Dear Grace Community,
This summer our congregation was blessed to have Christina Sledd serve as our intern. During June and July she participated in and led many ministries. At the end of July she wrote about her experiences with us, and for this edition of “From the Pastor’s Desk,” I share her note.
In Christ,
Catherine
My name is Christina Sledd, and this summer I have had the pleasure and privilege of working as the summer intern at Grace Presbyterian Church. Through the past several years I have been acquainted with Grace through the youth mission trips and have built a desire to learn more about this church that has welcomed a friendship with my hometown church of Chase Presbyterian.
Growing up in my small-town church I always had a drive to do it all and learn about what our church is and does. This meant that I explored the children’s Sunday School, women’s kitchen group, Session, Trustees, Advent, and even preached a little bit. I knew everything that made Chase Presbyterian Church what it was and is today. With that, I did not know what a church much larger than my own looked like. When discussion arose about what my internship would look like, I quickly stated that I wanted to see all the different parts Grace Presbyterian Church, not just the youth and children’s ministry (which I went to college for). The staff eagerly agreed, and soon I was swept into more committees and groups than I ever knew existed.
While at Grace, I met with almost every group and I was able to see how they all worked together to strengthen and build the body of Christ. I worked with the Session, Deacons, Trustees, Christian Education, Worship teams, the Economy Corner, Jacob’s Learning Ladder, the Bus Tickets, Vacation Bible School, the Youth Mission Trip, church services, home visits, and so much more within these past two months. I was able to see how different aspects that I previously took for granted came together and made things happen, as well as how much planning and thought went into the different ministries within this church.
This experience definitely opened my eyes to all the different kinds of ministries that go into a church this size. I was also amazed that every part of this church has a desire to love and help the Wichita community, whether that is the donations to the Economy Corner, monetary donations to different charities in this town, educating people of all ages, providing bus tickets, raising provisions for those in need, and so much more. If you do not know what is going on at Grace Presbyterian, I highly encourage you to find and explore what everything is about. Thank you all for this opportunity and the chance to meet many of you and share in the ministry that is Grace Presbyterian Church.
