone about these wonderful coincidences. Anjel+ observed that these may not have been coincidences, but rather they were meant to be. Maybe God had a plan for me. I laughed nervously and casually dismissed her observation with “no, I’m not that special”. I would not think about this again for several months. Then something quite unusual happened during a sightseeing day trip that Sherry and I took in early August to the charming communities of Emmitsburg and Thurmont. I had an epiphany moment! As we casually drove along that morning, I saw a message board in front of a church that had a very unusual message. One that was so unusual that I drove past it a second time to make sure I had read it correctly. The message said: "Coincidence: when God chooses to be anonymous". Then all these “coincidences” flashed through my mind. And I found myself spontaneously saying a prayer: “O - M - G! I just received a revelation! Thank you God for not being anonymous today!” Now you know my journey. But you might be wondering, what does any of this have to do with our stewardship campaign: "journey to generosity"? These "coincidences" have taken me directly through the heart of this parish. The heart is where love resides, where hope springs eternal, and where you will find your joy. I have felt the generosity of God's love and your love. I have come to cherish my new adopted home of Brunswick, my new parish, and my new friends; and I have great hope for our future together. So when I turned in my pledge statement last week, it was with great joy in my heart. And as we transition to a new year, and a new reality for our parish, please know that my journey with you continues. |
Ministry MinutesEach year during our Annual Giving Campaign, members of Grace Church tell their stories about why they love Grace Church and why they are involved. Each story is different in details but all reflect the love of Christ which is found in this community of faith. Archives
October 2017
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