Grace Presbyterian Church

September 2019 Sunday Morning Schedule

9 am – Worship in the Great Room

10 am – Sunday School for all ages

11 am – Worship in the Sanctuary

Worship at 9 am is in the Great Room and is led musically by our band.  The style is less formal than the 11 am service.  The 11 am service is in the Sanctuary and is led musically by our choirs.  The style is more traditional.

Sunday School for people of all ages begins on September 8.

Children and Youth

  • Children ages 0-2

A nursery is available all morning from 8:50 am – 12:15 pm. From 10 – 10:45 am Colissa Fry leads a Sunday School lesson for these children.

  • 3 year old – 1st Grade

3 year olds – 1st graders meets in room B10 (in the basement) also known as the Foundation Station.

  • 2nd – 6th Grades

3rd, 4th, and 5th graders meet in Room 206 (on the 2nd floor), also known as the Excavation Station. Sixth graders join this class as mentors for the younger students.

  • Youth

7-12th graders meet in the Youth Center (downstairs).

Adults

There are two options for adults to participate in Sunday School:

  • Bible Study – Meets in the Chapel (on the main floor)

This Bible Study for adults studies the sermon text for the day.  This class is taught by members of the congregation and staff.  This is a wonderful opportunity to go deeper in scripture and to get to know fellow disciples.

  • Steamers Class – Meets in Room 209

This fall the Steamers Class explores the sermon text of the week.  Steamers is a long running class with both longtime and new members.

 

From the Pastor's Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk

Dear Grace Community,

It’s fun to be your pastor.  It’s fun for a lot of reasons including the interesting and passionate people in this church and that we engage in ministries that impact both our members and people outside the church walls.  I love that Jesus is at the center of all of this.

The Session and I love serving with you, and we hope for the church to be even more vital than it is.  We spent about nine months as a Session studying areas of church vitality.  As we look to the next two years, we hope for Grace to be even more vital, to be stronger, and to be an even greater witness to Christ’s love.

There’s no big program that we think can make greater vitality happen. Instead, you’ll start to notice small initiatives related to this, and you’ll also notice some bigger things.  One area that will change for the next nine months is related to worship.

From September 8 through Pentecost in May, we participate in something called the Narrative Lectionary.  The Narrative Lectionary was developed about eight years ago by faculty at Luther Seminary in Minnesota.  It’s based on the idea that Christians benefit from knowing the stories of scripture.

Often, we jump around from Old to New Testament on Sunday mornings, and we learn and grow, but it’s easy to lose track of the broad arc of scripture.  The Narrative Lectionary takes us from the Old Testament to the New Testament throughout the year.  There is no practical way to read all the Bible on Sundays, so this pulls out major stories and themes.

In the fall we focus on the Old Testament. In the winter and leading up to Easter we read from Mark, and after Easter we read from the Epistles.  Sunday School classes focus on these same stories.

There’s only so much we can focus on during a Sunday morning, so the Session has a challenge for the congregation.  Each week we provide daily scripture readings for you. We hear and study stories together on Sunday and then throughout the week read the scripture on our own.

A congregation that knows scripture is a strong congregation.  We want to know and love God’s word as a community and hope you’ll join us in this.  We’ll share the weekly readings in Grace this Week and also through our Facebook page.

Finally, it’s August, and that means that it’s my anniversary at Grace.  I am grateful for nine years of serving God with you.

In Christ,

Catherine

assistance

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Kansas

Each spring, we receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.  This offering is received in Presbyterian Churches around the country  A portion of this offering funds the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) which provides financial and physical relief for disasters.

This summer the Presbytery of Southern Kansas applied for a PDA grant to support the Reno County Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) and their work with response to flooding in Reno County.  The Presbytery received and gave to the Reno County VOAD $7500 to support their mission.  We give thanks for the ways the PCUSA supports disaster assistance around the world and right here in Kansas.

Deep Roots: Robinson Middle School

Deep RootsOn Wednesday, August 7, we presented a check for $7,500 to our neighbors at Robinson Middle School.  This gift was made possible by your contributions to the Deep Roots Campaign. It was exciting to give Robinson the opportunity to acquire additional Chromebooks for the school.  They will also use some of the money for things students need like school supplies and winter coats.  Robinson has been a good neighbor to Grace for over 70 years, and it was a joy to share with them.  Thank you for your continued generosity and gifts to the Deep Roots Campaign.
Messy Church

Messy Church: September 8

Messy Church returns September 8!  Messy Church is our once a month interactive worship experience that always ends with free dinner.  This year Messy Church happens on the second Sunday of the month at 4:30 pm.

Messy Church is designed with children eight and under in mind, BUT people of all ages are welcome.  It’s a little different each month, but there is always singing, playing, laughing, praying, and Bible story telling.  We wrap up with dinner around 5:30 pm.