Grace Episcopal Church
Galena, Illinois
Welcome to our friendly community in a historic church on the hill.
Baptismal living, as a recovery of ancient forms of church governance, is an opportunity for congregations and dioceses, as well as the church as a whole, to incarnate the life and freedom of the gospel. Our Episcopal polity and our Anglican heritage inform our distinctiveness within the Christian tradition, and offer pathways in how to govern our communities, and to work toward the healing and wholeness that the world craves.
Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook
Our Governance
The Vestry
The Vestry is The Vestry the governing board of Grace Church. Consisting of the rector, two wardens and six members elected by the congregation, it constitutes the leadership that casts our vision as a parish and strives to meld the realities of sustaining an organization in this particular time and place with being a part of the Body of Christ. It oversees the entire life of the parish - providing for its spiritual life and health even as it is responsible for overseeing financial matters and the physical plant. In recognition of its spiritual and material roles, each monthly meeting begins with a time of devotional Bible reading and reflection.
Each member serves as a liaison to one of the ministries, communicating the overall vision to the ministry and also assuring that each ministry is represented.
The Vestry appoints a treasurer and a clerk as officers each year. They may, but are not required to be members of the Vestry. They are responsible for maintaining the records and legal documents of the corporation.
Shortly after the Annual Meeting and election each year, the Vestry holds a daylong facilitated retreat designed to strengthen and build its team, review the status of its Mutual Ministries, and look toward the new year and beyond.
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2023 Vestry (through january 2024):
Mother Paula Harris, Rector
Lynn Giles, Senior Warden (2021-24)
Open, Junior Warden
Class of 2024: Crystal Mason and Phil Jackman
Class of 2025: Carl Davis and Amy Hardwicke
Class of 2026: Sue Anderson and Cindy Blakemore
Officers: Jim Berry, Treasurer; Crystal Mason, Clerk
Left to right: Richard Luther, Crystal Mason, Phil Jackman, Carl Davis, Cindy Blakemore, Lynn Giles, Sue Anderson
Separate picture: Ami Hardwicke
Works with the treasurer to monitor the budget and provides oversight for the annual pledge campaign and the endowment.
Buildings and Grounds
Finance Committee
Performs maintenance and arranges for repairs and improvements of buildings and grounds.
Communications
There are two goals for all communications at Grace. The first is to keep everyone in the congregation informed about opportunities for worship, fellowship and announcements printed in each Sunday bulletin.
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The second is to promote church activities in the wider community. We regularly advertiser in local newspapers and we have a Facebook presence. Part of being a welcoming, inclusive church is announcing and inviting all to attend opportunities for worship, fellowship and learning. This website is intentionally designed to be both informational and invitational.
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Sharing worship services is another form of communication. During the Covid 19 pandemic, we kept the Grace worshipping community together through on-line services on Zoom. Since that time, we offer the Sunday morning service, for both in-person and on-line attendance. The service can be either live-streamed through YouTube or watched as recordings. Grace has also live-streamed memorial services which provides comfort to friends and family members unable to attend the services in person. All links are available through Grace Happenings, this Grace website and postings on Facebook.