jeremiah

January Adult Sunday School

Each Sunday in January adults gather on Zoom at 10 am to for Sunday School.  The class studies the scripture that is used in worship for the week.  Different class members teach each week.

January 3:        Luke 2:41-52

January 10:      Luke 3:1-22

January 17:      Luke 4:14-30

January 24:      Luke 5:1-11

January 31:      Luke 6:1-16

Find the class here:

joy gift

Joy Gift

Each year we receive the PCUSA Joy Gift in the Advent and Christmas Season.  According to the PCUSA the joy gift supports past, present, and future church leaders:

The Christmas Joy Offering has been a cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930s. The Offering distributes gifts equally to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. The Assistance Program provides critical financial support to church workers and their families. Presbyterian-related schools and colleges provide education and leadership development while nurturing racial and ethnic heritage. This has been a Presbyterian commitment for nearly 140 years.

 

You may send a gift for the Joy Gift to Grace or give online here: https://specialofferings.pcusa.org/make-a-gift/gift-info/christmas-joy/

 

candle

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24, and is different this year for our congregation. We will not gather in the building together.  Instead, there are opportunities to worship together online and an opportunity to gather on the front lawn.  Read more below.

Online Worship:

  • We will pre-record worship from the Great Room and Sanctuary. Those services are on the Grace website by 8 am on December 24, and you may watch and worship anytime. Go here>
  • The same services premiere on Facebook at 5 pm and 8 pm, and you may tune in to watch and worship. Through this venue you are able to comment along with others watching.  Go here>

Outdoor Worship: 6:30 pm

  • We  have a brief service of song and scripture on the front lawn at Douglas and Bleckley. Wear a mask and bring a light to hold up and join us as we sing a couple of hymns, and hear the Christmas story from scripture. The service is about 20 minutes.

Christmas Eve Candles and Glow Sticks

  • A favorite tradition is ending worship with either a glow stick (in the Great Room) or candles (in the sanctuary). This year you may come by the church and pick-up Christmas Eve candles and glow sticks.  They are available in the church Narthex Monday, December 21, through Wednesday, December 23, from 7 am – 6 pm and on Thursday, December 24, from noon – 2 pm.
thank you

Thank You, Ben and Kelsey!

Our congregation says “Thank You” to Ben Rivers and Kelsey Wise.  Ben and Kelsey served as interim music ministry coordinators this fall.  They coordinated music, musicians, rehearsals, and quarantines.  Through it all they were kind, and fun, and delightful to work with.  Their good work this fall means that Tyler Morris (our new Director of Music Ministry) comes into a music program that is ready for him and in good shape.

Matthew 25

matthew

In November, the Grace Session voted to become a Matthew 25 Congregation within the PCUSA.  Taking the words of Matthew 25:31-46, the PCUSA 222nd and 223rd General Assemblies (2016 and 2018) created and endorsed this initiative.  There are three focus areas of this initiative: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty.

The Grace Session began an in-depth study of congregational vitality in 2018.  This study carried into 2019, and fruit of this work began to develop in late 2019 and 2020.  The pandemic has impacted some of this, but the framework for our goals are still there, and we look forward to engaging more with them.  The work we did in the area of vitality aligns well with the Matthew 25 initiative, and our connection with this program may open up other opportunities for us.