Unraveled.  It’s a word that feels familiar.  A lot has unraveled recently.  This month we look at stories of unraveling in scripture.  Catherine Neelly Burton preaches all month.

July 5: Unraveled by Uncertainty

Matthew 14:22-33

July 12: Unraveled   

II Sam 3:7; 21:1-14

Public Grief that Inspires Action

July 19: Unraveled                    

Luke 19:1-10

Radical Unraveling of Vocation

July 26: Unraveled              

Jeremiah 29:1-7

When Dreams Unravel

It’s time for the Refugee Back to School Backpack Drive!  Each year we partner with other churches and organizations to prepare and share 400 backpacks with the Wichita Refugee Community.  This year the event looks much different but the need remains.

Grace is assigned very specific items this year.  Please read the list and bring your donations by the church.  If you prefer to donate money, the refugee team will shop.  Please bring all donations to Grace by Monday July 20.

The Backpack event is August 8, from 10 am – 12:30 pm, at First Presbyterian Wichita.  Volunteers may be needed that day and the day before for assembly.  Contact Wizie Eads if you can help, wizie1164@gmail.com

Dear Grace Community,

We WILL NOT gather for in-person worship now. I write to explain and share our plans moving forward.

We will now base our decision about worship on the rolling 14-day average percent of positive Covid-19 tests. When this number is at 5% or above, on Monday/Tuesday, we will NOT meet the following Sunday. You can find this data here: As of Tuesday, June 30, the number is at 5.3%.

Early on, we, like others, did our best to decipher data and learn more about the virus. Consistently we read that prolonged exposure to large groups was discouraged, or in other words, worship is a high-risk activity. We also knew that we missed worshiping in person and that you did too. At our June 15 Session meeting we decided to return to in-person worship July 5, and we shared this with you.

As cases in Sedgwick country rose over the last two weeks, we began more conversation. On Sunday, June 28, Session members and physicians in our church gathered on zoom to talk. One of the physicians pointed us to this 14-day average percent of positive tests as a helpful metric.

Our next step was to set a threshold, and we settled on 5%. We made this decision based on information we gleaned from Dr. Janelle Rhyne, an infectious disease specialist in North Carolina. She spoke on a webinar put on by various denominations and church organizations.

The Session recognizes that members of our church can decide how much risk to assume, but we as a governing body also need to decide how much risk to assume for our church. We are comfortable with this 5% rate. We were also assured by several church physicians that the list of precautions we set for in-person worship is strong and appropriate.

For now, we ask that you bear this wait with us, and that you tune in on Sunday for on-line worship. Feel free to contact us, and we will stay in touch.

In Christ,

Catherine Neelly Burton, Senior Pastor

The Grace Session:
Sandy Blaylock
Dennis Buteyn
Darcy Eads
Pam Head
Fred Heismeyer
Dave McIntire
Betsy Ross
Elyse Scholl
Ginny Vincent
Joe Wangombe
Alisa Watkins

Dear Grace Community,

This week my Saturday letter to you comes as an update about my service as a commissioner to the General Assembly. As you read this, I’m likely in the Zoom assembly. Read more here>

I do have one request. Do you have any pictures of you and/or your family watching online worship? I’ve seen a few on social media of your pets! If you have any, will you send them to me at Catherine@mygpc.org

In Christ,
Catherine

Links:
The Grace 2-Week Challenge
Virtual Vacation Bible School Videos
Music Ministry at Grace
Giving the Basics
In Person Worship, July 5
Grace Yard Signs

Church Directory Pick-up
If you did not pick up your church directory before we shut down, you are welcome to come by and get it. Call the church to let us know, and we’ll have it outside the volunteer office with your name on it.

Sunday, June 28 at 10 am
Worship via Facebook Live at 10 am or watch our services at mygpc.org
You do not need a Facebook account to watch. Go here: https://www.facebook.com/mygpc.org

Sermon scripture: Psalm 130
The Worship Team preaches
Songs (lyrics will be on the screen): It is Well; Come to the River; Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King

Sunday, June 28 at 6:30 pm: Youth Talent Show

With the emergence of the Covid-19 virus, the IGNITE youth group decided to stay and serve in Wichita for our Mission week. We will do projects at Grace and throughout the community the week of July 13th.

We would love if you could help support this opportunity for worship, fellowship and service. We hold an online fundraiser Sunday night June 28th on the Grace Facebook page at 6:30 PM. We will be live with entertainment and testimonies from youth and leaders. We really hope that you tune in and support with your prayers first and if you can, financially as well. You can donate at under Other Giving: Mission Trip. Thank you.

Monday, June 29 at 8 – 8:15 am: Morning Prayer
Start the day on Zoom with prayer with Catherine Neelly Burton.
Join by computer/tablet/smartphone: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81151925754
Join by phone: 1 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 811 5192 5754

Wednesday, July 1
If you have a youth in your family who wants to connect, contact Kirk@mygpc.org
This week the youth continue a book/Bible study using the Bible and Rob Bell’s book What Is the Bible? The book costs $6. Contact Kirk with questions.

Dear Grace Community,

Last Friday evening I logged into Zoom as one of over 450 commissioners to the 224^th PCUSA General Assembly.  We were joined by over 100 advisory delegates (young adults, theological students, and missionaries) and over 100 corresponding members (former moderators, assembly committee members, and more).  There were more than 700 of us in the meeting.

The first forty-five minutes were surprisingly moving and holy. The pre-taped worship was inspiring, and I felt the Spirit move as I stood in my home and answered the commissioning questions.  While my answers bounced around empty walls, I knew that I was not alone in this process.

Then we began to set the agenda, and things were not so smooth and lovely.  General Assembly normally begins on a Saturday night and goes through the following Friday night.  The first part of the week is filled with committee work, and then the entire assembly takes up the work of the committees.

Those tasked with figuring out how to adapt to an online assembly made the choice to do three days of virtual assembly and not address much of the slated business.  With this they set a proposed agenda that includes essential business and moves most of the other business (still important) to the 2022 assembly.

However, the 2020 assembly had to approve this agenda.  In a training session, I had learned of some issues that might be pulled by commissioners for consideration this year, but before we could get to that, San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) rose up for recognition.

Recently SFTS joined with the University of the Redlands Graduate School of Theology, and there is a lot of controversy about how it was handled by them and the PCUSA.  (I’m still learning.)  Because of the way our polity works, a commissioner was able to redirect the assembly’s energy (and an hour of time) around whether or not to seat the PCUSA dean of the Redlands.  Given all that is happening in the world, this felt a little irrelevant to me.

When we finally got to the approval of the docket, commissioners virtually lined up to pull various things from 2022 and put them back on our schedule.  The body voted not to do this, and by then it was 10 pm, and we still hadn’t elected our new co-moderators.  It was moved to reconvene Saturday evening, which was not originally scheduled.

Saturday night we came back together, and before we could get started, someone moved to again re-open the docket.  We vote on that this coming Friday.  The co-moderator election lasted about two hours with statements from the candidates and pre-recorded questions for them to answer.  We elected co-moderators on the first ballot, Elona Street-Stewart and Gregory Bentley.  They both seem faithful and capable, and they have their work cut out for them in preparing to moderate the rest of the meeting.

I log back into Zoom on Friday at 10 am and Saturday at 10 am.  I have no idea what to expect, other than that we’ll go for a long time.  I pray that even through Zoom God can use us, and that our church can witness to Jesus Christ in this world.  Pray for our new co-moderators and for all of us involved.

In Christ,

Catherine